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Show 58 COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. gating 800,000 acres) for oil and gas purposes were approved by the department July 3, 1912, and provide for the offering of the lands nnder sealed bids. The royalty fixed by the President for oil is 168 per cent. As yet no leases have been approved under the new regu-lations. Comparison of the productions for the years '1911 and 1912 show that there was very little increase therein, but that a larger amount of money was received during 1912, which was due to an advance in the price of oil. On the Oto and Missouria, Sac and Fox, and Ponca lands in Okla-homa, about 165 oil leases have been entered into, embracing 41,400 acres,.on which royalties amounting to about $11,000 have been paid to the Indians. On the Wind River Reservation, TVyo., prospecting and develop-ment of lands leased for coal, oil, gas, and asphalt have been in progress, but no discoveries of value have been reported during the year. One of the producing coal mines on the reserve temporarily suspended operations in December, 1911, on account of thethin strata of coal encountered. During the years 1907 to 1911, inclusive, there was mined from 640 acres of leased land approximately 318,000 tons of coal, for which the Indians received about $37,000 in royalties. During the past year 17 leases, aggregating 1,111.24 acres, were ap-proved for gold- placer mining on the reservation, hut as yet no reports have been received as to the value of the' minerals, if any, taken therefrom. Most of the lands containing coal deposits are located in the Choc-taw and Chickasaw Nations. The Choctaw-Cnickasaar agreement of July 1,1902 (32 Stat. L., 642), provided that no leases of coal and asphalt lands should be made after its ratification September 25, 1902; and the Congress, by act of April 26, 1906 (34 Stat. L., 137), reserved from sale all such lands, whether leased or unleased, until the expiration of existing leases thereon, or until such time as might be otherwise provided by law. The area of the segregated coal lands in the nations mentioned is 445,000 acres, of which about 100,000 are under leases dated between July 11, 1899, and September 16, 1902, and mnning for terms of 30 years from their dates. The total esti-mated value of the surface of the land and coal deposits varies from $19,000,000 to $100,000,000 according to the experts who made the examinations. Twenty-eight thousand eight hundred forty-eight tons of coal were produced from leases in the Choctaw Nation, royalty for which amounted to $2,308. In the Creek Nation about 78,000 tons of coal was mined, on which a royalty of $6,000 was paid. Valuable limestone deposits were discovered on the Tuscarora Reservation in New York, the value of which was estimated by the Geological Survey at about $630,000. A hill was introduced at the |
