Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs - 1895

Page 56

54 REPORT OF THE OOMMIS8fONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, 1894, the matter was submitted to the Department with therewmmen-dation that the President be requested to grant authority under the act of February 16,1889 (25 Stats., 673), for the Indians to enga,ge in the work, and a draft of rules and regulations to govern such logging operations was also submitted. December 24, 1594, the President granted the necessary authority and approved the regulations. De-cember, 28, 1894, Agent Allen was instructed by this offiae to permit the Indians to enter upon the work. The Indians of the White Earth Reservation marketed under this authority about 3,387,000 feet of timber, aud the Indians of the dimin-ished Red Lake Reservation marketed about 825,00Ofeet, and t l ~me oney therefor has been paid into the hands of the agent. The prices paid were $4.50 and $5 per 1,000 feet at the bank, the highest price being . paid for that part of the timber cut on the Red Lake Reservation, and banked at a place most convenient to market. Leech Lake and other Chippewa Reservations, Minu.-By agreements entered into with tlie various bands of Chippemas in Minnesota under the provisions of the act oi January 14, 1889 (25 Stats., 642), there were ceded to the United St,ates all the lands in the Chippewa reser-vations in that State except the Whlte Earth and Red Lake reserva-tions (the latter being diminished by saad agreements) and except such trnct,s as might be required to make allotments in severalty to the Itidlans residing on the ceded reservations who sl~ouldre fuse to remove to the White Earth Reservation. These ceded lands were to be surveyed and examined to ascertain the timbered tracts, and the timbered tracts were to be sold as L'pine lauds" at public auction for the benefit of the Chippewas of Minnesota.. The Indians of the Leech Lake, Lake Winnibigosl~isl>a,n d other reservations have repeatedly requested that authority be granted for them to engage in logging the dead and down timber on their reserva-tions. Tlle office has refused to submit the matter to the Departmetlt since the Department decided by letter of May 29,1893, to the Corn- . missioner of the General Lsnd Office, that the Indians of the Fond du Lac Reservation could not be permitted to engage in tho logging of the dead aud down timber on their reservatiol~, 011 the ground that all the reservation lands not needed for allotments having bee11 ceded by the Indians in accordance with the provisions of the said act of January 14, lS89, no timber thereon could be disposed of otherwise than as pro-vided in that act. The same ruling, of course, applies to' timber on the other reservations ceded under that act, and therefore whenever the Indians have requested permission to market their timber I have directed the agent to advise them that under the law no such authority can be granted without additional legislation by Congress.