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. '.!» THE TOMAHAWK. 'Truth before Favor."

MINNESOTA HISTORICAL

S O C I E T Y .

VOL. 1. WHITE EARTH, BECKER COUNTY, MINNESOTA, THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 1903. NO. 2.

The TOMAHAWK. QUS. H. BEAULIEU Publisher.

White Earth Agency, Minn. 3 ^ ~ A W E E K L Y N E W S P A P E R de­

voted to the interests of the W h i t e E a r t h Reservation and gen­eral Northwestern News. Publ ish ed and managed by members of the Reservat ion.

Subscr ipt ion rates: $1.50 per annum. F o r the convenience of those who may feel unable to pay for the paper year ly or who wish to take it on tr ial , subscription m a y be sent us for six and three months a t the year ly rates . All sums sent to us should be forward­ed b y registered letter to insure safety. Address all communica­tions to .

T H E TOMAHAWK

W H I T E E A R T H , M I N N .

RESERVATION LANDS. TO LEASE

100,000 acres of first class farm

lands on White Earth Reservation, in

tracts of 80 acres and more.

For full particulars address T H E

TOMAHAWK.

/

INDIAN PROTECTIVE Association 2 0 0 Bond Building

Washington D. C.

Dan'l B. Henderson, A t t ' y .

Ind ian claims against the Unit -

etUSfcate* a speciali ty. —

(il ls H . Beaulieu

Local Representat ive

W h i t e Ea r th , Minn.

i

K. S. MURCHlSON,

ATTORNEY AT LAW.

LATE LAW CLERK, LAND

DIVISION, INDIAN OFFICE. DEPARTMENT PRACTICE A

SPECIALTY.

LOAtf AND TRUST BLD'G,

WASHINGTON D. C.

^^Hotel Leecy.^* White Earth, Minn.

The Largest and Host Commodious Hotel on

the Reservation*

*Tabie always bountifully supplied

with every th ing tha t the marke t

affords, including game and

fish in season.

A large and comfortable, Feed and

Livefy stable in Connection

wi th Hotel .

JOHN LEECY Prop. •j— - - -ThyniWii

Sylem Fairbanks, Dealer iii

DRY GOODS, GROCERIES*

HARDWARE and

Lumbermen - - Supplies* Marke t price paid for Gins ing

Snake Boo t and F u r s .

O r d e r s fdr pure* Maple-Syrup,

and wild r ice p rompt ly attended

to.

B E A U L I E U - • - • MIKN'.

UNJUSTIFIABLE DELAY. TOO MUCH RED-TAPE DEFEATS THE

OBJECT OF A LAW.

The Indian appropria t ion act of M a y 27th, last, contains the fol­lowing: " T h a t the adul t heirs of any deceased Indian to whom a t r u s t or o ther pa tent containing restr ic t ions upon alienation has been or shall be issued or lands al-loted to h im may sell and convey the lands inheri ted from such de­cedent, bu t in case of minor heirs the i r interests shall be sold only by a guard ian duly appointed by the p roper cour t upon the order of such court , made upon petition filed by the guard ian , but all such con­veyances shall be subject to the approval of the Secre tary of the In te r io r , and when so approved shall convey a full t i t le to the pur­chaser, the same as if a final patent wi thout restr ict ion upon alienation had been issued to the allottee. All allotted land so alienated by the heirs of an Indian allottee and all land so pa ten ted to a white allottee shall thereupon be subject to taxa­tion unde r the laws of the State or Te r r i t o ry where the same is situ­ated: Provided , Tha t the sale herein provided for shall not ap­ply to the homestead dur ing the life of the father, mother or the minor i ty of any child or children. ,"

Al though over ten months have elapsed since the passage of the act, and fifteen or twenty thous­and-acres of land on this reserva­tion have been conveyed by the heirs of dead allottees, not one t ransfer has been approved by the Secre ta ry of the In te r io r who, we are informed, has refused to act in the mat te r al though a grea t many of these conveyances have been made str ict ly in accordance with the rules which were promul­gated by him relative to the sale of the class of land to which the act applies. v

Several sots of these rules have been issued by the inter ior de­pa r tmen t , and under each set a number of would be purchasers of lands have endeavored to operate . I n doing this they have incurred considerable expense only to find the i r t ime and money wasted by the obstruct ive methods of tlie of­ficials of the inter ior depar tment , and this has caused them to with­draw from the reservation, and now the lands cannot be sold at any pr ice . I n the meantime Indi­an families that have land for sale are suffering for the want of the bares t necessities of life.

The manner in which the officials of the depar tmen t have a t tempted to Secure ent i re control over the sale of inheri ted Indian lands il­lus t ra tes the injustice of too much superv isory care over the Indians . If the la t te r were permit ted to sell these lands, as we believe the law intends, wi thout unreasonable re­s tr ic t ions by the secretary they would secure be t te r prices and not be so l ikely to contend with com­binat ions which a re always the re­sult of too much depar tment i sm. I t is t ime tha t the expressed policy

of the Pres iden t should be placed in to effect b y ra is ing depar tment restr ic t ions and g iv ing them all the r igh t s to which they are entitled.

J U N E 14 Notice JUNE U.

I n o rder to make the necessary a r rangements for the next annual four teenth of J u n e celebration here , everybody is requested to a t tend a meet ing which will be held a t the W h i t e Ea r th Hall at 2 P . M. and 8 P . M. on the 3<>th of th is month for tha t purpose. Condit ions a re such that an effort should be made to make the com­ing anniversary celebration one of the largest that baa ever been held.

A RANK INJUSTICE. SUCH IS THE MORRIS AMMENDMENTS

TO THE ACT 1889.

The Morr i s ami1 -" ' 'onts to the act of 1889, have made a bad law worse . Under the act it would have been possible to do justice to the Indian interest if the law had been proper ly carried out, but un­der the amendments this is impos­sible.

The act as amended provides tha t all the pine t imber on the Chippewa reservations shall be sold to the highest bidders , and measured b y scalers as soon as i t is cut and sawed into logs. After all this t imber is cut and removed from the reservat ion the land be­comes subject to homestead e n t r y a t one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre . F o r this reason there is no necessity for classifying the land, and the employment of twen­ty four land examiners a t e ight dollars per day each is an out rage on the Indians from whose funds this expense is paid. The only apparen t object for the classifica­tion is to expedite the opening of the reservat ions. This is not an u rgen t mat ter so far as the inter­ests of the Indians are concerned, and as they are not in the least benefited b y the expendi ture of over seventy thousand dollars a year to pay the land examiners , th is can be p u t down as a big steal from them.

W h e n the amendments referred to were formulated the forest ry advocates and other interests com­promised by having set aside one h u n d r e d and twenty live thousand acres of land of a fixed value of one dollar and twenty five cents per acre exclusive of five per cent of the pine t imber thereon which will not be cut and removed. This was done wi thout the consent or knowledge of the Chippewas of Minnesota from whom concession were .secur­ed under the act of 18S9 which did not have this provision.

W e Avill ven ture to predict that the Indian* will be heard from when the law is p u t into effect.

UNSCRUPULOUS TIMBER PIRATES.

They are Denuding this Reservation of Valuable Timber, the Efforts to

Check Them Have Been Unavailing.

F o r several years past some of the set t lers near the south and north boundary lines of this reser­vation, with the aid of a few mix­ed-bloods, have boen steal ing t im-bef and have pract ical ly denuded the reservat ion at those points.

D u r i n g the PtU'ly pa r t of last win ter these offenders commenced to make incursions into the interi­or of t he reservat ion, and this be­ing reported to agent Michelct he immediateley took steps to appre­hend the t respassers with the re­sul t t ha t a number of them were caught in the act of removing t im­be r from the reservation and tak­ing it t o various por table saw mills near the reservat ion boundary lines.

These persons were all bound over to appear at the t e r m of the Uni ted Sta tes district cour t held at F e r g u s Falls last month , but all of them escaped conviction. If the Un i t ed Sta tes authori t ies are real­ly unable to secure the conviction of these t respassers it is t ime tha t tne members of this reservation should take drast ic measures to p reven t a repet ion of these thefts.

THE SUPERINTENDENT ; OF SCALERS. Under the provisions of the Mor­

r is amendments to the act of 1S8U commonly called the "Nelson A c t " innumerable positions are created, among, which are the land examin­ing covps, super intendent of log­g ing and assistants, scalers, mark­ers, etc. The most impor tant of these positions is that of the sup­er in tendent of scalers, for he will hold the key to an honest admin­istrat ion of the act if this is pos­sible. H e will necessarily have a large force of scalers to look after, and these he will have to watch closely in o rder 'to prevent them from pander ing to the greed of tlie purchasers of Indian pine t imber . The re are s t rong objec­tions to the appointment of any professional scaler of logs from this state as the superintendent of scalers, l'or, without exceptions, they are ei ther now controlled by large lumber syndicates or are in sympathy with them. It would be bet ter for the interests of the Indians if a super intendent of scal­ers should be appointed who has not spent a life time ei ther in the employ of these syndicates or un­der their control , and for this rea­son a practical business man whose in tegr i ty cannot be ques­tioned, and who is a nonresident of this Sta te , should be selected for the posit ion. W i t h a man of th is kind, even if he is not and ex­per t scaler, the interest of the In-will be safer than with any of the men who have always in some cap­acity, served the interest of the ^^^sy«a4J i j a t a&r f i i o r . ced to, or who have been more or "toss cob-nected with lumber camps dur ing the business p a r t of their lives.

<r

There is no doubt that the luni-ermen will endeavor to secure the appointment of their men as scal­ers and thus secure control of the scaling of reservation t imber, but this the Indians should oppose as s trongly as possible.

The Indian; Right and Wrong .

« T " W e hold these truths to be self-evident: that ALL MEN me cieatcd equal: that they are endowed by llioir Creator with certain unalienable rights: that among these, are LIKK, LIMSHTY, ANJ> TIIK PURSUIT OF HAP-PIN ESS ''—Declaration of Independence July 4th, 1770.

DON'T WANT MERGER.

Malwhe-ga-bow and other Hear Is­land Indians, who have been informed that there has 1>een a proposition tor the return of Capt. Mercer, ol dead and down timber fame, to the Leech Lnke Agenc> to resume charge theie in place of Maior Scott, have sent a message to the TOMAHAAVK that they have no use for him; thai any request that may have been made by uny In-dain to the commissioner of Indian affairs, for Mercers return to Leech Lake, represents only the wisher of an individual and not of a large majority of the Leech Lake Indians; that the sentiments of the Indians could only be obtained in a general council, and this has not been done.

From recent reports the Indians un­der Major Scotts charge are well satis-tied with him and his administration of their affairs, and for this reason it would be better for them if lie were al­lowed to lemain where he is.

From an Indian point of view Major Scott is not desei ving of any criticism, and they are disappointed in those whom they regarded as their fi Sends for making a fight against him for standing up for the interests of I heir Red Lake friends.

Subscr ibe for the TOMAHAWK,

$1 .50 per year.

RESERVATION LANDS. UNUSUAL OPPORTUNITIES TO GET RICH.

There is probably no place in this s tate where the conditions and opportuni t ies are more favorable to ge t rich than r igh t .here on this reservat ion, if a person wishes to do so by farming. Any young-man who has the energy and push neccessary to conduct a farm can come upon the reservation and lease, for five years , as much land as he may wish to cultivate at a very reasonable figure, with the pre village of renewing the same at the expirat ion of the lease.

The land on this reservation is within the famous Keel Kiver Val­ley belt, and the fertility of the soil and its productive qualities are far above the average of the r ich lands of this belt. All k inds of grain can be raised in quantit ies and in quali ty that cannot be ex­celled, and wild buffalo, blue joint and other grasses g row in abund­ance, and this with its other ad­vantages, such as numerous lakes and groves—makes this reserva­tion the garden .spot of this state.

The engineers of two railroads that will be bui l t th rough the res­ervation the coming summer are now locating 1 he lines of the roads, and these roads will br ing the marke ts to the \ e r y thresholds of the reservation farmers .

A g rea t many allotments which belong to the old and very young Indians are lying in idleness which, if leased,would be of great benefit not only to them but to some of the experinced young farmers who are now working for small wages on the farms in some of the coun­ties of this s ta te .

One farmer who came upon this reservation and leased a tract of land seven years ago, and who had only a couple of old teams when he ar r ived here left the reserva­tion last winter to go to a farm which he purchased from the pro­ceeds of his operat ions here, and besides this he is credited with hav­ing a fair bank account and a re­asonably large stock of cattle. The re are chances for several thou and young men to come here and do likewise.

HOLD THE SCHOOLS. W e are informed tha t M r House

Supervisor of Indian schools in Minnesota, and who has recently concluded a visit of the schools on this reservation, has recommended the abolishment of the Wild Kiee River and Pine Poin t boarding-schools.

W e are notcer ta in as to the t ruth fulness of this repor t and we hope it is incorrect . How ever if it is t rue we must admit ou r supr i se at what seems to us a retrogressive pro­position, as, in such an event, we cannot see any logical reason for such a move at this time. The Wild Rice Kiver and Pine Point schools a re a t tended mainly b.\ full-blood pupils whose parents are , for the most par t , very poor, and who are , a t best, unable to pro­per ly provide for their children, especially du r ing the long, cold, d rea ry winter months. Hence the g rea t need of schools where such pupils can be clothed and fed dur­ing the school t e rm.

Twenty five per cent of ninety thousand dollars, adxancd each year to the Chippewas of Minne­sota as interest on th< i r t r ibal fund. is used for educational purposes, besides an unlimited amount out of the annual reinbursable appro­priat ion of one hunderd and fifty thousand dollars, and it would .seem reasonable that before steps a re taken to abolish any of their schools thei r interest in the mat-

LO LOOKING FOR TROUBLE. Unless ihe Lumbermen Settle with Him Pindig-

ay-keshig Says He will Break the Rice take Dam.

mm

te r should not only be clearly and carefully considered but be sub­mitted to them for an expression of thei r views, especially as to whether or not thei r circumstances will prcmit them to proper ly sup­port their children and meet the demands of the day schools.

The excuse may be given out that the boarding schools are to expensive and tha t the results do not justify the expendi ture , but we venture the suggestion that , considering su r round ing circum­stances, the neglected condition of the buildings and schools in ques­tion, the pr ime results , intellectual ly and moral ly , to the pupils and the reservation people in general , the money expended has been many folds greater than could have been accomplished with a like amount if the same had been expended in the day school system.

W e are not entirely antogonistic to the day school system, but we are opposed from our knowledge of existing conditions, to having it superced the boarding school system. Among the full-bloods the day school system has, in the past, been a complete failure, and from our point of view we are op­posed to the proposed abolishment of any of the Indian boarding or other schools ei ther on this or any of the other Chippewa reservation in this state.

If the commissioner of Indian af­fairs contemplates economyin Chip pewa matters we would suggest that he should practice this in bran­ches other than the school service, and whew this could be done with grea t ail vantage to their interests.

Chief. Pin-dig-ay-ge-shig of ( in 11 Lake Set t lement is at the agency to-day making his annual complaint relative to the Kiee Lake Dam. He says that unless a set­tlement of the damages to their rice field caused by the lumber companies is made immediately, the Indians at Twin Lake* and \ i-cinity are going to take the matter into their own bands, and will hold the logs now in Kiee Lake and break the dam immediately.

Some of the Indians have been very reasonable in this matter , and while the Wild Kiee Lumber Company has not only taken stepa to comply with the demand of the Indians but also paid some of them for damages sustained by the loss of their rice crops, there are grounds criticism against both sides.

In the first place the company had no right to c o i n e r t to its own use, and to the damage of the In­dians, their Wild Kiee Lake for resevoir purposes; it should have first obtained their consent.

On the other band, by their acceptance of provisions from the company some of the Indian ac» quised in the use of the lake, espe-cialy as it was distinctly understood that t luse provisions were at least in part payment for the damage they had sustained.

The people on this reservation are undoubtely opposed to the pre­cedent which the lumber company, is t ry ing to establish of taking what it wants on this reservation first and settl ing for the same after­wards. We believe it would be bet­ter however, for all interests con­cerned to t ry and come together and settle the question i m o h e d itt the Kiee Lake mat te r and not its© force, collection of any damaged t i e peopleon this reservation th ink they are entit le to .

Kut in making this set t lement *f the lumber company must be made % ! to distinctly unders tand tha t the &% streams on this reservat ion are not *ff public highways, and tha t the con* ^ sent of the Indians mus t be obtain* * « ed before they can be used as suchj^p hereafter. - "*&

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