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Show 124 OOMXI88IONER OF INDIAN APRAIB8. 1904; there were on the reservation 1,659 Indians-800 Shoshoni and S 9 Arapaho-leaving 451 Indians who had not received allotments at the time Allotting Agent Nickerson began his work, May 21,1903. As stated lagt year, the allotment work was suspended July 3,1900, bemuse of the alleged incompetency and unfitness of a former allot-tlag agent, and in order that a system of irrigation might be sur-veyed and constructed to cover allotments already made and the allotments yet to be made. Under his instructions of November 21, 1899, George Butler, superintendant of irrigation, reported March 29, 1901, that the number of allotmeutu under existing ditches and possible extensions of the same was about 200, covering 16,000 acres of land. These ditches were small ones, 7 in number. He surveyed and proposed the construction of the following ditches: North Fork, Coolidge, and Subagency ditches south of the Big Wind River, and the Ferry and Wind Eirer ditches north of that river, the cost of and number of acres covered by each being as follows: TABLE26 .-Proposed ditcIres surveyed a the Shoshoni Reamation, Wyo. Name of diteh. I 00st. 1 &,"A, / ~llotted. 1 V-nt. ~ o r t hPa rk, or No. 1 ........................................ W%SO 10.~0 7,139 Omlidge, or NO. 2 ............................................. 7 , 19,108 11,368 ?% Smbagenc or No 3 ......... 59 242 7 ZgO 3 855 3:437 Ferr,orK?o.4..:..::::::::::::::::::::::::::: .......... IW:,~ 2 8 : ~ ~2:9 36 25,m wing~ivero, r ~ 0 . 5... ....................................... sm,aa 1 8 ,m 8,468 9.03 The proposed ditches cover about 438 allotmentn, 100 of which are under existing small ditches. .The number of allotments of 80 acres each which can he made in the vacant lands under the proposed ditches aggregates 614. The total number of possible 80-acre allotments under proposed ditches therefore is 1,052. The Wind River Ditch survey is a line projected to indicate the possibility of reclaiming some 125,000 acres north of Big Wind River. Aa this system of irrigation would be very expensive no steps have been taken to carry it into execution. It was represented to this Office that any system of irrigation con-structed upon that reservation should be confined to lauds south of the Big Wind River, and that the Indians should be negotiated with for the cesaion of their lands north of that river, since they were willing to make such cession to the United Stgtss. Accordingly Inspector James MdLaughlin was instructed March 29, 1904, to visit these Indians for that purpose, and he concluded an agreement on April 21 whereby the Indians ceded to the United States the lands within their reservation north of the midchannel of the Big Wind River, enst and southeast thereof and southeast of the Little Wina River and the Popo Agie River, more particularly described as follows: |