OCR Text |
Show L , .. REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. I:'.' * .'. appointed by tbe President to classify and appraise the surplus lands; .. that is, the lands outside of the diminished reservation established by order of the Secretary of the Interior, under and in accordance with the provisions of the act of October 17,1888 (25 Stats. 559), an act amend-atory of the former act. Instructions for the guidance of Commissioners Bushee, Eddy and Sommerville, were issued by this Ofice July 29, 1890, and appkoved August 1, 1890. The lam prbrides that the residue of lauds not iu-cluded in the diminished reser'vation shall be classified into timbered andu ntimbered lauds and appraised accordingly. No lauds are to be appraised, however, at less than $1.26 per acre, and where there are improvements that have been made by an Indian, or for the United States, such improvements are to be separately appraised, and if they belong to an Indian, he is to be indemnifie6 therefor in money. The lands when so appraiaed are to be sold at the Umatilla Agency (see sec. 12, act Juue 29,1888,25 Stats., 239)by the register of the local land office within whose district the reservation is situated. at public s&!e, to the highest bidder, and at a price not less thau the appraised value thereof; such sale to be first advertised in such luauuer as the Secre-tary of the Interior may direct. Each purchaser will be entitled to . . purchase 160 acres of untimbered lands, and au additional tract of 40 acres of timbered lauds, aud no more. One-third of the purchase price of untimbered lands must be paid at the time of the purchase, one-third I in one year, and the remaining one-third in two years, with interest on deferred payments at 5 per cent. per annum. The full purchase price of timbered lands must be paid at time of purchase, and where there are improvement& upou the lands, the purchaser must pay the appraised valoe thereof at time oE purchase. Each purcha.ser of said lands will be required to make 0at.h or affirma-tion t,hat he is purchasing the same for his own use and occupation and not for or at the solicitation of any other person, and that he has made no eontract whereby the title shall, directly or indirectly, issue to the benefit of another. No patent can he issued for untimbered lauds until the purchaser shall have made satisfactory proof that he has resided upon the lands purchased at least one year and has reduced not less than 25 acres to cultivation, and no patent can be issued for either timbered or untimbered lands until allpayments shall have been made. On failure of any purchaser to make payment when due, the Secretary of the Interior is required to cause the lands to be again offered at public or private sale, after due notice to the delinquent, and if the land shall sell for more than the balance doe thereon, the surplus after deducting . expenses, is to be paid over to the first purchaser. I am unable to say just how much land will he subject to sale as above, as the plats of the survey have been sent out for the use of theappraisers, but I should think it would not fall far short of 125,000 acres. |