The Sacred Buffalo Vision by Robert J. Juneau and Robert C. Juneau pg.62-63

The district involved in the alleged scheme of the “ring” was ceded to the government in a treaty made with the Blackfeet tribe last year. It is known to contain valuable mineral deposits and wonderful stories are told of vast bodies of gold, silver, and copper deposits in the St. Mary’s Lake region. A gentleman thoroughly familiar with the country and more or less interested in the subject said to a Standard reporter today in discussing the question: “I tell you the richest mines ever found in Montana will be opened up within the next year in the mountains lying within the boundaries of the reservation. I have been all over that country and speak advisedly on the subject. There is not only valuable ore there but thousands of acres of good placer ground as well, with plenty of water to work the mines. That country was thoroughly prospected long before any commission was appointed to treat with the Indians for its purchase. In fact, if the country had not been rich in minerals it would never have been purchased from the Blackfeet. No bill would ever have been introduced in Congress looking to its acquisition had it not been known to a favored few that rich ore bodies were to be found all through the district. The strip of land covered by the treaty is about 50 miles long and from 10 to 30 miles in width. There are natural locations for town sites there and Swift Current falls offers advantages in the way of water power that can be used to advantage for mining and milling purposes. The better claims have all been located by men representing a syndicate and when the land is thrown open to the public the crowd of hungry prospectors will find little left in the way of desirable mining property to file on. It has been a clean cut case of jobbery from first to last. The favored few have been permitted to roam at will over the reservation, while those with no “pull” have been promptly ejected by the Indian police as soon as they stepped over the reservation line. The corps of surveyors were to have finished their work by Sept. 15, but the work has been purposely delayed and will not be completed until mid-winter or the early spring months.
-The Sacred Buffalo Vision by Robert J. Juneau and Robert C. Juneau
pg.62-63