The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1899-08-25


Herald. The price of stumpage has
advanced too and it is now quoted at
all the way from 81 to SO per 1000 feet.
The advance in stumpage has not
however, been anywhere near as great
as that in the price of lumber. Lum-
Der has advanced in some cases as
much as 100 per cent. Stumpage is
always slower to respond to q change
in conditions, When hard times
come On it goes down slower than
lumber and when the improvement
comes it does not feel the effect of the
improvement so quickly. Still it has
shown healthy advance. A good
sign OF the improved condition is the
fact that no matter where timber is
it can find a sale. In ordinary times
timber that is difficult to get at is
hard to sell and practically goes beg
ging. This was the condition with a
great deal around here few months
ago, but is no longer so. OF course,
that which is rather inaccessible does
not bring as good a price as that
which is advantageously located.
As an instance of the improved con.
dition of affairs deal which is on
now may be cited. A certain tract OF
timber which is owned in Duluth was
offered about three or four months
ago for about $4,000. The parties to
whom it was offered refused it at that
price, claiming it was too high. a
short time ago they took an option on
the same timber at $4,000, a rather
stiff advance in three months time.
The amount of timber which is still
in the hands of the government in
this land district is small and it is
rapidly being taken up. The timber
and stone act is not being used nearly
so much as it was at one time. Most
all the companies are using scrip, it
being cheaper. There is a large
amount of soldiers additional scrip
to be had and when the people who
are after lumber want tract they
buy the scrip and place it on the land
they want.
In past years there has been a great
abuse in the matter of scripping tim
Der lands. The scrip would be placed
on the land and the timber would be
cut off Immediately. Perhaps ii
would turn out afterward that the
scrip was irregulary placed, but the
persons placing it would not care
then for they would have the timber
and would rather not have the land.
In many cases they have been known
to ask the government to return the
scrip and in more than one case they
have got it back and placed ii again.
Register NJ. D. Taylor, of the St.
Cloud land office was in the city d
few days ago looking up some old scrip
which was placed many years ago on
some land which was then in the st.
Cloud land district but is now in the
Duluth district. Application has
been made several times for the return
of this scrip and it has been sent on
for investigation. 1t has always been
difficult to trace it and and the scrip
has every time been returned to Wash
ington. There seems to be some rea-
son to believe that the land on which
it was placed has been patented for
many years, but has never heretofore
been accurately located.
There is considerable talk now
about timber north of Hibbing which
was blown down recently in a heavy
wind storm. There is law which
allows the cutting Of dead and down
timber on reservations but not on
other land. The department would
have no end of trouble if it allowed
the cutting of this timber. As one
lumberman remarked, if the govern
ment allowed it there would not be a
season when there would not be wind
storms almost every day. The same
man remarked that if the settlers
went ahead and cut this fallen timber
they would probably never hear any
thing from the government. A spec
ial agent might be sent to look it up,
but il he found that only timber
which had been broken down had
been cut nothing more would be heard
about it. If he found new stumps
however showing that standing tim
Der had been cut there would be
trouble. The thing for the settler TO
do he said is to go ahead and cut the
fallen timber and be careful not to
cut any but that which has fallen.
Lumbermen in this vicinity say
that the timber is retrograding,
Taken as whole it has reached its
growth. The land in this section is
nearly all on rock. The result of this
is that the roots cannot go as deep
and the tree reaches its growth at an
earlier stage than it would otherwise.
Another result of this condition is
That in a very wet season like this
the ground is soft and becomes more
and more so with every rain. When