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Compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler. Washington : Government Printing Office, 1904.
Whereas Benjamin F. Barge, James H. McNeely, and Charles G. Hoyt, acting for the United States, did, on the fifth day of February, anno Domini eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, make and conclude the following agreement with the Shoshone and Bannock Indians of the Fort Hall Reservation, in Idaho; and
Whereas Benjamin F. Barge, James H. McNeely, and Charles G. Hoyt, being duly appointed and acting commissioners on behalf of the United States for such purposes, have concluded an agreement with the headmen and a majority of the male adults of the Bannock and Shoshone tribes of Indians upon the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, in the State of Idaho, which said agreement is as follows:
Whereas the aforesaid commissioners were appointed by the Secretary of the Interior, under and by virtue of an act of Congress, approved June the tenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-six (29 U. S. Stat. L., p. 341), entitled “An act making appropriations for current and contingent expenses of the Indian Bureau of the Interior Department, and fulfilling treaty stipulations with various Indian tribes for the fiscal year ending June the thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, and for other purposes,” and by said act were authorized to negotiate with the Bannock and Shoshone Indians, in the State of Idaho, for the cession of part of their surplus lands; and
Whereas the Indians of the Fort Hall Reservation are willing to dispose of part of their surplus lands in the State of Idaho, reserved as a home for them by a treaty concluded at Fort Bridger July the third, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, and ratified by the United States Senate on the sixteenth day of February, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, and also by Executive order:
Now, therefore, this agreement, made and entered into by and between the aforesaid commissioners on behalf of the United States of America, and by the headmen and a majority of the male adults of the Bannock and Shoshone tribes of Indians, located on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, in the State of Idaho. Witnesseth:
That the said Indians of the Fort Hall Reservation do hereby cede, grant, and relinquish to the United States all right, title, and interest which they have to the following-described land, the same being a part of the land obtained through the treaty of Fort Bridger on the third day of July, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, and ratified by the United States Senate on the sixteenth day of February, eighteen hundred and sixty-nine:
All that portion of the said reservation embraced within and lying east and south of the following-described lines: Commencing at a point in the south boundary of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, being the southwest corner of township nine (9) south, range thirty-four (34) east of the Boise meridian, thence running due north on the range line between townships 33 and 34 east to a point two (2) miles north of the township line between townships five (5) and six (6) south, thence due east to the range line between ranges 35 and 36 east, thence south on said range line four (4) miles, thence due east to the east boundary line of the reservation; from this point the east and south boundaries of the said reservation as it now exists to the point of beginning, namely, the southwest corner of township nine (9) south, range thirty-four east, being the remainder of the description and metes and bounds of the said tract of land herein proposed to be ceded.
That in consideration of the lands ceded, granted, and relinquished, as aforesaid, the United States stipulates and agrees to pay to and expend for the Indians of the said reservation, six hundred thousand dollars ($600,000) in the following manner, to wit:
Seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000), or as much thereof as may be necessary, shall be expended by the Secretary of the Interior in the erection of a modern school plant for the Indians of the Fort Hall Reservation at a point near the present agency,said point or site to be selected by the Secretary of the Interior, and the surplus remaining, if any, of the above seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) may be expended by the Secretary of the Interior for the educational needs of said Indians.
One hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) shall be paid in cash pro rata, share and share alike, to each man, woman, and child belonging to and actually residing on said reservation, within three months after the ratification of this treaty by the Congress of the United States. The remainder of said sum total shall be paid pro rata in like manner, as follows:
Fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) one year after the first payment.
Fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) two years after the first payment.
Fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) three years after the first payment.
Fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) four years after the first payment.
Fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) five years after the first payment.
Fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) six years after the first payment.
Fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) seven years after the first payment.
Fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) eight years after the first payment.
Twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) nine years after the first payment.
The deferred payments shall bear interest at the rate of four (4) per centum per annum, said interest to be placed annually to the credit of said Indians, and shall be expended for their benefit by the Secretary of the Interior at such times and in such manner as he may direct.
Provided, That none of the money due to said Indians under this agreement shall be subject to the payment of any claims, judgments, or demands against said Indians for damages or depredations claimed to have been committed prior to the signing of this agreement.
Where any Indians have taken lands and made homes on the reservation and and are now occupying and cultivating the same, under the sixth section of the Fort Bridger treaty hereinbefore referred to, they shall not be removed therefrom without their consent, and they may receive
allotments on the land they now occupy; but in case they prefer to remove they may select land elsewhere on that portion of said reservation not hereby ceded, granted, and relinquished and not occupied by any other Indians; and should they decide not to move their improvements, then the same shall be appraised under direction of the Secretary of the Interior and sold for their benefit, at a sum not less than such appraisal, and the cash proceeds of such sale shall be paid to the Indian or Indians whose improvements shall be so sold.
So long as any of the lands ceded, granted, and relinquished under this treaty remain part of the public domain, Indians belonging to the above-mentioned tribes, and living on the reduced reservation, shall have the right, without any charge therefor, to cut timber for their own use, but not for sale, and to pasture their live stock on said public lands, and to hunt thereon and to fish in the streams thereof.
That for the purpose of segregating the ceded lands from the diminished reservation, the new boundary lines described in article one of this agreement shall be properly surveyed and permanently marked in a plain and substantial manner by prominent and durable monuments, the cost of said survey to be paid by the United States.
The existing provisions of all former treaties with the Indians of the Fort Hall Reservation, not inconsistent with the provisions of this agreement, are hereby continued in force and effect; and all provisions thereof inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.
The existing main traveled roads leading from McCammon to Blackfoot and from McCammon to American Falls are declared public highways, and the proper use of such is hereby granted to the general public.
The water from streams on that portion of the reservation now sold which is necessary for irrigating on land actually cultivated and in use shall be reserved for the Indians now using the same, so long as said Indians remain where they now live.
This agreement shall take effect and be in force when signed by the commissioners and by a majority of the male Indians of the Fort Hall Reservation over eighteen years of age, and ratified by the Congress of the United States.
Signed on the part of the United States Government by the commissioners aforesaid and by the following Indians of the Bannock and Shoshone tribes, residing and having rights on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation.
BENJAMIN F. BARGE, Commissioner.
JAMES H. MCNEELY, Commissioner.
CHARLES G. HOYT, Commissioner.
FORT HALL INDIAN AGENCY,
Ross Fork, Idaho, February 5, 1898.
(1) Jim Ballard (x); witness, Mary W. Fisher. (2) Pocatello Tom (x); witness Chas. M. Robinson. (3) Kunecke Johnson (x); witness, Mary W. Fisher. (And 247 others..)
We certify that we interpreted the foregoing agreement with the Bannock and Shoshone Indians and that they thoroughly understood the entire matter; that we truly interpreted for the commissioners and the Indians at all the councils held to discuss the subject, and to individual Indians.
J. J. LEWIS,
KENNEKE (his x mark) JOHNSON,
Interpreters.
Witness:
CHAS. M. ROBINSON.
J. H. Bean.
Albert W. Fisher.
Ross Fork, Idaho, February 5, 1898.
FORT HALL AGENCY, IDAHO, February 5, 1898.
I hereby certify that two hundred and twenty-seven (227) Indians constitute a majority of male adult Indians on or belonging on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, Idaho.
F. G. IRWIN, Jr.,
First Lieutenant, Second Cavalry, Acting Indian Agent.
Therefore,
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the said agreement be, and the same hereby is, accepted, ratified, and confirmed.
That for the purpose of making the first cash payment stipulated for in article two of the foregoing agreement, and for the purpose of a new school plant, as provided in the same article, the sum of one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars be, and the same hereby is, appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.
That for the purpose of surveying, establishing, and properly marking the western and northern boundaries of the tract ceded by the foregoing agreement, as required by article five thereof, and for field examination and necessary office work in connection therewith, the sum of one thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, be, and the same hereby is, appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.
That before any of the lands by this agreement ceded are opened to settlement or entry, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs shall cause allotments to be made of such of said lands as are occupied and cultivated by any Indians, as set forth in article three of said agreement, who may desire to have the same allotted to them; and in cases where such Indian occupants prefer to remove to lands within the limits of the reduced reservation, he shall cause to be prepared a schedule of the lands to be abandoned, with a description of the improvements thereon, and the name of the Indian occupant, a duplicate of which shall be filed with the Commissioner of the General Land Office.
Before entry shall be allowed, as hereinafter provided, of any tract of land occupied and cultivated as above and included in the schedule aforesaid, the Secretary of the Interior shall cause the improvements on said tract to be appraised and sold to the highest bidder. No sale
of such improvements shall be for less than the appraised value. The purchaser of such improvements shall have thirty days after such purchase for preference right of entry, under the provisions of this Act, of the lands upon which the improvements purchased by him are situated, not to exceed one hundred and sixty acres: Provided, That the proceeds of the sale of such improvements shall be paid to the Indians owning the same.
Any Indian electing to abandon the land occupied by him as aforesaid shall have reasonable time, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, within which to remove the improvements situated upon the land occupied by him.
That on the completion of the allotments and the preparation of the schedule provided for in the preceding section, and the classification of the lands as provided for herein, the residue of said ceded lands shall be opened to settlement by the proclamation of the President, and shall be subject to disposal under the homestead, town-site, stone and timber, and mining laws of the United States only, excepting as to price and excepting the sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections in each Congressional township, which shall be reserved for common-school purposes and be subject to the laws of Idaho: Provided, That all purchasers of lands lying under the canal of the Idaho Canal Company, and which are susceptible of irrigation from the water from said canal, shall pay for the same at the rate of ten dollars per acre; all agricultural lands not under said canal shall be paid for at the rate of two dollars and fifty cents per acre, and grazing lands at the rate of one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, one-fifth of the respective sums to be paid at time of original entry, and four-fifths thereof at the time of making final proof; but no purchaser shall be permitted in any manner to purchase more than one hundred and sixty acres of the land hereinbefore referred to; but the rights of honorably discharged Union soldiers and sailors, as defined and described in sections twenty-three hundred and four and twenty-three hundred and five of the Revised Statutes of the United States, shall not be abridged, except as to the sum to be paid as aforesaid.
The classification as to agricultural and grazing lands shall be made by an employee of the General Land Office under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior.
No lands in sections sixteen and thirty-six now occupied, as set forth in article three of the agreement herein ratified, shall be reserved for school purposes, but the State of Idaho shall be entitled to indemnity for any lands so occupied: Provided, That none of said lands shall be disposed of under the town-site laws for less than ten dollars per acre: And provided further, That all of said lands within five miles of the boundary line of the town of Pocatello shall be sold at public auction, payable as aforesaid, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior for not less than ten dollars per acre: And provided further, That any mineral lands within said five mile limit shall be disposed of under the mineral lands laws of the United States, excepting that the price of such mineral lands shall be fixed at ten dollars per acre instead of the price fixed by the said mineral land laws.
Whereas David H. Jerome, Alfred M. Wilson, and Warren G. Sayre, duly appointed Commissioners on the part of the United States, did, on the sixth day of October, eighteen hundred and ninety-two, conclude an agreement with the Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache tribes of Indians in Oklahoma, formerly a part of the Indian Territory, which said agreement is in the words and figures as follows:
“Articles of agreement made and entered into at Fort Sill, in the Indian Territory, on the twenty-first day of October, eighteen hundred and ninety-two, by and between David H. Jerome, Alfred M. Wilson, and Warren G. Sayre, Commissioners on the part of the United States, and the Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache tribes of Indians in the Indian Territory.
“Subject to the allotment of land, in severalty to the individual members of the Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache tribes of Indians in the Indian Territory, as hereinafter provided for, and subject to the setting apart as grazing lands for said Indians, four hundred and eighty thousand acres of land as hereinafter provided for, and subject to the conditions hereinafter imposed, and for the considerations hereinafter mentioned, the said Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache Indians hereby cede, convey, transfer, relinquish, and surrender, forever and absolutely, without any reservation whatever, express or implied, all their claim, title, and interest, of every kind and character, in and to the lands embraced in the following-described tract of country in the Indian Territory to wit: Commencing at a point where the Washita River crosses the ninety-eighth meridian west from Greenwich; thence up the Washita River, in the middle of the main channel thereof, to a point thirty miles, by river, west of Fort Cobb, as now established; thence due west to the north fork of Red River, provided said line strikes said river east of the one-hundredth meridian of west longitude; if not, then only to said meridian line, and thence due south, on said meridian line, to the said north fork of Red River; thence down said north fork, in the middle of the main channel thereof, from the point where it may be first intersected by the lines above described, to the main Red River; thence down said Red River, in the middle of the main channel thereof, to its intersection with the ninety-eighth meridian of longitude west from Greenwich; thence north, on said meridian line, to the place of beginning.
“Out of the lands ceded, conveyed, transferred, relinquished, and surrendered by Article I hereof, and in part consideration for the cession thereof, it is agreed by the United States that each member of said Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache tribes of Indians over the age of eighteen (18) years shall have the right to select for himself or herself one hundred and sixty (160) acres of land to be held and owned in severalty, to conform to the legal surveys in boundary; and that the father, or, if he be dead, the mother, if members of either of said tribe of Indians, shall have the right to select a like amount of land for each of his or her children under the age of eighteen (18) years; and that the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, or some one by him appointed for the purpose, shall select a like amount of land for each orphan child belonging to either of said tribes under the age of eighteen (18) years.
“That in addition to the allotment of lands to said Indians as provided for in this agreement, the Secretary of the Interior shall set aside for the use in common for said Indian tribes four hundred and eighty thousand acres of grazing lands, to be selected by the Secretary of the Interior, either in one or more tracts as will best subserve the interest of said Indians. It is hereby further expressly agreed that no person shall have the right to make his or her selection of land in any part of said reservation that is now used or occupied for military, agency, school, school-farm, religious, or other public uses, or in sections sixteen (16) and thirty-six (36) in each Congressional township, except in cases where any Comanche, Kiowa, or Apache Indian has heretofore made improvements upon and now uses and occupies a part of said sections sixteen (16) and thirty-six (36), such Indian may make his or her
selection within the boundaries so prescribed so as to include his or her improvements. It is further agreed that wherever in said reservation any Indian, entitled to take lands in severalty hereunder, has made improvements, and now uses and occupies the land embracing such improvements, such Indian shall have the undisputed right to make his or her selection within the area above provided for allotments, so as to include his or her said improvements.
“It is further agreed that said sections sixteen (16) and thirty-six (36) in each Congressional township in said reservation shall not become subject to homestead entry but shall be held by the United States and finally sold for public school purposes. It is hereby further agreed that wherever in said reservation any religious society or other organization is now occupying any portion of said reservation for religious or educational work among the Indians, the land so occupied may be allotted and confirmed to such society or organization, not, however, to exceed one hundred and sixty (160) acres of land to any one society or organization so long as the same shall be so occupied and used; and such land shall not be subject to homestead entry.
“All allotments hereunder shall be selected within ninety days from the ratification of this agreement by the Congress of the United States: Provided, The Secretary of the Interior, in his discretion, may extend the time for making such selection; and should any Indian entitled to allotments hereunder fail or refuse to make his or her selection of land in that time, then the allotting agent in charge of the work of making such allotments shall within the next thirty (30) days after said time make allotments to such Indians, which shall have the same force and effect as if the selection were made by the Indian.
“When said allotments of land shall have been selected and taken as aforesaid, and approved by the Secretary of the Interior, the titles thereto shall be held in trust for the allottees, respectively, for the period of twenty-five (25) years, in the time and manner and to the extent provided for in the act of Congress entitled ‘An act to provide for the allotment of land in severalty to Indians on the various reservations, and to extend the protection of the laws of the United States and Territories over the Indians, and for other purposes,’ approved February 8, 1887, and an act amendatory thereof, approved February 28, 1891.
“And at the expiration of the said period of twenty-five (25) years the titles thereto shall be conveyed in fee simple to the allottees or their heirs, free from all incumbrances.
“As a further and only additional consideration for the cession of territory and relinquishment of title, claim, and interest in and to the lands as aforesaid, the United States agrees to pay to the Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache tribes of Indians, in the Indian Territory, the sum of two million (2,000,000) dollars, as follows: Five hundred thousand $500,000) dollars to be distributed per capita to the members of said tribes at such times and in such manner as the Secretary of the Interior shall deem to be for the best interests of said Indians, which sum is hereby appropriated out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated; and any part of the same remaining unpaid shall draw interest at the rate of five per centum while remaining in the Treasury, which interest shall be paid to the Indians annually per capita; and
the remaining one million five hundred thousand ($1,500,000) dollars to be retained in the Treasury of the United States, placed to the credit of said Indians, and while so retained to draw interest at the rate of five per centum per annum, to be paid to the said Indians per capita annually.
“Nothing herein contained shall be held to affect in any way any annuities due said Indians under existing laws, agreements, or treaties.
“It is further agreed that wherever in said reservation any member of any of the tribes of said Indians has, in pursuance of any laws or under any rules or regulations of the Interior Department taken an allotment, such allotment, at the option of the allottee, shall be confirmed and governed by all the conditions attached to allotments taken under this agreement.
“It is further agreed that any and all leases made in pursuance of the laws of the United States of any part of said reservation which may be in force at the time of the ratification by Congress of this agreement shall remain in force the same as if this agreement had not been made.
“It is further agreed that the following named persons, not members by blood of either of said tribes, but who have married into one of the tribes, to wit, Mabel R. Given, Thomas F. Woodward, William Wyatt, Kiowa Dutch, John Nestill, James N. Jones, Christian Ke oh-tah, Edward L. Clark, George Conover, William Deitrick, Ben Roach, Lewis Bentz, Abilene, James Gardloupe, John Sanchez, the wife of Boone Chandler, whose given name is unknown, Emmit Cox, and Horace P. Jones, shall each be entitled to all the benefits of land and money conferred by this agreement, the same as if members by blood of one of said tribes, and that Emsy S. Smith, David Grantham, Zonee Adams, John T. Hill, and J. J. Methvin, friends of said Indians, who have rendered to said Indians valuable services, shall each be entitled to all the benefits, in land only, conferred under this agreement, the same as if members of said tribes.
“This agreement shall be effective only when ratified by the Congress of the United States.”
Said agreement be, and the same hereby is, accepted, ratified, and confirmed as herein amended.
That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized and directed to cause the allotments of said lands, provided for in said treaty among said Indians, to be made by any Indian inspector or special agent.
That all allotments of said land shall be made under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior to said Indians within ninety days from the passage of this Act, subject to the exceptions contained in article four of said treaty: Provided, That the time for making allotments shall in no event be extended beyond six months from the passage of this Act.
That the lands acquired by this agreement shall be opened to settlement by proclamation of the President within six months after allotments are made and be disposed of under the general provisions of the homestead and town-site laws of the United States: Provided, That in
addition to the land-office fees prescribed by statute for such entries the entryman shall pay one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre for the land entered at the time of submitting his final proof: And provided further, That in all homestead entries where the entryman has resided upon and improved the land entered in good faith for the period of fourteen months he may commute his entry to cash upon the payment of one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre: And provided further, That the rights of honorably discharged Union soldiers and sailors of the late civil war, as defined and described in sections twenty-three hundred and four and twenty-three hundred and five of the Revised Statutes shall not be abridged: And provided further, That any person who, having attempted to but for any cause failed to secure a title in fee to a homestead under existing laws, or who made entry under what is known as the commuted provision of the homestead law, shall be qualified to make a homestead entry upon said lands: And provided further, That any qualified entryman having lands adjoining the lands herein ceded, whose original entry embraced less than one hundred and sixty acres in all, shall have the right to enter so much of the lands by this agreement ceded lying contiguous to his said entry as shall, with the land already entered, make in the aggregate one hundred and sixty acres, said land to be taken upon the same conditions as are required of other entrymen: And provided further, That the settlers who located on that part of said lands called and known as the “neutral strip” shall have preference right for thirty days on the lands upon which they have located and improved.
That sections sixteen and thirty-six, thirteen and thirty-three, of the lands hereby acquired in each township shall not be subject to entry, but shall be reserved, sections sixteen and thirty-six for the use of the common schools, and sections thirteen and thirty-three for university, agricultural colleges, normal schools, and public buildings of the Territory and future State of Oklahoma; and in case either of said sections, or parts thereof, is lost to said Territory by reason of allotment under this Act or otherwise, the governor thereof is hereby authorized to locate other lands not occupied in quantity equal to the loss.
That none of the money or interest thereon which is, by the terms of the said agreement, to be paid to said Indians shall be applied to the payment of any judgment that has been or may hereafter be rendered under the provisions of the Act of Congress approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, entitled “An Act to provide for the adjudication and payment of claims arising from Indian depredations.”
That should any of said lands allotted to said Indians, or opened to settlement under this Act, contain valuable mineral deposits, such mineral deposits shall be open to location and entry, under the existing mining laws of the United States, upon the passage of this Act, and the mineral laws of the United States are hereby extended over said lands.
That as the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations claim to have some right, title, and interest in and to the lands ceded by the foregoing treaty as soon as the same are abandoned by said Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache tribes of Indians, jurisdiction be, and is hereby, conferred upon the United States Court of Claims to hear and determine the said claim of the Chickasaws and the Choctaws, and to render a judgment thereon, it being the intention of this Act to allow said Court of Claims jurisdiction, so that the rights, legal and equitable, of the United States and the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations, and the Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache tribes of Indians in the premises shall be fully considered and determined, and to try and determine all questions that may arise on behalf of either party in the hearing of said claim; and the Attorney-General is hereby directed to appear in behalf of the Government of the United States; and either of the parties to said action shall have
the right to appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States: Provided, That such appeal shall be taken within sixty days after the rendition of the judgment objected to, and that the said courts shall give such causes precedence: And provided further, That nothing in this Act shall be accepted or construed as a confession that the United States admit that the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations have any claim to or interest in said lands or any part thereof.
That said action shall be presented by a single petition making the United States party defendant, and shall set forth all the facts on which the said Choctaw and Chickasaw nations claim title to said land; and said petition may be verified by the authorized delegates, agents, or attorneys of said Indians upon their information and belief as to the existence of such facts, and no other statement or verification shall be necessary: Provided, That if said Choctaw and Chickasaw nations do not bring their action within ninety days from the approval of this Act, or should they dismiss said suit, and the same shall not be reinstated, their claim shall be forever barred: And provided further, That, in the event it shall be adjudged in the final judgment or decree rendered in said action that said Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations have any right, title, or interest in or to said lands for which they should be compensated by the United States, then said sum of one million five hundred thousand ($1,500,000) dollars, shall be subject to such legislation as Congress may deem proper.
Approved, June 6, 1900.
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