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Show I COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. xxxix There is a third class of persons who are heartily, in favor of allot-ting Indian lanas, but who are apprehensive that, under the flexible terms of the allotment act, allotments may be forced upon Indians before they are ready to receive, use, and hold them. An allotment un-necessarily delayed deprives an Indian of just so much opportunitgfor, or incentive to, progress; but an allotment made to a11 Indian before he has been made to understandits meaning and purpose takes away from its value to him, and he may look upon it as a worthless or as an unwel-come thing imposed upon him. It is probable that such rn Indian wonld not only neglect his land, biit that he wonld finally abandon it and become a wanderer. Thus, it is said, that which was intended to be, and rightfully used would be, of benefit to the Indiau, may be so used as to drive many of the race into vagabondage, and thud make them what may be called the gypsies of America. But notwitllstanding the opposition of the two classen referred to, and of some of the Indian tribes, and the misgivings of a third cbass, there i s no reason for the belief that the policy of making allotments of lands in severalty will be abandoned. I SURVEYS OF INDIAN RE~ERV~TION~. During tho fiscal year contracts were entered into for the survey of portions of the boundaries of the Crow Reservation in Blontana, and of che Great Sioux Reservation in Dakota. The latter contract mas sus-pended upon the passage of the act of April 30, 1858, to divide the Sioux Reservation, and thus there remains available $60.000 of the $100,000 appropriated for surveys by the general allotment act of Reb-ruary 8,1887. The aurvey of the boundary line between the Creeks and Semiuoles was also coutractcd for. The matter of this survey has been pending for several years, a survey made by Simon Motz under a contract dated November 17,1884, having been rejected by the General Land Office. Various small surveys were requested, payable out oE the appropria-tion of $10,000 made by the Indian appropriation act of March 2,1887. Surveys have been recommended on the Elamath Reservation, in Oregon, aud aclditional surveys on the Grow Reservation, in Montana. I LEASE OF INbIAN LANDS FOR GRAZING. In the last three annual reports of this office attention was called to the decision of the Attorney.Genera1, made in July, 1885, which de-clares that the leasing of Indian lands for grazing purposes without treaty or statutory prorision therefor is illegal, and that, in the absence of such treaty or statutory provision, no officer of the Government has power to make, authorize, or approve any leases of lands held by Indian tribes. So long as grazing grounds are increasingly in demand, and there is no law prohibiting the use of Indian lands for grazing purposes, cattle owners will continue to make arrangements with Indians for obtaining |