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Show REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 163 belonging to the Chickasaw Nation, in the possession of said Lewis and claimed by him as his pro rata share of the lands of that nation. The inspector, July 17, transmitted certain correspondence rela-tive to the establishment of that town by Lewis, among which was a communication dated July 10, 1900, from Mr. C. L. Herbert, of the firm of Furman, Herbert & Mathers, of Ardmore, who had repre-sented the Government in the injunction application in the Lewis case. In Mr. Hefbert's communication the law relatire to town sites was fully discussed. O5ce report of July 24, 1900, took the position that Lewis was amenable under section 2118 of the Hevised Statutes, and recommended that the United States district attorney for the southern district of the Indian Territory be requested, through the Department of Justice, to commence proceedings against said parties in accordance with provisions of that section. The Department, July 26, concurred in this recommendation, and the United States district attorney for the southern district of the Indian Territory was subsequently directed by the Department of Justice to commence proper proceed-ings. The Department, however, sdbsequently requested the Depart-ment of Justice to hold in abeyance the prosecution of Lewis and those interested with him in the cstahlishment of said town site, which request the Department of Justice has complied with. Various other parties havc established new towns in different parts of the Indian Territory, and the o5ce took the same posi~on in each instance that it did in the establishment of the town of Madill. August 30 the inspector requested to be advised whether or not the same action should be taken in the matter of delaying the prosecution of those interested in establishing new towns that was taken in the Lewis case. Report of September 6 stated that the office know of no reason why the Department's action in the Lewis case should not apply to all similar cases and recommended that the inspector be so advised, which was done by Department letter of September 7. MISCELLANEOUS. Chickasaw incompetent fund.-Under the provisions of the Choctaw and Chickasaw agreement $558,520.54 were placed to the credit of the Chickasaw Nation. Of this sum, 8200,000 were subsequeutly appropri-ated by the legislature of that nation for the payment of the nation9* outstanding indebtedness. In October, 1899, tho Chickasaw legislature passed an act which provided that the remainder of this fund should be paid out per capita to the Chickasaw citizens. Owing to the claims of the heirs of the so-called incompetent Chickasaws to a portion of this fund the act was disapproved by the President. The Department held that under existing law it had no authority to disburse this fund per capita to the members of the Chickasaw Nation, and Congress at its last session |