47-1Indian AffairsMiami Lands in Kansas. [2065] Bill providing for the sale of said lands.1882-1

House of Representatives Report No. 22, 47th Congress, 1st Session (1882)

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47TH CoNGREss, } HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 1st Session. :\HA:\11 I~DIAN LA~DS I~ KANSAS. { REPOTI'l' No. 22. JAXuARY 18, 1882.-Hcferred to the Honse Calendar and ordered to be printed. ~Ir. liASKELL, from tile Committee on Indian Affairs, submitted the fol-lowing l{E P 0 RT: [To accompany bill H. R. 404.] The Committee on Indian A.ffairs, having hacl nnder consideration the bill (H. R. 404) to prot•ide for the sale of the lands of the JIIiami Indians, in Kansas, submit the following repm·t, together with letter from the Corn-missioner of Indian Affairs, bearing date January 11, 1882, transmitting repm·t of the Commissioner of Indian A.ffairs of date Jl[arch 12, 1879, giving a full history of the case as presented in the provisions of this bill: The passage of this bill is respectfully requested by tlu~ honorable Secretary of the Interior, by the citizens who desire to purchase the lands and wllo haYe homes thereon, and also by the Indians owning the lands, with a unanimous \Oice. During the session of the Forty-sixth Con-gress a delegation of the Miami Indians, residents of the Indian Territory nnd O\n1ers of the lands in question, came to Washington, and, before the Committee on Indian Affairs, urged the pm;sage of a bill of like char-acter then pending before Congress for the sale of the lands in question at their appraised value as provided for in this bill. There seems, therefore, to be no opposition to the measure on the part of any persons interested, the appraiHcment made being entirely satis-factory to all parties. Your committee therefore recommend the passage of the bill, with the amendment that where the word "ht>ir-at-law" occurR, it Rhall be made to read heirs-at-law. DEPAR'DIEXT OF TilE INTERIOR, OFFICE OF IXDIAN AFFAIRS, Washington, .January 11, 1882. Sm: I have the honor to aclmowletlge the receipt of yonr letter of the 7th instant inclosing H. R. 404, being "A bill to provide for the sale of the Janus of the Miami Indians, in Kansas," anu r<'questing to be furnished with such information anu sug-gestions as this bureau may be able to supply. Iu r~ply [ have to state th:tt the bill referred to is itlenticn,l in its provisions and form to a dra.ft of a bill prep tred in this offiJe an(l snbmittefl to tl1 ·:~ departm '3 nt, with a full report of all the facts bearing upon tile subject-matter of the sa:ne, ou the 12th day of March, 1879. I inclose herewith a copy of that report, with the remark that this office entertains the same views iu respe(•t of the sale of these lands at the present moment as are therein set out, and would, therefore, renew its recommendation for favorable action iu the premises. A slight amendment is called for in line 8 of the first section; it should read heirs-at-law instead of "heir-at-law." ... 2 MIAMl INDIAN LANDS IN KANSAS. I return herewith the bill, aud will adLl, in conchniou, that I think, with the slight change referred to, it should be passed. Very respectfully, Ron. D. C. HASKELL, H. PRICE, Comntissione1·. Chairnwn C01nmillee on Indian Affairs House of Represcntatires. DEPARTMEXT OF THE L~TEIUO~l, OFFICE 01<' INDIAN Al!'FAIRS, Washington, Ma1·ch 12, 1879. Sm: Settlers who arc occupying Miami Indian lands in Kansas, under the act of May 3, 1873 (17 Stat., ti31), having presented memorials to Conrrress praying for are-appraisenwnt of said lands, claiming that the appraisement made in conformity with the aforesaid act is too high, l have the honor to submit herewith a draft of a bill pro-viding for the sale of said lands, and in connection therewith I desire to call attention to the following facts bearh1g upon the equities of thE~ several parties in interest: By the first article of the Mi,ami treaty of June 5, 1854 (10 Stat., 1093), the Miami In-diansceded to the United States all their lands in Kansas, estimatedatfivehundred tllOns-and acres, excepting and reservh1g therefrom seventy thousand acres for their future homes, and also a section of six hundred and forty acres for school purposes. Out of the seventy thousand acres reserved an allotment of two hundred acres, in severalty, was to be made to each individual of the tribe, for which patents were to be issued, and the chiefs were then to select the balance in compact form adjacent to the individual selec-tions, the same to be held in common by the tribe until such time "as the chiefs and -a majority of the tribe shall request it to be sol<l by the President" and the proceeds paid to the tribe. The chiefs were also to select the school section. Under these provisions and the 3d section of the Indian appropriation act of 185 (11 Stat., 332), 60,02:3.85 acres of land "\Vere selected by 300 allottees at various times. -prior to September, 1869, and patents have issued for the same, leaving a remainder, which was selected by the chiefs as provided in the treaty, and including the schoo section of 10,608.1:.3 acres. By the act of March 3, 1873 (17 Stat., 631), entitled "An act to abolish the tribal relations of the Miami Indians, and for other purposes," it was provided : :First, that the lands of the Miamis in Kansas, held in common and including the school section, l>e appraised, with the improvements made thereon by the United States. and the Indians, by three disinterested persons, appointed l>y the Secretary of the Interior, in legal subdivisions of one hundred and sixty acres, or less. Second, that each bona fide settler on said lands a,t the date of the passage of said act, being a citizen of the United States, and having valuable improvements thereon, shall be entitled at a,ny time within one year from the return of said appraisement to purchase the land so occupied by him, in tracts of not more than one hundred and sixty acres, at the appraised value, under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior might prescribe. "And on failure to make payment within one year from date of said approval of appmisement, the right of such settler to purchase as afore-said shall cease, and it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to sell the same, either at public sale or ou sealed bids, for cash, to the highest bidder, at not less than the appraised va,lne, nor less than one dollar and twenty-ii ve cents p er ace~ after dne notice by public advertisement. And all lands referred to in this :1nd the , foregoing sections, not so occupied and improved by settlers at the date of the ap-proval of this act, shall be appraised by said apapraisers, including all improvements thereon of every character, and sold by direction of the Secretary of the Interior t(} the highest bidder for cash, after due advertisement either at public sale or on sealed bids, at not less than the appraised value, nor lessthan one dollar and twonty-five cents per acre as afoTesaid, in quantities not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres." Thirrl, that if any adult member of sa.id tribe sha,ll desire to become a citizen Oof the United States he or she may, upon the presenta.tion of certain proof to the satis-faction of the circuit court of the United States for the State of Kansas, and taking tl1e oath of allegiance, "be declared by said court to be a citizen of the United States, which shall be entered ofreconl and a certificate thereof given to said party." Un<ler this latter provision thirty-three of the Miamis elected to become citizens, and are entitled to their distributive share of the funds arising from the sa,le of the lands in question. It appears from the report of the appraisers under the act of 1873, which report was approved by the Secretary of the Interior, October 30, 1873, that there were eighty settlers upon this tract, occupying 8,114.93 acres, leaving unallotted and unoccupied 2,493.20 acres. That portion of the tract occnpicd by settlers was placed nnc1er the jurisdiction of the General Land Office, and the remnindcr under tllC jurisdiction of this office. :MIAMI INDIAN LANDS IN KANSAS. 3 By subsequent act, approved June 23, 1874 (18 Stat., 273), the settlers on Miami In-dian lands, named in the act of 1873, were permitted to make payment in three annual installments, the last of which expireu on the 30th day of October, 1876. I am informally advised by the General Land Office that, of the eighty settlers re-ported as occupying portions of these lands, only thirty-two have made full, and four have made partial payment for the lands occupied by them. Of the 2,493.20 acres of unallotted and unoccupied lands unuer the immediate juris-diction of this office, only 165.28 acres were sold on sealed bids, when the land was offered in February, 1874, in accordance with the concluding paragraph of the seconu section of the act of 1873. These settlers who were permitted by the act of 1873, afterwa.rus amendeu, in 1874, to make payment for the lands occupied by tbem, but have f~Liled to comply with the terms of said act, have forfeited all their right aud claim to said lands with tht~ improvements upon the same. The United States holds the legal title to these lands, but the equitable title in fee is in the Indians, and the United States has no ·interest, except that of a trustee, anu is in conscience bound to protect the interests of the party for whom the trust was originally created. The lands at the date of appraisement were undoubtedly worth the full value placed upon them by the appraisers, and if they could then, under the act, have been sold to the highest bidder, for cash, would have brought the full amount at which they were appraised. Congress, however, with a view to the settlement of the country and the advantage of the parties who had, wit,hout color of right, settled upon and improved the lands, provided that they should be sold to the parties then living thereon, but at the appraised value, such settler to forfeit all claims if payment was not made in one vear. Tlie time limited for payment in these cases was extended by the act of 187 4 so as to allow payment to be made in three annual in'stallments. This :tmendment was entirely in the interest of the settlers, but as interest· on the delayed payments was required, the Indians, whose wishes were not consulted, we1·e not directly injured, provided the lands are now sold at the appraised value. Unuer these very liberal provisions, as before stated, thirty-two settlers have made full payment for the land claimed by them, and four have made partial payments. J'orty-four of these settlers have failed to meet the requirements of the law under wl1ich they claim. The report of the appraisers shows that the settlers were on the lands prior to the aate of the act of March 3, ltl73, and had valuable improvements thereon at that time; tl1ey have had the use of the property since that date without paying either rent or interest or purchase money; they have not even been called upon to pay taxes on the lands, which are, by express decision of the Supreme Court of the United States (0 Wall., 737), exempt from taxation under the laws of the State. It is urged, I am aware, that a large depreciation in the value of lands has taken place since the date of ap-praisement. Admitting such to be the fa.ct, I can see no good reason therein for a new appraisement. The fact that the settlers were on the lands at the date of the act withdrew them from sale, and as they have occupied and received the advantages of the sama since that time they should, in my judgment, be held to complete the pur-chase or forfeit under the act, and submit to a resale of the lands with their improve-ments at the apprai~ed value. Individual whites purchasing from each other are held to the contract price, how-ever great the depreciation in value snbsequent to purchase and prior to final pay-ment, and I can see no reason why an exception to the rule should be made, especially in the execution of a trust, as against the lndia~s. Furthermore, the Miami Indians are not pressing the sale of these lands at the pres-ent time, but are, so far as this office is advised, content to await their sale at the ap-praised value thereof, and the United States cannot, in equity, take any steps looking to a diminution of the price of the laud without first obtaining their cousent. I inclose herewith copies in duplicate of the aforesaid bill and of this report, an<l have the honor to recommend that the same be transmittecl to the two houses of Congress at the coming session, with a recommendation for favorable action thereon. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, E. A. HAYT, Com missioner. The Hon. SECHETARY OF TIIE IXTERIOn. 0 

Miami Indian lands in Kansas

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Miami Indian lands in Kansas

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