The Kadoka press and Kadoka reporter. [volume] (Kadoka, S.D.) 1910-1923, 1911-11-03
STATE MAY GET
THE BEST LANDS

WnO nave received bl6 DlRn uNuHDtiS .
In the land drawing which closed Oct.
26th, giving them a chance to select
only such lands as are left after those !
who secured the lower numbers have !
taken the best, are still in q grumpy
humor in spite of the fact THAI G state
ment was issued by the secretary of
the Gregory Commercial club that
the state will be allowed to select not
more than two sections in each town
ship in Mellette county as indemnity
school land to replace the land tasen
| by the Indians as allotments in Sec
tions is and SO throughout the county
The trouble started when some
homeseekers of an investigating turn
of mind examined the official map of
Mellette county closely and found
that forty-one sections of school land
sections 16 and 36) had been taken by
the Indians as allotments. In all such
cases the state under the law is allow
ed to go upon the lands in advance OF
the settlers and select the best lands
that are left, in lieu of those taken
by the Indians, thus indemnifying the
state school fund.
In this case it will be necessary for
the state to select forty-one sections,
as that is the amount of school land
that has been taken by the Indians at
allotments.
And the fact that there are only
about thirty sections of unallotted
land in the county which were classi-
fed by the governments appraisers
as A No. is the cause of the present
lively discussion, as it appears TO a
great many of the homesteaders that
there will not be enough of the best
lands to indemnify the state, to say
nothing of leaving any of it for the
homesteaders.
The statement of the commercial
club is somewhat comforting as far as
il goes, but it is pointed out that it
cannot be adhered to in this case, as
nearly every school section in the
county has been allotted and some of
the townships are also allotted COM
pletely, which will necessitate the
selection of more than two sections
in some of the townships which re-
main.
In this connection the Daily News,
published at Dallas and edited by
Dennis O'Leary, former Sioux City
newspaper Inan, yesterday published
an article in which it was claimed
that the appraisers had made
mistakes in classifying the lands. The
News claims to have a photograph of
a quarter section of land which was
classified by the appraisers as Al. but
which the photograph shows to be
composed entirely of canyons and
} buttes, and therefore worthless.
A. E. Kull, of Burk, S. D.. who was
one of the appraisers, when shown
the News article today, made spirit
ed reply: 'Our appraising crew."
said Mr.. Kull, twas composed of eight
men headed by John HI. Scriven, the
government allotting agent, and one
of the most careful and conscientious
} men / have ever known. A year be-
J fore the appraisement he and his crew
had been over the county and survey
J ed it, establishing the lines in order
to make the allotments. Then Just
' before the appraisement he had COW
! cred tho grornd again, making allot-
{ ments to the indian children which
3 had been born since the frst appraise-
i ment. Then came the appraisement
e in which, with the same surveyors
and fagmen who had established the
/, original lines, Mr.. Scriyen passed
: through the county for the third time
: with two years. l was hired by the
: Gregory Commercial Club to give free
s information to the homeseekers.
:, had opportunity to talk TO all of the
p %, 600 who registered in Gregory, and
one of the things that told them
: every day was to beware OF grating
= locaUors. telling them that with the
y aid of map and the iron stakes which
t were placed by Mr.. Scriven at the
y corner of each Indian allotment
Y they could do pretty fair JOB of To-
k eating themselves. / made this state
d ment without other thought than the
It benefit of the homesteaders, but if II
s has put crimp in the anticipated op'
erations of some of the horde of pro.
fessional locators at Dallas cannc,
II help it. No man is infallible. but
u am willing to leave it to the judgment
rs of any reasonable man as to who il
the more apt to be mistaken in this
instance, MIR. Scriven and his survey
ors In, the execution of their third Of
r fetal task in Mellette county, or the
disgruntled Dallas locator who hat
20 Historically rushed out into the wild
l, and taken photograph of canyoI
IN and now claims that we appraised i
n. as Al at So per acre.
"I rather think the case will sim
mer down to another instance of th'