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Show . . 166 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAES. Reservation in Washington, dated December 20, for the cession of their surplus lands and the settlement of claims growing out of lands formerly claimed by. them but disposed of by the Government with-out their consent. The Colville Reservation was created by Executive orders of April 9 and July 2, 1872.. An agreement was made yith the Indians on May 9> 1891, by which they ceded the northern part of their reserva-tion to the United States for $1,500,000, but the Congress declined to ratify this agreement and substituted the act of July 1,1892 (27 Stat. L., 62), which vacated the northern part of the reservation, contain-ing approximately 1,500,000 acres, and after providing allotments for the Indians residing thereon, reshred the remainder of the lands to the public domain. This Office has always held @at the Indians were justly entitled to all the territory which was within their reservation prior to the opening to settlement of the northern part, and'that they were there-fore entitled to compensation for the lands taken. Article 1 of the agreement of last ~ecember provided for the cession of the entire diminished reservation, after an allotment of 80 acres had been made to each man, woman, and child belonging to or having tribal relations on the Colville Reservation, and for the pay-ment to the Indians of $1,500,000 in compensation for the lands opened to settlement by the act of July 1, 1892. Article 2 provided for the classification of the lands, theappraisai of all except the mineral lands, and the opening to settlement, by Presidential proclamation, of all surplus lands, to be paid for in five annual installments, default in payment of any installment to work a forfeiture of all moneys paid and right to the lands purchased. Lands remaining undisposed of were to be offered at public sale at not less than $1 per acre at the expiration of five years and without regard to minimum price at the expiration of ten years, all mineral lands and lands reserved for town-site purposes to be disposed of nnder the general laws, and all moneys derived from sales of land to I,e paid to the Indians. Article 3 provided that $100,000 be paid to the Indians per capita within six months from'date of ratification, the remaining $1,400,000 to constitute a general improvement fimd, the interest at 4 per cent and the proceeds of the sales of the opened lands to be expended an-nually for the benefit of the Indians. Other articles provided that the United States was not bound to find purchasers or to purchase any of the lands opened, but was to act as trustee for the Indians in their disposition; also that the dgreement should not deprive the Indians of any benefits to. which they are en-titled nnder existing agreements not inconsistent with the agreement |