locations have been made on this land, but it does not appear that any lode mining has ever been successfully prosecuted there.

The principal witness for the protestants is Stephen F. Whalen. He spent nearly a month examining this land shortly before the hearing. After testifying as to the indications of mineral at various points, he sums up his reasons for believing this land to be mineral in character, as follows: First, the formation is composed of mineral-bearing rock; second, in this region mines are invariably developed in such formation as this; third, there are numerous croppings of mineralbearing rock; fourth, there is a large number of mining claims located on and adjacent to this land, many of which promise to become good mines; fifth and sixth, it is such a region as would attract a mining man, and from appearances would pay for time and capital invested; seventh, there are now, and have been for years, placer mines in the gulches fed from the hills on this land; and eighth, this land is almost entirely surrounded by land which has been classified as mineral and is in every respect similar to the land so classified. This witness further testifies that valuable mines are being worked near the boundaries of this land, and the formation shows conclusively that the land here involved is on the same mineral belt.

The deposition of Walter H. Weed shows that he has been connected with the United States Geological Survey for the last fifteen years; that he made an official survey of this land in 1898; that it forms a part of the continental divide; that it is partly wooded and partly open grass land; that the geological formation is varied; that on a portion of the land are granitic rocks and andesite porphyry; that about the borders of the granitic and porphyry areas sedimentary rocks occur; that these rocks are upturned and much altered near the granite contact, and seamed with fractures more or less mineralized; and that, in his opinion, this land is more valuable for mineral than for agricultural purposes for the reason that only some small tracts are suitable either for grazing or for raising hay, and these tracts are underlain either by clay beds of economic value or by rocks showing indications of mineral veins, whose value can be determined only by exploitation. On behalf of the railroad company, William Whetstone testified that he had prospected down Dog creek, across this land from north to south; that he sunk about fifty holes and obtained a few colors, but nothing of value; that he saw only one quartz ledge near Dog creek, and that did not amount to anything; that he also prospected about three weeks on Hope gulch, in the northwestern part of the land here involved, but found nothing there to justify staying; that he worked on Kloeden's placer claim in 1889, with the idea of leasing it if it proved to be valuable; and that he got about seven or eight dollars' worth of gold from that claim as the result of three weeks' work.

S. R. Oldaker, Charles F. Van Allen, A. J. Haley, Peter Mack,

Eugene Drosch, Lloyd Cannon, and Richard M. Mears examined this land together shortly before the hearing. All of these witnesses, except Haley, Mack, and Cannon, are employed in the land department of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company.

It appears that, although these two townships have never been officially subdivided, unofficial surveys have been made of the section lines. In their examination of the land, the witnesses above named noted the unofficial section corners, and in their testimony at the hearing they identified, to a considerable extent, the particular portions of the land they examined by reference to section numbers. Their testimony is practically identical, and is, in substance, as follows:

Section 3, T. 10 N., R. 6 W., is rolling. A large portion of this section is under fence and is used for grazing purposes. A small creek runs through the section, and along this creek are some old, abandoned placer workings. There are no cropping ledges or mineralized rock on this section. Section 5 is cut from the northwest to the southeast by Dog creek, and in the northeast part of the section are two small gulches. Along the creek and gulches are old, abandoned placer workings. The general formation of this section is of a slaty character. There is some good bottom land along Dog creek from which hay has been cut. There are no placer deposits and no mineral ledges on Sec. 6. The formation of this section is mostly slate, with some quartzite. Dog creek crosses the northeast corner of Sec. 8 and makes a good bottom there from which hay has been cut. There are no indications of mineral on this section. Sec. 9 is nearly all open prairie, with grass of a good quality growing over it. Two thousand or more head of sheep were grazing on this section at the time this examination was . made. Dog creek runs through the section, and along the creek are old placer workings. On the side of a hill, near the creek, a shaft has been sunk. The formation disclosed is slate with some lime running through it. There is nothing on this section to indicatę mineral. Sec. 10 is principally open meadow and is almost one continuous ranch. Holter and Power, the protestants in this case, have their ranch in sections 10 and 11. The west half of Sec. 11 is open grass land, similar to Sec. 10. There are no indications of mineral either on Sec. 10 or on the west half of Sec. 11. Sec. 15 is traversed from the northeast to the southwest by the Northern Pacific railroad. Two small gulches cross the section from the east, and on these gulches are some old placer workings. Some panning was done along one of these gulches, but not a color was found. On a hill near the center of the section are some old prospect holes. There is no evidence of mineral on this section. Thomas McDonald has a ranch on Secs. 15 and 16. The northwest quarter of Sec. 16 is traversed by Virginia gulch, which has been worked as placer for many years and is apparently worked out. Some panning along this gulch did not show a color. On a hill in the

northwest quarter of the section are four or five prospect holes which show iron-stained rock and rotten quartzite. A lot of hay has been cut from near the center of Sec. 21. Some panning was done from a gulch on this section, but without results. There are some old placer workings on Sec. 22. Panning along these old workings showed only one color. A reef of quartzite runs through this section. There are no indications of mineral on Sec. 23. The formation on this section is slate. A man by the name of Oleson has a ranch on the northwest quarter of the section. Sec. 26 is high, but not rough. There are no quartz or placer deposits on this section. The formation on Sec. 27 is slate and quartzite, which have no value for mineral. The open portions of this section are covered by grass of a good quality. Sec. 28 is high and rather rough. A gulch runs along the western side of this section. On one side of the gulch is an old shaft. The dump consists of sla e of a reddish cast. At another place on the section is a hole showing a greenish-stained rock. Near the center of the section is a prosperous looking ranch. Sec. 34 is hilly and almost entirely covered with timber. There is nothing on this section to indicate mineral. Sec. 17, T. 11 N., R. 6 W., lies in the hills, and is heavily timbered. On the southwest quarter of the section are three shafts, about forty, fifty, and twelve feet deep, respectively, and an open cut. This work has apparently been abandoned many years. There is nothing to indicate that this section has any value for mineral. Sec. 18 is crossed by Hope gulch. Along the gulch are some old placer workings. Considerable prospecting has been done in the northwest quarter of this section. A long open cut shows dolomite in which is a band of redcolored lime. There is some rock on this section that looked as though it might possibly carry mineral, but no assays were made of it. In the southeast quarter of the section is a big, fine meadow. The whole northeast quarter of Sec. 19 and a part of the southeast quarter is open grass land. The rest of the section is timbered. A man by the name of Page has a ranch in the northeast quarter. There are some old abandoned placer workings on the line between Secs. 18 and 19. No indications of mineral were found on Sec. 19. Sec. 20 is principally prairie land and a good portion of it is under fence. A man by the name of Thompson has a ranch near the center of the section. In the southwest quarter of the section is an old placer prospect hole. Some gravel from this hole was panned, but no colors were obtained. In the northwest quarter are two old prospect holes showing some iron-stained rock. No mineral-bearing rock was found on this section. The west half of Sec. 21 lies in the hills. There are no placer deposits there and no indications of mineralized rock. Section 29 is crossed from north to south by Hope gulch, which joins Dog creek in the southern part of the section. The portion of the section lying east of the gulch is open land; that lying west of the gulch has been timbered,

but the greater part of the timber has been cut off. There are some old placer workings along the creek and gulch. Gravel from these old workings was washed, but only two small colors were found. The general formation of this section is slate, but near the southwest corner is a lime reef. Sec. 30 is hilly. Near the southeast corner is a reef of limestone, along the edge of which some desultory prospect work had been done. There are no placer deposits on this section. Dog creek touches the southeast corner of Sec. 31. There are no placer workings on this section and no showing of anything of a mineralized nature. Sec. 32 is cut by Dog creek on the west. There are no placer workings along the creek and no showing of mineralized rock on the section. No examination was made of Sec. 33.

Lloyd Cannon, one of the witnesses above named, testified in addition that he first visited this land in 1890; that he prospected along Uncle Ben's gulch, in the northwest portion of the land involved; that he and his brother washed about thirty wagon loads of dirt in two weeks' time and got about eleven dollars' worth of gold; that he then left Uncle Ben's gulch and spent about two weeks prospecting Hope gulch and the country west of Dog creek for either placer gold or mineral-bearing rock; that he found neither, and quit the country; and that in 1895 he prospected Miller gulch, on this land, but found nothing.

It appears that the Mullen road, one of the first highways over the divide, crosses this land from east to west, near the center; that the Northern Pacific railroad was completed across said land in 1883; and that the land has accordingly been easily accessible to prospectors and miners for many years. Notwithstanding, however, the amount of prospecting that has been done thereon, it does not appear that any paying mines have ever been developed on the land. What gold formerly existed in the gulches and along the streams has apparently been washed out. The value of this land at the present time for mining purposes appears to be very small. On the other hand, the land is shown to have considerable present value for the grass and timber thereon.

Taking into consideration all the evidence, and especially that as to the mineral discovered or developed on or adjacent to the land, the geological formation of the neighborhood, and the reasonable probabilities of this land containing valuable mineral deposits because of its said formation, location or character, and giving to the mining locations thereon their due weight as prima facie evidence that the forty-acre tracts upon which they are situate are mineral in character, it nevertheless appears that the land does not contain mineral in sufficient quantity or of such value as to justify giving it a mineral classification.

The protest is accordingly dismissed, and the non-mineral classification is hereby sustained.

PRIVATE LAND CLAIM-ALGODONES GRANT-ACT OF JANUARY 14, 1901.

INSTRUCTIONS.

Commissioner Hermann to register and receiver at Tucson, Arizona, January 29, 1901.

Your attention is called to the provisions of the act of Congress approved January 14, 1901, entitled "An act for relief of occupants of lands included in the Algodones grant, in Arizona," which act is as follows:

Whereas the title to the lands in that section of the country in the county of Yuma and the Territory of Arizona, and included within the boundaries of the old Mexican land grant known as the Algodones grant, was tried by the United States Court of Private Land Claims, created for the settlement of titles to such grants, in the years eighteen hundred and ninety-five and eighteen hundred and ninety-six; and

Whereas in the hearing of said contest before said court the alleged grantees under said grant were successful and their title thereto by said trial court confirmed, and immediately thereafter the said alleged grantees, for large and valuable considerations, sold to numbers of people, citizens and bona fide settlers on said lands, in tracts of less than forty acres to each, and said settlers, then believing that they had a bona fide title to said lands sold, made lasting and valuable improvements and permanent homes thereon; and

Whereas the government of the United States appealed said cause from the decision of said court below, and on said appeal the said decision of the said court below was reversed, and the title to said grant in said alleged grantees adjudged to be void, and that the said lands included within the boundaries of said grant, and sold as aforesaid, belonged to the United States; and if said settlers, citizens, and occupants of said lands who so purchased the same as aforesaid be not permitted to retain the same, and pay the government therefor, they will be deprived of their homes, at ruinous consequences to them: Therefore,

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That where such persons in good faith and for valuable considerations purchased from the grant claimants prior to May twenty-third, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, portions of the land covered by the said grant, and have occupied and improved the same, such persons may, within six months from and after the passage of this act, or within three months after the said lands shall be restored to entry, purchase the same at the price of one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, upon making proof of the facts required by this act under regulations to be provided by the Commissioner of the General Land Office and approved by the Secretary of the Interior, joint entries being admissible where two or more persons have purchased lands on the same forty-acre tract: Provided, That no one person shall purchase more than forty acres, and no purchase shall be allowed for a less quantity than that contained in the smallest legal subdivision.

SEC. 2. That where persons duly qualified to make entry under the homestead or desert-land laws have occupied any of said lands with the intention of entering the same under the homestead or desert-land laws, such persons shall be allowed three months from and after the passage of this act, or after the said lands shall be restored to entry, within which to make their entries, and the fact that such persons have improved or reclaimed such desert lands shall be no bar to their making such entries.

The lands affected by this act were originally withdrawn from entry