OCR Text |
Show . . .. I,. . . , PQ . REWRT OF, THE COMMISSIONEB OF INDIAN AFFAIR;: : printend and direct their labors, to the end that no grnen or growing t,imber may be . out, and that no live trees are damaged in any manner, so as to oause them to die, .,... ., - that,they may be marketed under the provisions of the ect iu ques4ion. , i . . (4) One-half of the oost of sealing to be paid for by the loggers sod one-half by the : , pmohaser of the logs. (5) The logs shall be out and banked or otherwise made reedy for sale at such I . plaoe or plaaes and in such manner as the agent shall direot, and shall be sold at , auotion to the highe~bt idder in such lots as shall be most expedient, and under the ' personal direction of the agent, for cash, after st least two weeks' notioe by pnhlicn-tion in newspapers at t i e plooe where the usual marketa far logs exist, and where 1 , beet oalculculated to give notice; a180 by such other means as shall give greatest pub; i . . lioity. (6) No sale of the logs to be valid, until approved by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. .' - (7) Ten per oent. of the grow8 prooeeds derived from the sale of the logs to go to . the aturnpage or poor fund of the tribe, from which the old, siok, and otherwise helpless are supported md their hospital mmntained. (8) All expenses, such as edvertising, telegraphing, one-half of t,he cost of scaling,, , and ten per oent. of the grossprooeeds of the sale, far the stumpage or poor fund, to , be first deducted, and the net proceeds remaining, to be divided and paid by the agent to the individuals or companies of the tribe in exsot proportion to the soale of the logs banked by esah. . . Unfortunately this authority was received too late in the season for , . . . , iny logging to be done thereunder; butthe Menomonees were not alto-gether idle during the winter, for, under the decisions of the courts on the subject, they are entitled to clear land on their reservation for pur- , . .! poses of cultivation. They accordingly turned their attention to that I work, and when spring opened they had on the banks of the ?conto and . ' Wolf Rivers over eighteen million feet ready for sale. As this had been growing timber when cut, the manner of its sale was not necessarily governed by the regulations prescribed by the President in regard to dead and down timber. Therefore, believing thac better prices and a more satisfactory sale could be secured by advertising for sealed bids to be accompanied by certified checks of $500 each, this mode of sale was adopted, very fair prices were obtained, and t'he In-dians were well pleased with the result. The season's work netted the Indians more than $138,000, after all , expenses had been paid, and after 10 per centum of' the gross proceeds (over $15,000) had been deposited in the United States Treasury the . . ' credit of their stumpage or poor fund. At the outset very clear and imperative instructions were given the agent to see that the law was not evaded, and that notan acre should be tbus cleared withouta bona fide intentiou of cultivating the same. , But fears were entertained by tbis office that more of this timber had ' been cut than wasactually necessary toclear land for cultivation, and . therefore a special Indian agent was directed to proceed to the reserva- ' I tion and to make a rarefi~la nd thorough investigation. He reported in substance tha,t after having spent several days in going ' over the ground from house to house, hewas much surprised atthe amount of work done, the progress made in farming, and the other evidences of |