An Act to provide for the conveyance to the State of North Dakota, for use as a State historic site, of the land where Chief Sitting Bull was originally buried.
PL 84-261 (S.535), enacted 08/09/1955

69 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 261-AUG. 9, 1955 
543 
of 3I/2 ])er centum per annum; with right of prepayment from time to 
time of any or all of the sales price remaining unpaid. The obligation 
of the purchaser with respect to payment of such unpaid balance, with 
interest, shall be secured by a first ])referred mortgage on the vessel 
sold, which mortgage may provide that the sole recourse against the 
purchaser under such mortgage, and any of the notes secured thereby, 
shall be limited to repossession of the vessel by the United States and 
the assignment of insurance claims, if the purchaser shall have com-
plied with all provisions of the mortgage other than those relating to 
the payment of principal and interest when due, and the obligation of 
the purchaser shall be satisfied and discharged by the surrender of the 
vessel, and all right, title, and interest therein to the United States. 
Such vessel upon surrender shall be (1) free and clear of all liens and 
encumbrances whatsoever, except the lien of the above-mentioned pre-
ferred mortgage and any other mortgage held by the Secretary of 
Commerce pursuant to an assignment under title X I of the Merchant 
4 6^u^sc^^i^2 71-
Marine Act, 1936, as amended, (2) in class, and (3) equipped and in as 1279. 
good order and condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted, as when 
reconditioned as a passenger vessel by the purchaser except that any 
deficiencies with respect to freedom from encumbrances, condition, and 
class, may, to the extent covered by valid policies of insurance, be satis-
fied by the assignment to the United States of claims of the purchaser 
under such policies of insurance. 
(b) Any contract of sale executed under authority of this joint reso-
lution shall provide that in the event the United States shall, through 
purchase or requisition, acquire ownership of such vessel, the owner 
shall be paid therefor the value thereof, but in no event shall such pay-
ment exceed the actual depreciated sales price under such contract 
(together with the actual depreciated cost of capital improvements 
thereon), or the fair and reasonable scrap value of such vessel, as deter-
mined by the Maritime Administrator, whichever is the greater; that 
such determination shall be final; that in computing the depreciated 
acquisition cost of such vessel, the depreciation shall be computed on 
the vessel on the schedule adopted or accepted by the Secretary of the 
Treasury for Federal income tax purposes as applicable to such vessel; 
that such vessel shall remain documented under the laws of the United 
States for a period of at least ten years after completion as a passenger 
ve^el or as long as there remains due the United States any principal 
or interest on account of the sales price, whichever is the longer period; 
and that the foregoing provisions respecting the requisition or the 
acquisition of ownership by the United States and documentation 
shall run with the title to such vessel and be binding on all owners 
thereof. 
Approved August 9, 1955. 
Public Law 261 
CHAPTER 621 
AN ACT 
, 
„ „_ 
August 9, 1955 
To provide for the conveyance to the State of North Dakota, for use as a State 
[^' ^^^J 
historic site, of the land where Chief Sitting Bull was originally buried. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That the Secre- 
sutSg^B^rbur-
tary of the Interior is authorized and directed to convey to the State ^
^
^ sUe. 
of North Dakota for use as a State historic site all right, title, and 
interest, except as provided in section 2, of the United States and 
the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of Indians to that parcel of land 
within the Standing Rock Reservation, North Dakota, which is the 
site wdiere Chief Sitting Bull was originally buried and is more 
544 
PUBLIC LAW 262-AUG. 9, 1955 
[69 ST A T . 
particularly described as follows: The southeast quarter of the south-
east quarter of the southwest quarter of the southeast quarter, and 
the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of the southeast 
quarter of the southeast quarter of section 12, township 130 north, 
range 80 west, fifth principal meridian, consisting of five acres more 
or less. 
SEC. 2. The conveyance authorized by this Act shall— 
(a) exclude conveyance of any rights to oil, gas, or other 
mineral deposits in the land conveyed, but the development of 
any such mineral deposits, which would in any manner interfere 
with the use of such land as a State historic site, shall not be 
permitted so long as such land is so used; and 
(b) be subject to the condition that in the event the land 
conveyed should cease to be used as a State historic site title to 
such land shall revert to the United States to be held in the 
same manner it was held prior to such conveyance. 
Approved August 9, 1955. 
August 9, 1955 
[S. 11 38] 
Public Law 262 
CHAPTER 622 
AN ACT 
To continue the effectiveness of the Act of July 17, 1953 (67 Stat. 177), as 
amended, providing certain construction and other authority. 
Armed Forces. 
Construction au-
thority. 
50 u s e 
a p p . 
1173. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Eepresentatives 
of the 
United States of America in ('ongress assembled. That the provisions 
of the Act of July 17, 1953 (67 Stat. 177), as amended and extended 
by the Act of July 26, 1954 (68 Stat. 531), shall remain in full force 
and effect until six months after the termination of the national emer-
gency proclaimed by the President on December 16,1950, or until such 
date as may be specified by a concurrent resolution of the Congress, 
or until July 1,1956, whichever is earliest. 
Approved August 9, 1955. 
August 9, 1955 
[S. 878] 
Public Law 263 
CHAPTER 623 
AN ACT 
To amend the Act extending the exterior boundary of the Uintah and Ouray 
Indian Reservation in the State of Utah so as to authorize such State to 
exchange certain mineral lands for other lands mineral in character. 
Uintah and Oiiray 
I n d i a n 
Reserva-
tion, Utah. 
Mineral land ex-
change. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Conor ess assembled^ That section 3 of 
the Act entitled "An Act to define the exterior boundary of the 
Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in the State of Utah, and 
for other purposes", approved March 11, 1948 (62 Stat. 72), is 
amended by striking out the first sentence of such section and insert-
ing in lieu thereof the following: "The State of Utah may relinquish 
to the United States for the benefit of the Indians of the said Ute 
Reservation such tracts of school or other State-owned lands, sur-
veyed or unsurveyed, within the said reserved area, as it may see fit 
(reserving to said State, if it so desires, such rights as it may possess 
to any minerals underlying such State lands as may be relinquished), 
and said State shall have the right to make selections, including min-
eral lands and the minerals therein (including oil and gas) if the 
lands relinquished are mineral in character and rights to the minerals 
in such lands are relinquished along with the lands, in lieu thereof