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Show ' a 66 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. has been of the opinion that the duty which the Government owes these people is not intempted by an infusion of white blood; there-fore, on its recommendation, the Department directed on May 8,1907, that the ruling followed in the decision of Ulin w. Corby be thereafter disregarded, and that-- one who is recognized by the laws and uaages of an Indian tribe as a member . thereof, or who is entitled to be so recognized, must be held quaiifled to take an allotment out of the public lands under the fourth section of the act of February A, 1887, as amended by the act of February 28, 1891. Carson Sirrk.-In my last report I outlined the plan which had been worked out to bring %he allotted lands of the Pah Ute Indians in Carson Sink, Nevada, within a reclamation project. The'plan was to extend the Truckee-Carson irrigation project over all exist-ing allotments; to cancel existing allotments and dispose of the lands covered by them, except 73 sections, under the homestead laws; to reallot these 714 sections to the Indians in 10-acre tracts with per-petual water rights; and out of the proceeds of the other lands to repay to the reclamation fimd the cost of reclaiming the Indian lands. During the fall of 1906 Special Allotting Agent Casson procured the relinquishments of 17 patented and 83 unpatented allotments On April 19, 1907, in accordance with Office recommendation, the Commissioner of the General Land Office was directed to cancel all the patented allotments which had been relinquished and all but two of the unpatented allotments embraced within the Truckee- Carson project, and to withdraw the lands covered by them, except the 73 sections, under the second form of withdrawal authorized br the act of June 17, 1902 (32 St4. L., 388). The reserved sections .were to be reallotted to the Indians in 10-acre tracts. On the same date the Director of the Reclamation Service was instructed to carrJ out that part of the plan dependent on his office. It is now necessary to procure authority to cancel the unrelin-qnished patents and to obtain an appropriation for an advance of funds to defray the cost of reclaiming the lands reserved for reallot-ment. On December 1, 1906, I submitted to the Department a draft of an item of legislation which would carry the plan into effect, but it failed to become a law. I regard this as a matter of so great importance that I shall again submit a draft of legislation for rec-ommendation to the Congress at its next session, embracing the nec-essary provisions to afford relief to the Indians and enable the Reclamation Service to complete its projeck Whe~ea Wotnzents ave 6eimg made.-Special Alloting Agent George A. Keepers reported for the month ending June 30, 1907, that up to that date he had made 875 allotments on the public domain in New Mexico. |