Wm B. Richardson 1937 General Account Indians ‘Skingame’ Nets Braves Cash HELENA, Mont., Apr. 22.—(U.P.)— The Montana board of examiners has a problem concerning bounty claims totaling $6,000 presented by a group of Hill and Liberty county residents, the alleged victims of a “skin game” in which gopher hides allegedly were substituted for coyote pup pelts. The troublesome problem origi- nated last year when it was discov- ered that Indians in Northern Mon- tana had been trapping gophers, treating the hides in the mysterious depths of their wigwams, and then presenting them to sheriffs for bounty claims on coyote pups. Apparently too eager to await their bounty checks from the state live- stock commission, the Indians be- gan assigning the claims to persons with ready cash, taking a deduction on the face value of the claims. Officials Become Suspicious In 1935, when the red men turned in an all-time high total of 1,700 coyote pup skins, the livestock com- mision began to believe that all the Indians in the two counties had turned coyote hunters. They doubt- ed, however, that 1,700 coyote pups were born in the two counties dur- ing April, May and June, the period in which the bounties on the pups are paid. Doubt vanished and genuine sus- picion took root when early in 1936, Indians collected 4,000 “coyote pup hides” in the district. By that time, news of the new industry had spread to other tribesmen. An inspector for the commission began an investigation. He found 216 gopher skins in the Hill County jail, where several pokerfaced braves awaited their bounty claims. Court Action Started The commission stopped bounty payments and several Indians were bound over to the district court. During the trial, it developed that while the braves hunted gophers, as their ancestors had pursued buffaloes, the squaws remained at home, skin- nig the rodents and immersing the hides in a mixture of charcoal and used motor oil. Several of the “skin game” par- ticipants received prison sentences. pol 69 Clipping from Fortwill Evening Record April 20, 1937 (?)