INDIAN LEGISLATION BY THE FORTY-FOURTH CONGRESS.

CHAP. 47.—AN ACT to supply a deficiency in the appropriations for certain Indians. [Vol. 19, p. 28.

Be it enacted by the Senate and Liouse of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That for the purpose of supplying the "Sioux Indians of different tribes, including the Sautee Sioux of Nebraska," with necessary subsistence, namely, beef, bacon, flour, and corn, and for the necessary transportation thereof, the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not other wise appropriated.

Approved, April 6, 1876.

CHAP. 51.-AN ACT authorize the sale of the Pawnee reservation. [Vol. 19, p. 28.]

be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That with the consent and concurrence of the Pawnee tribe of Indians, expressed in open council in the usual manner, the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, authorized to cause to be appraised and sold the entire reservation set apart for said Indians, in the State of Nebraska, by the provisions of the first article of a treaty with them, concluded September twenty-fourth, eighteen hundred and fifty-seven, in the following manner: The said secretary shall appoint three disinterested and competent persons, who, after being duly sworn to perform said service faithfully and impartially, shall personally examine and appraise said lands at their actual cash value, by legal subdivisions of one hundred and sixty acres, separately from the value of any improvements on the same, and shall also examine and appraise the value of said improvements, and make return thereof to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. After the appraisement of said lands as herein provided, the Secretary of the Interior shall be, and he is hereby, authorized to offer the same for sale on the following terms and conditions, to wit: After advertising the time of sale for three months in one newspaper published in each of the cities of New York, Washington, Chicago, Saint Louis, Cincinnati, Columbus, Nebraska, and Omaha, he shall offer the lands at public sale to the highest bidder for one-third cash in hand, the balance in two equal annual payments, drawing interest at the rate of six per centum per annum from the day of sale. Said land shall be sold in separate tracts of one hundred and sixty acres, and none of it shall be sold for less than its appraised value, or for less than two dollars and fifty cents per acre. Said sale to take place at some point in Nebraska as near as may be to said land, to be fixed by the Secretary of the Interior. If any person shall commit waste or damage upon said lands before full payment therefor, his rights to the lands purchased by him shall cease, and the same, together with all of said lands not sold at said public sale, shall be sold under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, at private sale, on the same terms and subject to the same conditions as those sold at said public sale: Provided, That said lands shall not be sold for less than their appraised value, or for less than two dollars and fifty cents per acie. And patents in fee-simple shall be issued to the purchasers of lands under the seals herein provided for upon the payment to the Secretary of the Interior in full of the purchase price of the same: Provided, That if any of said tracts of land shall contain valuable improvements thereon, made by or for the Indians, or for Government purposes, said improvements may be sold separately from the lands on which they are situated, or may be sold with the land, as the Secretary of the Interior may deem best: And provided further, That the second section of the act of Congress, approved June tenth, eighteen hundred and seventy-two, making provision for the sale of a portion of these lands, be, and the same is hereby, repealed.

SEC. 2. That there be, and hereby is, appropriated out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of three hundred thousand dollars, out of which not more than one hundred and fifty thousand dollars shall be used in defraying expenses already incurred for the subsistance of said Pawnee tribe of Indians, and for their removal to the Indian Territory, and other necessary expenses connected with their establishment and settlement therein: Provided, That the accounts for said expenses heretofore incurred shall not be paid until after they have been examined and approved by the Secretary of the Interior, who is directed to settle said expenses upon principles of equity and justice as between the claimants and the Indians. And the residue of said three hundred thousand dollars after the payment of expenses heretofore incurred shall be applied to defray the expenses of appraisement and sale of the lands referred to in the first section of this act, and to the settlement of said Indians, and to their further subsistence, until they can become self-sustaining, and also in the purchase of agricultural implements and live stock, and in establishing and supporting schools, and for other beneficial objects, including expenditures made for the above-mentioned purposes during the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-six; said sums to be available for the purposes hereinbefore

specified immediately after the approval of this act: Provided, That the said three hundred thousand dollars herein appropriated shall be reimbursed to the United States out of the funds arising from the sale of the lands described in the first section of this act: And provided also, That so much of the residue of the three hundred thousand dollars aforesaid as may be needed for the immediate necessities of the aforesaid Pawnee Indians may be expended in the purchase of supplies therefor in open market.

SEC. 3. That any surplus that may remain from the proceeds of the sale of the lands described in said first section, after the reimbursement to the United States of said sum of three hundred thousand dollars, and after the purchase of a suitable reservation in the Indian Territory for the Pawnee tribe of Indians, shall be placed to the credit of said Indians ou the books of the Treasury of the United States, and bear interest at a rate not to exceed five per centum per annum, payable semi-annually, except such portion thereof as the Secretary of the Interior, with the approval of the President of the United States, may deem necessary to be expended for their immediate use for subsistence or other beneficial objects. SEC. 4. That the following-described reservation in Indian Territory be, and the same is hereby, set apart for the use and occupation of the Pawnee tribe of Indians, namely: All that tract of country between the Cimarron and Arkansas Rivers embraced within the limits of townships twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, and twenty-four north, of range four east, townships eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, and twenty-four north, of range five east, townships eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, and twenty-three north, of range six east of the Indian meridian: Provided, That the terms of the sixteenth article of the Cherokee treaty of July nineteen, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, shall be complied with so far as the same may be applicable thereto: And provided further, That the sum to be paid to the Cherokees by the Pawnees for such quantity of the land herein described as may be within the limits of the Cherokee country west of the ninety-sixth meridian of west longitude shall not exceed seventy cents per acre: And provided also, That the portion of the reservation herein described lying within the territory ceded to the United States by the third article of the treaty of June fourteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, shall be paid for by said Pawnees at the rate of thirty cents per acre. SEC. 5. That the Secretary of the Interior shall cause to be made to each head of a family or single person over twenty-one years of age belonging to said Pawnee tribe, and residing upon said reserve, who shall so elect, an allotment within said reservation, of one hundred and sixty acres of land, as near as may be, to be governed by the lines of public survey; and upon the approval of the Secretary of the Interior of such allotments, certificates shall be issued therefor by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs: Provided. That whenever it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Interior that any allottee has occupied and cultivated any portion of his or her allotment for the period of five successive years, and has at least twenty-five acres of the same fenced and in crop, such allottee shall be entitled to receive a patent for his or her allotment, with the condition that the same shall not be aliened or conveyed within fifteen years from the date thereof, and then only with the consent of the Secretary of the Interior and under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe.

Approved April 10, 1876.

CHAP. 79.-AN ACT authorizing the sale of logs cut by the Indians of the Menomonee reservation in Wis-consin under the direction of the Interior Department. [Vol. 19, p. 3.]

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Interior be and he hereby is authorized to cause to be sold at public sale, to the highest bidder, for cash, after due public advertisement and in such lots or quantities as he may deem judicious, all pine timber cut upon the Menomonee Indian reservation in Wisconsin, under the direction of United States Indian agent J. C. Bridgman.

SEC. 2. That the proceeds arising from all sales of such timber shall be applied, first to the payment of any and all indebtedness incurred for labor, supplies and other expenses incident to the cutting and sale of said timber, and the surplus, if any, shall be deposited in the nearest government depository to the credit of the United States for the benefit of the siaid Menomonee Indians.

Approved, April 25, 1876.

CHAP. 88-AN ACT making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations for the fiscal years ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-six, and for prior years, and for other purposes. [Vol. 19, p. 41.]

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following sums be, and they are hereby, appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to supply deficiencies in the appropriations for the service of the Government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-six, and for former years, and for other purposes, namely:

#

For this amount, or so much thereof as may be necessary, to pay the compensation not exceeding eight dollars per day to each member of the said commission for the time actually employed, and necessary incidental expenses of the commission appointed June eighteenth, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, to treat with the Sioux Indians for the relinquishment of the Black Hills country in Dakota Territory, twenty-five thousand dollars: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to allow compensation to members of such commission who are prohibited from receiving the same by the provisions of section one thousand seven hundred and sixty-five, of the Revised Statutes of the United States.

MISCELLANEOUS.

*

For the purpose of paying the expenses of transportation, care, and custody, arranging and exhibiting, and safe return of articles belonging to the United States to be presented and exhibited in the United States building at the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia, during the year eighteen hundred and seventy-six, in pursuance of an act of Congress approved March third, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, the following sums are hereby appropriated, namely: For the Interior Department, fifteen thousand dollars; for the War Department, eighteen thousand five hundred dollars; for the Smithsonian Institution, twentyone thousand dollars; for the United States Commission of Food-Fishes, five thousand dolars; for the Treasury Department, fourteen thousand dollars; the same to be disbursed by the board on behalf of the United States Executive Departments appointed in pursuance of the order of the President of January twenty-third, eighteen hundred and seventy-four: Provided, That for contingent expenses any surplus arising from appropriations made to either of said Departments by act of March third, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, is hereby authorized to be used for the purposes herein mentioned.

For subsistence of Apache Indians at the Southern Apache agency, New Mexico, twentyfive thousand dollars: Provided, That the Indian agent located at said agency may, under instructions from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, exchange sugar belonging to said agency for beef or flour.

For payment of amounts certified to be due Indian agents by the accounting-officers of the Treasury Department, being for the service of the fiscal year eighteen hundred and seventythree and prior years, one thousand four hundred and forty-eight dollars and eight cents. For payment of amount certified to be due by the accounting-officers of the Treasury Department, being for the service of the fiscal year eighteen hundred and seventy-three and prior years, one dollar and three cents. For payment of amount found due by the accounting-officers of the Treasury Department on settlement of the account of Major James A. Hearn, late Indian agent, on account of maintaining peace among and with the various tribes, bands, and parties of Indians, being for the service of the fiscal year eighteen hundred and seventy-one and prior years, five dollars and thirteen cents. For payment of amount due Lindsay Applegate, late subagent of Indian affairs, per settlement of the Second Auditor of the Treasury, being for the service of the fiscal year eighteen hundred and seventy-three and prior years, forty-two dollars and one cent. Approved, May 1, 1876.

CHAP. 94.-AN ACT appropriating fifty thousand dollars for subsistence supplies for Apache Indians in Arizona Territory, and for the removal of the Indians of the Chiricahua Agency to San Carlos Agency. [Vol. 19, p. 53.]

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the sum of fifty thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated, or so much thereof as may be necessary, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to provide subsistence supplies for the Apache Indians in Arizona Territory from first May to thirtieth June, eighteen hundred and seventy-six, said subsistence supplies to be purchased in open market, if in the judgment of the Secretary of the Interior it shall be deemed best: and if any surplus remains after the purchase of said supplies, the same, or so much thereof as may be necessary, shall be used to defray the expenses incident to the removal of the Indians of the Chiricahua Agency to the San Carlos reservation in said Territory, whenever in the judgment of the Secretary of the Interior such removal may be deemed advisable.

Approved, May 9, 1876.

CHAP. 104.-AN ACT to extend the time to pre-emptors on the public lands. [Vol. 19, p. 55.] Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That whenever any pre-emptor on public lands or Indian reservations shall make satisfactory proof, at the local land office, under rules and regulations to be pre

scribed by the Secretary of the Interior, that the crops upon the lands occupied by him have been destroyed by grasshoppers within two years previous to the passage of this act, the time within which such pre-emptor is required to make final proof and payment is hereby extended two years.

Approved, May 23, 1876.

CHAP. 105.-AN ACT extending the time within which homestead entries upon certain lands in Michigan may be made. [Vol. 19, p. 55.]

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section one of an act entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act for the restoration to market of certain lands in Michigan,' approved June tenth, eighteen hundred and and seventy-two," approved March third, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, be, and hereby is, amended so as to read as follows:

That the act approved June tenth, eighteen hundred and seventy-two, entitled "An act for the restoration to market of certain lands in Michigan," be, and is hereby, amended so as to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to cause patents to be issued to three hundred and twenty members of the Ottawas and Chippewas of Michigan for the selections found to have been made by them, but which were not, prior to the passage of said act, regularly reported and recognized by the Secretary of the Interior and Commissioner of Indian Affairs; and the remainder of said lands not disposed of, and not valuable mainly for pine timber, shall be subject to entry under the homestead laws.

Approved, May 23, 1876.

CHAP. 122,-AN ACT transferring the custody of certain Indian trust-funds. [Vol. 19, p. 58.] Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all stocks, bonds, or other securities or evidence of indebtedness now held by the Secretary of the Interior in trust for the benefit of certain Indian tribes shall, within thirty days from the passage of this act, be transferred to the Treasurer of the United States, who shall become the custodian thereof; and it shall be the duty of said Treasurer to collect all interest falling due on said bonds, stocks, &c., and deposit the same in the Treasury of the United States, and to issue certificates of deposit therefor, in favor of the Secretary of the Interior, as trustees for various Indian tribes. And the Treasurer of the United States shall also become the custodian of all bonds and stock which may be purchased for the benefit of any Indian tribe or tribes after the transfer of funds herein authorized, and shall make all purchases and sales of bonds and stocks authorized by treaty-stipulations or by acts of Congress when requested so to do by the Secretary of the Interior: Provided, That nothing in this act shall in any manner impair or affect the supervisory and appellate powers and duties in regard to Indian affairs which may now be vested in the Secretary of the Interior as trustee for various Indian tribes, except as to the custody of said bonds and the collection of interest thereon as hereinbefore mentioned. Approved, June 10, 1876.

CHAP. 168.-AN ACT providing for the sale of the Kansas Indian lands in Kansas to actual settlers, and for the disposition of the proceeds of the sale. [Vol. 19, p. 74.]

Whereas, the Secretary of the Interior, in pursuance of an act approved May eighth, eighteen hundred and seventy-two, has caused to be appraised the lands heretofore owned by the Kansas tribe of Indians, in the State of Kansas, which by the terms of the treaty made by the United States and said Indians, and proclaimed November seventeenth, eighteen hundred and sixty, were to be sold for the benefit of said Indians; which appraisement also includes all improvements on the same, and the value of said improvements; distinguishing between improvements made by members of said Indian tribe, the United States, and white settlers; and

Whereas the appraisement thus made was so high that neither settlers nor purchasers were able to pay the same, and the said land has remained unsold from the passage of the act; Therefore,

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That each bona fide settler on any of the trust lands embraced in said act, heretofore reported as such by the commissioners appointed to make said appraisement, and the rejected claimants as bona fide settlers, who were recommended as such by Andrew C. Williams, acting under instructions to superintendent Hoag, from the Indian Office, dated October, twenty-fourth, eighteen hundred and seventy-two, be permitted to make payment of the appraised value of their lands to the local land-office at Topeka, Kansas, under such rules as the Commissioner of the General Land Office may adopt, in six equal annual instalments; the first instalment payable on the first of Jauuary, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, and the remaining instalments payable annually from that time, and drawing

interest at six per centum per annum until paid: Provided, That where there is timber or any of the lands to be sold under the provisions of this act, the Secretary of the Interior shall require the purchaser to enter into bond, with approved security, that he shall commit no waste on the timber, or otherwise on said land until the last payment is made.

SEC. 2. That all the remainder of the trust-lands and of the undisposed portion of the diminished reserve shall be subject to entry at the local land office at Topeka, Kansas, in tracts not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres, unless a legal subdivision of a section shall be fractional and found to contain a greater number of acres, only by actual settlers, under such rules and regulations as the Commissioner of the General Land Office may prescribe. And the parties making such entries shall be required to make payment of the appraised value of the land entered and occupied by each, in the following manner: One sixth at the time that the entry is made, and the remainder in five equal annual payments, drawing interest at six per centum per annum, and the Secretary of the Interior shall withhold title until the last payment is made; and the Secretary of the Interior, where there is timber on the lands, shall, in addition, compel the purchaser to enter into bond, with approved security, to commit no waste by the destruction of timber or otherwise, on the premises, until final payment has been made; and the Secretary of the Interior shall cause patents in fee-simple to be issued to all parties who shall complete purchases under the provisions of this act: Provided, That if any person or persons applying to purchase land under the provisions of this act shall fail to make payment or to perform any other conditions required by the provisions of this act, or by rules and regulations that may be prescribed in the execution hereof, within ninety days after such payment shall become due, or performance be required by the terms hereof, or by the rules and regulations which may be prescribed in the execu tion hereof, such person or persons shall forfeit all rights under the provisions of this act, and all claim or right to reimbursement or compensation for previous action or payment by said person or persons under the provisions hereof; and the land proposed to be purchased by such person or persons shall again be subject to sale as though no action had been had in regard to the same.

SEC. 3. That the Secretary of the Interior shall inquire into the correctness of the appraisement of these lands; and if he be satisfied that they have been appraised at more than their present cash value, he may appoint a new commission of three persons to re-appraise the same; the per diem and expenses of which, at the rates heretofore paid to such commissioners, shall be deducted from the proceeds of said lands.

SEC. 4. That in preparing or giving their testimony, all settlers or purchasers of land under the provisions of this act may have such testimony taken, after due and legal notice to the opposing party in interest, before any notary public or person qualified to administer an oath, and may forward such testimony with their application to the land offices or parties authorized to dispose of said lands, which testimony shall be received as if taken before the officers of such land office.

SEC. 5. That the net proceeds arising from such sales, after defraying the expenses of appraisement and sale, which have heretofore or may hereafter be incurred, and also the outstanding indebtedness, principal and interest, of said Kansas tribe of Indians, which has heretofore been incurred under treaty stipulations, shall belong to said tribe in common, and may be used by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, under the direction of the President of the United States, in providing and improving for them new homes in the Indian Territory, and in subsisting them until they become self-sustaining; and the residue, not so required, shall be placed to their credit on the books of the Treasury, and bear interest at the rate of five per centum per annum, and be held as a fund for their civilization, the interest of which, and the principal, when deemed necessary by the President of the United States, may be used for such purpose: Provided, that no proceedings shall be taken under this act until the said Kansas Indians shall file their assent thereto with the Secretary of the Interior. Approved, July 5, 1876.

CHAP. 182.-AN ACT to authorize the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to purchase supplies for the Indian Bureau in open market. [Vol. 19, p. 88.]

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Commissioner of Indian Affairs be, and he is hereby, authorized to purchase in open market, without the usual advertisement, for immediate use of the Indian tribes, such supplies as are required to an extent, not exceeding one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, which is hereby appropriated for such purpose, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to serve until the regular appropriation bill shall be passed and approved, and the time now required by law for advertisement and acceptance of proposals shall have elapsed; and such sums so expended shall be deducted from the appropriate sums respectively appropriated under the regular appropriation bill when passed. Approved, July 12, 1876.