ment; no sections or fractions of sections included within the limits of any incorporated town; no portions of the public lands which have been selected as the site for a city or town; no parcel or lot of land actually settled and occupied for the purposes of trade and not agriculture; and no lands on which are situated any known salines or mines, shall be liable to entry under and by virtue of the provisions of this act. * * * A. CONSTRUCTION AND PURPOSE OF ACT. B. MINERAL AND SALINE LAWS. C. STATE SELECTIONS-WHAT CONSTITUTES. A. CONSTRUCTION AND PURPOSE OF ACT. See 13 Stat. 47, p. 1272. This act, providing that no preemption entry should be made on land on which are situated any known salines or mines, was the first enactment making any reference to minerals on the public land. Mullan v. United States, 118 U. S. 271, p. 277. This was the first act making any distinction between mineral and agricultural lands, and it contains the regulations as to the manner of entering public lands and disposing of them by private sale, but expressly reserves from preemption, lands known as salines or mines, but does not repeal the enabling act for Alabama or affect the right of the State to the 16th section or to the lieu lands. Alabama, In re, 6 L. D. 493, p. 497. This act relating to the precious metals or minerals in public lands continued with its limitations and restrictions until Congress passed a general act introducing a new method of disposition of mineral lands. Alabama, In re, 6 L. D. 493, p. 500. B. MINERAL AND SALINE LAWS. 1. MEANING AND APPLICATION. 2. RESERVATION. 3. SALINES EXCEPTED FROM SALE OR PREEMPTION. 4. MINERAL SPRINGS NOT EXCEPTED. 5. SUBSEQUENT DISCOVERIES- -EFFECT. 1. MEANING AND APPLICATION. Saline lands are mineral lands. Garrard v. Silver Peak Mines, 94 Fed. 983, p. 989. Kansas City Min., etc., Co. v. Clay, 3 Ariz. 326. Salt mines of rock salt, mineral springs, salt springs, salt beds, and salt rock all come within the meaning of the general term "salines." Southwestern Min. Co., In re, 14 L. D. 597, p. 603. The term "mineral lands" is one of broader significance than the words "lands on which are situated any known salines or mines" and the former refers to a class of lands rather than specific tracts easily ascertainable not only by the Land Department but by the applicants themselves. Old Dominion Copper Min., etc., Co. v. Haverly, 11 Ariz. 241, p. 254. See Cosmos Exploration Co. v. Gray Eagle Oil Co., 104 Fed. 20. The term "salines," as used by Congress, includes not only salt springs but all salt lands of every character, and Congress extended the provisions of the earlier acts so as to conform the statute to meet the condition of the country in respect to salt in the light of the discovery of salty formations in Nebraska, Kansas, and elsewhere. Southwestern Min. Co., In re, 14 L. D. 597, p. 600. 2. RESERVATION. All saline lands are reserved from sale whether marked on the plat of the surveyor general as such or not. Morton v. Nebraska, 88 U. S. 660. Cole v. Markley, 2 L. D. 847, p. 851. See Scofield, In re (Cunningham Claims), 41 L. D. 176, p. 222. Under the settled policy of the Government to reserve salt lands and salines from settlement or entry as mineral lands deposits of rock salt are not subject to entry as mineral lands. Southwestern Min. Co., In re, 14 L. D. 597. This statute, providing for the entry and purchase of vacant public lands, expressly excepted known salines or mines and does not necessarily except salt springs and minerals of the metallic class only. Pacific Coast Marble Co. v. Northern Pac. R. Co., 25 L. D. 233, p. 237. This section is intended to be read and construed in connection with the general reservation of mineral lands contained in the mining statutes which declare that lands valuable for minerals shall be reserved from sale except as provided by law. Cosmos Exploration Co. v. Gray Eagle Oil Co., 104 Fed. 20, p. 47. There are no coal lands as such mentioned in the act of 1841, hence coal lands have by legislative definition of the term "mines" been excluded from sale or selection otherwise than as provided in the statute, and coal lands are included in the term "mineral lands." United States v. Mullan, 10 Fed. 785, p. 789. 3. SALINES EXCEPTED FROM SALE OR PREEMPTION. This statute and 10 Stat. 244 and 12 Stat. 409 all reserve from sale or preemption lands containing minerals or upon which are situated any known salines. Deffeback v. Hawke, 115 U. S. 392, p. 402. United States v. Mullan, 10 Fed. 785, p. 787. Alabama, In re, 6 L. D. 493, p. 497. Southwestern Min. Co., In re, 14 L. D. 597, p. 599. Schofield Patent, In re, Copp's Min. Dec. 17. This statute applies only to any known salines or mines and these are not subject to preemption, and in this respect the statute differs from other statutes reserving salt springs and salines. Merton v. Nebraska, 88 U. S. 660, p. 674. See Deffeback v. Hawke, 115 U. S. 392, p. 401. United States v. San Pedro, etc., Co., 4 N. Mex. 225, p. 294. The statute of 1841 expressly excludes from preemption or sale all lands containing any known mines, and there is no jurisdiction or power in any officer of the Government to grant such lands. United States v. Mullan, 10 Fed. 785, p. 788. A desert land entry will not be allowed of land on the margin of the Great Salt Lake and which are not susceptiole of reclamation and are chiefly valuable for the saline deposits. Jeremy v. Thompson, 20 L. D. 299. A patent issued for lands on which there are situated known salines or mines, under the provisions of this statute, is void. Morton v. Nebraska, 88 U. S. 660, p. 674. See Garrard v. Silver Peak Mines, 82 Fed. 578, p. 588. Hermocilla v. Hubbell, 89 Cal. 5. 4. MINERAL SPRINGS NOT EXCEPTED. Lands containing mineral springs not of a saline character are subject to sale under the general laws and not under the acts relating to the sale of mineral lands. Pagosa Springs, In re, 1 L. D. 562. Any change in the conditions occurring subsequently to the sale whereby discoveries of salines or mines are made upon the land can not affect the title as it passed at the time of the sale. Colorado Coal & Iron Co. v. United States, 123 U. S. 307, p. 328. Miner, In re, 9 L. D. 408, p. 411. C. STATE SELECTIONS WHAT CONSTITUTES. The making of a selection of lands by a State under this act and placing it on the files of the Land Office, though not signed by the register, is prima facie a filing, and if approved the title vests in the State from the date of such filing. Ison v. Nelson Min. Co., 47 Fed. 199. Brigham City v. Rich, 34 Utah 130, p. 141. 5 STAT. 507, AUGUST 16, 1842. SALINES AND SALT SPRINGS EXCEPTED FROM PREEMPTION RIGHTS— IOWA. AN ACT To grant preemption rights to settlers on the Dubuque claim "in the Territory of Iowa." Be it enacted, etc., That the lands lying in the county of Dubuque, in the Territory of Iowa, heretofore reserved for the Dubuque claim, so called, which have not been sold by the United States, by virtue of the acts of July 4, 1836, and March 3, 1837, be, and the same are hereby, declared to be public lands, and that settlers on said land, who but for said reservation would have been enabled to enter the same under the preemption laws of June 19, 1834, June 22, 1838, June 1, 1840, or September 4, 1841, be, and they are hereby, authorized to enter the same at $1.25 per acre, at any time within one year after the date of this act, upon complying with the provisions of either of said acts under which such person may claim; the settlers under the earlier law being entitled to the preference over those under a subsequent one: Provided, That this section is not to be regarded as extending the right of preemption to lands reserved for lead mines, salt springs, school sections, or town lots: And provided further, That should the said claim of Dubuque hereafter prove valid, compensation to the claimants shall be made by the United States in other public lands equal in quantity, subject to private entry. 6 STAT. 161, APRIL 16, 1816. SALE OF SALT SPRINGS-OHIO. AN ACT To authorize the Legislature of Ohio to sell certain land, etc. Be it enacted, etc., That the Legislature of the State of Ohio shall be, and are hereby authorized and empowered to cause to be selected and sold, in such manner, and on such terms and conditions as they may by law direct, any one section not exceeding the quantity of 640 acres, of the tract of land of 6 miles square, reserved for the benefit of that State, at the Sciota salt springs: Provided, That the section so selected shall not include the said salt springs, and that the money arising from the sale of the aforesaid section shall be applied to the erection of a courthouse, or other public buildings, thereon, for the use of the county of Jackson, in said State. 6 STAT. 779, MARCH 3, 1839. SALE OF SALT LICK RESERVATION-TENNESSEE. AN ACT For the relief of certain settlers, living on what is called the Salt Lick Reservation, etc. Be it enacted, etc., That the State of Tennessee be, and she is hereby, authorized to issue grants, and perfect titles, to the vacant and unappropriated land in the western district of Tennessee, which lies within a tract of land of 4 miles square upon both sides of Sandy River, commonly called the Salt Lick Reservation, and which is described in the fourth article of the treaty of Old Town, concluded October 19, 1818, between the United States and the Chickasaw Nation of Indians, etc. 9 STAT. 181, MARCH 3, 1847. SALE OF SALT SPRINGS—ARKANSAS, ILLINOIS, AND MICHIGAN. AN ACT To give the consent of Congress to the sale of certain salt spring lands heretofore granted to Michigan, Illinois, and Arkansas. Be it enacted, etc., That the State of Michigan shall be, and hereby is, authorized and empowered to sell, in such manner as the legislature of said State shall by law direct, the salt spring lands granted to said State for its use, by an act entitled "An act supplementary to the act entitled 'An act to establish the northern boundary line of the State of Ohio, and to provide for the admission of the State of Michigan into the Union on certain conditions,"" approved June 23, 1836. SEC. 2. That the State of Illinois shall be, and hereby is, authorized and empowered to sell, in such manner as the legislature of said State shall by law direct, the whole or any part of the saline lands lying in Jackson County in said State, which were granted to the State of Illinois, by virtue of "An act to enable the people of the Illinois Territory to form a constitution and State government, and for the admission of such State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States," approved April 18, 1818. SEC. 3. That the State of Arkansas shall be, and hereby is, authorized to sell, in such manner as the legislature of said State shall by law direct, the whole or any part of the saline lands, granted to said State by virtue of an act supplementary to the act entitled "An act for the admission of the State of Arkansas into the Union and to provide for the due execution of the laws of the United States within the same, and for other purposes," approved June 23, 1836. NOTE.-The sales authorized by this act were confirmed to the State of Michigan by the act of August 25, 1852 (10 Stat, 30), otherwise unimportant. 10 STAT. 15, JULY 12, 1852. SALE OF SALINE LANDS-INDIANA. AN ACT To enable the Legislature of Indiana to dispose of unsold saline lands. Be it enacted, etc., That so much of the act of Congress entitled "An act to authorize the Legislature of the State of Indiana to sell and convey certain lands granted to said State for the use of the people thereof," approved July 3, 1832, as provides that said lands shall not be sold for less price than (that) at which the public lands are sold, be, and the same is, hereby repealed. 10 STAT. 308, JULY 22, 1854. MINERAL LANDS AND SALINES RESERVED-KANSAS, NEBRASKA, AND NEW MEXICO. AN ACT To establish the offices of surveyor general of New Mexico, Kansas, and Nebraska, etc. Be it enacted, etc., That the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall be, and he is hereby, authorized to appoint a surveyor general for New Mexico, * * *. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That none of the provisions of this act shall extend to the mineral or school lands, salines, military or other reservations, or lands settled on and occupied for purposes of trade and commerce, and not for agriculture, etc. SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the surveyor general, under such instructions as may be given by the Secretary of the Interior, to ascertain the origin, nature, character, and extent of all claims to lands under the laws, usages, and customs of Spain and Mexico; and, for this purpose, may issue notices, summon witnesses, administer oaths, and do and perform all other necessary acts in the premises. He shall make a full report on all such claims as originated before the cession of the territory to the United States by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, of 1848, denoting the various grades of title, with his decision as to the validity or invalidity of each of the same under the laws, usages, and customs of the country before its cession to the United States; and shall also make a report in regard to all pueblos existing in the territory, showing the extent and locality of each, stating the number of inhabitants in the said pueblos, respectively, and the nature of their titles to the land. Such report to be made according to the form which may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior; which report shall be laid before Congress for such action thereon as may be deemed just and proper, with a view to confirm bona fide grants, and give full effect to the treaty of 1848 between the United States and Mexico; and, until the final action of Congress on such claims, all lands covered thereby shall be |