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Show In Mrtrch, the President appointed Dr. John A. Sterrett, of Troy, Ohio, to be a town-site commissioner for the Choctaws, and the prin-cipal chief of the Choctaw Nation appointed Mr. Butler 8. Smiser, of Atoka, Choctaw Nation, to be the other member of the Choctaw town-site commission. About the same time Mr. Samuel N. Johnson, of Troy, Kana., was appointed by the President to be a member of the Chickasaw town-site commission and Mr. Wesley Burney, of Ardmore, Ohickasaw Nation, was appointed by the governor of that nation to be the other member of that commission. - Instrnctions were prepared in this office for the guidance of these two commissions, and after some modification by the Department they were approved and signed by the Searetary, on Mmch 6,1899. Among other things, thc two commissions were directed to meet at Muscogee and formulate a plan of proceeding, and adopt blank forms for all needs, so that the work of the two commissions would be uniform. They met at Mnswgee early in April, and after a careful consideration adopted the forms of blanks needed, which were approved by the Department and a supply was printed at the Government Printing Office. About the 1st of June they proceeded, the Choctaw commission, to the town of Gale (since called Sterrett), and theChickasaw commission to the town of Colbert, both towns being on the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad Company, and near the boundary between the Choctaw and Chickaaaw nations. Many delays were occasioned in the work of these two commissionson account of the purchase of necessary instru-ments for survey and on account of much correspondence as to the maximum sizetobeallowed for residence and business lots in the nations. The Department finally decided that the residence Iota should be as nearly as practicable 100 by 150 feet, all lots to contribute from their depth for a 16-foot alley in the block; that the business lots should be as nearly as practicable 50 by 150 feet, the commissions, however, being given discretion to make the lots larger or smaller, as the circum-stances of the case might warrant, not, however, larger than would be reasonable and right to the nation. The commissions were directed to draw their plats of the towns in quadruplicate and on a scale not smaller than 100 feet to the inch. It was found, however, in experience at Sterrett that the scale was much larger thau would enable the commission to place the town on one piece of tracing linen. It was therefore recommended by the office that the commissioners be permitted to draw their plats of the towns on as large a scale as practicable, not smaller, however, than 300 feet to the inch. Tbis was :approved by the Department, when, on August 29,1899, the approved plats of the town of Sterrett were retunled. The plat of the town of Colbert was approved by the Department on I i Angust 28,1899. The Chickasaw town-site oommissioners have moved! their headquarters to Ardmore, one of the most important towns in, the Ohickasaw Nation, and are now engaged iu the survey of that I |