OCR Text |
Show REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. LIII 7,1883, was ratified and confirmed by a clause in the Indian appropria-tion act for the current year, and the sum of $85,000 appropriated to carry the same into effect. A special agent of this office has beeninstructed to visit these Indians for the purpose of fulfilling the stipulations of the agreement so far as rendered necessary by their compliance with its conditions. He is now with them in the discharge of that duty. LOGGING OPERATIONS BY INDIANS AT LA POINTE AGENCY, WISCONSIN. Under the provisions of the treaty with the Chippewa Indians of Lake Superior, September 30,1854 (10 Statutes at Large, 1109), over five hnn-dred Indians have received patents for 80-acre tracts, variously located on the Lac Court d'oreilles, Bad River, and Red Cliff reservations, and restricted against sale, lease, or alienation without consent of the Presi-dent of the United States. Most of the lands patented are heavily timbered with pine. The Indians being desirous of turning the timber to account, authority was on the 28th September, 1882, granted by the Department for all such patentees to cutand sell the timber from three-fourths of the tract patented, leaving the remaining one-fourth of the timber in a compact body, intact for future use for fuel, fencing, &c. The Indians were not permitted to sell stumpage, neither were white erews to be alloweil on the reservatio~t~os do the work, but the Indians themselves were to cut and sell, delivered on the bank of a driving stream, lake, or at mill, as should be agreed 'upon with the purchaser. The logs were to be scaled by a competent person approved by the Uni-ted States Indian agent, and scaling charges were to be paid equally by the parties to the contract. Payment was to be made to the Indian owner from time to time during progress of the work, as should be agreed upon between the contracting parties, finalpayment to be made before removal of the logs. The Indians were to be at liberty to make their own contracts, subject to the approval of the United States Indian agent and the Commissioner of Itidiat~ AttBirs. Bonds were required from the purchasers in a sum sufficient to insure the faithful perform-ance of the contracts. During the season of 1882-'83, forty-two contracts, prepared in ac-cordance with form approved by the Department November 1,1882, were made by individual Indians holding patents for lands on theLac Court d'oreilles, Bad River, and Red Cliff Reserves, variously calling for from 30,000 to 900,000 feet of pine, ranging from $5 to $6.50 per 1,000 feet. These, with accompanying bonds, were submitted by the agent andap-proved by this office. The resolt of these operations was in the main very satisfactory, the Indians for the most part coming out considerably ahead of their contracts,-many of them at the clos'e of the season being in possession of oatt,le, horses, sleds, household goods, implements, and in some instances considerable cash balances, independent of supplies furnished by the contractor. |