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Show XLVIII REPORT OF THE COMMIS8IONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. north to the southern bonndary of the Indian reservation, entirely ; separated the one portion of the Indian reservation from the other, to 1 the great inconvenience of the Indian service. At the request of this oEce, the honorable Secretary of War, by General Orders No. 49, dated July 5,1883, caused a considerable redno- i f tion of the militarg- reservation, which will greatly relieve the embar-rassment. THE TURTLE MOUNTAIN COUNTRY IN DAKOTA. Under date of October 4, 1882, the Department directed the General Laud Office to take snch steps as niight be necessary to revoke the action by which that vast area of country lying north a,nd west of Devil% Lake in Dakota, heretofore claimed by the Tnrtle Mountain band of Chippewas, had been withheld from the practical operat.iou of the settlement lawu, and to restore the same to the public domain, subject to the restriction, however, that if there mere any Indians who had made improvements, or had atten~ptedto make permanent location en any of said lands, snch Indians should be protected by having their lands withheld from white settlement until they could have an oppor-tnnity to secure title thereto. By this action a tract of country esti-mated to contain over 9,000,000 acres mas thrown open to wkite settle. ment. Snbsequently (on December 21,1882) a tract in the vicinity of Turtle Mountain, embracing an area of about 32 miles from north to south by 24 miles from east to west, wa8 withdrawn from nattlement by executive order, the main purpose being to secure lauds upon wbich the Turtle Mountain band might be severally located, either upon tracts already improved by individual Indians, or upon lands to he allottecl to them. For this object Congress, by act of March 1, 1883, a.ppmpriated the sum of $10,000. Steps have been taken to have the public wrveys extended over said reservation, with a view to the early settlement of the lndians as proposed. In fulfillment of a promise of the Department, made to the delegation of Tnrtle Ibfo~mtain Indians who visited this city last winter, Special Agent Cyrus Beede recently made a visit to the Turtle Mountain couu-try 11ut1er special iustrnctious from this Bureau. He found the full-bloods of the band, nnmbering, as he believes, not over twenty-five families, uupreparerl and aitogether disinclined to take lauds ip serer-alty, preferring to ha,ve a small reserri~tion retaiued for them perma- 11e11tly. The half-breeds, on the contrary, are a.nxions to secure indi-vidual homesteads. As near as hc could ascertain? in the absence of boundary marlis, the latter a,re for the most part living outside t h e limit8 of the reservation along ita eastern liue, where it appears they are making good progress in opening farms, building houses, &.,some of them being very well to do. Inasmuch as it is the desire of the fnll-bloods to have a small reservation retained for their use in wmmon, I deem it advisable, and therefore recommend, that two townships of |