The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1901-05-10
MANY r FOR A
School Lands in Two Reservations
Are Surrendered.

Helena Independent: State Land
Register Long received a letter yes
terday of a particularly gratifying
nature to the land office and one that
brings news the people Of Montana
like to hear. The letter was couched
in the fewest words possible to ex-
press the meaning of the writer, but
as the writer happens to be Binger
al land office at Washington, more
than ordinary importance attaches to
the communication.
The letter shows that the govern
ment has considered favorably the re-
quest Of the state for permission to
surrender it's school lands located in
the forest and Indian reservations, 81
far as the Northern Cheyenne and
Grow Indian reservations are con
cerned. Notice is given of the num-
Der of acres of school land in the two
reservations that will eventually be-
come state property when they are
opened. This will enable the state
to select other lands in the place OF
them. from which a large revenue
will be derived in leases.
The letter of Binger Hermann, COM
missioner Of the general land Office,
to the state land register, reads as
follows:
Referring to your several requests
Of January %, 20, and April %, 1901,
the lands ihaf-ido. .oa-io8ocmfwypbk
asking that the township lines of the
pubic surveys be p%rotracted yer the
lands in the northern Cheyenne and
Grow Indian reservations, 1 transmll
herewith lists of the unsurveyed Sec
tons is and SO within the said reser-
%vations, as determined by protraction,
which sections may be assigned by
the state as bases for indemnity
school land sections to the extent of
the area given" q
Inclosed with the letter, the general
land commissioner sends lists OF
school lands upon the two reserva-
lions amounting in all, according to
the surveys, to 1Ss,s4s acres. OF this
4 1920 acres are on the northern Chey-
enne reservation, and 174,228 acres
on the Crow Indian reservation. The
location of the sections 16 and SO, in
the different townships were given,
the surveys having been protracted
by the government.
The state will make the formal sur.
render of these lands as soon as pos.
sible and the land agent will select
other lands that can be leased. The
land included in the two reservations
upon which the state would in time
have a claim amounts to about 33(
sections. State Land Agent Neill has
land in view tnat the state can take
for the land surrendered. He sale
, yesterday the state would experience
little or no difficulty in leasing the
, lieu lands, as parties had already of
fered to take the land at fair prices
Il have no doubt that we can lease
every acre of lieu land that the state
secures by surrendering the schoo
lands in the two Indian reservations,
said Mr.. Neill. ST figure that tn.
lands will bring an annual rental O
about SIG, 900, which means a lot O
money for the school fund of tn,
state. l further estimate that whel
the state has surrendered all it's lant
upon the reservations the annual rev
enue will be increased by about $50,
OOO."
Mr.. Neill said it would be unwis,
for the state to make public the 10
= cation of the lieu lands until the pat
ents have been issued to the land
, The land was, however, all in view
. he added, and if everything move
y along smoothly it will soon be unde
lease. Mr.. Neill referred to his las
!: annual report, in which he recon
:, mended that the state surrender al
. school lands upon reservations tina
would not be opened for a number o
years and from which the state is re
ceiving no revenue, and take othe
lands.
This Grow and Cheyenne land i
the first we have been able to with
draw" he concluded, ''and l hope tn
balance a be surrendered befor
8 the END of the year and leased by tn
state"