| OCR Text |
Show Hammoud, of California, and I. D. Applegate, of Oregon, and their report, December 18,1896, was, with draft of a bill, submitted to Con-gress January 26,1897. Their findings were that 617,490 acres, valued at 86.36 cents per acre, aggregating $533,2iO, had been excluded from the reservation by the erroneous survey of its exterior boundaries. (See Senate Doc. No. 93, Fifty-fourth Congress, second session.) By a clause in the Indian appropriation act of July 1,1898 (30 Stat., 893), Congress provided for a resurvey of t~hex terior boundaries of the reservation in accordance with the treaty, and directed the Secretary of the Interior to negotiate with the Indians through an Indian inspector for the relinqnishment of their right and interest in a portion of the reservation, and also to ascertain what portion of the reservation is occupied by citizens of the United States, for what purpose and under what title. Indian Inspector W. J. McConnell, who was charged with these duties, concluded an agreement with the Indians Ilecember 27,1898. By that agreement the Indians convey to the United States all their claim to that part of the Klamath Reservation lying between the boun-daries as described in the treaty, which were also confirmed by the Klamath boundary commissioners, and the boundaries established by the survey made in 1871 under the authority of the General Land Office, approximating 617,490 acres. The United States agrees, in eonsideration of said cession, to pay the Indians the snm of $533,270, or 86.36 cents per acre for the quantity of land that may be found by the resurvey to be within said boundaries. This amount, more or less, after payment of the legal fees of attorneys, is to be deposited in the Treasury of the United States, and interest thereon at the rate of 5 per cent per annum to be paid the Indians annually per capita. The principal is to remain in the Treasury until such time as the Klamath Indians shall, by petition through the United States Indian agent and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, ask to have portions of it paid to them per capita from t i e to time as their needs may require. The contract for the resurvey of the exterior boundaries of the reser-vation has been let by the Commissioner of the General Land Offlce, as required by the aot of May 1, 1898, but this Offioe has no official infor-luation regarding its present status. The agreement mnclnded by Inspector McConnell is not altogether satisfactory to this office, the provisions inserted in the draft of legis-lation submirted to Congress January 26,1897, being regarded as much better for theinterests of the Indians; bat as the requirements enjoined by the subseqnent legislation of Congress have been performed, favor. able action of some kind should be had upon the agreement. The Indiana have shown great patience and forbearance. They are not annuity nor ration Indians, being almost wholly self-supporting, |
