301 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



officials incur the enmity of the so-called 'wolves' who live by preying 

 upon the Indians." 



The Commission followed this np by a special recommendation as 

 follows : 



"We recommend that the act of 1913 which relates to the classifica- 

 tion and reclassification and appraisement and reappraisement of the 

 timberlands on the Flathead Reservation be repealed as this act, in 

 our opinion, encourages entrymen to make application for the re- 

 appraisement of lands even after filing and making final proof, and 

 in addition to this it will eventually mean the destruction of the tim- 

 ber which makes the mountains so valuable as watersheds and eliminates 

 the necessity for additional storage of water for irrigation. 



"We do not believe the proposed amendment to Section 11 of the 

 act of March 3, 1909, which provides for the opening to entry the 

 timberlands on the Flathead Reservation, should be enacted into law. 

 Such a law would mean that the homesteader could divest the land of 

 its valuable timber after filing and making his second payment with the 

 results as stated above. 



"We earnestly recommend as being for the best interest of the 

 Indians and in the interest of good administration that the United 

 States purchase the timberlands on the Flathead Reservation not other- 

 wise allotted or reserved and that the same be made a part of the 

 national forest under the supervision of the National Forest Service. 

 By so doing the timber will be cut under proper supervision and the 

 watersheds will be preserved, and the run-ofif of the streams having 

 their sources in the mountains will not occur so early each year as to 

 make necessary the providing for additional storage for irrigation and 

 the Indian property adjacent to the forests will be more amply pro- 

 tected from destruction by fire, because of the fact that the Forest 

 Service is better equipped for this purpose." 



This report was signed by the Superintendent of each of the three 

 reservations and by the Superintendents of Irrigation. It is evident, 

 therefore, that the inclusion of such lands within Forest Reservations 

 is not a chimera originating in the minds of the Forest Service officers, 

 but has strong support among other officials who have sincerely at heart 

 the best permanent good of the Indians themselves. 



The last three sections of the Snell bill do not adequately meet the 

 Indian Reservation timberland problem, for the reason that legislation 

 proposed fails to make specific provision for the liquidation of the 

 equity of the Indians. They merely provide that the National Forest 

 Reservation Commission shall "make recommendations to Congress for 

 the purchase of such lands or otherwise for the liquidation of the 



