The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1902-1910, 1909-08-09
lsador Selig, Of Myrtle Creek Ore., Wins
First Choice Of l,50O Homesteads on the
COuer d Aleae Indian Reservation

| the Couer D'Alene Indian reservation.
AT Spokane. thirty miles away. other
anxious and excited crowds Surged
around bulletin boards or snapped mp
| the extras which told the names of
| the winners.
inside the big transparent cage a
Couer D'Ale1e. where Superintendent
James w Witten was absolute ruler.
can after can, fllled with the applica-
tlons Of home seekers, had been car
ried, the seals broken and the contents
dumped on the white canvas that COW
cred the floor
More than half ton of envelopes,
all Just alike, were piled up In a big
golden mound. Not one chance for a
hint Of fraud or fayoritism was TO he
tolerated. a marked envelope in that
mass would have had less chance than
the needle In haystack. but to shut
out the last possibility of collusion, the
pile OF letters was ordered stirred and
mixed TO even more hopeless chaos
than before.
The simplest methods had been
chosen for the great drawing which
starts this story of a new region Lit
tie Helen Hamilton, twelve years old
the dainty niece of Couer D'Alene's
mayor. was carefully blindfolded and
placed in front of the mass OF letters.
Picking up an envelope at random.
she handed it TO one of the superin-
tendentS assistants He opened II
and scaned the application quickly TO
see If II conformed 10 the rules If
name had been written on the eave-
lopes, If a notary's signature had been
omitted from the affidavit. If any other
radical fault appeared. the application
was rejected and cast aside. If no
serious error was discovered the paper
was handed to Superintendent Wit
Ten, who promptly announced the
name of the lucky applicant Then 1t
went TO the recorder, and TO the re-
porters Of the newspapers to be an
nounced to the nation.
Fifteen hundred names are 10 be
drawn today. fifteen hundred more to-
morrow After the first few envelopes
have been chosen two other little girls
are TO assist in the drawinCHarriet
Post, the daughter of a prominent
Spokane attorney, and Christine Dom
Ian, OF Missouri. Wednesday will be
a day of checking up the work On
Thursday. the scene witnessed today
Will be repeated. with little Miss Don
Ian taking the place Of Miss Hamilton,
and drawing the first OF the winners
among the $1,000 applicants for land
in Montanas great Flathead reserve.
Three DAYS are allowed for this draw
ing. Next Monday morning, Miss Har-
riet Post will begin selecting the few
lucky wineTs for the Spokane reser-
vation. where 500 names Will be drawn.
though il is doubtful if more than
forty good quarter sections are left for
the white settlers.
Though not one in thirty of those
who have applied for Couer D'Alene
lands will even draw number, and
not one in sixty can secure a home
stead. some rich prizes are 10 be dis
tributed among those whose names
are first TO appear. The land, thrown
open, stretches around the southern
half OF beautiful Lake Couer D'Alene.
and extends south for twenty miles
over the Moose Creek mountain range
In the northern part are great tracts
OF magnificent evergreen timber.
where single quarters sections are val
ued at SIS. COO TO $4,000 as they stand |
In the east part of the reserve. stretch |
ing along the picturesque st Joe river,
are famous meadows, yielding great
crops Of hay Along the lake shore
are bays and inlets which Will soon
be occupied by the summer homes of
wealthy citizens of Spokane Toward
the south. where most of the Couer
D'Alene Indians have chosen 10 hold
their homes and build their churches
and scools. are wheat lands capable of
producing thirty TO forty bushels per
acre. The Milwaukee railway main
line cuts right across this reserve. !
Hartman proposes to build a branch |
of his Oregon railroad and navigation |