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Show land being determined by drawing slips from a hat. The result was that a few of the Indians, including wives, minor children, and non-progressives, were allotted all of the irrigable land, each receiving 80 acres. For a number of years this> office and the Department have had under consideration the advisability of 'reallotting these lands. During the past summer Mr. Casson investigated this matter carefully and surveyed and marked the corners of the legal subdivisions. His report of July 10,1903, left no doubt but that the reallotment should be made,and in accordance with his recommendation, concurred in by the o5oe in its letter of August 8, the Department on August 13, authorized the change to be made. September Z l Mr. Casson was accordingly instructed to procure the relinquishments of the allottees and to proceed to subdivide the 500 acres of irrigable land and allot the same in tracts of 5 or 10 acres emh, giving the beids of families and single adults the preference in the order named, and allotting the remainder, if any, to the wives and minor children. Mr. Casson will also lay out any new irrigation ditches that miy be required and show the Indians how to construct them. It is believed that when this work shall have been accomplished a number of Indian families will be provided with permanent home places and enabled to better their condition. Owing to the absence of building materials of eyery deseription in that locality, and the prohibitory price of sawed lumber on account of the great distance from the railroad, it will be impossible for the Indians, as shown by Mr. Ca~son's report, to make permanent build-ing improvements at present on the lands allotted to them. Action regarding compliance with this requirement has aocordingly been deferred by the Department for the time being. Sauk Valley, Washington-Since my last annual report was sub-mitted, Mr. Keepers bas been engaged in making allotments to the Indians in Sauk Valley, Washington. In 1895 Special Allotting Agent Bernard Arntzen visited that locality and made some allotments, but wtts ordered elsewhere before the work war completed. Mr. Keepers has made 60 more allotments, numbered from 62 to 121, Seattle series. The lands allotted are embraced for the most part in town ships included, or withdrawn from settlement with a view to being included, in a forest reservation. As the Indians were, however, in occupncy of and had improved the lands prior to the date of the order creating the forest reserve, they were no doubt entitled to have the lands allotted to them in severalty. Mr. Keepers reports that tbese Indians are intelligent and progress-ive; that they took great interest in the work and assisted in its per-formance, and that the lands are well suited for Indian allotments and |
