Page images
PDF
EPUB

that any individual qualified to make entry of desert lands under said acts, who has, prior to survey, taken possession of a tract of unsurveyed desert land not exceeding in area three hundred and twenty acres in compact form, and has reclaimed or has in good faith commenced the work of reclaiming the same, shall have the preference right to make entry of such tract under said acts, in conformity with the public land surveys, within ninety days after the filing of the approved plat of survey in the district land office. 3161. Assignment of entry permitted, when-Prohibited to corporation or association.

SEC. 2. That from and after the date of the passage of this act no assignment of an entry made under said acts shall be allowed or recognized, except it be to an individual who is shown to be qualified to make entry under said acts of the land covered by the assigned entry, and such assignments may include all or part of an entry; but no assignment to or for the benefit of any corporation or association shall be authorized or recognized.

3162. Additional time allowed, when-Procedure to obtain.

SEC. 3. That any entryman under the above acts who shall show to the satisfaction of the commissioner of the general land office that he has in good faith complied with the terms, requirements, and provisions of said acts, but that because of some unavoidable delay in the construction of the irrigating works, intended to convey water to the said lands, he is, without fault on his part, unable to make proof of the reclamation and cultivation of said land, as required by said acts, shall, upon filing his corroborated affidavit with the land office in which said land is located, setting forth said facts, be allowed an additional period of not to exceed three years, within the discretion of the commissioner of the general land office, within which to furnish proof, as required by said acts, of the completion of said work.

ACTS RELATING TO TIMBER AND STONE ENTRIES

An Act for the sale of timber lands in the States of California, Oregon, Nevada, and in Washington Territory.

Approved June 3, 1878; 20 Stat. 89

3163. Limited to certain states-Timber and stone lands-Limit of acreage-Price not defeat or impair bona fide claim-Not apply to mineral, coal or state lands-Subject to water rights.

That surveyed public lands of the United States within the States of California, Oregon, and Nevada, and in Washington Territory, not included within military, Indian, or other reservations of the United States, valuable chiefly for timber, but unfit for cultivation, and which have not been offered at public sale, according to law, may be sold to citizens of the United States, or persons who have declared their intention to become such, in quantities not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres to any one person or association of persons, at the minimum price of two dollars and fifty cents per acre; and lands valuable chiefly for stone may be sold on the same terms as timber lands; provided, that nothing herein contained shall defeat or impair any bona fide claim under any law of the United States, or authorize the sale of any mining claim, or the improvements of any bona fide settler, or lands containing gold, silver, cinnabar, copper, or coal, or lands selected by the said states under any law of the United States donating lands for internal improvements, education, or other purposes; and provided further, that none of the rights conferred by the act approved July twenty-sixth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, entitled "An act granting the right of way to ditch and canal owners over the public lands, and for other purposes," shall be abrogated by this act; and all patents granted shall be subject to any vested and accrued

water rights, or rights to ditches and reservoirs used in connection with such water rights, as may have been acquired under and by the provisions of said act; and such rights shall be expressly reserved in any patent issued under this act.

See secs. 2401, 3152.

Under the regulations of the land office, when application is made for timber land it must be appraised and sold at its appraised value, but for not less than $2.50 per acre.

3164. Procedure to obtain land-Penalty for false swearing.

SEC. 2. That any person desiring to avail himself of the provisions of this act shall file with the register of the proper district a written statement in duplicate, one of which is to be transmitted to the general land office, designating by legal subdivisions the particular tract of land he desires to purchase, setting forth that the same is unfit for cultivation, and valuable chiefly for its timber or stone; that it is uninhabited; contains no mining or other improvements, except for ditch or canal purposes, where any such do exist, save such as were made by or belonged to the applicant, nor, as deponent verily believes, any valuable deposit of gold, silver, cinnabar, copper, or coal; that deponent has made no other application under this act; that he does not apply to purchase the same on speculation, but in good faith to appropriate it to his own exclusive use and benefit, and that he has not, directly or indirectly, made any agreement or contract, in any way or manner, with any person or persons whatsoever, by which the title which he might acquire from the government of the United States should inure, in whole or in part, to the benefit of any person except himself; which statement must be verified by the oath of the applicant before the register or the receiver of the land office within the district where the land is situated; and if any person taking such oath shall swear falsely in the premises, he shall be subject to all the pains and penalties of perjury, and shall forfeit the money which he may have paid for said lands, and all right and title to the same; and any grant or conveyance which he may have made, except in the hands of bona fide purchasers, shall be null and void.

3165. Idem-Notice to be published-Patent to issue if no adverseProviso.

SEC. 3. That upon the filing of said statement, as provided in the second section of this act, the register of the land office shall post a notice of such application, embracing a description of the land by legal subdivisions, in his office, for a period of sixty days, and shall furnish the applicant a copy of the same for publication, at the expense of such applicant, in a newspaper published nearest the location of the premises, for a like period of time; and after the expiration of said sixty days, if no adverse claim shall have been filed, the person desiring to purchase shall furnish to the register of the land office satisfactory evidence, first, that said notice of the application prepared by the register as aforesaid was duly published in a newspaper as herein required; secondly, that the land is of the character contemplated in this act, unoccupied and without improvements, other than those excepted, either mining or agricultural, and that it apparently contains no valuable deposits of gold, silver, cinnabar, copper, or coal; and upon payment to the proper officer of the purchase money of said land, together with the fees of the register and the receiver, as provided for in case of mining claims in the twelfth section of the act approved May tenth, eighteen hundred and seventy-two, the applicant may be permitted to enter said tract, and, on the transmission to the general land office of the papers and testimony in the case, a patent shall issue thereon; provided, that any person having a valid claim to any portion of the land may object, in writing, to the issuance of a patent to lands so held by him, stating the nature of his claim thereto; and evidence shall be taken, and the merits of said objection shall be determined by the officers of the land office, subject

to appeal, as in other land cases. Effect shall be given to the foregoing provisions of this act by regulations to be prescribed by the commissioner of the general land office.

An Act to authorize the entry of lands chiefly valuable for building stone under the placer mining laws.

Approved August 4, 1892; 27 Stat. 348

3166. Lands valuable for building stone-Entered, how-Not apply to state or school lands.

That any person authorized to enter lands under the mining laws of the United States may enter lands that are chiefly valuable for building stone under the provisions of the law in relation to placer mineral claims; provided, that lands reserved for the benefit of the public schools or donated to any state shall not be subject to entry under this act.

See sec. 3149.

3167. Applicable to all public-land states.

SEC. 2. That an act entitled "An act for the sale of timber lands in the States of California, Oregon, Nevada, and Washington Territory," approved June third, eighteen hundred and seventy-eight, be, and the same is hereby. amended by striking out the words "States of California, Oregon, Nevada. and Washington Territory" where the same occur in the second and third lines of said act, and insert in lieu thereof the words "public-land states. the purpose of this act being to make said act of June third, eighteen hundred and seventy-eight, applicable to all the public-land states.

[Section 3 provides that nothing in this act shall be construed to repeal section 24 of the act entitled "An act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes," approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one.]

An Act to abolish the distinction between offered and unoffered lands, and for other purposes.

Approved May 18, 1898; 30 Stat. 418

3168. Distinction between offered and unoffered land abolished. That in cases arising from and after the passage of this act the distinction now obtaining in the statutes between offered and unoffered lands shall no longer be made in passing upon subsisting preemption claims, in disposing of the public lands under the homestead laws, and under the timber and stone law of June third, eighteen hundred and seventy-eight, as extended by the act of August fourth, eighteen hundred and ninety-two, but in all such cases hereafter arising the land in question shall be treated as unoffered. without regard to whether it may have actually been at some time offered

or not.

An Act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-one. and other purposes.

Approved August 30, 1890; 26 Stat. 391

3169. Acreage to be acquired under land laws limited-Right of way for ditches and canals to be reserved.

No person who shall, after the passage of this act, enter upon any of the public lands with a view to occupation, entry, or settlement under any of the land laws shall be permitted to acquire title to more than three hundred and twenty acres in the aggregate, under all of said laws, but this limitation shall not operate to curtail the right of any person who has heretofore made entry

or settlement on the public lands, or whose occupation, entry or settlement is validated by this act; provided, that in all patents for lands hereafter taken up under any of the land laws of the United States or on entries or claims validated by this act, west of the one hundredth meridian, it shall be expressed that there is reserved from the lands in said patent described a right of way thereon for ditches or canals constructed by the authority of the United States.

For act of 1866 regarding water rights and right of way for ditches on public lands, see sec. 2401.

An Act to repeal the timber-culture laws, and for other purposes.

Approved March 3, 1891; 26 Stat. 1095

3170. Reservoir sites restricted to land actually necessary-Act restricting acreage to be acquired not include lands entered under mineral laws.

SEC. 17. That reservoir sites located or selected and to be located and selected under the provisions of "An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, and for other purposes," and amendments thereto, shall be restricted to and shall contain only so much land as is actually necessary for the construction and maintenance of reservoirs, excluding so far as practicable lands occupied by actual settlers at the date of the location of said reservoirs; and that the provisions of "An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the government for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, and for other purposes," which reads as follows, viz: "No person who shall after the passage of this act enter upon any of the public lands with a view to occupation, entry, or settlement under any of the land laws shall be permitted to acquire title to more than three hundred and twenty acres in the aggregate under all said laws," shall be construed to include in the maximum amount of lands the title to which is permitted to be acquired by one person only agricultural lands, and not include lands entered or sought to be entered under mineralland laws.

NOTE-The 320-acre limitation provided by the above act of March 3, 1891 (26 Stat. 1095), applies to timber and stone entries. (33 L. D. 539, 605.) Regarding acquirement of lands from the United States, see the following cases:

Yosemite Valley case, 82 U. S. 77, 21 L. Ed. 82; Thayer v. Spratt, 189 U. S. 346; Hawley v. Diller, 178 U. S. 476, affirming 81 Fed. 651, reversing 75 Fed. 946; Guaranty Savings Bank v. Bladow, 176 U. S. 448; United States v. Budd, 144 U. S. 154, 36 L. Ed. 384, affirming 43 Fed. 630; United States v. Clark, 129 Fed. 241; United States v. Detroit Timber Co., 131 Fed. 668, affirming 124 Fed. 393; Alson v. United States, 133 Fed. 849; Hoover v. Salling, 110 Fed. 43, reversing 102 Fed. 716; Lewis v. Shaw, 70 Fed. 289; Cal. Redwood Co. v. Little, 79 Fed. 854; United States v. Braddock, 50 Fed. 669; United States v. Scholl, 45 Fed. 758; Emmons v. United States, 42 Fed. 26; Montgomery v. United States, 36 Fed. 4; Jones v. United States, 35 Fed. 561; Whitney v. Spratt, 25 Wash. 62; Johnson v. Bridal Veil Lumber Co., 24 Ore. 182; Gardner v. Port Blakely Mill Co., 8 Wash. 1. See Fed. Stats. Anntd.,

vol. 7, pp. 300-306, cases and notes; Cent. Dig., vol. 41, title, Public Lands, sec. 82.

Cases concerning desert lands: Gutierras v. Albuquerque Land Co., 188 U. S. 545; United States v. Rio Grande Dam Co., 174 U. S. 690; United States v. Ingram, 172 U. S. 327; United States v. Healey, 160 U. S. 136, 40 L. Ed. 369, reversing 29 Ct. Cl. 115; Williams v. United States, 138 U. S. 514; Salma Stock Co. v. United States, 85 Fed. 339; United States v. MeIntosh, 85 Fed. 333; State v. Wright, 17 Mont. 565, 44 P. 89; Farm Invest. Co. v. Carpenter, 9 Wyo. 110; Clear Creek Land Co. v. Kilkenny, 5 Wyo. 28, 36 P. 819; Gray v. Dixon, 83 Cal. 33, 23 P. 60; Sallee v. Corder, 67 Cal. 174, 7 P. 455; Arnold v. Christy, 4 Ariz. 19; Slocum v. United States, 35 Ct. Cl. 485; Nelson v. United States, 35 Ct. Cl. 427. See Fed. Stats. Anntd., vol. 6, title, Public Lands, pp. 392398, notes and cases; Cent. Dig., vol. 41, title, Public Lands, sec. 81.

An Act to amend an act to permit the use of the right of way through public lands for tram roads, canals, and reservoirs, and for other purposes.

3171. Rights of way across public lands for certain purposes.

That the act entitled "An act to permit the use of the right of way through the public lands for tramroads, canals, and reservoirs, and for other purposes," approved January twenty-first, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, be, and the same is hereby, amended by adding thereto the following:

That the secretary of the interior be, and hereby is, authorized and empowered, under general regulations to be fixed by him, to permit the use of right of way upon the public lands of the United States, not within limits. of any park, forest, military, or Indian reservations, for tramways, canals, or reservoirs, to the extent of the ground occupied by the water of the canals and reservoirs, and fifty feet on each side of the marginal limits thereof, or fifty feet on each side of the center line of the tramroad, by any citizen or association of citizens of the United States, for the purposes of furnishing water for domestic, public, and other beneficial uses. As amended, May 11,

1898.

That the secretary of the interior be, and hereby is, authorized and empowered, under general regulations to be fixed by him, to permit the use of right of way to the extent of twenty-five feet, together with the use of necessary ground not exceeding forty acres, upon the public lands and forest reservations of the United States, by any citizen or association of citizens of the United States, for the purposes of generating, manufacturing, or distributing electric power. As supplemented, May 14, 1896.

3172. Idem.

SEC. 2. That the rights of way for ditches, canals, or reservoirs heretofore or hereafter approved under the provisions of sections 18, 19, 20, and 21 of the act entitled "An act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes," approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, may be used for purposes of a public nature; and said rights of way may be used for purposes of water transportation, for domestic purposes, or for the development of power, as subsidiary to the main purpose of irrigation. As amended, May

11, 1898.

The original act is omitted because its provisions are carried in the amendatory and supplemental acts.

The biennial report of the surveyor-general and state land register for 1909-1910 states that "There have been granted by the United States to the State of Nevada, at different times, lands to the amount of 2,732,884.70 acres in different grants. All these grants to the state have been exhausted by selections, but, as there are several thousand acres of selections to be adjusted on account of suspended duplicate and erroneous approval, all the grants have not as yet been closed."

An act of Congress approved March 21, 1864, donated twenty sections for the erection of public buildings for legislative and judicial purposes and twenty sections for a penitentiary.

An Act to prevent unlawful occupancy of the public lands.

Approved February 25, 1885

3173. Unlawful inclosure of or assertion of right to public lands. That all inclosures of any public lands in any state or territory of the United States, heretofore or to be hereafter made, erected, or constructed by any person, party, association, or corporation, to any of which land included within the inclosure the person, party, association, or corporation making or controlling the inclosure had no claim or color of title made or acquired in good faith, or an asserted right thereto by or under claim, made in good faith with a view to entry thereof at the proper land office under the general laws of the United States at the time any such inclosure was or shall be made, are hereby declared to be unlawful, and the maintenance, erection, construction,

« PreviousContinue »