The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-16


heavily timbered, and under the reser-
walton act the Indians have the right
81 sell this timber to white lumbermer,
subject to the approval Of the Indian
commissioner and his agents. Most of
the timber is sold on contract, the
buyer paying in advance. as he cuts it,
certain percentage of the purchase
price TO the resident agent, to be held
in trust for the Indians. This course
is taken to secure honest dealing, and
to make sure that Uncle Sans red
wards receive their just dues. For
some years there has been dispute as
to whether what is known as dead
and-down" timber comes within the
provisions of the act, and 1t was over
the disposal of this class of trees that
the trouble which led to the Chippewa
war really arose.
''Dead-and-down' timber is a trade
phrase covering logs or trees which are
left in the forests unclaimed. The
woods of Minnesota are full of them
trees that have been felled by lightning
or fires, and in some instances by chop
pers and overlooked by the logging
gangs. A large percentage of this tim
Der is just as marketable as the stand
ing trees, and can be got out at far
less cost. Consequently there has been
strong rivalry for its possession. For
time white men made raids and
helped themselves to the fallen logs,
ignoring the claims of the Indians to
ownership. In this they had the help
of the halfbreeds and squawmen who
hang about the reservations. It was a
profitable practice until partially put
stop to by ruling Of the Indian
Commissioner, who held that the dead
and-dOwn" timber was a part of the
ChippeWas' assets, and could be dis
posed of by them the same as standing
timber. This brought more money to
the red mans purse, but il cut off
source Of lucrative income from the
halfbreeds and the bad feeling between
the two classes was intensified. The
real Indian hates the halfbreed in this
case because he has reason to believe
the latter has been robbing him, while
the hafbreed is angry over the loss of
his chance TO make some easy money.
Uncle Sam is a teetotaler on the
whisky question as far as his Indian
wards are concerned. He forbids, under
severe penalties, the gift or sale to
them of strong drink. Now the aver
age Indian, with one taste of fire water,
viii barter all his possessions for more.
Furs, tepee, squaw, anything and
everything he will give for whisky
when once the alcohol is working in his
system. Recently whisky in consider
able quantities has made it's appear
ance among the Indians on Bear Is
land. How it got there nobody seen.s
to know, but it is suspected that some
of the cunning halfbreeds could tell IL
they wanted to. When an Indian gets
a few drinks he is ready for trouble
and the whisky sent to Bear Island had
the customary results. Then an order
went out from the agency to arrest the
drunken Indians and those who were
selling the stuff among them. If white
men had been sent to make the arrests
it is probable that they might have
been effected without serious CLASH;
but, unfortunately. it happened that the
officers selected were two halfbFeedS
who are serving as Deputy United
States Marshals. These men, so the
Indians assert, were the chief offenders
in the "dead-and-down' timber dis
pute, and, even after the commission
er's ruling, succeeded in getting a bis
share Of the proceeds from the sale Of
the trees. Their appearance at Bear
Island had an effect similar to that os
casting a lighted torch into a powder
magazine.
The Bear Island branch Of the Chip
pewas, or Pillagers, as they are called.
are bad Indians. They live in the ways
% their savage ancestors; wear blank
cts instead of clothes, sleep in tepee-,
and subsist by hunting, fishing and
trapping. There are ten Indian reser-
Vations in Minnesota, viz: Grand
Portage, Winnebigoshish, Leech Lake,
Chippewa, Cass Lake, Boise Forte,
Deer Creek. White Earth, Red Lake
and Fond du Lac. The Pillagers belona
to the Leech Lake reservation and have
great influence among the unruly
spirits at the other agencies, especially
those at White Earth, who come next
to the Bear Islanders in love Of war
and hatred of the white man. All of
these Indians are of the Chippewa
tribe, q branch of the famous Algon-
Quin nation. For years they were lords
and masters in the timber regions of
the North, making relentless war on
the Sioux, Cheyennes and other red
skins and driving them to the prairies
of the West. Much of this martial
ardor still remains with the Bear Is
land and White Earth Chippewas.
While other bands in Minnesota have
become civilized and settled down as
tillers of the soil, wearing store
Clothes" living in frame houses and
sending their children to school the
Pillagers and White Earth Indians
scorn such tangible evidences of alb
original decadence- To them the white
man Is still weak STRIPPING, to be
swept away, just as their ancestors,
the mighty Algonquins, treated the pio
neers Of old.
At the head Of the Bear Islanders is
Chief Bog-a- Meg Eshig, corrupted into
bush Ear" husky redskin about 40
years Of age and chockful Of real In
dian deviltry. Bear Island lies in
Leech Lake, about thirty miles north of
this town, and is difficult of access.
When the deputy marshals went there
with warrants for the arrest of Bush
Ear and nine of his followers, the chief
openly defed them. There was then
strong prospects of row, but the dep
uty marshals wisely retreated and in
duced some of the friendly Leech Lake
Indians to go and argue the matter
with their obstinate brethren. AS a re-
suit of a grand pow-wow, carried on
around campfire in regular dime
novel style, all of the suspects surrend
cred except Chief Bush Ear. The pris-
oners were taken to Duluth. tried in the
Federal Court, and sentenced to thirty
and sixty days in jail. In the meantime
Bush Ear went on the warpath all by
himself He loaded his rifle, Dreathed
defance to white men and halfbreeds, |
and melted the turbulent ones in the