nated, to define upon the face of the country and upon official diagrams and records the general boundaries and the subdivision lines of the awarded lands, the value of which has been estimated at some $200,000.

As stated in the above-mentioned annual report, this work of survey and identification was undertaken by Maj. S. Temple, under his contract of March 30, 1875, and prosecuted until the appropriations therefor became exhausted. The result of his labors were, 1st, the survey of the principal tract belonging to the Indians and known as the Qualla boundary, containing some 73,000 acres, and lying in the northeast part of Jackson and the southeast part of Swain Counties; 2d, the survey of the county line of Jackson and Swain, so far as it related to the Qualla boundary; 3d, the retracement of the five township lines within the Qualla tract or boundary; 4th, the establishment and permanent marking of the lines bounding the small subdivisions of the Qualla tract occupied by individual members of the band, and of such lots as have been set apart for public use. It was also found necessary to retrace the boundary lines of a tract known as the Cathcart survey, which lies within and now forms a part of the Qualla boundary. In addition to the above, the lines of a number of tracts scattered through the counties of Cherokee, Graham, and Macon were run and marked, and to complete this work in such manner that their respective locations could be delineated upon maps and diagrams accompanying the returns, it was necessary to run a base line starting from a known point on the Tennessee River and passing through the country in which the detached lots or tracts were situated, in order that they might be connected therewith. The base line led through a broken and mountainous country, and it was necessarily tortuous in its alignment. The linear extent of the surveys under this contract amounted to 815.07 miles, resulting in the survey and marking of 148 tracts, aggregating 9,934t acres, in the Qualla tract and lying within the limits of Swain County, and 332 tracts, amounting to 32,905 acres, in the same general tract, but lying in Jackson County. Elsewhere 52 separate tracts, aggregating 8,318 acres, were surveyed and marked. These were distributed as follows: 20 tracts in Cherokee, 28 in Graham, and 4 in Macon Counties. Voluminous field notes with separate dia. grams of each lot in addition to the connected maps, were submitted to this office by the surveyor upon the completion of his unusually difficult and perplexing labors, which, upon critical examination, were approved and became a part of the permanent records of the office.

Congress, by act March 3, 1877, appropriated a further sum of $1,500 to provide for the completion of the surveys, and, as may be seen by ref erence to my last annual report, a second contract with this object in view was made in April, 1878, with Mr. Temple. The instructions accompanying this contract appear in the report last referred to (p. 25). The field work under this contract was completed June 27, 1878. The returns embrace field notes and separate diagrams of 65 lots or tracts. Diagrams accompany the same, showing all the lands surveyed in the counties of Graham and Cherokee, the tortuous base line run by the surveyor during this and the previous survey, and the lines connecting the individual lots and groups of lots with the base. Of the 65 lots surveyed under this contract, 33, having an aggregate area of 6,915 acres, lie in the county of Cherokee, and 32, embracing 5,115 acres, are in Graham. A diagram also accompanied the returns showing a survey made by consent of all interested parties, by which the southern portion of the Qualla boundary or tract was enlarged to the extent of 401 acres, independent of some additional land claimed by individual Indians which was included in the said enlargement. The aggregate quantity

of land added to the Indian possessions by the survey of 1878 amounts to 12,658 acres. To accomplish this, it was necessary to run and mark 131.48 miles of tract boundaries, 14.94 miles of base line, 27.73 miles of connecting lines, and 1.6 miles of closing lines in the aforesaid enlargement of the Qualla tract-in all 175.75 miles. Of the surveyed tracts or lots shown in the returns of the surveyor, 28 are regarded as being lots called for or named in the award of the arbitrators; 16 lots so named, to which there seemed to be evidences of Indian title, remain unsurveyed, in consequence of service of notice upon the surveyor by whites owning or in possession of them forbidding survey of the same. Four of the above-named 28 lots are also claimed by whites, but notices forbidding survey were not served in time to prevent it. Owing to an observance of different systems of numbering and designating the tracts by the several parties through whom title has passed since their conveyance by the State of North Carolina, the work of identification of awarded lands has been a labor of exceeding difficulty.

The work accomplished under both of the contracts herein described amounts to 991 miles of surveys, determining and marking the lines of 63,588 acres of tribal and individual Indian lands.

Resurvey of the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation.

The Cattaraugus like the Allegany Indian Reservation is chiefly occupied and controlled by the Seneca Nation of Indians. Lying for the most part in Erie, its southern portion extends into Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties, in the State of New York. Its lines, with the exception of the eastern boundary, were surveyed and marked in the year 1798 by Augustus Porter. Many landmarks of the original survey have disappeared, and difficulties growing out of encroachments upon the lands of the Indians made a resurvey of the reservation a necessity. Congress, at the request of the Indians, authorized, by act of May 25, 1878, a resurvey of this tract, requiring—

The exterior boundaries thereof to be marked by stone or iron monuments, the expeuses thereof not to exceed the sum of two thousand dollars, and to be paid by the Seneca Nation of Indians, who are authorized to select a surveyor, to be approved by the Secretary of the Interior.

The Seneca Nation having, by resolution of their council, designated Charles E. Fink as a suitable person to prosecute the resurvey, the choice was approved by the honorable Secretary, and a contract to that effect was entered into on July 6, 1878. Special instructions accompanied the contract, requiring and minutely describing various operations tending to the restoration and permanent marking of the lines and corners and faithful delineation of all important topographical features and improvements of the land. In order to facilitate future efforts to restore the boundary lines in case of loss, their precise angles of divergence were required to be taken by means independent of the magnetic meridian. The resurvey was commenced without unnecessary delay, resulting in the completion of the field work on the 26th of September, 1878. By careful observation the magnetic declination at the date and place of the resurvey was found to be 3° 20′ W. Posts in mounds, numbered consecutively from the initial point of the survey and the resurvey, mark each mile of the boundary, and these are witnessed by pits, and wherever practicable by reference trees. The corners of the reservation are marked by hollow, octagonal, cast-iron posts, 4, feet long and of 5 inches diameter, with caps, and base flanges of 6 inches diameter. The posts are set to a depth of 2 feet below the natural surface of the

ground, and their remaining parts are protected by conical mounds having 5 feet diameter of base. Their positions are further witnessed by pits and trees, as in the case of the mile posts. The sum of all the boundary lines of the reservation is 36 miles 49 chains, and the included area is 27,097 acres. Cattaraugus Creek, which flows to Lake Erie through the entire length of the reservation, a distance of about 18 miles, has been meandered along both of its banks. In addition to the highways and other public improvements, the location of every dwelling is shown upon the maps returned by the surveyor by name and symbol. Complete returns of the resurvey embracing maps and field notes in triplicate were submitted to this office by the surveyor on November 30, 1878, which, upon examination, were approved, and copies were furnished, as required by law, to the clerk of Erie County and to the Seneca Nation.

The lands of the reservation are represented as being generally of the best quality. The improved portions aggregate about 18,000 acres, the remainder bearing timber of first and second growth. The quantity of waste land is small. The Indians are chiefly engaged in agricultural pursuits, many of them having large and well stocked farms upon which they have erected good and substantial dwellings. Annual fairs are held by the agricultural society of the nation. The inhabitants of Indian descent number as follows: Senecas, 1,435; Cayugas, 145; Onondagas, 40. The reservation is divided into ten school districts, which have been organized and provided for in the usual manner. The Thomas Asylum for orphan and destitute Indian children of the State of New York, erected at a cost of some $20,000, is located on this reservation, and is in part sustained by contributions of the Indians of the State. Religious societies have been formed, and the Presbyterian, Methodist, and Baptist denominations have edifices in which services are held with regularity. An industrial school has also been established. Questions which grew out of encroachments upon the lands of the Indians appear to have been settled by general acquiescence in the results of the resurvey. A considerable portion of the reservation is occupied by white settlers who claim possession under title from the Ogden Land Company. The areas of the sections in dispute are shown in dotted lines upon the map and referred to in the field notes.

Old Cherokee Indian Reservation.

This tract of land, formerly occupied by the Cherokee Nation, is situated in the central part of the State of Arkansas, and lies on the north side of the Arkansas River, in townships 7 and 8 north, range 21 west. Its boundary lines had been clearly defined while the Indians were in possession, and the lines of the public land surveys were closed thereon. Since the departure of the Cherokees, there have been repeated applications upon the part of settlers, and in their behalf, for subdivisional surveys, in order that the lands might be disposed of, but pending these applications, until the passage of act of Congress of June 20, 1878, there has been no appropriation applicable to the survey of public lands in Arkansas.

This office has long looked upon the area embraced within the reservation as an unincumbered portion of the public domain, but in view of the fact that the treaty by which the lands of the reservation were ceded back to the United States contained certain stipulations, it was thought best to address a letter of inquiry to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs concerning the right of the United States to survey and dispose of the

lands in accordance with existing laws and regulations. This letter, dated June 1, 1877, referred to the treaty of 1828, by which the Cherokees ceded to the United States all the lands to which they are entitled in the State of Arkansas, and to a further provision of that treaty, that the property and improvements connected with the agency should be sold and the proceeds applied to aid in erecting in the country to which the Cherokees were about to remove a saw and grist mill for their use. The letter also called attention to the supplemental treaty of 1833, in which it was stipulated that eight patent railway corn mills were to be erected in lieu of the above mentioned grist and saw mills. Article 18 of the treaty of 1866 was also referred to, in which a provision occurs "that any lands owned by the Cherokees in the State of Arkansas and in States east of the Mississippi may be sold by the Cherokee Nation in such manner as their national council may prescribe," &c.

It appears that under this last-mentioned provision the Indians claim the right to dispose of the lands of the Old Cherokee Reservation. The letter of this office also invited attention to a report on this subject, made in 1866 by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the honorable Secretary of the Interior, and to our letters bearing date June 19, 1868, and May 25, 1869.

In response to the above communication, a letter was received from the honorable Secretary of the Interior bearing date June 27, 1878, transmitting a report of the Acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs, bearing date February 18, 1878, from which it is learned that the Indian authorities, in reply to his letter of inquiry addressed to them, concerning the basis of any claim they might have against the United States, asserted that the corn mills provided for in the treaty of 1833 had not been erected, and that consequently the government had failed to fulfill its obligation in that regard, while on the other hand the records of the government show strict compliance with that as well as other stipulations of the treaty. The Commissioner further says:

It seems clearly evident to this office that the Cherokee Indians, in the most plain, comprehensive, and emphatic terms, ceded to the United States all their lands in Arkansas-the intention and fact both concurring-and that the government has fully performed its reciprocal obligations growing out of such cession, and so cleared its title acquired thereby from any possible doubt as to its validity. But even if the government were in default in the full performance of its part of said agreement, such fact would not impair the validity of the cession. It could only, at most, give a claim to money compensation for non-fulfilled treaty obligations.

The Commissioner, referring to the above quoted eighteenth article of the treaty of 1866, shows that the Indians, having previously ceded all their lands in Arkansas, it cannot be made to sustain any claim to the reservation lands in question. This position is strengthened by quoting from article 31 of the same treaty, as follows:

All provisions of treaties heretofore ratified and in force, and not inconsistent with the provisions of this treaty, are hereby reaffirmed and declared to be in full force; and nothing herein shall be construed as an acknowledgment by the United States, or as a relinquishment by the Cherokee Nation, of any claims or demands under the guarantees of former treaties, except as herein expressly provided.

In transmitting the above communication, the letter of the honorable Secretary of the Interior concludes with the following remarks:

It will be seen from the report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, a copy of which is herewith inclosed for your information, that all the stipulations made with the Cherokees, upon the performance of which their right to the land in question was extinguished, have been fully complied with on the part of the United States. The history of the case is full and complete, and the treaties and acts of Congress bearing upon the matter at issue are cited in support of the right of the government to dispose

of the lands. I concur in the opinion of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and the subject is referred for the action of the General Land Office.

Subsequent to the receipt of the foregoing communications, in accordance with the views therein expressed, and with opinions entertained by this office, the lands have been treated as unincumbered property of the United States. Accordingly a contract was entered into September 14, 1878, payable out of the appropriation of June 20 of the same year, with James Potts, for the subdivision of the tract in question. This work has been completed in accordance with the contract and special instructions. The returns of the surveyor show the area of the reservation to be 3,343.41 acres, upon which there are now some 30 settlements, covering about 600 acres. Some of the lands have been occupied for a period of sixteen years. The settlers desire permission to preempt the lands occupied by them, subject to the ordinary regulations. The surveyor also reports the finding of landmarks of a subdivisional survey of the reservation reported to have been made by authority of the so called "Confederate Government."

Survey and subdivision of Red Cloud and Spotted Tail Reserres in Dakota.

Act of Congress, May 27, 1878, appropriated $10,000 for the survey of such portions of the Sioux Indian Reservation in Dakota as may be required for agricultural purposes.

Act of June 20, 1878, authorized the honorable Secretary of the Interior to appoint a commission, consisting of three persons, to visit the Red Cloud and Spotted Tail Indians, to confer with them relative to their present location, with a view to their final settlement, where they can earn their support by agriculture and stock raising.

Act of March 3, 1879, appropriated $10,000 for the survey of lands for allotment to the Red Cloud and Spotted Tail bands of Sioux Indians in Dakota Territory.

Basing action upon the aforementioned authority, a commission appointed by the honorable Secretary visited Dakota, charged with the duties described in the act of June 20, 1878, and made report recommending the survey and subdivision of an area of country, bounded on the north and west by White Earth River, on the south by the south boundary of Dakota, and embracing on the east the South Fork of White Earth River and tributary streams.

Treaty stipulations with the different tribes of Sioux provide for allotment of lands to any individual belonging to said tribes of Indians who may desire to engage in agricultural pursuits, said lands to be located in any country which may be occupied by the said Indians as a home. It has also provided that each head of a family might select not exceeding 320 acres of land, and each person over eighteen years of age, not being the head of a family, not exceeding 80 acres. The number of individuals belonging to the bands of Red Cloud and Spotted Tail has been estimated by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs at 3,000, requiring an area of subdivided lands equal to 24 townships.

In agreement with a suggestion of the Commissioner last named, the honorable Secretary directed that the lands intended for agricultural uses be subdivided into tracts of 40 acres. It was also directed that a contract should be entered into with Daniel G. Major, for the accomplishment of said survey and subdivision. In accordance with the foregoing, a contract was executed and special instructions relating to detals of the work were issued under date November 7, 1878. In anticipation of early application for allotments of agricultural lands, the in