USA > South Dakota > History of Dakota Territory, volume III > Part 15
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This year Congress was asked to pass a free home bill for the Rosebud Reser- vation, by which the settlers who drew claims and had been paying installments thereon would be relieved of the burden of these payments. It was thought here that if the Cherokee Strip could secure such an act Rosebud Reservation also should be able to do so. Many men who had taken claims had spent their last dollar and were hard pressed and the bill was projected for their relief. On August 8, 1905, the first anniversary celebration of the opening of the Rosebud Reservation was celebrated in the true wild west style at Herrick and elsewhere. Among the attractions were Indian dances, buffalo chases after modern buffalo, festivals on the Ponca, and the genuine old fashioned Indian pow-wows. Excur- sions were run from the white settlements to these points.
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In the summer there were at one time thirteen Government cases against prominent ranch owners along Bad and White rivers, who were charged with having illegally fenced Government lands. These were only a few of the number charged with the offense. It was rumored that half a dozen more were guilty. The Government took necessary steps to stop this practice at once.
In 1905 there was much complaint from many persons who had obtained home- steads on the Rosebud Reservation at $4 per acre. They formally asked the Government authorities to have a portion of that sum abated, on the ground that $4 per acre was far more than the land was worth, and that hundreds of other tracts west of the Missouri River and equally as good could be secured for $1.25 per acre or less.
There was in existence at this date a syndicate which had for its object a contest for the homestead entries in the ceded portion of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, thus putting the settlers to serious trouble and expense. The settlers formed a protective organization with the object, first, of discouraging such con- tests of homestead entries, and, second, of fighting the syndicate to a finish in the courts and otherwise. The object of the movement was to form a permanent protective association to consist of every homesteader on the ceded lands. In several instances already contests had been instituted against the entries of home- steaders, but the contestants usually offered to withdraw their suits, providing the homesteaders interested would pay them a satisfactory sum. Many home- steaders were induced to comply with the demand rather than have a cloud on their land titles. The first contests were genuine, but later, when schemers found that on slight pretext they could do the same and thus secure goodly sums of blood money, this association was formed to check such unfair and dishonor- able practices.
In 1905 a large protesting meeting was held at Hill City by settlers on the Forest Reserve, who had been unable to secure titles to their lands. They num- bered about one hundred and came not only from Pennington County, but from Custer and Lawrence counties as well as from the State of Wyoming. There was much open excitement over the situation. A number of the ranchers wanted to apply to the Government for permission to lease the land, while others believed it wiser to ask for the right to buy. As a matter of fact they really agreed on only one thing and that was that they must keep their homes. Many had lived on their small plots of ground for many years and had improved and cultivated them with the intention of making them their permanent homes. Secretary Wil- son had held up the order of removal in the spring of 1905 for a period of one year, during which time all were then required to tear down or remove their property from Government land. Finally, after much diversity of opinion, an organization known as the Black Hills Forest Reserve Home Builders Associa- tion was formed, and a committee was appointed to communicate with South Dakota congressmen in regard to the subject. They were instructed to ask for a bill to be passed by the next Congress allowing all settlers on the reserve, whether they had used their right of homestead or not, the privilege of homesteading their land by paying therefor $2.50 per acre.
In June, 1906, the elaborate plan of opening the Rosebud Reservation west of Gregory County in what is now Tripp County was first set in motion. Many insisted that this should be done in the interests of the whites, the Indians and
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the state, but action was postponed. It was at this time that the Watertown land office was consolidated with the Aberdeen land office.
The drawing of claims in the Lower Brule Reservation was made at Pierre from October 7 to 12, 1907. Between three hundred and four hundred new farms were drawn, and, as the land as a whole was exceptionally good, nearly that number of families located permanently thereon. In October, 1907, owing to the striking improvements in agricultural methods in the Black Hills, a large entry of Government land was made in the vicinity of Rapid City and elsewhere. There were 150 applicants at the land office there in one day. Twenty-four thou- sand acres were thrown open to the homesteaders.
In 1908 the opening of reservation land in Tripp County again became a paramount question. Upon the proclamation of the President, the registration began on October 7th and continued until the 17th. This was one of the notable openings in recent years. In all there were 114,769 registrations with only about four thousand homesteads to be drawn. The rush was enormous and dangerous, but the experience at Bonesteel was sufficient to spur the authorities to take extreme measures to preserve order, which they accordingly did. On the first day nearly fifteen thousand persons filed their applications at Dallas, S. D., among whom were a number of women. They were thus permited to acquire homesteads. At O'Neill, Neb., registrations for this opening were likewise made, and Chan- berlain was another of the central points of registration.
In 1909 the question of opening the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Indian reservations was thoroughly discussed and analyzed by the press and speakers of the state. There was a general and pronounced demand at this time that all Indians within the state should be given allotments and that the remainder of the land left over on the reservations should be thrown open to settlement of the whites. In a short time this demand was actually carried into effect. There were 10,000 homesteads thrown into market, and in all there were 80,142 regis- trations from October 4th to October 23d. The land office at Aberdeen alone registered approximately twenty-eight thousand in one week. Many hundreds filed their applications at Pierre. The crowds were large but orderly and were mainly homeseekers.
Under the law of February, 1910, 1,400,000 acres in the Rosebud and Pine Ridge reservations were ordered opened to setttlement under a bill which passed Congress at that time. The conditions were similar to those of the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock reservations ceded lands. This large opening was mainly in Mellette and Washabaugh counties, but it did not occur in 1910. It was postponed until 1911, when the tract was thrown open by proclamation of the President. In all 53,388 persons registered at Gregory, Dallas, Chamberlain and Rapid City. The largest number, 14,448, registered at Dallas.
In the fall of 1911 the allotting agent, Bates, raised an important point against the state selection of indemnity lands on Pine Ridge Reservation. He held that lands claimed by the Indians, whether allotted or not, were exempt from state or private selections. He expressed the opinion at the time that there would be a shortage on the reservation to fill the claims of the Indians which would reach practically two hundred thousand acres and that the natives had the first claim. Agent Bates and State Land Commissioner Brinker united in an attempt to secure a ruling of the general land department on this disputed point and suc-
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ceeded. They realized that if the department should hold with the allotting agent the state would be forced to go outside the reserve to secure lands to indemnify it for sections 16 and 36 which were taken in Indian allotments.
In the spring of 1913, O. W. Lange, assistant attorney for the interior depart- ment, came to Rapid City and began an investigation of the operations of special agents of the land office who were charged with conducting a system of espionage to the detriment of homesteaders in proving up on land in Western South Dakota. At the same time he prepared to look into the Chamberlain- Gregory-Carter land office matter. This was a sectional quarrel which had grown . up partly in political circles and had become so violent that it was found neces- sary for Washington authorities to intervene. A short time before quitting office, President Taft consolidated the Chamberlain and Gregory land offices and removed them to Carter. When President Wilson took the reins of govern- ment, he revoked the Taft order and reapportioned the district, attaching a part thereof to Pierre and a part to the Gregory office. This arrangement was as unsatisfactory to the people there as President Taft's order had been. This investigation, in part, was occasioned by the memorial to Congress of the South Dakota Legislature in 1913, a part of which read as follows: "There has grown up in the practice of the general land office of the Federal Government, a system of espionage that works extreme hardship on many of our settlers upon home- stead lands and this espionage permits the most serious abuses of the recom- mendation power held by the inspectors of the general land office. There, however, came under the notice of many of our citizens, cases in which some men, who had selfish purposes to serve in getting rid of some homesteader who stood in their way and by entering protest to the final proof of settlers who were honestly hoping to establish themselves upon new farms, had brought much hard- ship and needless expense upon the settlers who thus protested. We believe that the long delays in securing patents to lands that have been homesteaded have caused, in some cases, large losses to the state in tax revenue. The uncertainty of obtaining title to certain lands has caused this land to be deemed a fluctuating security and rates of interest to be high and losses small, thus hampering the legitimate growth of the state." The assistant attorney prepared to settle this whole question and in the end succeeded.
In the spring of 1913, a general council of the Sioux Indians of the Cheyenne River Reservation was called June 23d, on the Trees Camp and all male Indians over eighteen years of age on the reservation were asked to attend. The object was to secure the removal of the agency office to a more central place on the reservation. This was accomplished. At this time the agency was on the Mis- souri River just opposite Forest City and a long distance from the western end of the reservation. In the olden times when they were not busy, the Indians made no complaint against covering this distance, but now, since they had settled down to farming and caring for live stock, the time lost in making the trip had to be taken into consideration. In the summer of 1913, the Indians generally on the reservations west of the Missouri River refused to renew their leases to range lands owned by them. They planned to devote their lands in part to cultivation.
The annual report of the commissioner of Indian affairs, in March, 1914, gave the following statistics: "The figures apply only to the Indians of the Cheyenne
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Reservation, but those of the other reserves will also be of interest. These only are given with the hope that the Indians and their friends will follow them up to inquire if the figures are true, and to enable the Indian to know how rich he is- on paper. There are 2,691 Indians on the reservation; 1,293 speak English and 1,174 read and write the English language. The sum of $173,370 is expended in per capita and trust fund payment; $33,050 was received from crops raised and sold by Indians; $30,000 was received from the sale of live stock; $10,632 was expended in issue of rations; $49,551 was received from leases; $120,480 was received from the sale of lands; $35,472 was received from interest on trust funds ; $6,100 was paid out to fulfill treaty obligations ; $47,188 was derived from proceeds of Indian labor ; 53 Indians are regularly employed and $18,705 is paid to them; 800 Indians are reported as self supporting."
The homestead law passed by Congress early in 1915 provided that 320 acres instead of 160 acres could be filed on; that any person who had an unproved-up filing on 160 acres, could file on 160 acres adjoining ; that this land must be "non-mineral, non-irrigable, unreserved and unappropriated surveyed public lands which did not contain merchantable timber ;" that entry men or entry women who had an unperfected homestead filing of 160 acres and a desert filing of 160 acres, might acquire still another 160 acres additional under the enlarged homestead law; but one entering an enlarged homestead first or increasing his filings to 320 acres could not afterwards make a desert land entry ; that the second year of the entry one-sixteenth of the total area must be cultivated; that the third year double this, or one-eighth, must be under successful cultivation; that all entries must be made under the three-year residence law and must be proved up within five years ; and that the entry fee on 320 acres should be $18 and on 160 acres $14. Filings were ordered made at Belle Fourche.
Under the new law the occupation of five-acre tracts in the National Forest Reservation is allowed, but the lessees will not be permitted to acquire perma- nently these tracts in the end as has been suggested and hoped. This law is a part of the 1915 agricultural appropriation bill and says: "Hereafter the secre- tary of agriculture may, upon such terms as he may deem proper, for periods not exceeding thirty years, permit responsible persons or associations to use and occupy suitable space or portions of grounds in the national forests for the con- struction of summer homes, hotels, stores or other structures needed for recrea- tion or public convenience, not exceeding five acres to any one person or association; but this shall not be construed to interfere with the right to enter homesteads upon agricultural lands in the national forests as now provided by law. At the expiration of the lease, unless renewed, the land will revert to the Government." The object of the law was to secure the abandonment of tempo- rary structures in order to offer inducements for permanent improvements and other advancements for recreation and amusements. In 1915 this law attracted great attention all over the country and particularly in the vicinity of the national forests. The law became instantly popular in the Black Hills.
In March, 1915, it was announced that a list of heirship and non-competent Indian lands would be offered for sale in May at Mobridge. These tracts were scattered over Standing Rock Reservation and were ordered sold upon the fol- lowing terms: One-fourth down, one-fourth in two years, one-fourth in four years and one-fourth in six years, the deferred payments to draw 6 per cent
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interest. Previous to this time, all sales of Indian lands in Standing Rock Reser- vation had been for cash only. It was believed that the new terms and propo- sitions were more liberal and would accordingly bring in a greater number of settlers. The early opening of all land that was left of the entire reservation was predicted at this time.
While the act of February 14, 1913, provided for the opening of the surplus and unallotted lands of the Standing Rock Reservation, no provision for regis- trations or entry had been made up to the spring of 1915. That act of 1913 provided that the price of lands entered or filed upon three months after the opening should be $5 per acre; between three and six months after the opening should be $3.50 per acre and after six months, $2.50 per acre. It also provided that the land should be subject to entry without registration. This was an important change over all previous customs. A recent homestead law of Congress is merely an extension to South Dakota of the 320-acre law, which has been in operation in Montana and several other states since 1909. It amended the orig- inal law so as to permit applications for entry to be filed before the lands had been designated as subject to the provisions of the act. Such applications it was provided were to be held without action until after the land had been examined, when, if found subject to entry under the act, the applications would be allowed a place on the record. Additional entries could be made by persons holding homestead entries on lands of the character contemplated by this law where adjoining land of the same character could be obtained. Cultivation of one-sixteenth of the entry was required the second year and another one-six- teenth the third year.
Late in March, 1915, President Wilson approved the opening to settlement of several thousand acres in Standing Rock Indian Reservation in the two Dakotas. It was shown that after the two states had made the selections to which they were entitled, there would remain in South Dakota about forty-seven thousand acres subject to entry. No general time for registration was set. In South Dakota the filing were fixed at Timber Lake. There were in all 1,300,000 acres in the reservation, but after all allotments had been made, it was shown that there would be a total of about three hundred thousand acres subject to white settle- ment. Under the act of Congress the secretary of the interior was given the right to bestow citizenship on such Indians as he believed fitted for the duty. In order to investigate thoroughly, the secretary sent Colonel Mclaughlin, the well known Indian agent and inspector, and F. A. Thackery, another able inspector, to the reservation to make investigations and to learn what the Indians wanted and for what duties they were fitted. Their report was satisfactory and accordingly the secretary of the interior prepared to admit many of the Standing Rock Indians to citizenship under certain restrictions.
The laws of much interest to homesteaders or prospective homseteaders, enacted in 1915 by Congress, were as follows: The appropriation of $14,000,000 to be expended on reclamation work in 1916; the creation of a board of review in land cases in the office of the secretary of interior; authorizing the President to provide a method of opening lands restored from reservations or from with- drawal; allowing the husband to select the residence of both parties in case of intermarriage between homesteaders; allowing two periods of the five months' absence privilege to the three-year homestead law; allowing the homestead entry
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woman to perfect her claim although she might lose her citizenship by marrying an alien ; allowing a deserted wife of a homesteader to submit proof of his claim and receive patent in her own name; extending to South Dakota a part of the enlarged homestead law permitting 320-acre entries ; terminating entries under the enlarged homestead law where parties had partially exhausted their 160-acre homestead rights.
In the summer of 1915 Judge Elliott of the United States District Court handed down an important decision concerning homestead owners. The decision confirmed their right to a homestead exemption of the value of $5,000 against all indebtedness except a mortgage. This decision came from a case against a Lincoln County farmer who resided on a quarter section which was incumbered with mortgages and judgments to over $16,000. A referee in bankruptcy decided against the farmer, but his decision was reversed by "Judge Elliott. The judge also held that the homestead holder might select the land on which the dwelling house was situated, to the value of $5,000; and that if the homestead and other lands were sold to satisfy mortgages the other lands must first be sold and the portion reserved by the owner as his homestead exemption could be sold only to make up any deficiency in the payment of mortgages. He further held that if it was necessary to sell such homestead to make up the full amount of the mort- gage, the homestead owner was entitled to receive the amount above the amount of the mortgages to the extent of $5,000 before any portion of the proceeds could be applied to the payment of general creditors. Thus the decision held that the $5,000 homestead exemption was confirmed as against all claims except a mortgage.
On July 27, 1915, Secretary of the Interior Lane issued an order opening for settlement a large tract of farming land in Harding, Perkins and Corson counties, the order to be effective September Ioth. The lands were offered at homestead prices and without residence requirements and thus presented an unusually attractive land offer. Some of the tracts were grazing, others were fine farm land and very little comparatively was worthless. The price of the grazing land was fixed at from four dollars to seven and one-half dollars per acre, and the farming tracts from six dollars to fifteen dollars per acre. The reason for this sale of Indian lands was because there was a surplus, and the Government pre- ferred to sell a portion and use the funds to buy live stock and farm machinery in order to encourage farming operations among the Indians on the reservation. It was also believed that the white people adjacent on such lands sold would cause the Indians to respond more quickly to the proffers and inducements of civilization.
The Committee on Federal Relations of the General Assembly, to which was referred Governor Herreid's communication relative to the Sisseton Reservation and of the likelihood of the property reverting to the United States because of noncompliance with the grant, recommended that the lands and profits from the land should be diverted to the fund for the benefit of the militia. Several mem- bers of the committee were in favor of asking Congress to grant the reservation to the state for reform school purposes and suggested that the reform school should be removed from Plankinton to the new place owing to the superior fertility of the land. It was thought the richness of the land would make the institution self sustaining. This proposal, however, did not meet the favor of the majority of the committee.
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INDIAN EDUCATION
The education of the Indians was resumed again with much zeal by the Gov- ernment, state and denominational authorities soon after the Messiah war. The Episcopalians and Presbyterians already had excellent schools among the Yank- tons. The Catholics had well attended schools on several of the reservations. There were two Government schools at the Yankton Agency with about one hundred and fifty pupils and with Colonel Foster as instructor. Two-thirds of the students there were females. This institution was well equipped and probably was not surpassed in discipline by any school in the state. The Indian school building at Pierre was constructed in 1890-1 and was a large brick structure surrounded by many small buildings, all constituting an Indian educational insti- tution not surpassed anywhere in the West. There were separate dormitories for the boys and the girls. The studies were thoroughly classified, and the most experienced and wisest authorities were consulted as to the courses best adapted for Indian students. There were bathrooms, iron bedsteads and everything nec- essary for the comfort of the school. The institution was under the supervision of Superintendent Davis, with Dr. C. C. Sprague as attending physician. In 1892 Senator Pettigrew, in Congress, made an effort to secure an appropriation of $100,000 for the Indian schools at Chamberlain and Rapid City. He also endeavored to secure an appropriation of $187,000 for the Crow Creek Indian Commission to make up a deficiency, and $11,600 as an installment on the claims due the Yankton scouts for services in 1864.
At Flandreau is Riggs Institute, one of the largest and best equipped schools for Indian education in the United States. For many years the Government maintained there a day school for Flandreau Indians, but in 1891 Congress appropriated $75,000 for the erection of an industrial training school for native youths residing in this section of the country. This appropriation act provided for the purchase of 160 acres of land located about half a mile north of the village and for the erection of three large brick buildings with a capacity for 150 pupils. These structures were built. On July 1, 1892, W. V. Duggan became the first superintendent. During the first two years the school passed through many trying and critical experiences owing to lack of supplies, defects in the buildings, and lack of method to carry into effect to the best advantage the objects of the institution. The Indians themselves at the start had not reached the stage of development to give the school proper support, so that as a whole the opening of the institutes was more or less crude, unsystematic and unsatis- factory. In March, 1894, Leslie D. Davis was transferred from Pine Ridge Agency to the Riggs Institute as superintendent. With his several years of experience in Indian school work and with his thorough knowledge of Indian character and requirements, he soon filled the institution to its fullest capacity. Steadily thereafter the school prospered and became popular with the Indians of all the reservations in the state. It was now realized, therefore, that here was an excellent location for a large Indian training school. At this time Senator Pettigrew was chairman of the United States Senate Indian Committee, and through his efforts additional land and much larger and better buildings were secured, so that by 1899 there were eight brick and three frame structures at the institute with a capacity for 350 pupils. The title of the institute was changed
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