Page:The Indian Dispossessed.pdf/76

The Story of the Bitter Root buffalo country to sustain life by the chase, as they were refused any assistance by the government, although I made an earnest appeal in their behalf at the time."

Seven years; the lines are drawing closer:

"Under Chief Charlos some 350 Flatheads still cling to their homes in the Bitter Root Valley, refusing to remove to this reservation. The rapid settling up of the valley by a white population has hedged these people in so closely that there is scarcely grazing room for their cattle and horses."

A new scheme now comes to light. The Indians were induced—by misrepresentations which will appear—to sign a request for patents of the tracts of land occupied by them individually as farms. Of course, the acceptance of such patents would be equivalent to a surrender of the entire valley, with the exception of the little tracts on which they actually lived.

But the abandonment of "the Bitter Root Valley, above the Lo-Lo Fork," which Charlos steadfastly insisted must be "set apart as a separate reservation for said tribe," was far from the Indian intention. They were shrewd enough to perceive the significance of the plan when the patents were offered to them. The agent reports:

"Charlos, the chief, refused to accept his patent, and of course all the Indians present followed his example. In explanation he said, in substance, that 63