Settling On Public Lands

In general answer i many apoeial in. wc state fche following focta: 1. 'l'lii'ln m oftïie unitnproved, uncüü iv;iircl soiloftbe United Si iRcludi of the States of ■ ca, Ni ■■.-■!:■ nd tregon, as al all the Territorios, is sl'U the propettj of Üm I '■ : i: 1 CFttion, and ia knowii as tbo public, domain. 2. While ïiiucli of thisdomniri is sterilc, rooky, mountainoua, and t.lms unfit for cultivation, :i large ffropcjrtipn is fertilo and eiceílont. incluámg thousancU of square miTos vbk-h, bemg breeleea and vcry tliinly grassod, have boon ae.eounted desert, bat wliieh prbve quite productivo w-hen roclaimcd by Lri'igatioa. 3. As a general rule, ttny parij oí tjjs domain not abready granted to W occupied by private owners is open to sott'cinent . fiy any one. lie who "s-iuats" on a tróct to which ho has no title is re-r garded as holding it by pre-emption. He s of courso liable to be, bnt scldoui is, lispossessed by a liona Jidc purchasert. The governinent pronórs :v quarter soction (lüO acres) to any one v.lio settlea upon a tract to which no advers title or :htiin exists, erecta a habitation, and Ixtos on it for livc.yo:'.rs. He lias to pay for the papers and tegal formalitioa required, about !?20 in all. Tlns is Qallod making a lomesírail. ú. Congress has froin time to time made 'xtinsivi' grants of land to States and }0mpanies in aid of the oonstruction of railroiids through tho public domain. These grants are usually of altérnate sec:ions (or square miles) fpr a cortain disÓn either side of the projectcd railroad. 6. Tho altérnate scotions reserved by ;he government are doubled in price ; and li(' ivho süttles on these und proceeds : acqüiro a home unjder the Homestead lot is allQwed but eighty, ïnatead of the usual one hundrod and sixfy acre& 7. Tlic general price of puVlic landï .s f 1.23 . 'r í'iioo for 160 acres-. The alternato seotions resorred ly the govornment along tho liucs of railroada tro held at doublo price, or 2.50 per acre. 8. The railrpad companius generally ■ more fpr their altérnate sections; bilt, ae the govèrameni'a land is held at ÍJ.."iO per a :ri , and eighty acres of ií p 13 [uifed by - ït lcs wan 20, the governmeafs sectiohs are likely to have the preference. 9. Itia docidedly adviatble that thoso wlio have moaas should bny thoir landa either of tho goveinment oroftba It precludea al] dontrofersy s to the duo performance of tke hotnDstcad rofiuirenicnts, giT.ee an ini-t-mt and perile, and enables the owner to sell and oonVey, go nnd come, lease or rent, without peril of croating an adverso title oi"invalidating his own. 10. College scrip ia extensively uscd in purchasing by Uiose whp wish to eponomize. Congress, t.n years or more ago, grantcd to oach Sta,to a quantum of public lands proportiom.-il to its repreflentation in that body, in aid of education in agriculturo and the usèful ;rts. College ,-ciip represente these grants, and i.s generally proourablo by setileni at one dollar per acre. In large ijusiittyios it is sold somewhat lowcr. A warrant or scrip callinp für a quarter-sêction -srill buy one hini'lred and sixty acres ; but it wiii not buy cighty aprea of t!ie roserved altérnate ■ections along a line of railroáa. Of tliese reservad aectioiáa one hundred and sixty acres cari be bought in one tract with two liundred dollar.s in cash and one one-hundreJ and sixty acre -warrant or scrip. Vi'ith tliis exception pre-emptors can alwuys use colloge scrip in paying for governnient (not railxoad compañía) lands ; but speculatota who buy or hold Borip in large quantitjea aro not allowed to lócate more than threi sections (or square miles) of that scrip in any one township. This is to provent the monopolizing of large tráete !}r nieans of scrip. With cash any quantity may be purchased of jrovci : ;n :it at the foregoing ratos 11. lío one can legally Jocato, whethor with cash or scrip, a quarter-section actually in the possession, by legel occupancy and residence, of a scttlcr, though he has ii'it }.aiil and does not mean to pay for.it. But this principie does not apply to tb,e altérnate sections grantcd to railroads, whieh do not recognizc pre-emptions. 12. A quartor-section of public l:mds is not necessarily a regular quarter of somc doignatod section, but. may bc made up óf tv.-o t-iphties m' fourfortiesforming one compact body, ti'ough these -'ere parts of diflfi.-rent quarter-sections tcchnically considired. Subo is the substantie of the laws and rojLrulations overning the acquisition of public lunds by individuals, as we uflderstand them. AVre tru4t this compilation ansWcra most of thn questiona addressed to us wheretö we are unablo to give special replies.