Show Clevelands Talk To the Delegation 1 I I WVSUINGTON August 5President Cleveland Cleve-land yesterday informed the delegation i representing the cattlemen that he would I not modify his recent order for the removal of cattle from the leased lands in the Cheyenne Chey-enne and Arapahoe reservations within forty days from the date of his proclama I 1 The delegation including Senator tion Cockrell and Representative John AL I Glover called at the White House at t pm and met the President i the library Senator Sen-ator Cockrell introduced Representative I Cockel Pollard who presented to the President THE FOLLOWING MOB in behalf of the parties interested The lessees of lands in the Cheyenne and j reservation Indian Territory respectfully Arapahoe Tertol rej lRernton and I pectfully submit the following facts memorial mFhfWe do not doubt that it is the desire i FrstWe government to deal equitably I i with this question in its relation to all parties ihi the terri ties and those who have occupied teri tory by lease for two and a half years by j I tare permisSion and authority of the government persion reasonable period for the are entitled to a prod entied their property Lenses were in remoyaloftheir properv I with the knowledge of the I made case luowlege ever Secretary pf the Interior and were I to him and received from him i submitted subn sanction except the formal and tech I every sancton seal of his signature and icnl affix af circumstances the SecondUnder these circustances I the lands in question have placed lessees of il queston number of cattle estimated them large catte a upon lare In adthtoU mated at not less than 250 addton to the value of cattle we cal your attention Ito I investment in range imprOVements the further to futher and nil belongmS of corrals ments fencing corn al WJg coral belongng I The aggregate so ext ensive a business order t the value affected by the executive i may therefore be fairly stated roundly at over 7000000 Third The area of land affected by the proposed action is between 3800000 and 3900000 acres This acreage has hr n stockee to its grazing capacity by the number num-ber of animals stated An equal amount f land is required for the subsistence of the t animal elsewhere and among the most seri ser I ouR of questions suddenly forced upon us is i where can this amount of land be found j All adjacent territory has been folly stocked j r I cannotbe found by driving cattle back to Texas whence many of them came and the remote ranges of Wyoming Montana and Dakota cannot provide for them Fourth It is absolutely impossible to secure and locate lands in these Territories I within the time allowed were it practicable to find lands supplied with water in those Territories not already occupied I is impossible im-possible to gather cattle scattered upon their present ranges and move them north at this season of the year The Cattle cannot be driven herds exceeding 500 and it requires twelve men and sixty hoes to handle such a herd It will therefore be seen that to move the entire number of cattle affected by tk execution of the order an aggregate force of 1000 rneiiratd509ehor3es must b immediately collected This as utterly impossible im-possible at this season of the year when range work is at its greatest activity and experienced herdsmen fully employed We have but a few men at the present time having our ranges inclosed by fences and not requiring herders Fif th Tb e drive from ranges now occupied to new ones in the northern Territories cannot can-not be made in less than from three to four months In moving cattle from their present locations subsistence must be found along the whole line they travel and it is well known by the cattlemen that at this advanced ad-vanced season of the year the summer heat has seriously impaired the nutritious qualities qual-ities of the grass The result must necessarily be that many cattle would perish on the line of march and those that finally reach the Northern ranges would be in such an enfeebled condition as to be unable un-able to withstand the region of Northern winters to which they will be unaccustomed We desire fo emphasize this statement by the further facts that the streams and water holea along the trails are all lower at this season than at any other and many of them I are entirely dry The distance required to be traveled by cattle to those new ranges at the North is from 800 to 1JOO miles The universal custom of those engaged in driv ing cattle from Indian Territory and Texas northward is to start them in no case later than April Experience has shown that cattle put upon the northern ranges later than August loth are so reduced by long drives that they are unable to gain I j strength to endure the early winter storms A large proportion of the cattle affected by I this order has been brought into Indian Territory this year from Texas The quarantine quar-antine laws of Kansas Colorado and New Mexico rigidly forbid the admission of such cattle rgdly their transit across their territory ter-ritory prior to December 1st We respectfully respect-fully refer you to the recent proclamation of the Governor of Kansas in this connection connec-tion The above are but a portion of the difficulties which confront us There i are other features of the subject I I which commend themselves to executive I consideration among which i the fact that rentals for all these lands have been paid to I the Irit of November this year No amount I of diligence will enable us to gather up all the cattle during the time allowed and the I I result must be that the uncollected portion I will l > e left on the range unprotected by their owners and subject to depredations by I the Indians In conclusion we respectfully respect-fully state that this memorial is directed not against the policy j I which has been adopted but against the I time which has been allowed us to conform thereto We only solicit that measure of protection to our property which is accorded to other established interests The enforce enorce ment of the present order can only result in great injury to ourselves as well as to others with whom we have business relations We therefore respectfully ask for such time to remove our cattle as the above facts show to be indispensable Dr Morrison Mumford editor of the Kansas Kan-sas City Times was introduced to the President dent as one who had always opposed the leasing of land He said that he had been opposed to such practices and was opposed to them now but business interests demanded de-manded that consideration should be given to men who were thus forced to leave the reservations KANSAS CITY WOULD BE INJURED By such removal and he feared that a panic would be the result of the immediate enforcement en-forcement of the order This application as I understand it said the President after Mr Mumford had seated himself is that M cattle be allowed to remain on the reservation until next spring Colonel Denman representing one of the largest ranches in the reservation replied We will move at once and make such progress as we can We ask time until spring in which to finish the business We are determined to get out as soon as we can There i one point that seems to escape your attention gentlemen said the President Presi-dent that point is before my eye and it is THE PUBLIC INTEREST We have lately seen what fear can be created creat-ed by thirty or forty Indians Within two hours a letter has come to my desk from the Governor of Kansas urging that troops on the border that State should not be removed re-moved The highest officer in the army one experienced in Indian affairs reports the situation in the Territory and says that the cause of irritation is the presence of cattlemen That section of country containing I con-taining four and a quarter millions of acres was set apart for Indians only onetenth four hundred thousand acres is left and they are crowded down to the agency Some of ths may have been secured with the consent I con-sent of the Indians I is apparent to me j t as it i to you that 1 THIS STATE OF AFFAIRS CANNOT CONTINUE t If the interests are in conflict which shall j I give way On one side we have public peace public security and safety of fives on the other side are your interests and the former i gentlemen must be considered though private I i vate interests suffer The question of putting put-ting off this removal until next spring is i of thi inadmissible The order cannot modified I want to see some diligence in complying with the order Twelve days have passed 1and precious time is lost An effort was made after the order was issued to secure j afer an extension of time A dispatch was sent t saying in most positive terms that the order i could not be modified and HERE YOU ABE AFTER TWELVE DAYS HAVE PASSED If any indulgence i shown it must be an i application in specific cases with evidence I that an effort has been made to comply with the order If your interests led you out of the Territory instead of in I cannot help but think you would find some way out in the specified time I wish you would cooperate co-operate and take hold and try to get the cattle out No argument will induce me to change what has been done Some loss and t con incomenience will no doubt follow but THERE IS AN INTEREST OBKATEK THAN YOURS Which must receive attention The delegation upon the conclusion of the Presidents reply upn the Executive Mansion Man-sion sionThere is cold comfort in his words said one of the most prominent cattlemen as he walked through the White House groundsto i i the street NTe walked up and we walked down replied re-plied another P The majority of the delegation started for home tonight They are unanimous that cattleTcannot be removed without great the cattle clot geat pecuniary loss within the forty days limit |