Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1901-01-18
AGENT MERCER TALKS OF TIMBER.
Some Interesting Ideas About Handling
Indian Timber Headed Trees
Are Dead Onss.

Au0SA0 AImOVI -Ae0-0oS0e0 xk00O
Are Dead Ones.
Indian Agent Mercer was In Duluth
a few days ago, and made the follow
ing interesting statement to a news
Tribune reporter:
The dead and down law ia far
from bling a desirable )ne for the re-
moval Of the Indians timber. In
fact, 1t is u bad proposition. 1t Is
not q system that business man
would apply to his own property.
II a practical logger owned the lands
he would remove the timber In dis
trlcts where a certain per cent Of it
was ripe, dead and down. But un-
der our law such trees al are not
dead are left standing. Usually the
trees left standing are much scattered
and 1t IL q question II 1t will pay any.
body to go after them a second time.
Even II that does not prove true the
trees are likely to be killed by fires In
the slashings surrounding them. 1t
has been one OF my duties to define
where the line shall he drawn be-
tween the timber that comes under
the provisions OF the dead and do wn
and that which doe4 not. have In.
structed the loggers that q tree
whose top is red is a dead tree. II
there is green in the top 1t is a live
tree, even II 1t is In a dying condition.
But in most districts it would be
better II the timber could be cut clean
for the reasons I have given. The
green trees are isolated or exposed
to fires In the slashings later on. !
do not believe the pine forests OF the
reservations will go on reproducing
themselves, even II let alone. The
lands are 4 checkerboard of slashings
now, and there are two railroads
running through them. The blight
which the touch of the advance
guard Of civilization gives to q vir-
gin forest, is upon the reservations.
''Proiesser Green has said that
two-thirds OF the timber on the reser-
vatlons ia ready to be cut. My esti-
mate of the timber is that there is a
billion feet. Assuming that this is
approximately correct, there is $780,
000, 600 feet OF timber there ready for
the axe. 1 estimate that the Indians
lose annually, through deteriora-
ton, fires1 and all other sources,
$1oO,Oo0. do not profess to be any
special champion Of the Indians, but
I would like to see this timber
handled In a practical manner. My
Idea ia that the timber should he sold
at private sale and scaled. I do not
approve Of selling the timber at auc-
ton under estimates. l think that
niJ plan comes nearest to being the
one whereby the Indians will get the
most me ney outof their property. l
make this statement after consider
able study and observation. /
would have It arranged, II possible,
40 that the timber would be manu-.
featured on or near the reservations.
This would afford the Indians en-
ployment for ten or dozen years to
come. The Indians have only two
assets. One ts their timber and the
the other is the land. If the timber
can be sold and manufactured on or
near the reservations for a consider
able period of time to come, the
bringing in Of all this industry will
enhance the value OF the land. The
Indians at the present time are very
destitute. .....-
AS for the park and forestry pro-
position, do not think 1t practic-
able to go through a large area of
timber and cut out the ripe trees
here and there. One big tree felled
in the midst of a forest will kill a
dozen small ones in its descent. 1t
might do to cut out tracts here and
there, go that when the forest sprang
up again, or was replanted, it would
mature all over at the came time. II
two; thirds of the reservation should
be cut In the near future it might be
feasible for the government to give a
trial to forestry to q certain extent
after, this timber is removed. The
lakes could be taken in and the area
Of land limited to a reasonable
amount. But as for trying to pre-
serve'all that timber 1T is Impossible.
I believe, as l have said, that two.
thirds OF the timber should be sold
without restricting the secretary to