The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-07-03


action brought today in the circuit
court by it's special counsel, John E.
Stryker, alleges that a numebr of the
most prominent lumbermen of Mime
sofa have, without any warrant what
ever, been devastating the northern part
of the state, denuding the territory of
its timber, and that they must pay the
full market value of the lumber to the
extent of the round sum Of $467, ,47434
and interest.
The defendants in this important and
. sensational suit are the Pine River Log
ging and Improvement company; Joel B.
Bassett and William l.. Bassett, CO.
partners as j. B. Bassett & Co.; John
S. Pillsbury and Charles A. Smith;
copartners as c. A. Smith 4
Co. The technical name of the offense
alleged in the action is convention. De-
PENDANTS are charged with unlawfully
entering on the territory within the
Mississippi and Winnibigoshish reserva-
tions and systematically cutting the tim
Der and converting it to their own uses.
The timber has been worked into lumber
and the market value Of the lumber is
represented in the amount of damages
demanded.
The interior department at Washing
ton and the attorney general have been
steadily working on the case for the past
!. two and half years. The vast area of
4 land covered by the alleged trespasses
4 of the defendants has been carefully
q examined; evidence has been accumu-
!, lated by degrees here and there until
r the time arrived for the climax of the
action which is brought today.
Mr.. Stryker, as the special counsel for
j the government, has been diligently
! working on the matter since last Octo-
! ber and has reported progress directly
(; to the attorney general.
! Eminent counsel has been retained by
| the defendants, and the battle will wax
: : hot in the courts, for it is not only ain is
| sue Of half million dollars, more or-less
! but Of reputation, for the defendants who
are charge with defrauding the govern
ernment of its property are men ol
! the highest standing in the state ir
which they live.
The complaint is along one and sets
/ forth exactly the townships, sections ant
!, ranges in which the timber was cut
+, It is here only necessary to say that i
y was timber growing on the reservation:
indicated.
The government claims that, permis
/ sion being given to the Indians of the
reservation to cut dead timber, ad
vantage was taken of this permission by
the agents of the defendants to fell vas
quantities of good timber and conver
the same to their own use
The different paragraphs in the com
plant make the following allegations:
In December 1891, George Lydiclz
with the consent and at the request o
the defendants, went upon the lands ant
cut timber, which the defendants hat
doomed to Minneapolis, where the.
manufactured 100000 feet of lunbe
of the value of $S5,2G0. In December
1891, William Fairbanks, agent of the de
PENDANTS, cut timber for the defendants
which they manufactured into 4,997.S5
feet of lumber of the value of $104, ,954.9l
In the same year and month John Lyon
anu JdNleS w dkeHolQ cut Clu1DeT WulCl
yielded the defendants 1,9S7,323 feet O
lumber valued at SAL, 1878.
In the same year and month Schocag
o sic and George Galdbraith cut timbe
which was worked into 2.207,3 ,3O5 feet O
lumber for the defendants, valued q
$46,353. 40. Charles Losh in the sam
year and month entered on the govern
ment lands and cut timber which wa
manufactured into 4;O41 900 feet of. lum
Der, worth SS4,S61.
John Tutle, also in December, 1891
cut timber which was represented b
2.OS4, ,483 feet of lumber, worth SAC, ,35414
William Bonga and Peter Bonga, in tn
same time, cut on the reservation tim
ber which was afterwards manufacture
into 1917, ,566 feet of lumber, worth $27
668S8.
Jack Bonga cut timber which wa
worked into 1898 ,154 feet of lumber
worth $27,156.23.
In March, 1891, Clark Clay cut timbe
which was manufactured into 37,237 fes
Of lumber, valued at $782.
The total of these various sums allege
as the value of the lumber is the amour
mentioned above, being very nearly
half million Of dollars.
The plaintiff alleges that in the effol