Rosebud County news. [volume] (Forsyth, Mont.) 1901-1906, 1901-05-09
MORE LANDS FOR THE STATE.
List Of Sections In Indian Reservations Is
Received They Can Now BE ReIinqui.hed.


The state is now free to relinquish
the school sections in the Crow and
Northern Cheyenne Indian reserva-
tions and select indemnity lands in
their place. The list of these sections
with the township numbers was re-
ceived Saturday b. State Land Agent
Thomas d. Long from Binger Her
mann, commissioner of the general
land Office at Washington, and now
nothing remains but for the state to
formally relinquish to the United
States, make it's new selections and
lease them. The area to which the
state can thus obtain title is 1SS,O4S
acres.
The law creating these reservations
provided that the state should not be
tions included in them until after the
reservations were thrown open, but
this was modified in the enabling act
by means of a provision that the state
might relinquish these sections and
then select indemnity lands in their
place thus avoiding the delay incident
TO waiting until the reservations were
opened.
In pursuance of the policy hitherto
followed of relinqushing all the worth
less school sections in reservations in
order that revenue might be derived
from indemnity selections in their
place, the state board of laud COM
missioners last January requested the
co nmissioner of the general land Of
flee to haze the township lines of the
! public surveys protracted over the
Northern Cheyenne and Grow reserva-
tions. This request was complied
with and the list received by Mr.. Long
Saturday gives the result of the pro-
traction of the lines, and states that
the sections named 'may be assigned
by the state as basis for indemnity
school land selections to the extent of
the area given.
The state will now have these sec
tions examined by State Land Agent
Henry Neill and his deputies to deter
mine which, if any, of them it is de-
sirable to retain. The others will
then be relinquished and indemnity
selections made on land which Mr..
Neill has already in view. The state
has already received offers of leases
on these tracts and Mr.. Neill believes
that every acre can be leased at a
rental aggregating $4,000.
The great gain to the schools of the
state by the REIMBURSEMENT of the
worthless school sections in reserva-
tions and the selection of indemnity
land in place of it which is readily
rented can be easily seen from the re-
suits of this policy in the pest. The
state has relinquished 1900 acres in
the Fort Peck and Blackfeet Indian
and the Lewis and Clarke and Bitter
Root forest reservations and selected
in their place land estimated to be
worth 81, 900, 600, which is paying $40, :
600 a year income into the school fund.
The effect of this policy. combined
with that of renting instead of selling
state land, is shown in the fact that
the amount of school money distributed
per capita increased from 8 cents in
1897 to nearly s. in 1900, in the face
of an increase of the school population
in the same period from 46,17 to
57,21O.
The state is still entitled to 269, 48O
acres in the Flathead and Fort Bel
KNAPP Indian reservations, the Flat
head, Gallatin, Lewis and Clarke and
Bitter Root forest reservations and the
same course will doubtless be followed
in regard to them. This will still fur
ther increase the school revenue 50
that the prediction made in the last re-
port Of the register of state lands that
the per capita distribution of school
money will this year reach 50, may be
realized.
The board of state land commission
ers will meet soon to act on this and
other important matters.