The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1866-12-06
Report or the Secretary or She
- Interior.
TABsTRACT.l
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
TAsHrNGToN, ID. c., November 10, 1886.


operations of this department, and o.
the various and diversified Interests
connected with the branches Of tn,
public service committed to its super
vision: s.8E
all s PUBLIC LANDS.
During the fiscal year ending june
30, 1866, public lands were disposed o
as follows e f
Acres sold for cash. $685. 294. i!
Acres entered under the home
stead ,S92 5l6ot
Acres located with military war !,
Acres approved to States as : 80 = =
swamp lJSsooc.@s
Acres approved to States for rail- -oo 90
Acres located with agricultural -. 49, j
college Voo.oO
x 4,629, $40. s.
During the same period 6,423, 9S4.1 is
acres were offered for sale. The cash
receipts from sales and ether sources
were 1924, 645 OF. The number of
homestead entries exceeded that of
the preceding year by more than sixty
per cent. s
There are 'sixty-one land districts
and ten surveying departments. Dur
ing the past year surveying operations
have been prosecuted with energy In
Minnesota, Dakota, Kansas, Ne
braska, Colorado, California, Oregon,
Nevada, and Washington, but have
been deferred, on account of Indian
hostilities, in New Mexico and Ari-
zona. The anamolous condition of
affairs in Utah has prevented any
surveys there since the year 1857. At
that date two and half million acres
had been surveyed In order that
they may be disposed of, it is recon-
mended that land district be created
In that territory.
The entire amount of the public
domain is l, 465, 468, 800 acres, of which
474, 160, 551 acres have been surveyed.
The attention of Congress is again
respectfully invited to the expediency
of making early provision for the adj
justment of claims to land situate in
New Mexico and Arizona. arising
under the laws of Spain or Mexico.
The boundary between New Mexico
and Colorado, as well as that between
California and Nevada, should be per
manently established, and the limits
between Florida and Georgia finally
adjusted
A few tracts have been entered in
California at the minimum price of
twenty dollars per acre, under the
supplemental act of March 3, 1865,
for the disposal of coal lands. The
propriety of reducing this minimum.
where the coal is of inferior quality
and cannot be obtained without diff
Guilty, is submitted for consideration.
The area of, the coal lands of the
United States is estimated at two
hundred thousand square miles.
Land offices have been re-opened In
Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Loui-
siana, and Arkansas. By the act ap-
proved june n, 1866. public lands in
these States are reserved exclusively
for homestead entries {; and for the
period of two years from the date of
its passage, only eighty acres can be
entered by one person. The opinion
of the Attorney General, that patents
for lands sold under the revenue laws
must issue from the General Land
Office, will govern the. actionssof this
department. =
The grant to Iowa for the improve
ment Of the Des Moines River has
been fully satisfied. 1t embraced
eight hundred and thirty-three thous-
and and seventy-nine and ninety-hun-
dredth acres.
There still remain unsold SEVENTY
seven lots, situate within the Fort
Howard reserve, in Wisconsin. They
will be disposed of in accordance
with the act of July 4, 1866.
Up to June Both, 1866, forty-three
million two, hundred and four thou
sand seven hundred and seventy-four
acres OF swamp lands have been pat
ented to the several States. and the
aggregate indemnity to them on ac-
count of such lands sold or otherwise
disposed ofby the United States was
In cash, five hundred and ninety
seven thousand two hundred and one
dollars and thirty cents. and in
other lands, four hundred and sew
enty eight thousand and thirty-six and
ninety three hundredths acres. II lis
recommended that the time for max
ing selections of such land be limited
to two years after the official plat is
received at the local Office, and that
the purpose of Congress in relation to
this subject be explicitly declared.
Instructions have beenissued to the
Surveyor General and the local off,
GERS In California, to give full and
summary effect to the provisions of
theact of July23, 1866, sto quiet land
titles in California; Esd 9 IGiqt u
The Registers and Receivers act alb
agents of Government to prevent tres
passers on the public lands from re-
moving timber therefrom. BY impos-
ing fines, and compelling the offenders
to enter the tracts trespassed on,
the Government has been, to con-
siderable extent, protected in its
rights. A bona tide settler is allowed
to use the timber on his claim only SO
far as may be necessary for indispen-