The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1906-11-16

which one person was entitled not tC
exceed 200 acres.
In pursuance of this BILL In 1891
The register and receiver held a pub
lie auction of the lands at the Uma-
tilla agency and at that time each par
ticular tract of 160 acres was put up
and offered at public auction, ard a
large portion of the lands were sold
in fact, practically everything that
was considered of any value for agri-
cultural purposes was sold at this
public auction. However. part of the
lands were located in the Blue noun
tains, at the extreme head of Mckay
| creek. which has three branches in the
mountains, and is of a steep, rocky,
bluffy character. These lands in the
| mountains were all appraised at the
minimum price of s1.25 an acre and
were offered for three weeks at pub
| lie auction at that price and no bid
ders. Consequently when the public
sale closed these lands remained un-
sold for the want of bidders at the
minimum price of $1.25 an acre.
History of the Squaater Movement.
After the public sale a few persons
| began to settle along the narrow bot
! toms Of the canyons at the head of
| Mckay creek, upon these unsold
! lands, and some other settlers upon
/, ts.gffat high ridges between the forks
| Of the escreek, so that in the course of
| five or SIX or seven years there were
I n l.or, Nhaf hi fnh
bench lands Gss the mountains, and also
along the narroG channels of the cam
yon These squatters made applica-
tion to the secretary of the interior
number of themEto purchase the
lands, The interiorS department held
| that after the public sale had closed
the government was without authority
to dispose Of these lands until another
act of congress should he passed, auth
orizing their sale. Therefore, some.
thing like 10 years after the first sale,
Tor, to be accurate, on July |, 1902,
the following bin passed congress and
was approved by the president:
THAT all the lands of the Umatilla
Indian resepfation which
were notssold at the public sale oil
said lands heretofore held, at the price
for. which they had been appraised,
shall be sold at private sale by the
register of the land office in the dis
trict within which they are situated,
at not less than the appraised value
thereof, and In conformity with the
provisions of said act; provided, that
any bona fide settler upon any of
said lands. who Is the owner of sub
stantial improvements thereon and
who has settled and improved any
subdivision of said lands with the in
tent of permanently residing On the
same as homestead, shall have a
preference right to buy the lands SO
settled upon by him. at any time with
in 80 days after the passage of this
act, upon making satisfactory proof
In the local land office as to settle-
ment. intent and Improvements"
This bill passed congress through
the efforts of Representative Moody.
and apparently met with the full APP
proval of the department of the in
| terror.
Second Sale of Indian Lands.
Under this act the secretary direct
ed that public notice of the opening
he given by publication in certain
papers and that the land be opened
for sale to the first applicant on the
18th day of September, 1902, and at
the appraised price. Following this
notice purchased maps and plats
of all Of the lands from the land Of
flee at la Grande, procured lists of
the appraised value and it was gem
orally known and announced that I
had such plats and appraised value.
and for two or three weeks prior to
the date of the opening at La Grande
Il was busily engaged in making out
the applications for various persons
who desired to purchase the lands
j and on the morning of the 18th, at
La Grande, / was present with num-
Der OF other persons 1 represented
perhaps nine-tenths of the persons
who desired to purchase, and either ]
or my representative stood in line al
, the door in front of the land office
, from Saturday night after the closing
OF the office until o'clock Monday
morning. when it was open for the
purpose Of receiving filings, at which
I time 1 presented the applications oi
all OF the suuatters practically. and OF
great many other persons desiring
to purchase said lands, and at that
, time with each application paid one.
|, third of the purchase price.
There was no requirement whatever
, that any of these lands should be ex,
amined by the purchasers prior to this
time of purchasing, no oath required
that they had examined it. The only
oath required was that they were TAX.
ing it for their own use and occii.
pancy and that they had no contract
to sell it. think it safe to say that
aside from the actual squatters
i eight-tenths of the persons who
bought lands, bought them without
1 going 10 see them, relying on the fact
that any land practically was worth
$t.2s an acre for pasAurage purposes
II Prior 10 this time ~ had also heen
il decided by the seeretaYy of The irilar-
Tor. IN the csS |C$o. Tanning (2O
Il lIandT ige 99fl ana - Z II
~