The Florida star., 1909-07-16
GREAT LAND OPENING
Settlers to Be Allotted Six Hun
dred thousand Acres.
FIRST CHOICE FOR INDIANS.
United States covsrnmsnt win Open
cosur d'Alsns. Flsthsad and Spokane
Lands and Award Three Thousand
ssvsn Hundred and Fly Homsstssds
by Lot-FIood Of App l,eations

wv" Ue"oT~o huo rt%D pomesteaop
by Lot--Flood Of Applications.
Uncle Sam is about to kill two tre-
mendous birds by using a stone of
record breaking size. The latter part
OF this summer be win break up the
tribal relations OF nearly 1000 Indians
In Montana. Idaho and Washington.
place them all on. farms and give to
American settlers something like co.,
600 acres OF the Indian lands In those
states. These farms OF I60 acres each
win be awardedlto lucky immigrants
BY the lottery system. which has placed
90 many thousands upon homesteads
OF their own.
For many generations the United
States government has been feeding
and clothing the Indians. The effect
upon the Indian himself has been pro-
nouneed, rs might have been expected
-he viii not work for what he has
received free for so many years. So
the government has decided to appor-
ton the lands now held by the tribes
In common among the various individ-
uals and families and permit the red
men to learn something OF the hon.
esty OF labor.
The Indians 20 be affected In this In
stance are 0S7 Coeur d'Alenes in Idaho,
2.S7p Flatheads In Montana and nearly
700 Spokqnes In Washington. Regis
tration wfll, begin July 10 and VIII end
Aug. 8. The drawing will begin Aug. o.
The swarm OF people to the north
west to try their luck doubtless will be
enormous. About $3.50 farms win be
opened for settlement. For month
or more the land Office has been recelv.
ing an average OF from 500 to 1000
letters a day from people all over the
United States, prospective settlers In
curing as 20 the conditions governing
the lottery, Only 5000 or 1000 people
can hope TO receive the prizes. 3''
Before white men are permitted to
settle upon q single acre the Indians
themselves are to be given first choice
OF the lands for farms. On the Coeur
dAlene reservation the 6S7 Indians
have been allotted 102, 900 out OF total
OF $4,000 acres. So each Indian will
also receive 100 acres, including men.
women and children, giving Indian
families much larger farms than the
white settlers will receive.
The Flathead Indians have been al
lOted $4,000 acres out OF a total Of
100000 acres, while the Spokane In
dlans have been allotted 66,2SO acres.
Some timber land on the Occur d'Alene
reservation will be opened for regis
tration,- hut timber lands will not be
opened ON the other reservations.
The white settlers will have to pay
the Indians within Eve years for all
the lands taken up for settlement at
from $1.25 to 81 per acre. This mon
ey, paid to the government In annual
installments, will be deposited in the
United States treasury to the credit
OF the Indians. and they will receive
individually each year the interest on
their funds.
All who desire to register for these
lands must 60 In person to the regis
tration points at Kallspell or MissOula.
Mont, to register for Flathead lands.
to Occur d'Alene, Ida, to register for
Occur d'Alene lands and to Spokane
10 register for Spokane lands. Appli-
cations will be received only at Coeur
d'Alene, where James w. Witten of
the general land office will conduct
the lottery. Applications, which may
be sworn to before a notary public
must be sent to Judge Witten by or
dinary mail, not by registered mail
and no envelope which bears a return
card or the address Of the sender will
be counted in the lottery.
Soldiers and sailors OF the civil war,
Spanish war and Philippine insurrec-
tiOn or their widows or children may
register through agents. This means
that the veterans or their heirs do not
have to 60 way out to Montana to
register. All applications for registra.
tion must reach Judge Witten at
Occur d'Alene before Aug. ..
All applications filed on identical
blanks will be heaped in a room and
thoroughly mixed. Judge Witten will
pick out one OF them at random. A
clerk will mark that blank mo L."
and the man or woman whose name
4 bears will be entitled to first choice
OF farm. In this way a number OF
blanks equal to the number Of home
steads available will be selected.
No selections of hOmesteads will be
, made prior to April l, 1910. All per-
sons winning the right to enter will
be notified when to appear 70 select
their farms II they fail to appear on
that date they will lose all rights un-
der the number assigned them. -