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Show I ' S " H Mining Companies M 1 1 Corralling AIL i . j Prospective Settlers Uintah Reservation Assured of & Square Deal. W I $jj jaorts o Denver Paper to Divert ? Immigration From State of 1 Utah. , ,, .. Special lo The Tribune. HBBER, Utah. Feb. 12. A Denver ;jg jpjper has been entertaining; its readprs 'tJ 1-trSlh alleged usurpation of unwarranted Authority by the mining companies on if ftbe Uintah reservation. Its Issues for s Ijeveral weeks, with but slight Intcrmls-11 Intcrmls-11 Ijliu, have contained highly sensational $ articles. The people of Utnh will have ' fno controversy with the paper in its ex-. ex-. i Iposure of wrongdoing in Utah or ?lse-Inhere, ?lse-Inhere, but the eiTect of much that is -M thtne contributed on the subject is to Jf divert prospective settlors away from fr'Ub, and to assure thorn in omphntic illafua'e tliat tney cannot ot !l snuni'e A fdJUat the opening of the reservation. itimitri act, the burden of the articles 1b lo vjKthe effect that thse min'.n? companies f are making a clean sweep of everything 1Kln elffht, and that settlers will stand no SBlihoK, and should, therefore, not Incur 'jBllhe expense of a trip and a trial for Iclalnis This Is a slap at Utah that Is j - cot borne out by the existing condl-' condl-' lions afl1 : mat Law Provides. ' Under the act of Congress granting ' concessions to these companies, the , Florence company can locate only G40 : acres, and the Raven company 100 ml-j ml-j ; clng claims, which would aggregate ! j less than 2000 acres. Thus, the most '(possible that they can obtain right to M ls les5 than 2000 acres out of a total of W5 ; 12,500,000 acres certainly a very small part of the whole. And those who con- I templated securing a farm or a mine at th opening should not be deterred by ' misleading statements, for it is not rea-: rea-: jonable that the Indian department and the General Land offlre and the people I of Utah will allow the mining companies com-panies to get an acre more than they are entitled to by the act. They are . there under contract with the Govern-' Govern-' m?nt and will be held to a' strict com-: com-: pllance with the terms. ; Agent Has Control. ,' The mining lands selected by the companies com-panies will be what are considered the btst of all examined, and these will be plainly marked so that a prospector iKlllIng to depend on their Judgment , lirill want to drive his stakes as near to theirs as he can get them. The attempt has been made to minimize the author-'. author-'. Hy of the Indian agent and to give all j the credit for patrolling the reseratlon '. to the mining companies. But It should I) i be remembered that the agent is the su-l su-l preme power over all the reservation, I. and that unauthorized persons are not K allowed on the reservation at any lime Rplthout his permission, and especially KJstblS'true on the eve of an opening to 'fthe public, when Indians become cx-Jlllfea cx-Jlllfea at the presence of strangers and have suspicions of their Intent. It Is the agent who has the reservation patrolled by soldiers and Indian police to protect intending, bona tide settlers from unscrupulous un-scrupulous land and mining sharks. Roads Are Opon. The road to Heber Is not closed, as reported, re-ported, but Is open to all kinds of travel save mineral hunters and sneaking "sooners," and they will be arrested there as promptly as in other parts. The roads on the reservation are kept up chiefly by the Indian department the one from "White . Rocks to Ouray, thlrty-fhe miles distant, wholly so and no person outside the reservation is allowed al-lowed to drive stock over them, or over any part of the Indian lands, without permission from the agent. A line is Imposed of so much per head for every offense against the regulation. Another Ridiculous Statement. Another and still more ridiculous statement has been made, that the mining mi-ning companies are taking farms bodily from the Indians and driving the Utes from their homes, nnd the Indian, Grant, Is cited as an Instance. Is It possible that Indian Agent Capt. Hall, -one of the kindest and most considerate of men. would tolerate such an outrage only nine miles from the agency mid along the public highway? Neer; on the contrary. Grant ls living on his farm and has not been disturbed. These wild assertions, made without reserve, are enough to terrify many people looking look-ing to the opening to better their condition, con-dition, and they would be slow to locate in a state or community where such lawlessness prevails Such notoriously absurd reports found in a great daily appeal to the uninitiated, at least, and their sense of caution and self-preservation will draw the brakes on any move toward Utah. Reckless Statements Made. But this same paper, in instructing inquirers how to reach the reservation, directs them over a railroad to Dragon. Wyo., thus steering them into another State and away from Utah, and tells them to write to the Land office at Vernal, Ver-nal, Utah, for information about the lands. Now, Dragon happens to be in the State of Utah, but many miles from "Wyoming, and the only United States Land office in all Utah is at Salt Lake City. Such reckless blunders befuddle all distant people, and the awful octopus octo-pus on the reservation, with Its tentacles tenta-cles around everything of any value even around poor Grant and his squaw and children is terrible enough to parnlyze the stoutest heart through the medium of the Imagination alone. Should Read Between Lines. Let all prospective settlers read between be-tween the lines In these sensational stories, and not conclude to turn their bucks on Utah until assured that the situation on the reservation is too desperate des-perate for Congress, for the Indian department de-partment and the military arm of the Government to cope with. Settlers are assured that Utah has millions of acres outside the reservation just as good, can be bought on long time, at the same price, and acquired without residence. There may be ilch mineral deposits on the Indian lands, but not likely richer than elsewhere In the State, for Utah Is noted for its many and rich mines But the farmer will be Interested In knowing thut the State has seeral "dry farming" stations where experiments experi-ments have been made for years In the growth of crops without irrigation, and that th results have been eminently satisfactory- So farmers, stockmen, mining men, hoineseekers, all are counseled coun-seled to keep cool heads and no departure depart-ure from original Intention to come and make a home In this great State, so full of resources, superb In climate, giving promise of good health and a robust old age. |