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Show IAII REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. where the claimants are deserving of some consideration, hut there seems to be no alternative to such action. The Indians are being de. prived of their homes which they have occupied for generations under concessions inserted in the Spanish grants for their protection, and the only place of refuge for them is on these reservations which are occupied by whites withoat legal rights. If it shall be found that in the enforce-ment of the order injury has been done to any person who has equi-table rights, the matter will he presented for submission Congress. 1 BIOUND VALLEY BIESEBIVATION IN CALIFORIi..A. The appeal made in my last annual report for the passage by the House of Representatives of the hill providing for allotments of lands in severalty to the Indians residing upon this reservation, for the sale of the surplus lends, and for the extinguishment of the claims of set-tlers, not having been heeded by thqt body, I determined to take such steps as were possible to secure to the Indians the use of some por. tion at least of the 90,000 acres of land reported to he in the posses-sion of white men. On the 2d of April 1ast;I accordingly reaom. mended that authority be granted for the.remova1 from the reservation of a11 parties found to be unlawfully thereon, and for the employment of the necessary military force. Authority was granted, and on the 25th of May last the agent was instructed to notify all parties nnlaw-fully upon the reservation to remove therefrom, with all of their sbok and personal effects, on or before the 1st day of August, 1887, and that, in the event of their failure to remove, their removal would beef-fecced by a sufficient military force. From this order there were excepted the persons and lands covered by the judgment of the United States circuit court rendered May 31,1880; all persons occupying lands the title to which has passed out of the United States, as shown by an abstract furnished by the General Land Office; and partics who had improvements within the reserration on the 3d of March, 1873, to whom payment or tender of payment had not been made. All of these parties were to be confined to the lands act-ually oovered by the exception, and the latter class were to be confined to 160 acres each. It is intended to apply the provisions of the allotment act to this reservation as soon as possible, but it is feared th&t much cmbarrass-ment will be experienced. The reservation contains less than 3,000 acres of agricultural lands, of which 1,080 acres are owned by grantees under the swamp act. This land should be purchased from the owners for the use of the Indians and the amount reimbursed to the United States from the sales of grazing lands within the reservation, which ~houldn ot be subject to the homestead or pre-emption laws. As soon as the result of the order for the removal of the trespassers is ascertaiined a plan for the relief of these Indians will he considered. |
