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Show 150 REPOET OF THE OO~MISSIONER OF INDIAN AVEAIRS. to them, and that the property should descend to the Seminolea by blood, which is thought by this commission to be a good and sufficient reason for the provision in qneation. This agreement was confirmed by the act of Congress approved Jnne 2, 1900 (31 Stats., 250). Leaaing of prospective allotments.-The regulations of the Depart-ment governing the selection and renting of prospective allotments by citizens of the Indian Territory, approved October 7,1898, provided that- Selections of land may be so made by any membera of the several tribes in quanti-ties not to exceed 160 acres to each Creek, 80 acres to each Cherokee, 240 acres to each Choctaw and each Chickasaw, and 40 acres to each Choctaw and each Chickassw freedman. March 18, 1899, the regnlations were so amended as to permit each Choctaw and Chickrisaw citizen, freedmen excepted, to select, instead of 240 acres, 160 acres as a homestead from the lands upon which he had improvements. This amendment also provided that any citizen who failed or refused to make such selections for himself and family within four months from the date of the location of a land office within the tribe of which such citizen was a member would be deemed to have elected "to hold the 40-acre subdivision upon which his residence or most valuable improvement is located." Also, that where a citizen of any tribe desired to select lands occupied by another citizen of such tribe, he should be required to give the occupant "ten days' notice of the time of filing his application, and if upon hearing of evidence adduced by both parties the commission is satisfied that snch lands are held by the occupant contrary to the provisions of sections 16 and 17 of the act of Congress, Jnne 28, 1898, certificates of selection shall be issued to said applicant, subject to the right of appeal as in other cases." April 7, 1899, the Department also amended the regulations relative to the selection of preliminary allotments by the Creek and Cherokee citizens. The amount that each was entitled to select was not changed, but all the rest of the amendment of March 18, 1899, as to Choctaw and Chickasaw homesteads was made applicable to the Creek and Cherokee Indians. The regulations of October 7,1898, after describing the manner in which preliminary allotments may be selected, state: No contmt for rent of any selection so made shall he valid or binding unless for adeqmte consideration and made in writing in duplicate and deposited in the office of Rsid cammiasion in which the selection was made. Said commission, after inves-tigation, shall forward same to the Secretary of the Interior for his approval, and when approved it ahall he returned to such oftice of the commission, to he by it delivered to the parties, one copy to each. It will thus be seen that the Department held that to make binding s lease of the lands in the possession of any citizen as his pro rata share or preliminary allotment snch lease must have the approval of the Department. |
