McCook weekly tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 188?-1886, 1884-05-08
SENATOR HENDERSON.
What He Said Concerning Settlement OF
Abandoned Military Reservations.

Omaha Herald.
+ Senator Henderson led the debate in
the senate committee of the whole,
concerning the settlement of aban-
doned military reservations, with great
success, evincing thorough knowl-
edge of the question and careful
study of the details of the subject mat
ter. He offered numerous amend
ments, which were all adopted. In
support of one providing that any set
tier who was in actual occupation of
any portion of any such reservation
prior to the location of such reserva-
ton, or settled thereon prior to Juue I,
1883, in good faith, for the purpose of
securing a home, and of entering the
same under the general laws, and has
continued in such occupation to the
present time, and IS by law entitled to
take homestead, shall be entitled to
locate under the homestead laws the
land so occupied, not exceeding 160
acres in body, according to the gov
eminent surveys and subdivisions,
(Which date was afterwards modified
to January 1, 1S84), the senator said:
LILO 10 OhO Va SCsoG ILL
portance to the people of the frontier
states. The amount of land set apart
for military reservations in the United
States, as shown by the report of the
committee, is nearly three millions of
acres, 920, $50 acres. Of these lands
there have been already abandoned by
the government and no longer used for
military purposes nearly 100000 acres.
There have been abandoned in the state
of Nebraska, Fort Hartsuff, with 3,251
acres; Fort Mcpherson, with $4,000
acres; Fort Sedgwick, with 40,96O
acres, and Camp Sheridan, with 1925
acres of abandoned land.
The effort has been made for several
years past by special bills to throw the
lands of these respective forts upon the
markets, either under the general land
laws of the United States or by sale
under such regulations and restrictions
as might be made by the interior de-
partment, but these efforts have re-
peatedly failed; and am heartily glad
to see that the committee on military
affairs have reported by general bill a
course through which these lands can
be placed upon the market. Of the
reservations that l have named, Hart
stuff was abandoned in 1881, Mop herson
in 1880, Sedgwick in 1871, and Sheridan
in 1881, and during all the years that
have elapsed since the abandonment of
these lands for military purposes they
have remained unoccupied by the
military and practically open for
civilian settlement. 1t is also
the fact that prior to the loca-
ton of many of these forts citizens had
already under the homestead and pre-
emption acts settled upon these reser-
vations. They were not disturbed by
the military authorities, but were per-
mit5ed to remain there, and in many
instances within the state that l have
the honor to represent citizens were
invited even after occupation by the
military authorities to make settlement
on these lands. They took advantage
of that protection which was afforded
by the nearness of the settlement to
the reservation, and settled thel under
the invitation and that protection.
Now there are parties upon all these
reservations, not only in Nebraska, but
perhaps in all the states having public
lands open to entry, persons who have
settled under this sort of invitation,
and under, as they supposed, the pro-
lection of the general land laws.
propose to extend the provision of
this bill>by these amendments so that
any settler prior to June 1, 1SSS-andI
fix that date simply that some date
may be fixed in the bill; | am not
tenacious that it shall be retained-any
settler upon the public lands who has
gone there in good faith for the pur-
pose of obtaining home under the
homestead or pre-emption acts, having
a right so to do, shall be protected in
in his settlement; and the different
amendments to this section that pro-
pose, four in number, reach that result.