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SALE OF OMAHA LANDS IN NEBRASKA, AND ALLOTMENT OF LANDS IN SEVERALTY TO OMAHA INDIANS.

^[[From Comission Report of 1883]]

Under authority of the act of Congress approved August 7, 1882 (22 Stat.,341), all that portion of the Omaha Indian reservation in the State of Nebraska lying west of the right of way of the Sioux City and Nebraska Railroad Company is to be appraised and sold for the benefit of the Indians of said reservation.  A commission, composed of Messrs. J. B. Detwiler, Daniel Duggan, and Henry Fontenelle, of Nebraska, has been appointed to make the required appraisement, and these gentlemen are now engaged in that duty.  The quantity of land to be appraised and sold is estimated to be about 50,000 acres.  It is said to be of most excellent quality, both for agriculture and stock purposes, and the indications are that it will command a good price.  The funds arising from the sale, after paying the expenses incident thereto, are to be placed to the credit of the Indians, the income therefrom, at 5 per centum, to be ^[[ [[underlined]] expended for their benefit,[[/underlined]] ]] under direction of the Secretary of the Interior.

Under the same act (section 5) the lands lying east of the railroad right of way are to be allotted in severalty to the Indians of said reservation, in quantity as therein provided, and in carrying out this wise purpose Miss Alice C. Fletcher, of New York (who has shown a deep interest in the welfare of the Omahas, and through whose instrumentality, very largely, the legislation authorizing the allotments with permanent titles thereto was secured), was designated by the Department to make the allotments, and appointed a special agent of this Bureau for that purpose.  Miss Fletcher received her instructions under date of April 21 last, and already some 500 allotments have been made. The Indians are eager to secure their allotments, and the work is progressing satisfactorily.

By a proviso to the eighth section of the act, any Indian who elects to do so may take his allotment west of the railroad right of way.  It has been ascertained, however, that there are but ten who desire to go west of the railroad.  Of course their selections will be withheld from sale.

The residue of lands east of the railroad, after all allotments have been made, are to be patented to the tribe in common, provision being made for allotments to children that may be born within a period of twenty-five years thereafter.