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Show REPORT OF THE OOMMIQBIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 155 The Department, May 15, 1900, directed the commission to report what consideration, in its judgment, should be "given to the appraiue-ment of lands where known minerals exist other than coal and asphalt." This action was taken by reason of the opinion of the Assistant Attor-ney- General of May 11, already quoted on page 126, that there was no authority under the agreement for the Department to lease any mineral substance "other than coal and asphalt, except as an assur-ance of rights under a lease of oil or other mineral, assented to by act of Congress." The commission replied July 8, 1900, that- After very careful snd thoughtful conaideration the commission haa arrived at the conclusion that in the valuation and distribution of the lands of the Ohmtaws and Chickasaws all mineral substances other than coal and asphalt should be ignored, and the land appraised from the standpoint of its fertility and location only, and allotted to citizens in rightful poeaession regardless of the existence of mineral other than cod and asphalt. Office report of July 18 concurred in the recommendation of the commission, but the Department did not approve it, and on July 24 instructed the commission as follows: The Department desires that you direct the appraisers to ascertain and report, as near as may be, the kinds, charxter, and quantity of mineral, other than coal or asphalt, wherever the same occurs upon the tracts examined by them, and that your rommission will take into consideration said reports and secure any other additional evidence you may desire concerning the tracts reported to contain known mineral otherthan coal and asphzlt, and adjust the values of mid tracts in the same manner that you adjust the values of tracts on account of "the location of the land." The Department also stated that it was not desired that the wmmis- &ion should consider "mere croppings or indications of mineral other than coal and asphalt," which would only have the effect of giving a fictitious or speculative valne to the lands upon which such croppings or indications were found and also to the adjoining lands. Xisoel1aneons.-As yet no rolls of the members of any of the Five Civilized Tribes have been received by the Department. It is infor-mally understood, however, that the Seminole rolls will shortly be transmitted. No final allotments to any of the members of the tribes have been made. The commission is now engaged in completing the rolls in the various nations and in classifyingand appraising thelands. From the fact that the Choctaw and Chickasaw agreement and the Curtis Act require that thelands belonging to the different nations shall be allotted to the citizens thereof according to its value, it becomes nec-essary to go upon and examine each quarter section in order to arrive at a conclusion as to its value. Under the rules and schedule for grading and appraising lands in the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations, approved by the Department June 19, 1899, and rules for the same purpose applicable to the Creek Nation, approved September 6, 1900, the appraisers in the field do not fix bhe value of land with reference to |