The Tomahawk. [volume] (White Earth, Becker County, Minn.) 1903-192?, 1904-01-01
AGENT. SCOTT
interviewed,


Major Scott, acting Indian agent
at Leech Lake, in an interview
with a representative of the Min
ncapolis Tribune says:
There is lot of talk going on
about the Indians being dissatis-
fed with the result of the recent
sale Of the timber, but ! can state
truthfully that this is not t h e
case he said. '"Ihe Indians are
highly pleased oyer it. Why. they
received larger bids than did the
state Of Minnesota in the recent
sales. The highest prices on white
pine received by the state was S11,
while the Indians received bids Of
$40.
1T has been said that section s
of the Morris bill, providing for
the burning of all debris. was re-
sponsible for a lower bid than
would hale been the case if this
section had been left out. In fact,
it has been reported that the bids
were from $1.5O to 50 lower than
they would have been otherwise.
/ know positively that if there was
any accuot at all taken of this Sec
tion 8, it did not make a differenct
of over Il few cents thousand
never as much as % cents. The
report was also spread that the
prices realized were for loggnge,
and not for stl,mpage. In other
words, that the Indians would be
compelled to cut the timber them
selves. This is absurd, the bid
ders do the cutting.
Il believe that all this trouble
has been caused by persons who
wish the Morris bill. and conse-
uuently the sale, defeated for their
own purposes, and who after us
ing all other means have tried the
latest game, which has now been
made public.
| do not think that these people
are friends of the Indians. and no
one else thinks SO. Under the old
eison law, when the AMOUNT OF
timber was figured out Of the est
mator's reports. all sorts of fraud
was perpetrated on the Indians.
and they lost good deal Of mon
ey. ] believe that in many cases
the estimators we're in the employ
of lumber companies. know of
one case in which q tract of land
was estimated as containing $780,
900 feet, from which later on
5000, 900 feet were cut.
''This was the grossest kind of
fraud and the Indians lost lots of
money which they should have
had. Under the present law the
work has to be done by govern
ment scalers who are compelled to
scale separately each piece. They
report to me, and l have to 20.
K" the scale account before the
timber can belong to the bidders.
''T believe this is about the first
time that the Indians ever got
what was coming to them. They
could not want anything better
and only a few are dissatisfied, and
| believe that their views are pos
sibly biased by the sentiments ex-
pressed by some Of their white
friends.
''Icounted outmyself 81 400, 900
in certified checks, sent in as earn
est money on the bids, and which
to but ~ per cent of the
full amount which the Indians will
finally receive. What disposition
they will make of it | do not
know.
There will be no trouble at all
of any kind up in our country, and
this talk which has been going
around is not worth while paying
any attention to. ! get along
we'll with the Indians, and / am
always ready to stand by them:
l feel that ! am their friend, and |
am certainly going to stand by
them and sec that the scalers do
their work properly, so that they
will uef their dues