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[[preprinted]] 109 [[/preprinted]]

[[underlined]] 3 [[/underlined]]

The order to clear the reservation of stock came none too soon, but it is doubtful if it will be enforced unless the Agent is entirely independent of the stockmen. If stockmen are bondsmen, the Agent cannot act. The reservation has been a free grazing ground, and the Agents have said that it promoted good feelings as the Indian's cattle roamed on the white man's land, etc. The facts are that cattle are common in Idaho, and the Nez Perce treaty gave the Indians the right to range their cattle [[insert]] on unoccupied lands. [[/insert]] There too, all the fields of the white men are fenced, while the Indians have not been able to fence all of theirs, beside that, in the white man's law - the fenced land covers all the best of the land and there is little left open for grazing. (I speak of that [[fencing?]] [[trees?]] the reservation) While on the reservation the large tracts invite the herds to roam, then when the grass is eaten down, the rush of cattle easily pushes over the Indians isolated fence, and his crop is gone in a short time. This danger is enhanced because the people have gathered in certain valleys [[?]] their houses, while their fields are sometimes [[?]] from their homes. The Indians therefore have  [[edge of page missing]]