Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1898-10-21
QUITE A SENSATION.

under which, in case a certain bill
passes congress, Lyman T. Dunning, a
Sioux Falls druggist, and brother-in-
law of Senator Pettigrew, is to get
$4,000 from the Sisseton Indians as
attorney fees," though Mr.. Dunning
is not an attorney and never prosecut-
ed a case in his life.
"This contract was unearthed at Sis
seton by Mr.. Gamble and Kirk Phil
lips, and Mr.. Gamble first made pub
lie reference to it at Milbank. AS
proof of his statements he displayed
the contract. It will be freely shown
by Mr.. Gamble during the campaign
to any who may wish to further satisfy
themselves on the matter.
I'm 1851, it appears, the government
made a treaty with the Sisseton 1ndi-
ans under which they left their former
Minnesota home, and in consideration
of their removal the government
agreed to pay them $1,000 annually for
fifty years in cas- they remained loyal
and %peaceable. In 1862 an Indian out
break occurred in which the Sisseton
Indians took part, and the payment of
the annuity stopped, the government
claiming the Indians had violated
their agreement.
"Of late Senator Pettigrew has been
trying to secure the passage of a bill
paying the Sisseton and Santee Sioux
Indians their annuity on ground that
in 1862 it was unjustly stopped. Abill
to accomplish this is now pending be-
fore congress. 1t provides for the re-
cognition by the government of some
s3,OO0,OOO of Indebtedness to the Indi-
n and the payment of 3 per cent in.
terest on the deferred payments. 1t
makes Immediately available $780,
GOO in the ease Of the Sisseton Indians,
and 100000 in the case of the Santee
Sioux, for the payment of commissions
in accordance with a contract on file
with the interior department, and also
at the Sesseton agency. The Sisseton
contract is between twelve representa-
tives of these Indians, and one Charles
MaXfield, an attorney of Washington,
ID. c., and it entities Maxfield to 1919
per cent, of any moneys recovered by
him on this account. This contract
was in 1886 approved by the interior
department., except that the commits
sion was cut to 10 per cent.
"Then comes the peculiar and sensa-
tional feature Of the whole business.
In consideration of 81 and services
rendered and to be rendered. q half in
tere st in the proceeds of the contract
is assigned by Maxwell to Lyman T.
Dunning, attorney at lew, Of Sioux
Falls, s. s. Mr.. Dunning is q brother
in-law of Senator Pettigrew, and is q
druggist. He is not and never has
been an attorney. Senator Pettigrew
is chairman of the senate committee
on Indian affairs. There may be some
mistake about it, but here is an exact
copy of the assignment:
Washington, d. c., April IL, 1896.
For, and in consideration Of one
dollar, to me in hand paid, the receipt
whereof is hereby acknowledged and
services rendered and to be rendered,
1 hereby set over to Lyman r. Dun
ming, an attorney at law, residing at
Sioux Falls, 8. D.. the undivided one.
half interest in the within agreement.
Signed, Chas. A. Maxwell.
Department of Interior, Office of In
dian Affairs. Washington, d. G., Feb.
II, 1897-Consent is hereby given to
the foregoing assignment.
Theo. P. Smith.
Acting Commissioner.
SIT will be noticed that the endorse
ment of the interior department was
given less than a month before the
Mckinley administration took the
reins of government. There is no mis-
take about this assignment. There is
no mistake about Lyman T. Dunning
being the brother-in-law of Senator
Pettigrew,and ifhe is a lawyer he never
had a case, and nobody ever heard
that he was admitted.
1.-THE exposure has caused the big
gest sensation in recent years in South
Dakota politics. Mr.. Pettigrew is to-
day the leader of the populist party in
this state and is nightly making elo-
quent speeches in the interest of re-
form and pure politics"
Since the foregoing was in type MIR.
Pettigrew has made a statement of his
side of the case, which is to the effect
that Mr.. Dunning assigned his interest
in the contract to an. attorney named
Flandreau, of st. Paul, Mimi, that he
(Pettigrew) knew nothing of his broth.
er-in-law's interest in the passage of
the bill until after the contract had
been assigned to Dunning, and that he
then insisted that Dunning must have
nothing to do with the case because of
the suspicion that would be created
because of their relationship, and that
Dunning assigned his half interest in
the $4,000 contract without consider
alton. 1t certainly looks rather sus-
picious yet, for how could Mr. Petit
CREWS brother -in-law, who vas not an
attorney, ever get so mixed up in that
Indian appropriation bill that Petit
grew was trying to pass, as to obtain a
half interest in the $4,000 appropria-
ton for attorneys fees? OF course
Senator Pettigrew is Ia q desperate
predicament with such 9 grave charge