The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1907-08-29
LARGER THAN TWO STATES
PROPOSED TIMBER RESERVE


have to be changed at the earliest
possible moment IT, as now seems
probable. Secretary Garficld's plan for
an immense timber reserve In the
Choctaw nation is enacted into law 10y
the next congress. Large tracts are
to be taken from four counties and
withdrawn from settlement, thereby
reducing by just SO much the taxable
areas in tr1He counties.
LeFlore dAd Pushmataha counties
will be the heaviest sufferers. Nearly
fifty townships of LeFlore are to be
included in the reservation as at pres.
ent planned and the two north tiers
of Pushmataha are to be withdrawn
from that county.
The government survey base line
has been used as the southern bound.
AIRY of the proposed reservation as
tentatively mapped out by department
officials. approximately 100000
acres are to be included, or about 100
townships The district To be- turned
over to the bureau of forestry will 'bt
about $500 square miles, or considera.
bly, more than the combined area OF
the two states of Delaware and Rhode
Island.
In order to take this vast tract of
land from the Indians, to whom 1t be.
longs, and vest It in the United states
Government under the Jurisdiction OF
the Bureau of Forestry, 1t will first
be necessary to procure an act of con
gress. Secretary Hitchcock took a
short cut to this end last fall, when
on the recommendation of Clifford Pin
chot, chief of the Bureau of Forestry
he ordered the lands to be withdraw.
from allotment. together with an
mense tract besides. including most of
the district bounded by the Rock Is.
land on the north. the NJ. X. & r. on
the west the Arkansas state line
on the east and the southern boundary
of the Territory on the south. The
order aroused such storm OF protest
! that Mr.. Hitchcock was compelled to
withdraw II. Senator Clark Of Wyo.
ming, chairman of the select senate
committee appointed to investigate
conditions In the Indian Territory,
and Senator Teller OF Colorado, one
| 81 hat mi A A.
were especially vigorous In their de.
nunciation of Mr.. Hitchcock's action,
The order was ostensibly withdrawn,
but as a matter of fact no Indian citi-
zen has been permitted to select an
allotment within the limits OF the
present proposed reserve since last
| December.
Secretary Garfield has openly eN-
pressed himself as favoring the reser'
vation. While at Tuskahoma he rode
horseback, In company with General
Burgoyne. Inspector Wright and Col
Jack Gordon. to Mckinley Rock, the
highest point for miles around, and
inspected the country with held
glass. He Is convinced that the lands
are of no value whatever for agricul'
tural purposes, and almost yalueless
for grazing. Their mineral value Is
problematical. and it is the belief OF
the department officials that the for
ests with which the hills are clothed
arc their only source OF wealth. These
II is proposed to conserve under gov
ernment supervision,
A considerable part of the southern
portion of Latimer county will be In
cluded In the reservation as at present
laid out adm also the northeast town
ship of Atoka. LeFlore will be re
duced to such small area that II
will be impractible for the taxpayers
to support county government, while
Latimer and Pushmataha will be radi
cally reduced. Eighty five Thousand
acres OF the tract to be taken from
Latimer is already included In the
coal and asphalt segregation.
Allotments to the amount OF $4,000
acres had been selected within th'
proposed reserve before It was with
drawn, and of these about seventy
five per cent had been decided to th'
; allottees The department oficial
admit that 1t will be impossible t
take these allotments arbitrarily from
the individual owners, but intimate
, that It can be done under the rule o
eminent domain II found necessary.
,, Tuskahoma, capital of the Choctav
Nation, will be entirely surrounded b!
; the reservation, except for the LITTLE
} valley aolng the Kiamichi few mile