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Show REPORT OF TEE COMMIS8IONEE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 43 open for location and entry under all the land laws of the United States, A number of allotments were, however, made to the Uncom-pahgres on the Uintah &servation. As soon as the weather permitted the oommission commenced the work on the Uncompahgre Reservation. May 19,1898, the chairman was instructed that where Indians mere in actual possession of lands and had improvements thereon, such lands, whether surveyed or not, should be allotted to them to the extent of the quantity to which they were respectively entitled. The oommission reports that it has made 283 allotments to Uncom-pahgres, 75 being on the late Uncompahgre Reservation and 208 on the Unitah, except that in a few allotments tracts were selected from both reservations. There are about 300 Uncompahgres yet to be allotted. June 16,1898, in accordance with the request of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, the chairman was instructed to furnish the register and receiver at Salt Lake City with a list of the allotments already made on the former Uncompahgre Reservation, and of such as the commission should make thereafter as soon as they should be com-pleted, in order that entries might not be allowed upon lands occupied by aud in possession of Indians. From informal information received from the commission it is believed that it has made many allotments to Indians who were not in occnpa-tion of the lands allotted, bnt were nnwilling to remove to the Uintah Reservation. I donbt whether there is any authority of law for making such allotments, and am of the opinion that there is also some question as to whether even the Indians in possession of lands could lawfully be allotted after the 1st of last April. To remove all doubt it is sng-gested that Congress should be asked to legalize the allotments on the Uncompahgre Reservation made after the 1st day of April, 1898. As there appears to be no demand for the lands in the reservation except those containing asphaltum, etc., which are not open, there would appear to be no objection to such legislation. Yakima Reservation, Wash.-Upon the report of Agent Lynch, of the Yakima Agency, that srnall bands and families of Indians were scat-tered over the central part of the State of Washington, who rightfully belonged upon theYal~imaR eservation, Special Allotting Agent William E. Casson was instructed. November 1,1897, to proceed thither for the purpose of making allotments to suoh of these Indians as could be per-suaded to locate on the reservation. July 30 he reported t,hat he had made 471 allotments, and on the 31st that he expected to complete the work on the 20th of August, Shoshone Reservation, Wyo.-John T. Werte, of Omaha, Nebr., is engaged in completing the Shoshone allotments. Up to July 23,189S, he had made 78. His predecessor, John W. Clark, of Georgia, had made 1,310 allotments on that reservation. The completion of this work has been somewhat retarded by the delay in making the official surveys of certain townships and fractional townships necessary for allotments. |
