Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1895-11-08
PUBLIC DOMAIN
Soma Things the Report Of the
General Land Commissioner
Will Show.
Approximately Seven Million
Acres Have Been Disposed of
in a Year.
Special Effort to Settle Up
Swamp Land Grants--E
tries Increased.

WASHINGTON, NOV. 6.-Ihe report OF
the commissioner of the general land
Office for 1895 will show some interest
ing facts in connection with the dispo-
sition of public lands in the Northwest.
Respecting the quantity of vacant lands
still remaining in the country the re-
port will show that there are but $780,
Os3, ,495 acres, of which 313, ,S37 1888 acres
are surveyed According to the report
for 1894 there were 606,O4O,313 acres of
vacant public land in the country,
showing that approximately 100000
acres of public lands have been disposed
of dur ng the past year. During that
period there We're disposed OF III Mime
sofa about 500, 900 acres. in Wisconsin
&C, 900 acres, i'll North Dakota 100000,
in South Dakota nearly 100000, and
III Montana 100000.
Some Lands Still Unclaimed.
There remain in these public land
states vacant public land as follows:
In Minnesota, surveyed lands, 2,55l .671
acres; unsurveyed, 2,G2l,373; in Wis
consin, 60S,415 acres. I'll surveyed; in
North Dakota, 12.206, 266 surveyed, and
10,l72, ,460 unsrlrveyed; South Dakota,
11,012,543 acres surveyed and 2.619, ,42S
unsurveyed; in Montana, 1926, ,2O4
acres surveyed, and 81, ,0SO, ,S97 acres un-
surveyed.
These statements Of the vacant public
lands in these states is exclusive of mil
itary and Indian reservations, water
reservoir sites and tracts covering Sc
lections already made, railroad grants
and claims remaining unadjudicated,
part of which may i'll the future be re-
stored to the public domain.
The commissioner says that during
the year there were certified and pat
ented under the several grants to aid in
the construction of railroads in the
country about 100000 acres of land,
| and there remain unpatented railroad
selections in these grants to the amount
of 22, ,623, 900 acres.
Some Swamp Lands Patented.
A special effort to adjust swamp lane
claims has resulted in the final settle
ment to the amount of 1,SSS, 152 acres.
There have been patented to the sew
eral public land states since the origin
of the grant appertaining to swamp
lands about 5S,OOO,OOO acres Of swamp
and overfowed lands. Of this amount
3,159,211 acres have been patented to
Minnesota and 3,347, 1858 acres to Wis
consin. During the past year there
have been selected for Minnesota
swamp lands to the amount Of 11S, 7SO
acres, there have been approved 157O61
acles and patents issued for ia, S0n
acres.
More Land Entries Than in 1854
! During the year there We're located.
military bounty land warrants in the
various public land states covering H.
| $50 acres, of which amount nearly one
| half Or 4, 100 acres We're located in Min
nesota, 200 acres i'll North Dakota and
800 acres III South Dakota. The tabula-
tions of the transactions at the various
land offices in the public land states, for
! incorporation i'll the commissioners re-
port, are not yet available, but the totals
of homestead entries for the country
show an aggregate of 20,022 entries,
covering 1850, 500 acres, which is an in
crease in the number Of entries over
1894 Of 375, or 5O,S61 more acres en-
tered under the homestead laws during
| the past year than were entered in 1894.