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Show 52 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. I will inclose a copy of the Department letter above referred to, by whiah you will see that the first authority granted is for the cutting and banking of the 6,000,000 feet (estimated) of timber remaining on ground already cut over, and seeond for the cutting and banking of 11,000,000 feet from virgin pine lands. It is evidentlj the purpose of the Department to seoure the ontting and banking of all left on the cot-over ground, whether standing or fallen, tu the extent at least of 6,000,000 feet, if there is so muoh,and you and the sup?rintendent of logging should make eoutracta there first. Of course this will not require all the loggers, and contracts can afterwards be made with others for cutting the virgin pine. You must use goud judgment about thia, so as to insure getting out all on the cut-over ground. The cutting on new gronnd is to be clean. No timber suitable for a log, standing or fallen, is to be left behind, as was the case in other seasons. In addition to this 17,000,000 feet the Menomonees are allowed to out the taps and butts into shingle bolts and bank them for sale under the same rules as lest seaaon; that is, that no timber which will make a merchantable saw log shall be out into shingle bolts. I will expeat you and the anperintendent and assistant superintendent of loggiug to give careful attention to this season'swork, 80 that the rules and regulations pre-scribed by the act of June 12,1890, and by the Department, may be striotlycomplied with. * * * Under the above instructions Agent Savage proceeded to cut and hank 6,990,500 feet of logs on the South-Branch of the Ownto River and 10,009,500 feet on the Wolf River and branches, a total of I 17,000,000 feet. On further ir~structionsfr om this office he advertised said logs for sale, and March 16,1895, submitted an abstract of bids received, which showed $11.55 per 1,000 to be the highest bid for the logs on the Oeonto River, and $7.62 the highest bid for the logs on the Wolf River and tributaries. On the recommendation of this otsce the Department accepted the bid of the Oconto Lumber Company of $11.55 per 1,000 for the 6,990,500 feet on the Oconto River, which was deemed a fair price, but rejected all bids for the 10,009,500 feet on the Wolf River and tributaries, and authorized Agent Savage to readvertise the Wolf River logs. This he did; and at the second letting received a bid of $7.75per 1,000 from 8. W. Hollister and Tom Wall, of Oshkosh. This, %ether with the other bids, was submitted to the Departmeut April 16, 1895, with the recommendation that, as the season was so far advanced that there was no,prospect of obtaining a better price by again adver-tising these logs, the bid of S. W. Hollister and Tom Wall be accepted, and the sale to them of the logs on Wolf River and tributaries, at 87.75 per 1,000 be wn6rmed. At the same time the following cpmparative statement was submitted, from which it would be observed that if the bid of Hollister & Wall, aboye referred to, should be accepted, the Menomonee logs would be disposed of to e decidedly better advantage for the year 1894 than for the previous year, notwithstanding the fact that the price of lumber in that locality was at the time of the sale considerably lower than at the same time the previous year. |