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Show REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN ~FAIRS. 17 rainfall exceeds 120 inches a year, and travel is almost exclusively by canoe. As lands which are more valuable for timber than for grazing. or agriculture can not be allotted, it seems next to impossible to make allotments to even the small number of Indians entitled-probably not exceeding 300. Sac and Foa-The surpius lands of the Sac and Fox of Missouri are to be allotted to the children of former allottees in accordance with the act of June 21, 1906 (34 Stat. L., 349). On July 13 the Secretary designated Special Allotting Agent George A. Keepers to make these allotments. Mr. Keepers has nearly finished his task, and another reservation will soon cease to exist. Shoshoni.-Allotments have been made to 368 Indians on the,ceded part of the Shoshoni Reservation, in Wyoming, and they have been approved by the Department. The allotments to the Indians in the diminished Shoshoni Reservation' have been completed in the field but [rave not yet been entered on the tract books of 'this Office or sub-mitted for Department approval. On June 2, 1906, the President issued a proclamation opening the ceded lands to settlement under the act of March 3,1905 (33 Stat. L., 101G), which ratified the agreement with the Indians. Uintah.-There aretwo general methods of making allotments. The one is merely to schedule such names as'may be readily found , on the agency rolls and list a tract of land opposite each name, not only without running the lines and establishing the corners, but even without any information as to the'character of the land or its location with regard to the allottee's homeor selection. The other .requires the running out of the subdivision lines and establishingthe corners in the presence of the selector. It sometimes occurs that land actually wanted, and which ought to be allotted, is entirely ditierent from that which seemed to be indicated by the description given. Too often , the specific legislation directing the opening of a reservation seems to contemplate that allotments should be hurried thru after the first plan. The Uintah Reservation, in Ubh, furnishes an example. of the rushing and haphazard method. The allotments there had to be made very hastily, because the act directing the opening of the reser-vation did not allow a reasonable time. It was impossible to survey the lands before the opening, much less before the allotments were made, and not even yet are approved plats for all townships contain-ing allotments procurable, tho more than a year has elapsed since the allotting commission finished its work. A field party is still engaged in locating the allotments scheduled by the commission. , As must always be the case under circumstance like these, the allot-ment amounted to little more than a reservation of what was believed to be sufficient land of the right character. The patents for the allot-ments have all been been issued, but a large part of them do not |
