Douglas Island news., 1903-03-25
The Alaska Homestead
 Law.

stead law, passed by the last congress and approved by the president:
 That all the provisions of the home stead laws of the United States not Tn conflict with the provisions of this act, and all rights incident thereto, are here by extended to the district of Alaska, subject to such regulations as may be made by the secretary of the interior; and no indemnity, deficiency, or lieu land selections pertaining to any land grant outside of the district of Alaska shall be made, and no land slip or land warrant of any kind whatsoever shall he located within or exercised upon any lands in said district except as now provided by law; and provided further that no more than l60 acres shall be entered in any single body by such scrip. lieu selection, or soldiers ad- ditional homestead right; and provided further that no location of scrip, se- lection, or right along any naylgable or other waters shall be made within the distance of eighty rods of any lands, along such waters, heretofore located by means of any such scrip or other wise; and provided further that no communication privileges shall be all lowed in excess of 160 acres included in any homestead entry under the pro- visions hereof:
 Provided, That no entry shall be al- lowed extending more than 16O rods along the shore of any naviga ble water, and along such shore space of at least eighty rods shall be reserved from en- try between all such claims; and that nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to authorize entries to be made or title to be acquired to the shore of any navigable waters within said district: and no patent shall issue hereunder until all the requirements of sections 229l, 2292 and 230o of the Re- yised Statutes of the United States have been fully compiled with as to residence, improvements, cultivation, and proof except as to commuted lands as herein provided.
 And it is further provided, That every person who is qualified under existing laws to make homestead entry of the public lands of the United States who has settled upon or who shall hereafter settle upon any of the public lands of the United States situated in the dis trict of Alaska, whether surveyed or unsurveyed, with the intention of claim ing the same under the homestead laws, shall, subject to the provisions and linn itations hereof, be entitled to enter 320 acres or less quantity of unapproprl. ated public land in said district of Alaska.
 If any of the land SO settled upon, or to be settled upon, is unsurveyed, then the land settled upon, or to be settled upon, must be located in a rectangular form, not more than one mile in length, and located by north and south lines, run according to the true meridian; that the location so made shall be marked upon the ground by permanent monuments at each of the four corners of the said location, so that the boun- daries of the same may be readily and easily traced; that the record of said location shall, within ninety days from the date of settlement, be filed for rec ord in the recording district in which the land is situated. Said record shall contain the name of the settler, the date of the settlement, and such de- scription of the land. settled upon, by reference to some natural object or permanent monument, as will identify the same; and, if after the expiration of the said period of five years or at such date as the settler may desire to commute the public surveys of the United States have not been extended over the land located, patent shall nevertheless issue for the land included within the boundaries of said location as thus recorded, upon proof to be sub mitted to the register and receiver of the proper land office, upon proof that he is citizen of the United States, and upon the further proof required by sec tion 229l of the Revised Statutes of the United States as heretofore and herein amended and under the prOce- dure in the obtaining of patents to the unsuryeyed lands of the United States as provided for by Section 10 of the act hereby amended, and under such rules and regulations as shall be pre- scribed by the secretary of the interior. as herein before provided, without the payment of any purchase price or other charges, except the ordinary office fees and commissions of the register and receiver, except S1.25 per acre on land eommuted: And provided always, That no title shali be obtained hereunder to any of the mineral or coal lands of the district of Alaska: And it IS further provided, That the right of any home stead settler to transfer any portion of the land so settled upon, as provided by section 22SS of the Revised Statutes of the United States, shall be restricted and limited within the district of Alas ka as follows: For church, cemetery or school purposes to five acres, and for the right of railroads across such homestead to 100 feet in width on either side of the center line os said railroad; and all contracts by the settler made haforo h;o rocoipt of rsatenS from the