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Show COMMIUSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. '13 standing or fallen, except the shnding pine. The timber operations on this reservation as on all of the others under the La Pointe Agency have been satisfactorily conducted. Leech Lake Agency, Xinu.-July 16, 1902, Maj. G. L. Scott, U. S. Army, acting United States Indian agent, Leech Lake Agency, for-warded to this Office a communication addressed to him by Daniel Sullivan; superintendent of logging of the agency, in which it was stated that on the night of July 5, 1902, a heavy wind storm passed over a portion of the Red Lake diminished reservation and blew down white and Norway pine, amounting in the aggregate to about 5,000,000 feet. Major Scott suggested that the timber be disposed of for the benefit of the Indims if there was any ~uthor i tyof law under which it could be done. September 2 and 20, 1902, the matter was brought to the attention of the Department, and September 20 it was recommended that the sale of the blown-down timber be authorized in accordance with the provisions of the act of February 16,1889 (25 Stats., 673). A draft of regulations to govern the operations was transmitted, and it wss recommended that the Indians of the Eed Lake diminished res-ervation be authorized to do the logging, and that with their consent $20,000 of the money to their credit, being part of the proceeds from the sale of timber on the ceded lands, under the act of June 7, 1897 (30 Stats., 62, go), be used for this purpose, the fund to be reimbursed from the sale of the blown-down timber. October 3, 1902, the Presi-dent approved the regulations, but the Red Lake Indians positively refused to agree to the use of their stumpage money for logging pur-poses, and consequently no logging operations weie conducted on that reservation during the logging season of 190Z3. May 21,1903, Major Scott again brought the subject to the atten-tion of the Office, and on May 28 it wrt~re commended that he beanthor-ized to dispose of the timber referred to, on sealed proposals, after due public notice in newspapers of general circulation in Minnesota, .Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois. July 24, 1903, the Departmeat approved this recommendation, and September 7 mgnlations to govern thesale were approved by the President. The Grand Forks Lumber Company was the highest bidder and was awarded the contract at its bid of $4 per thousand for white pine and $3 per thousand for Norway . pine. The timber operations were very successfully conducted and netted the Red Lake Indians $30,000. September 21, 1903, Major Scott made a report cqncerning blowu-down timber on another pa.rt of the reservation. The sale of this timber was also authorized in accordance wihh the act and regulations mentioned. W. A. Gonld, of Bemidji, Minn., was awarded the con-tract at his bid of '&5 per thousand feet for merchantable white pine, and$4 perthousandfeetformerchuntableNorway. The timber covered by thin contract has not yet been cut. |
