as a post-route, and it shall enjoy the rights and privileges of other post-roads in the United States, and equal privileges in the use of said bridges shall be granted to all telegraph companies; and the United States shall have the right of way over said bridges for postaltelegraph purposes.

Postal telegraph.

Use by other roads.

SEC. 3. That all railroad companies desiring the use of said bridges shall have and be entitled to equal rights and privileges relative to the passage of railway trains over the same, and over the approaches thereto, upon the payment of a reasonable compensation for such use; and in case the owner or owners of said bridges and the several railroad companies, or any of them, desiring such use, shall fail to Compensation. agree upon the sum or sums to be paid, and upon rules and conditions to which each shall conform in using said bridges, all matters at issue between them shall be decided by the Secretary of War upon a hearing of the allegations and proofs of the parties.

Secretary of War to

SEC. 4. That any bridges authorized to be constructed under this act shall be built and located under and subject to such regulations approve plans, etc. for the security of navigation of said rivers as the Secretary of War shall prescribe; and to secure that object the said company or corporation shall submit to the Secretary of War, for his examination and approval, a design and drawings of the bridges, and a map of the location, giving, for the space of one mile above and one mile below the proposed location, the topography of the banks of the rivers, the shore-lines at high and low water, the direction and strength of the currents at all stages, and the soundings, accurately showing the bed of the stream, the location of any other bridge or bridges, and shall furnish such other information as may be required for a full and satisfactory understanding of the subject; and until the said plan and location of the bridges are approved by the Secretary of War the bridges shall not be commenced or built, and should any change be made in the plan of said bridges during the progress of construction such changes shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of War....

SEC. 5. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this act is hereby expressly reserved.

SEC. 6. That this act shall be null and void if actual construction of the bridges herein authorized be not commenced within two years and completed within three years from the date thereof. Approved, January 8, 1889.

Amendment.

Commencement and

completion.

CHAP. 22.-An act to construct a road from Florence, South Carolina, to the national cemetery adjacent thereto

January 8, 1889.

Provisos.
Road to be kept in

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the sum of Appropriation for fifteen thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be uecessary, is etery, Florence, S. C. hereby appropriated, to be used in the construction of a macadam or gravel road leading from the town of Florence, South Carolina, to the national cemetery in the vicinity of said town, the same to be expended under the direction of the Secretary of War: Provided, That no part of the money so appropriated shall be expended until repair. the town of Florence shall, by proper ordinances, grant to the United States the right, without expense, to grade and macadamize the streets along the route selected for the construction or repair of said road, and also provide in said ordinance that when said road is constructed that said town will keep the same in repair within the incorporated limits of said town: And provided further, That no part of said money shall be expended until the county of Darlington shall, by proper orders duly entered of record in the proper court, widen the county road, if any, along the route selected, so as that it

STAT L-VOL XXV-41

Widening road.

Contracts.

shall correspond in width to such streets of said town as may be selected for the purpose aforesaid: And provided further, That the contract to construct said road shall be awarded to the lowest bidder, after due advertisement, the Secretary of War to have authority to reject any and all bids.

Approved, January 8, 1889.

January 14, 1889.

Minnesota.

Chippewa Indians of Commissioners to ne. gotiate for relinquish

pointed.

to ap

Lands excepted.

Assent of tribes.

CHAP. 24.-An act for the relief and civilization of the Chippewa Indians in the State of Minnesota.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States is hereby authorized and directed, within sixty days after the passage of this act, to designate and appoint three Commissioners, one of whom shall be a citizen of Minnesota, whose duty it shall be, as soon as practicable after their appointment, to negotiate with all the differ nt bands or tribes of Chippewa Indians in the State of Minnesota for the complete cession and relinquishment in writing of all their title and interest in and to all the reservations of said Indians in the State of Minnesota, except the White Earth and Red Lake Reservations, and to all and so much of these two reservations as in the judgment of said commission is not required to make and fill the allotments required by this and existing acts, and shall not have been reserved by the Commissioners for said purposes, for the purposes and upon the terms hereinafter stated; and such cession and relinquishment shall be deemed sufficient as to each of said several reservations, except as to the Red Lake Reservation, if made and assented to in writing by two-thirds of the male adults over eighteen years of age of the band or tribe of Indians occupying and belonging to such reservations; and as to the Red Lake Reservation the cession and relinquishment shall be deemed sufficient if made and assented to in like manner by two-thirds of the male adults of all the Chippewa Indians in Minnesota; and provided that all agreements therefor shall be approved by the President of the United States before taking effect: Provided further, That in any case where an allotment in severalty has heretofore been made to any Indian of land upon any of said reservations, he shall not be deprived thereof or disturbed therein except by his own individual consent separately and previously given, in such form and manner as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior. And for the purpose of ascertaining whether the proper number of Indians yield and give their assent as aforesaid, and for the purpose of making the allotments and payments hereinafter mentioned, the said commissioners shall, while engaged in securing such cession and relinquishment as aforesaid and before Census to be taken. completing the same, make an accurate census of each tribe or band, classifying them into male and female adults, and male and female minors; and the minors into those who are orphans and those who are not orphans, giving the exact numbers of each class, and making such census in duplicate lists, one of which shall be filed with the Secretary of the Interior, and the other with the official head of the Assent to extinguish band or tribe; and the acceptance and approval of such cession and relinquishment by the President of the United States shall, be deemed full and ample proof of the assent of the Indians, and shall operate as a complete extinguishment of the Indian title without any other or further act or ceremony whatsoever for the purposes and upon the terms in this act provided.

Proviso.

Allottees not to be disturbed.

Indian title.

commissioners.

Bond and oath of SEC. 2. That the said commissioners shall, before entering upon the discharge of their duties, each give a bond to the United States in the sum of ten thousand dollars, with sufficient sureties, to be approved by the Secretary of the Interior, and conditioned for the

faithful discharge of their duties under this act, and they shall also each take an oath to support the Constitution of the United States, and to faithfully discharge the duties of their office, which bonds and oaths shall be filed with the Secretary of the Interior. Said commissioners shall be entitled to a compensation of ten dollars per day for Compensation. each day actually employed in the discharge of their duties, and for their actual traveling expenses and board, not exceeding three dollars per day. Said commissioners shall also be authorized to employ a competent interpreter while engaged in the performance of their duties, at a compensation and allowance to be fixed by them, not in excess of that allowed to each of them under this act.

Removal of Indians to White Earth Reser

Allotment of lands on Red Lake Reserva

SEC. 3. That as soon as the census has been taken, and the cession and relinquishment has been obtained, approved, and ratified, as speci- vation. fied in section one of this act, all of said Chippewa Indians in the State of Minnesota, except those on the Red Lake Reservation, shall, under the direction of said commissioners, be removed to and take up their residence on the White Earth Reservation, and thereupon there shall, as soon as practicable, under the direction of said commissioners, be allotted lands in severalty.to the Red Lake Indians on Red Lake Reservation, and to all the other of said Indians on White tion. Earth Reservation, in conformity with the act of February eighth, Vol. 21, p. 388. eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, entitled "An act for the allotment of lands in severalty to Indians on the various reservations, and to extend the protection of the laws of the United States and the Territories over the Indians, and for other purposes"; and all allotments heretofore made to any of said Indians on the White Ea. h Reservation are hereby ratified and confirmed with the like tenure Prior allotments conand condition prescribed for all allotments under this act: Provided, however, That the amount heretofore allotted to any Indian on White Earth Reservation shall be deducted from the amount of allotment to which he or she is entitled under this act: Provided further, That any of the Indians residing on any of said reservations may, in his discretion, take his allotment in severalty under this act on the reservation where he lives at the time of the removal herein provided for is effected, instead of being removed to and taking such allotment on White Earth Reservation.

firmed.
Provisos.

Deductions.

Allotments on other reservations.

SEC. 4. That as soon as the cession and relinquishment of said In- Survey of ceded dian title has been obtained and approved as aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the Commissioners of the General Land Office to cause the lands so ceded to the United States to be surveyed in the manner provided by law for the survey of public lands, and as soon as practicable after such survey has been made, and the report, field-notes, and plats thereof filed in the General Land Office, and duly approved by the Commissioner thereof, the said Secretary of the Interior, upon notice of the completion of such surveys, shall appoint a sufficient number of competent and experienced examiners, in order that the work may be done within a reasonable time, who shall go upon said lands thus surveyed and personally make a careful, complete, and thorough examination of the same by forty-acre lots, for the purpose of ascertainingSubdivision intɔ on which lots or tracts there is standing or growing pine timber, which tracts on which pine timber is standing or growing for the purposes of this act shall be termed "pine lands," the minutes of such examination to be at the time entered in books provided for that purpose, showing with particularity the amount and quality of all pine timber standing or growing on any lot or tract, the amount of such pine timber to be estimated by feet in the manner usual in estimating such timber, which estimates and reports of all such examinations shall be filed with the Commissioner of the General Land Office as a part of the permanent records thereof, and thereupon that officer shall cause to be made a list of all such pine lands, describing each forty-acre lot or tract thereof separately, and opposite each such description he shall place Minimum valuations. the actual cash value of the same, according to his best judgment and

"Pine lands."

Sale of pine lands.

Advertisement.

Auction sale.

Private sale.

Sale of agricultural lands.

information, but such valuation shall not be at a rate of less than three dollars per thousand feet, board measure of the pine timber thereon, and thereupon such lists of lands so appraised shall be trans; mitted to the Secretary of the Interior for approval, modification, or rejection, as he may deem proper. If the appraisals are rejected as a whole then the Secretary of the Interior shall substitute a new appraisal and the same or original list as approved or modified shall be filed with the Commissioner of the General Land Office as the appraisal of said lands, and as constituting the minimum price for which said lands may be sold, as hereinafter provided, but in no event shall said pine lands be appraised at a rate of less than three dollars per thousand feet board measure of the pine timber thereon. Duplicate lists of said lands as appraised, together with copies of the field-notes, surveys, and minutes of examinations shall be filed and kept in the office of the register of the land office of the district within which said lands may be situated, and copies of said lists with the appraisals shall be furnished to any person desiring the same upon application to the Commissioner of the General Land Office or to the register of said local land office.

The compensation of the examiners so provided for in this section shall be fixed by the Secretary of the Interior, but in no event shall exceed the sum of six dollars per day for each person so employed, including all expenses.

All other lands acquired from the said Indians on said reservations other than pine lands are for the purposes of this act termed "agricultural lands.

SEC. 5. That after the survey, examination, and appraisals of said pine lands has been fully completed they shall be proclaimed as in market and offered for sale in the following manner: The Commissioner of the General Land Office shall cause notices to be inserted once in each week for four successive weeks in one newspaper of general circulation published in Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Duluth, and Crookston, Minnesota; Chicago, Illinois; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Detroit, Michigan; Philadelphia and Williamsport, Pennsylvania; and Boston, Massachusetts, of the sale of said lands at public auction to the highest bidder for cash at the local land office of the district within which said lands are located, said notice to state the time and place and terms of such sale. At such sale said lands shall be offered in forty-acre parcels, except in case of fractions containing either more or less than forty acres, which shall be sold entire. In no event shall any parcel be sold for a less sum than its appraised value. The residue of such lands remaining unsold after such public offering shall thereafter be subject to private sale for cash at the appraised value of the same upon application at the local land office.

SEC. 6. That when any of the agricultural lands on said reservation not allotted under this act nor reserved for the future use of said Indians have been surveyed, the Secretary of the Interior shall give thirty days' notice through at least one newspaper published at Saint Paul and Crookston, in the State of Minnesota, and, at the expiration of thirty days, the said agricultural lands so surveyed, shall be disTo be sold under posed of by the United States to actual settlers only under the pro

homestead law.

Provisos.

Priee, etc.

visions of the homestead law: Provided, That each settler under and in accordance with the provisions of said homestead laws shall pay to the United States for the land so taken by him the sum of one dollar and twenty-five cents for each and every acre, in five equal annual payments, and shall be entitled to a patent therefor only at the expiration of five years from the date of entry, according to said homestead laws, and after the full payment of said one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre therefor, and due proof of occupancy for said period of five years; and any conveyance of said lands so taken as a homestead, or any contract touching the same, prior to the date of final

entry, shall be null and void: Provided, That nothing in this act shall be held to authorize the sale or other disposal under its provision of any tract upon which there is a subsisting, valid, pre-emption or homestead entry, but any such entry shall be proceeded with under the regulations and decisions in force at the date of its allowance, and if found regular and valid, patents shall issue thereon: Provided, That any person who has not heretofore had the benefit of the homestead or pre-emption law, and who has failed from any cause to perfect the title to a tract of land heretofore entered by him under either of said laws may make a second homestead entry under the provisions of this act.

Funds to be depos

ited to credit of Chip

terest.

Proviso.
Advances, from

SEC. 7. That all money accruing from the disposal of said lands in conformity with the provisions of this act shall, after deducting all pewas. the expenses of making the census, of obtaining the cession and relinquishment, of making the removal and allotments, and of completing the surveys and appraisals, in this act provided, be placed in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of all the Chippewa Indians in the State of Minnesota as a permanent fund, which shall draw interest at the rate of five per centum per annum, payable an- Interest. nually for the period of fifty years, after the allotments provided for in this act have been made, and which interest and permanent fund shall be expended for the benefit of said Indians in manner following: One-half of said interest shall, during the said period of fifty Distribution of inyears, except in the cases hereinafter otherwise provided, be annually paid in cash in equal shares to the heads of families and guardians of orphan minors for their use; and one-fourth of said interest shall, during the same period and with the like exception, be annually paid in cash in equal shares per capita to all other classes of said Indians; and the remaining one-fourth of said interest shall, during the said period of fifty years, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, be devoted exclusively to the establishment and maintenance of a system of free schools among said Indians, in their Schools.. midst and for their benefit; and at the expiration of the said fifty years, the said permanent fund shall be divided and paid to all of said Chippewa Indians and their issue then living, in cash, in equal shares: Provided, That Congress may, in its discretion, from time to time, during the said period of fifty years, appropriate, for the pur- principal. pose of promoting civilization and self-support among the said Indians, a portion of said principal sum, not exceeding five per centum thereof. The United States shall, for the benefit of said Indians, Anticipating interadvance to them as such interest as aforesaid the sum of ninety thousand dollars annually, counting from the time when the removal and allotments provided for in this act shall have been made, until such time as said permanent fund, exclusive of the deductions herein before provided for, shall equal or exceed the sum of three million dollars, less any actual interest that may in the meantime accrue from accumulations of said permanent fund; the payments Aids to farming. of such interest to be made yearly in advance, and, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, may, as to three-fourths thereof, during the first five years be expended in procuring live-stock, teams, farming implements, and seed for such of the Indians to the extent of their shares as are fit and desire to engage in farming, but as to the rest, in cash; and whenever said permanent fund shall exceed the sum of three million dollars the United States shall be fully reimbursed out of such excess, for all the advances of interest made as herein contemplated and other expenses hereunder. SEC. 8. That the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars is Appropriation. hereby appropriated, or so much thereof as may be necessary, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to pay for procuring the cession and relinquishment, making the census, surveys, appraisals, removal and allotments, and the first annual pay

est.

Re-imbursement.