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Show REPORT OF THE COMMlSSlONER OF INDIAN AFk'AIRS. LXVII gress was urged. Under date of December 14, 1881, the subject was laid before the department, setting forth the terlns of the agreement, whereby the Crows proposed to cede 1,552,800 acres of land from the western portion of their domain, and submitting a bill to rat,ify said agreement, with rewmn~endationth at Congress takeearly actionthereon. The a,greement, which appears in full on page 193 of this report, was ratified by Congress, and its action approved by the President Aprilll, 1882. Provision is made in this agreement fbr the allotment of lands in severalty to the Indians, for the erection of houses, and for theporchase. of seeds, farming implements, Snd stock. An appropriation of $15,000 wasmade to pay the expeuses of the survey of the lands to be allotted. In compliance with these provisions the General Land Office has been directed to make said survey in the valleys of the Big Horn and Little Big Horn Rivers, and when the survey is completed instrnctions will be issued to the agent to make allot~nentao f land in severalty, as provided in said agreement. SALE OF A PAXT OF THE OXAHA RESERVATION. In a special report to the department, dated September 18 (ultimo), the attention of the department was called to the recent act (approved Angnst 7, 1882) providing for the sale of a part of the reservation of the Omaha tribe of Indians in the Stxt,e of Xebraska. It was stated that, in the absence of a speeitic a,l>propria,tionto meet the expenses thereof, it was difficult to see how the survey (if a resurvey shonl0 be faand necessary) and appraisement could be proceeded with; but it was suggeste~l that steps might be taken to obtain the consent of the Indians, as required in sections 1 and 5 of said act, and that the a,llot.- ments proviiled for in section 5 might be selectred and submitted for approval, so that no unnecessary delay might be experienced when the proper time should arrive for proceeding with the sale of the lauds as authorized. Bg. section 8 of the act the Iltdiall.8 are permitted, if they shallso elect, to select allotments within the tract designated to be sold, and while it is not thonght that there are any who desire to make selec. tions there, it might. be well to ascertain theirintentions in t l~arte spect,, so that if there be any snch they msy make their selections and have them approved before the appraisement is begun. XESCALERO APACHE RESERVATION. Early inthe present year aconsiderable change was made in the bound-aries of the Mescalero Apache Reservation in New Mexico, by which a goodly portion thereof was restored to the public domain from thenorth and west, while a tract ?ontaining au areaequal to about five townsllips was added thereto on the east. This change was made to satisfy the \vishes of the white population of the Nogal Mining District.," so called, and by so doing to allay the ill feeling against the Indians which it mas not dificolt to see was fast taking the place of previously acknowledged |