INDIAN AFFAIRS: LAWS AND TREATIES

Vol. I, Laws     (Compiled to December 1, 1902)

Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler. Washington : Government Printing Office, 1904.

PART IV.—PROCLAMATIONS.

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Whereas, pursuant to section ten, of the act of Congress approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-three, entitled “An act making appropriations for current and contingent expenses, and fulfilling treaty stipulations with Indian tribes, for fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-four” the Cherokee Nation of Indians, by a written agreement made on the seventeenth day of May, eighteen hundred and ninety-three, has ratified the agreement for the cession of certain lands, hereinafter described, as amended by said act of March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-three, and thereby ceded, conveyed, transferred, relinquished and surrendered all its title, claim, and interest of every kind and character in and to that part of the Indian Territory bounded on the west by the one hundredth degree (100°) of west longitude; on the north by the State of Kansas; on the east by the ninety-sixth degree (96°) of west longitude; and on the south by the Creek Nation, the Territory of Oklahoma and the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Reservation created or defined by Executive order dated August tenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine: Provided, That any citizen of the Cherokee Nation, who, prior to the first day of November, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, was a bona fide resident upon and further had, as a farmer and for farming purposes, made permanent and valuable improvements upon any part of the land so ceded and who has not disposed of the same, but desires to occupy the particular lands so improved as a homestead and for farming purposes, shall have the right to select one-eighth of a section of land, to conform however to the United States surveys; such selection to embrace, as far as the above limitation will admit, such improvements. The wife and children of any such citizen shall have the same right of selection that is above given to the citizen, and they shall have the preference in making selections to take any lands improved by the husband and father that he can not take until all of his improved land shall be taken; and that any citizen of the Cherokee Nation not a resident within the land so ceded, who, prior to the first day of November, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, had for farming purposes made valuable and permanent improvements upon any of the lands so ceded, shall have the right to select one-eighth of a section of land to conform to the United States surveys; such selection to embrace, as far as the

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above limitation will admit, such improvements; but the allotments so provided for shall not exceed seventy (70) in number, and the land allotted shall not exceed five thousand and six hundred (5,600) acres; and such allotments shall be made and confirmed under such rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, and when so made and confirmed shall be conveyed to the allottees respectively by the United States in fee simple, and from the price to be paid to the Cherokee Nation for the cession so made there shall be deducted the sum of one dollar and forty cents ($1.40) for each acre so taken in allotment; and Provided That D. W. Bushyhead, having made permanent or valuable improvements prior to the first day of November, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, on the lands so ceded, he may select a quarter section of the lands ceded, whether reserved or otherwise, prior to the opening of said lands to public settlement; but he shall be required to pay for such selection, at the same rate per acre as other settlers, into the Treasury of the United States in such manner as the Secretary of the Interior shall direct; and

Whereas, It is provided in section ten of the aforesaid act of Congress, approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-three:

That

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and
Whereas, by a written agreement, made on the twenty-first day of October, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, the Tonkawa tribe of Indians, in the Territory of Oklahoma, ceded, conveyed, and forever relinquished to the United States all their right, title, claim and interest of every kind and character, in and to the lands particularly described in Article I of the agreement, Provided, That the allotments of land to said Tonkawa tribe of Indians theretofore made, or to be made under said agreement and the provisions of the general allotment act approved February eight, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven and an act amendatory thereof, approved February twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, shall be confirmed, and Provided, That in all cases where the allottee has died since land has been set off and scheduled to such person, the law of descent and partition in force in Oklahoma Territory shall apply thereto, any existing law to the contrary notwithstanding; and

Whereas, by a certain other agreement with the Pawnee tribe of Indians, in said Territory, made on the twenty-third day of November, eighteen hundred and ninety-two, said tribe ceded, conveyed, released, relinquished, and surrendered to the United States all its title, claim, and interest, of every kind and character, in and to the lands particularly described in Article I of the agreement, Provided, That the allotments made or to be made to said Indians in the manner and subject to the conditions contained in said agreement, shall be confirmed;

and
Whereas, it is provided in section thirteen of the act of Congress, accepting, ratifying and confirming said agreements with the Tonkawa Indians and the Pawnee Indians, specified in sections eleven and twelve of the same act, approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-three, entitled “An act making appropriations for current and contingent expenses, and fulfilling treaty stipulations with Indian tribes for fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-four”,

and
Whereas, the thirteenth section of the act approved March second, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, the act approved May second, eighteen hundred and ninety, and the second proviso of section seventeen, and the whole to section eighteen of the act approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, are referred to in the tenth section of the act approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-three, and thereby made applicable in the disposal of the lands in the “Cherokee Outlet” hereinbefore mentioned, the provisions of which acts, so far as they affect the opening to settlement and the disposal of said lands, are more particularly set forth hereinafter in connection with

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the rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior for the occupation and settlement of the lands hereby opened, according to said tenth section; and

Whereas, the lands acquired by the three several agreements hereinbefore mentioned have been divided into counties by the Secretary of the Interior, as required by said last-mentioned act of Congress, before the same shall be opened to settlement, and lands have been reserved for county-seat purposes to be entered under sections twenty-three hundred and eighty-seven and twenty-three hundred and eighty-eight of the Revised Statutes of the United States as therein required as follows, to wit:

For County K, the southeast quarter of section twenty-three and the northeast quarter of section twenty-six, township twenty-eight north, range two east of the Indian Meridian, excepting four acres reserved for the site of a court house to be designated by lot and block upon the official plat of survey of said reservation for county-seat purposes hereafter to be issued by the Commissioner of the General Land Office; said reservation to be additional to the reservations for parks, schools and other public purposes required to be made by section 22, of the act of May 2, 1890.

For County L, the southwest quarter of section one, and the southeast quarter of section two, township twenty-five north, range six west of the Indian Meridian, excepting four acres reserved for the site of a court house to be designated by lot and block upon the official plat of survey of said reservation for county-seat purposes hereafter to be issued by the Commissioner of the General Land Office; said reservation to be additional to the reservations for parks, schools and other public purposes required to be made by section 22, of the act of May 2, 1890.

For County M, the south half of the north-east quarter and the north half of the southeast quarter of section twenty-three, and the south half of the northwest quarter and the north half of the southwest quarter of section twenty-four, township twenty-seven north, range fourteen west of the Indian Meridian, excepting one acre reserved for Government use for the site of a land-office, and four acres to be reserved for the site of a court house, which tracts are to be contiguous and to be designated by lot and block upon the official plat of survey of said reservation for county seat purposes, hereafter to be issued by the Commissioner of the General Land Office; said reservations to be additional to the reservations for parks, schools, and other public purposes required to be made by section 22, of the act of May 2, 1890.

For County N, the south half of section twenty-five, township twenty-three north, range twenty-one west of the Indian Meridian, excepting one acre reserved for Government use for the site of a land-office, and four acres to be reserved for the site of a court-house, which tracts are to be contiguous and to be designated by lot and block upon the official plat or survey of said reservation for county-seat purposes, hereafter to be issued by the Commissioner of the General Land Office; said reservations to be additional to the reservations for parks, schools, and other public purposes required to be made by section 22, of the act of May 2, 1890.

For County O, the southeast quarter of section seven, and the southwest quarter of section eight, township twenty-two north, range six west of the Indian Meridian, excepting one acre reserved for Government use for the site of a land-office, and four acres to be reserved for the site of a court house, which tracts are to be contiguous and to be designated by lot and block upon the official plat of survey of said reservation for county-seat purposes hereafter to be issued by the Commissioner of the General Land Office; said reservations to be additional to the reservations for parks, schools, and other public purposes required to be made by section 22 of the act of May 2, 1890.

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For County P, the northeast quarter of section twenty-two and the northwest quarter of section twenty-three, township twenty-one north, range one west of the Indian Meridian, excepting one acre reserved for Government use for the site of a land-office, and four acres reserved for the site of a court-house, which tracts are to be contiguous and to be designated by lot and block upon the official plat of survey of said reservation for county-seat purposes hereafter to be issued by the Commissioner of the General Land Office; said reservations to be additional to the reservations for parks, schools, and other public purposes required to be made by section 22, of the act of May 2, 1890; and,

For County Q, the southeast quarter of section thirty-one, the west half of the southwest quarter of section thirty-two, township twenty-two north, range five east, lot four of section five, and lot one of section six, township twenty-one north, range five east of the Indian Meridian, excepting four acres reserved for the site of a court-house to be designated by lot and block upon the official plat of survey of said reservation for county-seat purposes hereafter to be issued by the Commissioner of the General Land Office; said reservation to be additional to the reservations for parks, schools, and other public purposes required to be made by section 22, of the act of May 2, 1890.

Whereas, it is provided by act of Congress for temporary government of Oklahoma, approved May second, eighteen hundred and ninety, section twenty-three (Twenty-six Statutes, page ninety-two) that there shall be reserved public highways four rods wide between each section of land in said Territory, the section lines being the center of said highways; but no deduction shall be made, where cash payments are provided for in the amount to be paid for each quarter section of land by reason of such reservation; and

Whereas, all the terms, conditions, and considerations required by said agreements made with said Nation and tribes of Indians and by the laws relating thereto, precedent to opening said lands to settlement, have been, as I hereby declare, complied with:

Now, therefore, I, Grover Cleveland, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested by the Statutes hereinbefore mentioned, and by other the laws of the United States, and by said several agreements, do hereby declare and make known that all the lands acquired from the Cherokee Nation of Indians, the Tonkawa tribe of Indians, and the Pawnee tribe of Indians, by the three several agreements aforesaid, will at the hour of twelve o’clock noon (central standard time) on Saturday the sixteenth day of the month of September A. D., eighteen hundred and ninety-three, and not before, be opened to settlement under the terms of and subject to all the conditions, limitations, reservations, and restrictions contained in said agreements, the Statutes above specified, the laws of the United States applicable thereto and the conditions prescribed by this Proclamation, saving and excepting lands described and identified as follows, to wit: The lands set apart for the Osage and Kansas Indians, being a tract of country bounded on the north by the State of Kansas, on the east by the ninety-sixth degree of west longitude, on the south and west by the Creek country and the main channel of the Arkansas river; the lands set apart for the Confederated Otoe and Missouria tribes of Indians, described as follows, to wit: township twenty-two north, range one east; township twenty-three north, range one east; township twenty-two north, range two east; township twenty-three north, range two east; township twenty-two north, range three east; and that portion of township twenty-three north, range three east, lying west of the Arkansas river; and the lands set apart for the Ponca tribe of Indians, described as follows, to wit: township twenty-four north, range one east; township twenty-five north, range one east; fractional township twenty-four north, range two east; fractional township twenty-five north, range two east, fractional township twenty-

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four north, range three east; fractional township twenty-five north, range three east; fractional township twenty-four north, range four east; fractional township twenty-five north, range four east, the said fractional townships lying on the right bank of the Arkansas river, excepting also the lands allotted to the Indians as in said agreements provided, excepting also the lands reserved by Executive Orders dated April eighteenth, eighteen hundred and eighty-two, and January seventeenth, eighteen hundred and eighty-three (known as Camp Supply Military Reservation), described as follows, to wit: Township twenty-four north, range twenty-two west, the south half of township twenty-five north, range twenty-two west, and the southwest quarter of township twenty-five north, range twenty-one west; excepting also one acre of land in each of the reservations for county-seat purposes, in Counties M, N, O and P, which tracts are hereby reserved for Government use as sites for land offices, and four acres in each reservation for county seat purposes hereinbefore named, which tracts are hereby reserved as sites for court houses, and excepting also the reservations for the use of and in connection with the Chilocco Indian Industrial School, and for county-seat purposes hereinbefore described; excepting also the saline lands covered by three leases made by the Cherokee Nation prior to March 3, 1893,known as the Eastern, Middle and Western Saline reserves, under authority of the act of Congress of August 7, 1882 (22 Stat., 349), said lands being described and identified as follows: the Eastern Saline Reserve embracing all of section 6, lots 3 and 4 of section 4, the south half of the northeast quarter, the south half of the northwest quarter, the north half of the southwest quarter and lots 1, 2, 3 and 4 of section 5, and the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter and lots 1 and 2 of section 7, township 25 north, range 9 west; all of sections 6, 7, 8, 17, 18, 19, 20, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33, the southwest quarter, the southwest quarter of the northwest quarter and lots 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of section 5, the southwest quarter, the southwest quarter of the northwest quarter, the southwest quarter of the southeast quarter, and lot 1 of section 9, the west half of the southwest quarter of section 15, the west half, the southeast quarter, the west half of the northeast quarter and the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 16, the west half, the west half of the southeast quarter and the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section 22, the west half, the west half of the southeast quarter, the northeast quarter of the southeast quarter, and the southwest quarter of the northeast quarter of section 26, the northwest quarter, the north half of the southwest quarter, the west half of the northeast quarter, and the northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 34, and the northwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section 35, township 26 north, range 9 west; all of section 31, the southwest quarter of the southeast quarter, the southeast quarter of the southwest quarter and lot 4 of section 30, and lots 3 and 4 of section 32, township 27 north, range 9 west; all of sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11, the southeast quarter, the south half of the northeast quarter, the east half of the southwest quarter, the southeast quarter of the northwest quarter and lots 1, 2 and 3 of section 5, the east half, the southwest quarter and the east half of the northwest quarter of section 8, the north half, the north half of the southwest quarter, the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter, and the northwest quarter of the southeast quarter of section 12, the northwest quarter, the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter, the north half of the southwest quarter, and the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section 14, the north half, the southeast quarter and the north half of the southwest quarter of section 15, and the northeast quarter and the north half of the northwest quarter of section 16, township 25 north, range 10 west; all of sections 1, 2, 3, 10,

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11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 33, 34, 35 and 36, the south half of the northeast quarter, the southeast quarter of the northwest quarter, the southeast quarter, the east half of the southwest quarter and lots 1, 2 and 3 of section 4, the east half, the southwest quarter, the east half of the northwest quarter, and the southwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section 9, the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section 17, the east half of the northeast quarter and the east half of the southeast quarter of section 20, the southeast quarter and the east half of the northeast quarter of section 29, and the east half and the southeast quarter of the southwest quarter of section 32, of township 26 north, range 10 west; all of sections 22, 26, 27, 34, 35 and 36, the east half of the northeast quarter and the east half of the southeast quarter of section 21, the southwest quarter, the west half of the southeast quarter, the south half of the northwest quarter and lots 1 and 6 of section 23, the southwest quarter, the west half of the southeast quarter, the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter, the south half of the northwest quarter and lot 1 of section 25, the east half of section 28, and the east half and the southeast quarter of the southwest quarter of section 33, township 27 north, range 10 west; the Middle Saline Reserve embracing the southwest quarter of the northeast quarter, the southeast quarter of the northwest quarter, the west half of the southeast quarter, the east half of the southwest quarter, and lots 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of section 6, and the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter, the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter and lot 1 of section 7, township 26 north, range 18 west; the southwest quarter of the southeast quarter, the southeast quarter of the southwest quarter and lot 7 of section 6, the west half of the northeast quarter, the east half of the northwest quarter, the west half of the southeast quarter, the east half of the southwest quarter and lots 1, 2, 3 and 4 of section 7, the west half of the northeast quarter, the east half of the northwest quarter, the west half of the southeast quarter, the east half of the southwest quarter and lots 1, 2, 3 and 4 of section 18, the west half of the northeast quarter, the east half of the northwest quarter, the west half of the southeast quarter, the east half of the southwest quarter and lots 1, 2, 3 and 4 of section 19, the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter, the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter and lots 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8 of section 30, and the west half of the northeast quarter, the east half of the northwest quarter, the west half of the southeast quarter, the east half of the southwest quarter and lots 1, 2, 3 and 4 of section 31, township 27 north, range 18 west; all of sections 1 to 6 inclusive, the north half of the north half of sections 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, and the north half of the northeast quarter, the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter and lot 1 of section 7, township 26 north, range 19 west; all of sections 7 to 36 inclusive, the south half of the south half of sections 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, and the south half of the southeast quarter, the southeast of the southwest quarter and lot 7 of section 6, township 27 north, range 19 west; all of sections 1 and 2, the south half of the northeast quarter, the southeast quarter, and lots 1 and 2 of section 3, the north half of the northeast quarter of section 10, and the north half of the north half of sections 11 and 12, township 26 north, range 20 west; all of sections 11, 12, 13, 14, 23, 24, 25, 26, 35 and 36, the south half of the southeast quarter and lot 7 of section 1, the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter and lot 6 of section 2, the south half of the southeast quarter of section 3, and the east half of sections 10, 15, 22, 27 and 34, township 27 north, range 20 west; and the Western Saline Reserve embracing all of sections 18, 19, 30 and 31, township 29 north, range 20 west; and all of sections 13, 14, 23, 24, 25, 26, 35 and 36, township 29 north, range 21 west; excepting also that section 13, in each township which has not been otherwise

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reserved or disposed of, is hereby reserved for university, agricultural college, and normal school purposes, subject to the action of Congress; excepting also that section 33 in each township which has not been otherwise reserved or disposed of, is hereby reserved for public buildings; excepting also sections sixteen and thirty-six in each township which are reserved by law for the use and benefit of the public schools; excepting, also, all selections and allotments made under the law and the agreements herein referred to, the lands covered by said selections and allotments to be particularly described and identified; said descriptions to be furnished by the Commissioner of the General Land Office, and posted in the several booths hereinafter referred to as those where certain preliminary declarations are to be made prior to the day named in this proclamation as that when the strip will be open to settlement.

Said lands so to be opened as herein proclaimed, shall be entered upon and occupied only in the manner and under the provisions following, to wit:

A strip of land, one hundred feet in width, around and immediately within the outer-boundaries of the entire tract of country, to be opened to settlement under this proclamation, is hereby temporarily set apart for the following purposes and uses, viz:

Said strip, the inner-boundary of which shall be one hundred feet from the exterior boundary of the country known as the Cherokee Outlet, shall be open to occupancy in advance of the day and hour named for the opening of said country, by persons expecting and intending to make settlement pursuant to this proclamation. Such occupancy shall not be regarded as trespass, or in violation of this proclamation, or of the law under which it is made; nor shall any settlement rights be gained thereby.

The Commissioner of the General Land Office shall, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, establish on said one hundred foot strip booths, to be located as follows: one in Tp. 29 N., R. 2 E.; one in Tp. 29 N., R. 2 W.; one in Tp. 29 N., R. 4 W.; one in Tp. 29 N., R. 8 W.; one in Tp. 29 N., R. 12 W.; one in Tp. 20 N., R. 3 E.; one in Tp. 20 N., R. 2 W.; one in Tp. 20 N., R. 7 W.; and one in Tp. 20 N., R. 26 W., and shall place in charge thereof three officers to each booth, who shall be detailed from the General Land Office. Said booths shall be open for the transaction of business on and after Monday the eleventh day of the month of September, A. D., eighteen hundred and ninety-three, from 7 a. m. to 12 m. and 1 p. m. to 6 p. m., each business day, until the same shall be discontinued by the Secretary of the Interior, who is hereby authorized to discontinue the same at his discretion. Each party desiring to enter upon and occupy as a homestead any of the lands hereby opened to settlement will be required to first appear at one of the before-mentioned booths and make a declaration in writing to be signed by the party in the presence of one of the officers in charge thereof, which shall be certified by such officer, according to the form hereto attached and made a part hereof (marked A), showing his or her qualifications to make homestead entry for said lands, whereupon a certificate will be issued by the officers in charge of the booth to the party making the declaration which shall be of the form hereto attached and made a part hereof (marked D).

Where a party desires to file a soldier’s declaratory statement in person he will be required to make a declaration which shall be of the form hereto attached and made a part hereof (marked B), the same to be made and subscribed before one of the officers in charge of the booth and certified by such officer, independently of the affidavit (form 4–546) to be filed when he presents the certificate of form D, there given him, to the district officers. Where a party desires to file a declaratory statement through an agent, it will be necessary for him previously to make the affidavit ordinarily required (form 4–545) before some officer

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authorized to administer oaths, and place the same in the hands of the agent, who, before being permitted to enter upon the lands to be opened in said “Outlet” for the purpose of making the desired filing, will be required to appear before the officers in charge of some one of the booths, to present the said affidavit of the party authorizing him to act as such agent, and to make a declaration in writing to be subscribed by him in the presence of one of such officers, which shall be certified by such officer, according to the form hereto attached and made a part hereof (marked C), whereupon a certificate of form D will be given him by said officer. The agent should be provided with affidavits of form 4–545 made in duplicate—one for presentation to the officers in charge of the booth, and the other for presentation to the district officers, when formal filing is to be made.

Each party desiring to enter upon said lands for the purpose of settling upon a town lot, will be required to first appear at one of the before-mentioned booths, and make a declaration in writing to be signed by the party in the presence of one of the officers in charge thereof, which shall be certified by such officer, according to the form hereto attached and made a part hereof (marked E), whereupon a certificate will be issued by the officers in charge of the booth to the party making the declaration which shall be of the form hereto attached and made a part hereof (marked F).

The said declarations made before the officers in charge shall be given consecutive numbers beginning at number one at each booth and the certificate issued to the party making the declaration shall be given the same number as is given the declaration. The declaration shall be carefully preserved by the officers in charge of the booths, and when the booths are discontinued said declarations shall be transmitted, together with the duplicate affidavits, form 4–545, hereinbefore required to be presented in case of agents proposing to act for soldiers in filing declaratory statements, to the General Land Office for filing as a part of the records pertaining to the disposal of said lands.

The certificate will be evidence only that the party named therein is permitted to go in upon the lands opened to settlement by this proclamation at the time specified herein and the certificate of form D must be surrendered when application to enter or file is presented to the district officers and the party’s right to make a filing, homestead entry or settlement shall be passed upon by the district land officers at the proper time and in the usual manner. The holder of such certificate will be required when he makes his homestead affidavit, or, if a soldier or soldier’s agent, when he files a declaratory statement at the district office, to allege under oath before the officers taking such homestead affidavit, or to whom said declaratory statement is presented for filing, that all the statements contained in the declaration made by him, upon which said certificate is based, are true in every particular, such oath to be added to affidavit of form 4—102, as shown on form hereto attached, and made a part hereof, (marked 102 d).

After the hour and day hereinbefore named when said lands will be opened to settlement, all parties holding such certificates (form D or F), will be permitted to occupy or enter upon the land so opened, and parties holding a certificate of form D may initiate a homestead claim, either by settlement upon the land or by entry or filing at the proper district office; but no person not holding any such certificate shall be permitted to occupy or enter upon any of said lands until after the booths shall have been discontinued by direction of the Secretary of the Interior. Until then, the officers of the United States are expressly charged to permit no party without a certificate to occupy or enter upon any of said lands.

The following rules and regulations have been prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior under the direction of the President as pro-

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vided by section ten of said act of March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-three, for the occupation and settlement of the lands hereby opened, to wit:

The thirteenth section of the act approved March second, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, the act approved May second eighteen hundred and ninety, the second proviso of section seventeen, and the whole of section eighteen of the act approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, are by section ten of the act of March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-three, made applicable in disposing of the lands under said section ten, and said lands are thereby rendered subject to disposal under the homestead and town site laws only, with certain modifications, which laws, as so modified, contain provisions, substantially as follows:

1.   Any party will be entitled to initate a homestead claim to a tract of said lands, who is over twenty-one years of age or the head of a family; who is a citizen of the United States, or has declared his intention to become such; who has not exhausted his homestead right either by perfecting a homestead entry for one hundred and sixty acres of land under any law, excepting what is known as the commuted provision of the homestead law, contained in section two thousand three hundred and one of the United States Revised Statutes, or by making or commuting a homestead entry since March second, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine; who has not entered, since August thirty, eighteen hundred and ninety, under the land laws of the United States, or filed upon, a quantity of land, agricultural in character, and not mineral, which with the tracts sought to be entered in any case, would make more than three hundred and twenty acres; who is not the owner in fee simple of one hundred and sixty acres of land in any State or Territory; and who has not entered upon or occupied the lands hereby opened in violation of this the President’s proclamation opening the same to settlement and entry. (See section 2289 U. S. R. S.; act of March 2, 1889, 25 Stat., 854; section 13 of the act of March 2, 1889, 25 Stat., 1005; act of August 30, 1890, 26 Stat., 391; section 20, act of May 2, 1890, 26 Stat., 91; and section 10, act of March 3, 1893, 27 Stat., 640).

2.   Each entry shall be in a compact body, according to the rectangular subdivisions of the public surveys, and in a square form, as nearly as reasonably practicable, consistently with such surveys, and no person shall be permitted to enter more than one quarter section in quantity of said lands. (See section 13, act of March 2, 1889, 25 Stat., 1005).

3.   Parties who own and reside upon land (not acquired by them under the homestead law), not amounting in quantity to a quarter section, may, if otherwise qualified, enter other land lying contiguous to their own to an amount which shall not, with the land already owned by them, exceed in the aggregate 160 acres. (See section 2289, U. S. R. S.).

4.   Any party, who has made a homestead entry prior to March second, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, for less than one quarter section of land and who still owns and occupies the land so entered, may, if otherwise qualified, enter an additional tract of land lying contiguous to the land embraced in the original entry, which shall not, with the land first entered, exceed in the aggregate one hundred and sixty acres, but such additional entry will not be permitted, or if permitted will be canceled, if the original entry should fail, for any reason prior to patent, or should appear to be illegal or fraudulent. The final proof of residence and cultivation made on the original entry, together with the payment of the prescribed price for the land, will be sufficient to entitle the party to a final certificate for the land so entered without further proof. (See section 5 of the act of March 2, 1889, 25 Stat., 854).

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5.   Parties who have complied with the conditions of the law with regard to a homestead entry for less than one hundred and sixty acres of land made prior to March second, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, and have had the final papers issued therefor, may, if otherwise qualified, make an additional entry, by legal subdivisions, of so much land as, added to the quantity previously so entered, shall not exceed one hundred and sixty acres. Parties making entry under the provisions set forth in this paragraph will be required to reside upon and cultivate the land embraced therein for the prescribed period and to submit proof of residence and cultivation of a like character with that required in ordinary homestead entries before the issuance of a final certificate. (See section 6, act of March 2, 1889, 25 Stat., 854).

6.   Any officer, soldier, seaman or marine who served for not less than ninety days in the Army or Navy of the United States during the War of the Rebellion and who was honorably discharged and has remained loyal to the Government, or, in case of his death, his widow, or in case of her death or remarriage, his minor orphan children, by a guardian duly appointed and officially accredited at the Department of the Interior, may either in person, or by agent, file a declaratory statement for a tract of land and have six months thereafter within which to make actual entry and commence residence and improvements upon the land. (See sections 2304, 2307, and 2309 U. S. R. S.).

7. Every person entitled under the preceding paragraph to enter a homestead, who, or whose deceased husband or father in case of the widow or minor children, may have, prior to June twenty-second, eighteen hundred and seventy-four, entered, under the homestead laws, a quantity of land less than one hundred and sixty acres, may, if otherwise qualified, enter so much land as, when added to the quantity previously entered, shall not exceed one hundred and sixty acres, but the party must make affidavit that the entry is made for actual settlement and cultivation, and the proof of such settlement and cultivation, prescribed by existing homestead laws and regulations thereunder, will be required to be produced before the issue of final certificate. (See section 2306 U. S. R. S., and section 18 of the act of May 2, 1890, 26 Stat., 90).

8.   Parties may initiate claims under the homestead law either by settlement on the land or by entry at the district office; in the former case, the party will have three months after settlement within which to file his application for the tract at the district office; in the latter case, the party will have six months after entry at that office, within which to establish residence and begin improvements upon the land. (See sections 2290 and 2297, U. S. R. S.; and section 3, of the act of May 14, 1880, 21 Stat., 140).

9.   The homestead affidavits required to be filed with the application must be executed before the register or receiver of the proper district land office (see section 2290, U. S. R. S.), or before any other officer who may be found duly qualified at the time to administer such oaths according to the provisions of the act of Congress of May 26, 1890, 26 Stat., 121.

10.   Parties applying to make homestead entry will be required to tender with the application the legal fee and commissions which are as follows: for an entry of over eighty acres a fee of ten dollars, and for an entry of eighty acres or less a fee of five dollars, and, in both cases, in addition, commissions, of two per cent upon the Government price of the land, computed at the rate of $1.25 per acre, the ordinary minimum price of public lands under the general provisions of section 2357, U. S. R. S. (See sections 2238 and 2290 U. S. R. S.)

11.   Homestead applicants appearing in great number at the local office to make entry at the time of opening will be required to form in

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line in order that their applications may be presented and acted upon in regular order.

12.   Soldiers’ declaratory statements can only be made by the parties entitled or by their agents in person, and will not be received if sent by mail. A party acting as agent and appearing in line, as contemplated under the eleventh paragraph, will be allowed to make one entry or filing in his individual character, if he so desires, and to file one declaratory statement in his representative character as agent, if such he shall be, and thereupon he will be required to step out of line, giving place to the next person in order, and, if he desires to make any other filings, to take his place at the end of the line and await his proper turn before doing so, and thus to proceed in order until all the filings desired by him shall be made.

13.   Section two thousand three hundred and one of the Revised Statutes of the United States providing for commutation of homestead entries is not applicable to said lands. (See section 18 of the act of May 2, 1890, 26 Stat., 90).

14.   Proof of five years’ residence, cultivation, and improvement, and the payment prescribed by the statute, as hereinbefore mentioned must be made, before a party will be entitled to a patent under the homestead law, and such proof is required to be made within seven years from the date of the entry. Commissions equal to two per cent, upon the Government price for the land, computed at $1.25 per acre under sections 2357 U. S. R. S., must also be tendered with the final proof. Interest at four per cent. per annum on the purchase price of the land must be paid from the date of the entry to date of final payment of purchase money. (See sections 2238 and 2291 U. S. R. S.,; and sections 10 and 13 of the act of March 3, 1893, 27 Stats. 640)

15.   The parties named in paragraph six of these regulations are entitled to have the term of service in the Army or Navy, under which the claim is made, not exceeding four years, deducted from the period of five years’ residence or cultivation required as stated in the preceding paragraph, or if the party was discharged from service on account of wounds or disabilities incurred in the line of duty, the whole term of enlistment not exceeding four years, may be deducted. (See section 2305, U. S. R. S.).

16.   Where a homestead settler dies before the consummation of his claim, the widow, or, in case of her death, the heirs or devisee may continue settlement or cultivation, and obtain title upon requisite proof at the proper time. If the widow proves up, title will pass to her; if she dies before proving up and the heirs or devisee make the proof, the title will vest in them respectively. (See section 2291 U. S. R. S.).

17.   Where both parents die, leaving infant children, the homestead may be sold for cash for the benefit of such children, and the purchaser will receive title from the United States. (See section 2292, U. S. R. S.).

18.   In case of the death of a person after having entered a homestead, the failure of the widow, children, or devisee of the deceased to fulfill the demands of the letter of the law as to residence on the lands, will not necessarily subject the entry to forfeiture on the ground of abandonment. If the land is cultivated in good faith the law will be considered as having been substantially complied with.

19.   Town site claims may be initiated upon said lands, under the statutes, by two methods, which are separate and distinct in character—the regulations under the first method are hereinafter set forth in paragraphs twenty, twenty-one and twenty-two, and under the second method in paragraphs twenty-three to twenty-eight, inclusive. Provision is further made for town-site entries in cases where lands entered under the homestead law are required for town-site purposes as set forth in paragraph thirty.

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20.   Parties having founded or who desire to found a city or town on the public lands, must file with the recorder of the county in which land is situate a plat thereof, describing the exterior boundaries of the land according to the lines of public surveys. Such plat must state the name of the city or town, exhibit the streets, squares, blocks, lots and alleys, and specify the size of the same, with measurements and area of each municipal subdivision, the lots in which shall not exceed 4,200 square feet, with a statement of the extent and general character of the improvements. The plat and statement must be verified by the oath of the party acting for and in behalf of the occupants and inhabitants of the town or city. Within one month after filing the plat with the recorder of the county a verified copy of said plat and statement must be sent to the General Land Office, accompanied by the testimony of two witnesses that such town or city has been established in good faith, and a similar map and statement must be filed with the Register and receiver of the proper district office. Thereafter the President may cause the lots embraced within the limits of such city or town to be offered at public sale to the highest bidder subject to a minimum of ten dollars for each lot; and such lots as may not be disposed of at public sale shall thereafter be liable to private entry at such minimum, or at such reasonable increase or diminution thereafter as the Secretary of the Interior may order from time to time, after at least three months’ notice, in view of the increase or decrease in the value of the municipal property. Any actual settler upon any lot and upon any additional lot upon which he may have substantial improvements, shall be entitled to prove up and purchase the same as a pre-emption, at such minimum, at any time before the day fixed for the public sale. (See section 2282 U. S. R. S.)

21.   In case the parties interested shall fail or refuse, within twelve months after founding a city or town, to file in the General Land Office a transcript map, with the statement and testimony, as required in paragraph twenty, the Secretary of the Interior may cause a survey and plat to be made of said city or town, and thereafter the lots will be sold at an increase of fifty per cent, on the minimum price of $10 per lot. (See section 2384 U. S. R. S.).

22.   When lots vary in size from the limitation of 4200 square feet, and the lots, buildings, and improvements cover an area greater than 640 acres, such variance as to size of lots or excess in area will prove no bar to entry, but the price of the lots may be increased to such reasonable amount as the Secretary of the Interior may be rule establish. (See section 2385 U. S. R. S.).

23.   Under the second method lands actually settled upon and occupied as a townsite, and therefore not subject to entry under the homestead laws, may be entered as a townsite, at the proper district land office. (See section 2387 U. S. R. S.)

24.   If the town is incorporated, the entry may be made by the corporate authorities thereof through the mayor or other principal officer duly authorized so to do. If the town is not incorporated, the entry may be made by the judge of the county court for the county in which said town is situated. In either case the entry must be made in trust for the use and benefit of the occupants thereof, according to their respective interests. The execution of such trust as to the disposal of lots and the proceeds of sales is to be conducted under regulations prescribed by the territorial laws. Acts of trustees not in accordance with such regulations are void. (See sections 2387 and 2391 U. S. R. S.)

25.   The officer authorized to enter a town-site may make entry at once, or he may initiate an entry by filing a declaratory statement of the purpose of the inhabitants to make a town-site entry of the land described. The entry or declaratory statement shall include only such

{Page 980}

and as is actually occupied by the town, and the title to which is in the United States, and its exterior limits must conform to the legal subdivisions of the public lands. (See sections 2388 and 2389 U. S. R. S.)

26.   The amount of land that may be entered under this method is proportionate to the number of inhabitants. One hundred and less than two hundred inhabitants may enter not to exceed 320 acres; two hundred and less than one thousand inhabitants may enter not to exceed 640 acres; and where the inhabitants number one thousand and over, an amount not to exceed 1280 acres may be entered; and for each additional one thousand inhabitants, not to exceed five thousand in all, a further amount of 320 acres may be allowed. When the number of inhabitants of a town is less than one hundred, the town-site shall be restricted to the land actually occupied for town purposes by legal subdivisions. (See section 2389 U. S. R. S.)

27.   Where an entry is made of less than the maximum quantity of land allowed for town-site purposes, additional entries may be made of contiguous tracts occupied for town purposes, which, when added to the previous entry or entries, will not exceed 2,560 acres; but no additional entry can be allowed which will make the total area exceed the area to which the town may be entitled by virtue of its population at date of additional entry. (See sec. 4 of the act of March 3, 1877, 19 Stat., 392.)

28.   The land must be paid for at the Government price per acre, and proof must be furnished relating—1st. To municipal occupation of the land; 2d, Number of inhabitants; 3d, Extent and value of town improvements; 4th, Date when land was first used for town-site purposes; 5th, Official character and authority of officer making entry; 6th, If an incorporated town, proof of incorporation, which should be a certified copy of the act of incorporation; and 7th, That a majority of the occupants or owners of the lots within the town desire that such action be taken. Thirty days’ publication of notice of intention to make proof must be made and proof of publication furnished. (See section 2387 U. S. R. S.)

29.   All surveys for town-sites on said lands shall contain reservations for parks (of substantially equal area if more than one park) and for schools and other public purposes embracing in the aggregate not less than ten nor more than twenty acres, and patents for such reservations, to be maintained for such purposes, will be issued to the towns respectively when organized as municipalities. (See section 22, act of May 2, 1890, 26 Stat., 92.)

30.   In case any of said lands which may be entered under the homestead laws by a person who is entitled to perfect his title thereto under such laws, are required for town-site purposes, the entryman may apply to the Secretary of the Interior to purchase the lands embraced in said homestead, or any part thereof not less than a legal subdivision for town-site purposes. The party must file, in the district office with his application, a plat of the proposed town-site, and evidence of his qualifications to perfect title under the homestead law, and of his compliance with all the requirements of the law and the instructions thereunder, and must deposit with the Secretary of the Interior the sum of ten dollars per acre for all the lands embraced in such town-site, except the lands to be donated and maintained for public purposes as mentioned in the preceding paragraph. (See section 22, act of May 2, 1890, 26 Stat., 92.)

Notice, moreover, is hereby given that it is by law enacted that no person shall be permitted to occupy or enter upon any of the lands herein referred to, except in the manner prescribed by this proclamation; and any person otherwise occupying or entering upon any of said lands shall forfeit all right to acquire any of said lands, and

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that the officers of the United States will be required to enforce this provision.

And further notice is hereby given that four land districts have been established in Oklahoma Territory with boundaries as follows:

The Perry district bounded and described as follows: Beginning at the middle of the main channel of the Arkansas river, where the same is intersected by the northern boundary of Oklahoma Territory; thence west to the northwest corner of township 29 north, range 2 west of the Indian Meridian; thence south on the range line between ranges 2 and 3 west to the southwest corner of lot 3 of section 31, township 20 north, range 2 west; thence east to the southeast corner of lot 4 of section 36, township 20 north, range 4 east; thence south on the range line between ranges 4 and 5 east to the middle of the main channel of the Cimarron river; thence down said river in the middle of the main channel thereof to the western boundary of the Creek Country; thence north to the northwest corner of the Creek Country; thence east on the northern boundary of said Creek Country to the middle of the main channel of the Arkansas river; thence up said river in the middle of the main channel thereof to the place of beginning; the local land office of which will be located at the town of Perry in County P.

The Enid district bounded and described as follows: Beginning at the northeast corner of township 29 north range 3 west of the Indian Meridian; thence west to the northwest corner of township 29 north, range 8 west; thence south on the range line between ranges 8 and 9 west to the southwest corner of lot 3 of section 31, township 20 north, range 8 west; thence east to the southeast corner of lot 4 of section 36, township 20 north, range 3 west; thence north on the range line between ranges 2 and 3 west to the place of beginning; the local land office of which will be located at the town of Enid in County O.

The Alva district, bounded and described as follows: Beginning at the northeast corner of township 29 north, range 9 west of the Indian Meridian; thence west to the northwest corner of township 29 north, range 16 west; thence south on the range line between ranges 16 and 17 west to the southwest corner of lot 3 of section 31, township 20 north, range 16 west; thence east to the southeast corner of lot 4 of section 36, township 20 north, range 9 west; thence north on the range line between ranges 8 and 9 west to the place of beginning; the local land office of which will be located at the town of Alva in County M.

The Woodward land district bounded and described as follows: Beginning at the northeast corner of township 29 north, range 17 west of the Indian Meridian; thence west to the northwest corner of township 29 north, range 26 west; thence south to the southwest corner of lot 3 of section 32, township 20 north, range 26 west; thence east to the southeast corner of lot 4 of section 36, township 20 north, range 17 west; thence north on the range line between ranges 16 and 17 west to the place of beginning; the local land office of which will be located at the town of Woodward in County N.

And further notice is hereby given that the line of ninety-seven and one-half degrees west longitude, named herein, for the purpose of disposing of the land hereby opened to settlement, is held to fall on the west line of sections two, eleven, fourteen, twenty-three, twenty-six, and thirty-five of the townships in range three west of the Indian Meridian, and the line of ninety-eight and one-half degrees of west longitude is held to fall on the line running due north and south through the centres of sections four, nine, sixteen, twenty-one, twenty-eight and thirty-three of the townships in range twelve west of the Indian Meridian, and said lines have been so laid down upon the township plats on file in the General Land Office.

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In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington this nineteenth day of August in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-three and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and eighteenth.

GROVER CLEVELAND.

[SEAL.]

By the President:
     W. Q. GRESHAM,
          Secretary of State.

Required by President’s proclamation of August 19, 1893, preparatory to occupying or entering upon the lands of the Cherokee Outlet, for the purpose of making a homestead entry.

No. ——

I, —— of ——, being desirous of occupying or entering upon the lands opened to settlement by the President’s proclamation of August 19, 1893, for the purpose of making a homestead entry, do solemnly declare that I am over twenty-one years of age or the head of a family; that I am a citizen of the United States (or have declared my intention to become such); that I have not perfected a homestead entry for 160 acres of land under any law except what is known as the commuted provisionof the homestead law contained in Sec. 2301, R. S., nor have I made or commuted a homestead entry since March 2, 1889; —— that I have not entered since August 30, 1890, under the land laws of the United States or filed upon a quantity of land agricultural in character and not mineral, which, with the tracts now desired would make more than 320 acres; that I am not the owner in fee simple of 160 acres of land in any State or Territory; that I have not entered upon or occupied, nor will I enter upon or occupy, the lands to be opened to settlement by the President’s proclamation of August 19, 1893, in violation of the requirements of said proclamation, that I desire to make entry for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not for the benefit of any other person, persons, or corporation, that I will faithfully and honestly endeavor to comply with all the requirements of law as to settlement, residence, and cultivation necessary to acquire title to the land I may select; that I am not acting as agent of any person, corporation, or syndicate to give them the benefit of the land I may enter, or any part thereof, or the timber thereon; that I do not apply to enter upon said lands for the purpose of speculation, but in good faith, to obtain a home for myself, and that I have not directly or indirectlymade, and will not make, any agreement or contract in any way or manner with any person or persons, corporation or syndicate whatsoever, by which the title which I may acquire from the Government of the United States should inure in whole or in part to the benefit to any person except myself.

—— ——.

I certify that the foregoing declaration was made and subscribed before me this —— day of ——, 1893.

—— ——,
Officer in charge.

{Page 983}

Required by President’s proclamation of August 19, 1893, preparatory to occupying or entering upon the lands of the “Cherokee Outlet” for the purpose of filing a soldier’s declaratory statement in person.

No. ——

I, ——, of —— County, and State or Territory of ——, do solemnly declare that I served for the period of —— in the Army of the United States during the war of the rebellion, and was honorably discharged therefrom, as shown by a statement of such service herewith, and that I have remained layal to the Government; that I have not perfected a homestead entry for 160 acres of land under ant law except what is known as the commuted provision of the homestead law contained in Sec. 2301, R. S., nor have I filed a declaratory statement under section 2304 and 2309 of the Revised Statutes, or made or commuted a homestead entry since March 2, 1889; —— that I have not entered since August 30, 1890, under the land laws of the United States, or filed upon, a quantity if land agricultural in character, and not mineral, which, with the tracts now desired, would make more than 320 acres; that I am not the owner in fee simple of 160 acres of land in any State or Terrotiry; that I have not entered or occupied, nor will I enter upon or occupy, the lands to be opened to setlement by the President’s proclamation of August 19, 1893, in violation of said proclamation; that I intend to file a soldier’s declaratory statement upon said lands, which location will be made for my exclusive use and benefit, for the purpose of my actual settlement and cultivation, and not, either directly or indirectly, for the use and benefit of any other person.

—— ——.

I certify that the foregoing was made and subscribed before me this —— day of ——, 1893.

—— ——,
Officer in charge.

Required by President’s proclamation of August 19, 1893, preparatory to entering upon the lands of the “Cherokee Outlet” for the purpose of filing a soldier’s declaratory statement as agent.

No. ——.

I, ——, of ——, desiring to enter upon the “Cherokee OUtlet” for the purpose of filing a soldier’s declaratory statement under sections 2304 and 2309, U. S. R. S., as agent of ——, do hereby declare that I have no interest or authority in the matter, present or prospective, beyond the filing of such declaratory statement as the true and lawful attorney of the said —— as provided by said sections 2304 and 2309.

—— ——.

Icertify that the foregoing declaration was made and subscribed before me this —— day of ——, 1893.

—— ——,
Officer in Charge.

That must be held by party desiring to occupy or to enter upon the lands opened to settlement by the President’s proclamation of August 19, 1893, for the purpose of making a homestead entry or filing a soldier’s declaratory statement.

No. ——.

This certifies that —— has this day made the declaration before me required by the President’s proclamation of August 19, 1893, and he is, therefore, permitted to

{Page 984}

go in upon the lands opened to settlement by said proclamation at the time named therein, for the purpose of making a homestead entry or filing a soldier’s declaratory statement.

It is agreed and understood that this certificate will not prevent the district land officers from passing upon the holder’s qualifications to enter and file for any of said lands at the proper time and in the usual manner, and that the holder will be required when he makes his homestead affidavit, or, if a soldier or a soldier’s agent, when he files a declaratory statement at the district office, to allege under oath before the officer taking such homestead affidavit, or to whom said declaratory statement is presented for filing, that all of the statements contained in the declaration made by him, upon which this certificate is based are true in every particular.

—— ——,
Officer in Charge.

Required by President’s proclamation of August 19, 1893, preparatory to occupying or entering upon the lands of the Cherokee Outlet for the purpose of settling upon a town lot.

No. ——.

I, ——, of ——, being desirous of occupying or entering upon lands opened to settlement by the President’s proclamation of August 19, 1893, do solemnly declare that I have not entered upon or occupied, nor will I enter upon or occupy, any of the lands to be opened to settlement by the President’s proclamation of August 19, 1893, in violation of the requirements of said proclamation, and that I desire to go in upon said lands for the purpose of settling upon a town lot.

—— ——.

I certify that the foregoing declaration was made and subscribed before me this —— day of ——, 1893.

—— ——,
Officer in Charge.

That must be held by party desiring to occupy or enter upon the lands opened to settlement by the President’s proclamation of August 19, 1893, for the purpose of settling upon a town lot.

No. ——.

This certifies that —— has this day made the declaration before me required by the President’s proclamation of August 19, 1893, and he is, therefore, permitted to go in upon the lands opened to settlement by said proclamation at the time named therein for the purpose of settling upon a town lot.

—— ——,
Officer in Charge.

I, ——, of ——, applying to enter (or file for) a homestead, do solemnly swear that I did not enter upon and occupy any portion of the lands described and declared open to entry in the President’s proclamation dated August 19, 1893, prior to12 o’clock, noon, of September 16, 1893; also that all of the statements contained in a certain declaration made by me as foundation for obtaining permission to enter upon the Cherokee Outlet in pursuance of requirements of the President’s proclamation opening said outlet to settlement are true in every particular.

—— ——.

Sworn to and subscribed before me this —— day of ——, 189—.

—— ——.

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