Race and color.

Certificate and patent.

and heirs.

sence.

section twenty-two hundred and eighty-nine from paying the minimum price for the quantity of land so entered at any time after the expiration of fourteen calendar months from the date of such entry, and obtaining a patent therefor, upon making proof of settlement and of residence and cultivation for such period of fourteen months, and the provision of this section shall apply to lands on the ceded portion of the Sioux Reservation by act approved March second, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, in South Dakota, but shall not relieve said settlers from any payments now required by law. (As amended Mar. 3, 1891, 26 Stat., 1098.)

SEC. 2302. No distinction shall be made in the construction or execution of this chapter on account of race or color; nor shall any mineral lands be liable ot entry and settlement under its provision.

SPECIAL PROVISIONS IN FAVOR OF SOLDIERS AND SAILORS.

Revised Statutes sections 2300; 2304 and 2305, both as amended by Act of March 1, 1901 (31 Stat., 487); 2306 and sundry civil appropriation act of August 18, 1894, sec. 1 (28 Stat., 397); 2307; 2308 and act of June 16, 1898 (30 Stat., 473); 2309.

THREE YEAR HOMESTEAD LAW.

Act of June 6, 1912 (37 Stat. 123).

That section twenty-two hundred and ninety-one and section twenty-two hundred and ninety-seven of the Revised Statutes of the United States be amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 2291. No certificate, however, shall be given or patent issued therefor until the expiration of three years from the date of such entry; and if at the expiration of such time, or at any time within two years Rights of widow thereafter, the person making such entry, or if he be dead his widow, or in case of her death his heirs or devisee, or in case of a widow making such entry her heirs or devisee, in case of her death, proves by himself and by two credible witnesses that he, she, or they have a habitable house upon the land and have actually resided upon and cultivated the same for the term of three years succeeding the time of filing the affidavit, and makes affidavit that no part of such land has been alienated, except as provided in section twenty-two hundred and eighty-eight, and that he, she, or they will bear true allegiance to the Government of the United States, then in such case he, she, or they, if at that time citizens of the United States, shall be entitled to a patent, as in other cases provided by law: Provided, That upon Leaves of ab-filing in the local land office notice of the beginning of such absence, the entryman shall be entitled to a continuous leave of absence from the land for a period not exceeding five months in each year after establishing residence, and upon the termination of such absence the entryman shall file a notice of such termination in the local land office, Commutation. but in case of commutation the fourteen months' actual residence as now required by law must be shown, and the person commuting must be at the time a citizen of the United States: Provided, That when the person making entry dies before the offer of final proof those succeeding to the entry must show that the entryman had complied with the law in all respects to the date of his death and that they have since complied with the law in all respects, as would have been required of the entryman had he lived, excepting that they are relieved from any requirement of residence upon the land: Provided further, That the entryman shall, in order to comply with Cultivation. the requirements of cultivation herein provided for, cultivate not less than one-sixteenth of the area of his entry, beginning with the second year of the entry, and not less than one-eighth, beginning with the third year of the entry, and until final proof, except that in the case of entries under section six of the enlarged-homestead law double the area of cultivation herein provided shall be required, but the Secretary of the Interior may, upon a satisfactory showing, under rules and regulations prescribed by him, reduce the required area of cultivation: Provided, That the above provision as to cultivation shall not apply to entries under the act of April twenty-eighth,

nineteen hundred and four, commonly known as the Kinkaid Act, Reclamation or entries under the act of June seventeenth, nineteen hundred and act and Kinkaid Act. Excepted. two, commonly known as the reclamation act, and that the provisions of this section relative to the homestead period shall apply to all unperfected entries as well as entries hereafter made upon which residence is required: Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior shall, within sixty days after the passage of this act, send a copy of the same to each homestead entryman of record who may be affected thereby, by ordinary mail to his last known address, and any such entryman may, by giving notice within one hundred and twenty days after the passage of this act, by registered letter to the register and receiver of the local land office, elect to make proof upon his entry Right of elecunder the law under which the same was made without regard to the provisions of this act." [But see next below, from sundry civil appropriation act Aug. 24, 1912.]

tion.

SEC. 2297. If, at any time after the filing of the affidavit as required in section twenty-two hundred and ninety and before the expiration of the three years mentioned in section twenty-two hundred and ninety-one, it is proved, after due notice to the settler, to the satisfaction of the register of the land office that the person having filed such affidavit has failed to establish residence within six months after the date of entry, or abandoned the land for more than six months at any time, then and in that event the land so entered shall revert to the Government: Provided, That the three years' period of Reverter to residence herein fixed shall date from the time of establishing actual permanent residence upon the land: And provided further, That where there may be climatic reasons, sickness, or other unavoidable cause, in certain cases. the Commissioner of the General Land Office may, in his discretion, allow the settler twelve months from the date of filing in which to commence his residence on said land under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe".

Sundry civil appropriation act of August 24, 1912 (37 Stat., 455).

That the failure of a homestead entryman to give notice of election of making his proof as required by the act of June sixth, nineteen hundred and twelve, being an act to amend sections [twenty-] two hundred and ninety-one and [twenty-] two hundred and ninety-seven of the Revised Statutes of the United States, relating to homesteads, shall not in anywise prejudice his rights to proceed in accordance with the law under which such entry was made.

Act of May 14, 1880, sec. 3 (21 Stat., 140).

United States.

Commencement of residence

SEC. 3. That any settler who has settled, or who shall hereafter Settlement settle, on any of the public lands of the United States, whether surrights, time for filing. veyed or unsurveyed, with the intention of claiming the same under the homestead laws, shall be allowed the same time to file his homestead application and perfect his original entry in the United States Land Office as is now allowed to settlers under the preemption laws to put their claims on record, and his right shall relate back to the date of settlement the same as if he settled under the preemption laws.

Act of March 3, 1911 (36 Stat., 1084), validating certain homestead entries in National
Forests.

That all homestead entries which have been canceled or relinquished, or are invalid solely because of the erroneous allowance of such entries after the withdrawal of lands for national forest purposes, may be reinstated or allowed to remain intact, but in the case of entries heretofore canceled applications for reinstatement must be filed in the proper local land office prior to July first, nineteen hundred and twelve.

SEC. 2. That in all cases where contests were initiated under the provisions of the act of May fourteenth, eighteen hundred and eighty, prior to the withdrawal of the land for national forest purposes, the qualified successful contestants may exercise their preference right to enter the land within six months after the passage of this act.

Canceled or relinquished entries reinstated, etc.

Contests, preference rights.

Suits to vacate patents.

Second homestead entries.

Act of March 3, 1891 (26 Stat., 1093).

AN ACT To amend section eight of an act approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, entitled "An act to repeal timber culture laws and for other purposes."

That section eight of an act entitled "An act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes" approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, be, and the same is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

"SEC. 8. That suits by the United States to vacate and annul any patent heretofore issued shall only be brought within five years from the passage of this act, and suits to vacate and annul patents hereafter issued shall only be brought within six years after the date of the issuance of such patents. And in the States of Colorado, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, and South Dakota, Wyoming and the District of Alaska, and the gold and silver regions of Nevada and the Territory of Utah, in any criminal prosecution or civil action by the United States for a trespass on such public timber lands or to recover timber or lumber cut thereon, it shall be a defense if the defendant shall show that the said timber was so cut or removed from the timber lands for use in such State or Territory by a resident thereof for agricultural, mining, manufacturing, or domestic purposes under rules and regulations made and prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, and has not been transported out of the same; but nothing herein contained shall operate to enlarge the rights of any railway company to cut timber on the public domains: Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior may make suitable rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this act and he may designate the sections or tracts of land where timber may be cut, and it shall not be lawful to cut or remove any timber except as may be prescribed by such rules and regulations; but this act shall not operate to repeal the act of June third, eighteen hundred and seventy-eight, providing for cutting of timber on mineral lands.

Act of February 3, 1911 (36 Stat., 896).

AN ACT Providing for second homestead and desert-land entries.

That any person, who, prior to the approval of this act, has made entry under the homestead or desert-land laws, but who, subsequently to such entry, from any cause shall have lost, forfeited or abandoned the same, shall be entitled to the benefits of the homestead or desertland laws as though such former entry had not been made, and any person applying for a second homestead or desert-land entry under this act shall furnish a description and the date of his former entry: Provided, That the provisions of this act shall not apply to any person whose former entry was canceled for fraud, or who relinquished his former entry for a valuable consideration in excess of the filing fees paid by him on his original entry.

See also act of June 5, 1900, sec. 2 (31 Stat., 267); act of May 22, 1902, sec. 2 (32 Stat., 203); and act of Feb. 8, 1908 (35 Stat., 6).

LIMITATION TO 320 ACRES UNder all Land LAWS, EXCEPTING MIN-
ERAL LAWS.

1 Such suits must be based on a showing of fraud as distinguished from noncompliance with law, and the evidence of fraud must be clear, unequivocal, and convincing, and not a bare preponderance of evidence which leaves the issue in doubt (U. S. v. Barber, 194 Fed., 24).

ENLARGED HOMESTEADS IN CERTAIN STATES.

Act February 19, 1909 (35 Stat., 639).

Act June 17, 1910 (36 Stat., 531).

CONTESTS AND CANCELLATION OF CLAIM. PREFERENCE RIGHT.

Act May 14, 1880, section 2 (21 Stat., 140), as amended by act July 26, 1892 (27 Stat. 270).

Act March 3, 1911, section 2 (36 Stat., 1084).

COMMUTATION PROVISIONS.

Act June 3, 1896, section 2 (29 Stat., 197).

Act May 29, 1908, sections 9 and 10 (35 Stat., 465).

HOMESTEAD BY MARRIED WOMAN.

Act June 6, 1900 (31 Stat., 683).

SETTLERS WHO BECOME INSANE.

Act June 8, 1880 (21 Stat., 166).

LEAVES OF ABSENCE.

Act March 2, 1889 (25 Stat., 864), and various acts of local application.

FINAL PROOF NOTICES.

Act March 3, 1879 (20 Stat., 472).

Act March 2, 1889, section 7 (25 Stat., 854).

DISTINCTION BETWEEN OFFERED AND UNOFFERED LANDS ABOLISHED.

Act May 18, 1898 (30 Stat., 418).

RELINQUISHMENTS.

Act May 14, 1880 (21 Stat., 140).

GENERAL PROVISIONS OF THE HOMESTEAD LAWS EXTENDED TO CERTAIN LANDS IN THE YELLOWSTONE (NOW SHOSHONE) NATIONAL FOREST, ETC.

Act March 15, 1906 (34 Stat., 62).

HOMESTEADS IN FORMER SILETZ INDIAN RESERVATION.

Act August 15, 1894 (28 Stat., 286, p. 326).

Act March 4, 1911 (36 Stat., 1356).

HOMESTEAD LAWS EXTENDED TO ALASKA, WITH MODIFICATIONS, ETC.

Act May 14, 1898, section 1 (30 Stat., 409), as amended by act March 3, 1903 (32 Stat., 1028).

LANDS IN THE BLACK HILLS FOREST RESERVATION, SEttled upon AND IMPROVED BEFORE SEPTEMBER 19, 1898, MAY BE ENTERED UNDER THE HOMESTEAD LAWS, ETC.

Sundry civil appropriation act of March 3, 1899 (30 Stat., 1074, p. 1095).

DECISIONS UNDER THE HOMESTEAD LAWS.

Lands subject to settlement and entry.—Land not susceptible of cultivation or other agricultural use can not be entered under the homestead law; and an affidavit charging such facts is sufficient basis for a hearing. (Davis v. Gibson, 38 L. D., 265.)

Land which is so mountainous, rough, broken, heavily timbered, and of such poor quality that it is impossible of cultivation is not subject to homestead entry. (Winninghoff v. Ryan, 40 L. D., 342.)

The fact that land is covered with valuable timber does not exclude it from entry under the homestead law, where of such character that it would be suitable for agricultural use if the timber were removed; but land of a character not adaptable to any agricultural use is not subject to homestead entry. (Finley v. Ness, 38 L. D., 394; see also Davis v. Gibson, 38 L. D., 265.

Lands having little or no agricultural value and chiefly valuable as containing the entrance to an extensive and beautiful cavern is not enterable under the homestead laws by one whose acts show that he desires the land for the control of the cavern and not for a bona fide

agricultural home. (South Dakota Min. Co. v. McDonald, 30 L. D., 357.) Qualifications of entrymen.-Section 2289 of the Revised Statutes specifically declares that one who is the proprietor of more than 160 acres of land is disqualified to make homestead entry, and the Land Department is therefore without power of invoking the maxim de minimis non curat lex to hold so qualified one who owns more than 160 acres, notwithstanding the excess may be less than 1 acre. (In this case homestead entryman owned 160 acres and a town lot 50 by 142 feet.) (Sorli v. Berg, 40 L. D., 259.)

One who enters into an oral agreement to purchase land and makes part payment of the purchase price is not the proprietor of land within the meaning of the provisions of the homestead law declaring disqualified to make homestead entry one who is the proprietor of more than 160 acres where under the laws of that State such oral agreement and part payment do not constitute such part performance as will take the contract out of the statute of frauds. (Earhart v. Rein, 38 L. D., 613.) Heirs. On the death of a homesteader leaving widow and heirs the widow takes the homestead right of her husband free from any claim on behalf of the heirs, and is vested with full power to complete the entry for her own benefit, or relinquish the same, if she so elects. (Steberg v. Hanelt, 26 L. D., 436.)

On the death of the entryman, the right goes to the widow, or in case of her death, to the heirs or devisee, who may complete the entry by either residing on the land or cultivating the same for the required period, but need not do both. (Heirs of Stevenson v. Cunningham, 32 L. D., 650; see also Meeboer v. Heirs of Schut, 35 L. D., 335.)

The heirs of a deceased homestead entryman, who during his lifetime failed to comply with the law, may complete the entry by either residing upon or cultivating the land for the full period of five years, if sufficient of the lifetime of the entry remains for that purpose; or may commute upon a showing of residence and cultivation for a period of 14 months but can not commute upon a showing of cultivation alone. (Wilson v. Heirs of Smith, 37 L. D., 519.)

Upon the death of an entryman those upon whom the statute casts the right to perfect title under the entry are merely required to continue cultivation and improvement of the land, so that failure to cultivate in any given year subjects the entry to contest and possible cancellation. (Hon v. Martinas, 41 L. D., 119.) This case overrules Heirs of Stevenson v. Cunningham, Meeboer v. Heirs of Schut, and Wilson v. Heirs of Smith, supra, so far as in conflict.

Squatters on unsurveyed lands.-Settlements may be made under the homestead laws by all persons qualified to make either an original or a second homestead entry, * * * and in order to make settlement a settler must personally go upon and improve or establish residence on the land he desires. By making settlement in this way, the settler gains the right to enter the land settled upon as against all other persons, but not as against the Government, should the land be withdrawn by it for other purposes. (Par. 4, Suggestions to Homesteaders and Persons Desiring to Make Homestead Entries, approved Apr. 20, 1911.) The qualifications requisite on the part of a homesteader must exist at the date of entry and if, after settlement and prior to entry, the settler for any reason becomes disqualified, the privilege gained by settlement is lost. (Brown v. Cagle, 30 L. D., 8.)