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108 been returned. As soon as that is received a correct Report for that date will be forwarded Very Respectfully Your Obt Servant C Cadle Jr Bvt Col & A.A.G. The Maj Genl. Comdg being absent /116 Head Quarters Dist of Alabama Montgomery July 23rd 1866 Comdg Officer Post of Mobile Mobile Ala Sir On the 5th inst, the Report of your Command for June 10th was returned for correction. It has not yet been received back. The Maj Genl. Comdg directs that it be forwarded without delay. Very Respectfully Your Obdt Servant C Cadle Jr Bvt Col & A.A. Genl. 103/110 Head Quarters Dist of Alabama Montgomery July 25th 1866 Not Sent Howard Maj Genl. O. O. Commissioner &c Washington D.C. General I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the 19th inst, relative to public lands in this State and to make the following Report in accordance with the instructions therein contained. The number of acres of public land in Alabama is 6,700,000. The arable lands are chiefly situated within the land Districts of Huntsville, Demopolis, St Stephens, and Elba, comprising an area of about 4,000,000 of acres. The lands in the Huntsville District are generally broken and somewhat hilly but to a great extent capable of cultivation. The lands in the other Districts are chiefly bottom lands and well timbered and are well adapted to the growth of Cotton. The Counties of Mobile and Baldwin bordering on the Gulf are somewhat 109 Not Sent swampy not containing much arable land but are heavily covered with Pine timber, making the land extremely valuable for the manufacture of Resin, Turpentine and lumber. The Counties of Washington, Clark, Munroe, Conecuh, Coffee, Covington, Dale, and Henry, the lower portion of Choctaw, Munroe, Butler, Pike and Barbour contain lands well suited for cultivation. The greater portion being covered with valuable timber suited for the manufacture of lumber and Turpentine with easy facilities for a market by means of the numerous streams flowing into the Gulf. The vacant lands in the middle portion of the State comprising the Counties of Tallapoosa, Coosa, Bibb, Shelby, Jefferson, Benton, St Clair, Fayette and Blount are mostly broken and sandy not valuable for cultivation but containing a great deal of Mineral. The Counties of Bibb, Shelby and Jefferson will be almost entirely exempt from the operation of the Homestead Act, under the clause providing for the retention of mineral lands from the market. The lands in the Counties bordering on the Alabama Tombigbee, Black Warrior Chattahoochee Tennessee and North Coosa, are easy of access these streams being navigable most of the year. The Mobile and Montgomery Railroad, the Montgomery and West Point Railroad, the Selma and Demopolis Rail Road, the Selma and Rome Ga. Railroad, and the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, crossing the Northern part of the State give access to the lands in the Counties contiguous to them. The Mobile and Ohio running through Mississippi near and parallel to the entire Western line of Alabama, gives access to the Western tier of Counties with the exception of the lands in the Counties of Hancock and Walker. Most of the public lands in the State are comparitively easy of access. Appended hereto is a list of the Counties in each District with the amount of public land in each County. Very Respectfully Your Obdt Servant Bvt Col & A.A. Genl.
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