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Image provided by: South Dakota State Historical Society – State Archives
Newspaper Page Text
BENNETT COU BY CHARLES Col. James H. McLaughlin, who has iSeen with us for the past three weeks, left on the 19th instant for Sioux Falls, S.D. Col. McLaughlin brought around an agreement with the Indians of this Reservation for the opening of bennet county which contains 764,000 acres, and is know as the "Gamble Bill". This means that the southeast corner of our Reservation will be a busy one from now on, and the land values will advance as have the lands on all the Sioux Reservations when placed under the state laws. Senator Gamble in his Bill gives the Indian time to take land he might want as an allotment in this strip and if the Indian is wise there will not be much of a suplus to open. It has been proven on all the Sioux Reservations that as long as the Reservation is not opened the land values are very low and the heirship and non-competent lands sell at a very low figure, thus enabling the speculator to buy this land at a very low rate and hold it until the opening comes. Senator Gamble believes in the Indian getting the boon prices, as does Col. McLaughlin, and after the Colonel had explained the ad vantages in the opening of this NTY OPENING. ASH BATEl county to the Indians at their Tribal Council at Bear Creek on the 16th instant, a committee was appointed to decide the question as to whether the Oglala Sioux would agree to the opening of Bennet County. This Committee consisted of twelve members e lected by the general council and Moses Red Kettle was chrairmane with full instructions that if this Committee agreed to accept this bill with a few minor changes, it would be the voice of the people and the bill would be accepted After the Committee had been out nearly five hours a vote was taken and it was found that ten members accepted the bill and one refused. And Col. McLaughlin was instructed to carry this decision of the Oglala Council to the Secretary of the Interior and to Senator Gamble. Mr. C. R. Oldberg, Superin tendent of Irrigation, of Los Angeles, Cal, made an extensive trip over the Reservation during the present month inspecting the irrigation work and making estimates for more work of this kind. Mr Oldberg is very much pleased with the prospects for irrigation- believes that it will not be long until something will