The Battle for the Puyallup Reservation
A federal judge rules that the United States government no longer has absolute control over allotted Indian lands, clearing the way for a railroad to cross the Puyallup reservation.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The United States government has no control over the lands of the Indians on the Puyallup reservation, according to the decision of Judge Hanford in granting an injunction to prevent interference with the building of a railroad across land within the Puyallup reservation. The complainant, Frank C. Ross, is engaged in constructing a railroad from Tacoma across what has been the Puyallup reservation. The line crosses land allotted to individual Indians in severalty for which patents have been issued. The defendant Eelis, an Indian agent, and other officers of the United States army, acting under direction of the president, had attempted to prevent the building of the railroad. Judge Hanford noted that by conferring upon the Indians the rights, privileges, and immunities of citizenship, the government lost the power to coerce such Indians into making or annulling contracts, or molesting persons upon their premises. The judge concluded that the complainant is entitled to an injunction, as the work he proposes is lawful, and the interference by the defendants is unwarranted.
“No estate or reversionary interest in the patented lands is reserved or now held by the United States.”
This ruling represents a volatile moment in the history of the Puyallup Tribe, reflecting the era of 'allotment' policies designed to break up communal land ownership. The legal tension here—between federal paternalism and the rights of tribal members to control their own land—remains a central theme in modern Washington civic life.
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