Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs - 1899 (Pt I)

Page 62

54 REPORT OF THE COMMI8SiONEk OF lNDIAN AFFAIRS. $4.25 per thousand feet. He recommended that the request of Indians be granted, as 'undoubted benefit would accrue to them, since all of the pine timber on the adjoining lands had been cut, t timber on this section was badly exposed to fire. The fee title to the above-aescribed lands was claimed by the Ocon Company, of Oconto, Wis., having been purchased by that compa from the State of Wisconsin. October 1,1898, Mr. E. G. Mullen, t agent of the Oconto Company, submitted a proposition for the cuttin hauling, and ballking of the t.imber. November 3 the Departmen accepted that proposition and authorized this office to enter into a agreement with the owner of the lands for the removal of the est mated 5,000,000 feet of pine timber, provided as follows: That the uric to be paid for the cutting, hauling, and banking of the timber be no less than $4.25 per thousand feet; that the logs be banked on the so branch of the Oconto River; that all of the labor of cutting, hanli and banking of the timber be done by contract with the Menomin Indians under the rules and regulations in force on their reservatioi and that on the delivery of the timber to the owners of the should convey to the United States for the benefit of the M Indians all of their right, title, and interest in and to the s November 5 a contract was entered into between the Oommissioner of Indian Affairs and the Oconto Oompany, and on tile same date the company filed a bond in the penal sum of $30,000 for the faithful per-formance of the contract. I t was approved by the Department Novem-ber 8, and authority mas also gra;oted to add to the existing rules for the cutting of timber on the Menominee Reservation, as provided in the contract, such other rules as might be necessary to meet the require-ments of the contract and of the service. Subsequently a supplemental proposition was submitted by -the Oconto Company for the cutting of 400,000 feet of timber (estimated) on the NW. NW. of section 16, T. 30 I?., R. 16 E., the fee of these la~lds having also been pnrohased by that company from the State of Wis-consin. December 21,1898, the Department accepted the supplemental proposition, and March 4,1899, a colitract was entered into between the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and the Oconto Company, having the same terms as the former contract of Xovember 5. The terms of the original and snpplemental contract8 were enforced in every particular. The work incident to the cutting and scaling of the logs and timber was under the direction of the superintendent and assistant superilltendent of logging employed at the agency. Under the original contract there was cut and banked, by actual scale, 5,601,820 feet, for which the Oconto Company paid the sum of $23,807.74 to the United States Indian ageut. Under the supplemental contract there was cut and banked, by actual scale, 398,600 feet of logs, for which the Oconto Oo~np~pnayid to the Uuitcd States Indian agent the snm of 81,694.06, both sums to be disbursed to the Ind/ans for the Iabro performed bytbem.