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Show REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 79 Notwithstanding the extension of the time, and the fact that these elaima~~wtse re notified that they mere regarded by this Departmel~at s intruders and subject to removal, the ofice has never been informed of a single iutruder who has sold his improvements or removed from the nation, although eight years have now passed since they mere given notice. In rati$ing the agreement of 1891 with the Cherokees, Congress proposed and the Cherokees accepted the following amendment thereto: And proaided ficrthn., That before any intruder or unauthorized person oeoupying honses, lands, or improvements, which oooupalloy commenced before the eleventh day of Angugt, anno Domiui eighteen hundred and eighty-nix, ~ h n l lb e removed therefrom. nnon demand of the orincioal chief or otherwise, the value of his imorova- ~~~ . . mcnr*, na tit,: usrur, rllnll Le .,ppmi~ndb y :i 1,unrd of thn.a :~ppruiat:r.i,tob eilpl,ointed Lv tho I'repidnut of rlln TIniteal Srltea, "33" a t tho adtnn i,pu!l tlln recowmcnd.Jtiun of i t i e principal chief of the Cherokee Netion, for that purpose. shall he paid to him by the Cherokee Nation; md upon such payment suoh improvements shall becoma theorooertv of the Cherokee Nation: Prouided, That the amount so paid for said > - " I improvements shall not exceed the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars: Andprovided fwthsr, That the ilppraiaers in determining thevalue of such improve-ments may oonsider the vslne of the nae and ocoupation of the land. Pursuant to this provision Messrs. Joshua Hutchius, Peter H. Per-not, and Clem V. Rogers vere appointed to appraise the improvements of such intruders in the nation as mere entitled thereunder to be paid before being removed. Before the completion of their labor, Congress adopted the following provision in the act of March 2, 1895, viz: The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorizetl and dilirsoted to suspend action under the provision8 of the act of Congress approved March third, eighteen handred and ninety-three ('27 Stat. L., 641), ratifying the agreement with the Cherokee Nation of December nineteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, as to the actual removal from the Cherokee country of persons designated by the authorities as intruders, nntil the appraisal of the value af tho improvements of such personsshall have been completed and approved by tho Scoretary of the Interior and submitted by him to Congress, and the removal of snch intruders shall not be made earlier than January first, eighteen hundmrl and ninety-six: Pm&ded, That whenever any intruder shall hhave been naid or tendered the sonraised value of his imnrovements. I . . ifho dova uor im!~trdinrely~ urrenderl> oa%arsinon ilit#,h ame to tllu authorities ot'tho Clmrokee Sntiou he sl~illlp ay rent rhcrefur :IL tile rnrn n ~ o ailn the coantry, hut illis provision shall not be eonstrued to extend the time for the removal of intruders kccording to the foregoing agreement bayontl the first day of January, eighteen hondred and ninety-aix. To quote from my last annnal report- Measrs. Hntohins, Pernot, and Rogers oompletsd their work snd snbmitted their final report to this office on March 16,1895. Acoonlpanying their report n.as the tes-timony taken in the claims which they had examined and two series of apecial reports, 386 in all, each report (except Xo. 316) relating to a separate claim. The first series related to the improvements of persons alleged to bo intmders in the netion who claimed citizenshil, thereiu by blood, and embraced reports numbered from 1 to 316, inclusive. The seoond series related to improvements of persons of African descent alleged to be iqtrudrra, who claimed rights in the nation under tho ninth article of the Cherokee treaty of 1866 (14 Stat. L., 799), and embraced reports numbered from 1 to 70. |
