The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1911-07-13
CHOICE LAND TO Be
OPENED FOR SETTLEMENT
Facts About the Opening
of the Fort Berthold indian Reser-
vation-Resistration Will Com
mence on August II, Next-Ra.'-
roads Busy.

The choice land to be thrown open
TO settlement at the Berthold opening
will attract many homeseekers. even
though the number of claims 70 De
taken up is not great.
With the coal land reserved. as
l1essns federal laws provide, the
number OF quarters to 90 70
lucky ones will be l,400. But in the
event that present measures before
nuUress are acted upon fav1ably
thsre win be more than s,100 claims
to be given out.
There are 6O0,G 600 acres in the Ber-
thold reservation. OF this at least
$4,000 is coal bearing lands and
come under the present government
provisions regulating coal land.
The reservation is located on the
north side of the Missouri river in
Mclean and Mountrail counties and
for the most part in the former. The
registration points designated besides
Minot, are Bismarck, Garrison, Plaza
and Ryder.
Those who care to go to the ex-
pense of seeing the land before regis
tering may do so, but as there is real
ly little to be gained by seeing the
land before one knows the result Of
his venture in drawing, the majority
of those who re~ster will choose the
Minot agency of the government.
The Missouri river flows along the
south side Of the reservation, but
most OF the river land has already
been selected by the Indians as their
allotments, SO the bottom land TO be-
drawn will be scarce. r =.
There is only one stream flowing
through the land and that is Shell
creek, which touches the reservation
for only a short distance.
The Berthold reservation is the
home Of the Mandan, Gros ventre and
Arikaree Indians, there being LOO Of
the aborigines on tho tract.
There is no timber on that part OF
the reservation to be thrown open for
settlement, the Indians having eaten
UP an OF that land.
Eighty per cent Of the area 10 be
opened is good farming land, the 9TH
er 20 per cent is fit for grazing pur-
poses only.
The drawing will be conducted
along the same line as that Of the
q Standing Rock reservation. August
IA is the date set by the department
Of the interior.
The government has headed of the
promoters in the townsite business.
/ Uncle Sam has already decided upon
/ the locations Of six towns and their
sylocatio1 has not yet been given out,
but nobody with a ground floor propo-
sition Is going to get on the scene
with his Autographs a moment sooner
than our above referred to uncle in
tends that he shall.
OF course, in the years to come
there are boundless opportunities for
the man with the blue prints of
towns and railroads, but It viii be at
least fourteen months after the open
ing before he can get action on them !.
Clear title to the land must be had
before any paper towns can be laid
out. and doubtless BY that time the
settlers will have made their own So
lections and decisions regarding their
future cities, without having consult
ed any promoters.
That earliest title that can be Sc
cured comes through the commute.
ton system Of proving up 70 DO
this the settler must Mve fourteen
months on the land and then pay the
appraised value OF the land, ana the
regular Ming fees. The land IL ap-
praised At values ranging from $3.50
to $3.50 per acre. There are three
grades OF land IN the reservation and
the appraisements are made accord
ingfy.
The 500 line has already opened q
new town between Plaza and Ryder
ak a point on the edge Of the reser-
Continued on Page l2)