597. Indian agents wil promptly report to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs the name and post-office address of any person who unlawfully cuts or aids, or is employed in unlawfully cutting, or wantonly destroys, or procures to be wantonly destroyed, any timber standing upon any Indian reservation or lands belonging to or occupied by any tribe of Indians under authority of the United States, and the names and post-office addresses of all witnesses of such depredations, that the same may be reported to the Department of Justice for prosecution. (Act June 4, 1888, 25 Stats., p. 166.)

LEASING OF INDIAN LANDS.

598. Section 3 of the act of Congress approved February 28, 1891 (26 Stats., 795), provides—

That whenever it shall be made to appear to the Secretary of the Interior that, by reason of age or other disability, any allottee under the provisions of said act, or any other act or treaty, can not personally and with benefit to himself occupy or improve his allotment or any part thereof, the same may be leased upon such terms, regulations, and conditions as shall be prescribed by such Secretary, for a term not exceeding three years for farming or grazing, or ten years for mining purposes: Povided, That where lands are occupied by Indians who have bought and paid for the same, and which lands are not needed for farming or agricultural purposes, and are not desired for individual allotments, the same may be leased by authority of the council speaking for such Indians, for a period not to exceed five years for grazing or ten years for mining purposes, in such quantities and upon such terms and conditions as the agent in charge of such reservation may recommend, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.

It is to be observed that this law provides for leasing both allotted and unallotted or tribal lands; the first part of the section relating to allotted lands and the proviso to unallotted lands.

ALLOTTED LANDS.

599. The policy of the Government in the general allotment act was to give the Indian a tract of land that he could call his own, in which he would feel a personal interest and from the cultivation of which, by the labor of his own hands, he might gain a subsistence and at the same time acquire the arts of civilization. To permit the indiscriminate leasing of these allotments would defeat the purpose for which they were made.

600. There are cases, however, where allottees should be permitted to lease their individual holdings, and to meet these exceptional cases the amendment to the general allotment act authorizing these leases was made. When an allottee," by reason of age or other disability," can not personally and with benefit to himself occupy or improve his allotment or any part thereof the same may be leased; but it is not intended to authorize the making of any lease by an allottee who has the necessary physical and mental qualifications to enable him to cultivate such allotted land, either personally or by hired help.

601. An allottee (who is entitled to lease) is one who holds a trust patent for his lands or whose allotment has been approved by the Secretary of the Interior.

602. Applications by allottees to lease their allotted lands should be made direct to the agent, and if the case clearly falls within the meaning and intent of the law, as herein indicated, the application should

be forwarded to the Indian Office for approval. In submitting applications to the Indian Office the agent should state all material facts in relation to the allottee, the proposed lessee, and the allotted land to be leased.

RULES TO BE OBSERVED IN THE EXECUTION OF LEASES OF INDIAN ALLOTMENTS.

603. Section 3 of the act of Congress approved February 28, 1891, quoted in section 598, is modified by the act of Congress approved August 15, 1894, making appropriations, etc., for the Indian Department. (28 Stats., p. 305.) Said section, as modified, provides as follows:

That whenever it shall be made to appear to the Secretary of the Interior that by reason of age, disability, or inability any allottee of Indian lands under this or former acts of Congress can not personally and with benefit to himself occupy or improve his allotment or any part thereof, the same may be leased upon such terms, regulations, and conditions as shall be prescribed by the Secretary for a term not exceeding five years for farming or grazing purposes, or ten years for mining or business purposes.

This is modified by the act of June 7, 1897 (30 Stats., p. 85), which provides:

That hereafter whenever it shall be made to appear to the Secretary of the Interior that by reason of age or disability any allottee of Indian lands under this or former acts of Congress can not personally and with benefit to himself occupy or improve his allotment or any part thereof, the same may be leased, in the discretion of the Secretary, upon such terms, regulations, and conditions as shall be prescribed by him, for a term not exceeding three years for farming or grazing purposes, or five years for mining or business purposes.

The act approved March 1, 1899 (30 Stats., p. 941), modifies the above in so far as it applies to the Indians of the Yakima Reservation, Wash., as follows:

That the Indians of the Yakima Indian Reservation to whom lands have been allotted under the laws of the United States may lease their lands so allotted for agricultural purposes for a term not exceeding five years, under such rules and regulations as are or may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, anything in the law now limiting the term to a shorter term notwithstanding.

The act of May 31, 1900 (31 Stats., p. 229), extends the leasing term to five years for farming purposes only:

Provided, That whenever it shall be made to appear to the Secretary of the Interior that by reason of age, disability, or inability any allottee of Indian lands can not personally and with benefit to himself occupy or improve his allotment or any part thereof, the same may be leased upon such terms, regulations, and conditions as shall be prescribed by the Secretary for a term not exceeding five years for farming purposes only.

A special provision permits the Yakima Indians to lease unimproved agricultural lands for ten years (p. 246):

Provided further, That the Indians to whom lands have been allotted on the Yakima Reservation, in the State of Washington, shall be permitted to lease unimproved allotted lands for agricultural purposes for any term not exceeding ten years upon such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior.

From the acts quoted above it will be seen that the term for which allotted lands may be leased is limited to three years for grazing and five years for farming, mining, or business purposes, except as to the Indians of the Yakima Reservation, who may lease their allotted

lands for agricultural purposes for five years, or, when unimproved, for ten years.

The conditions necessary to the exercise of this privilege are, except as to the Yakima Indians, that it must be "made to appear to the Secretary of the Interior that by reason of age, disability, or inability" the Indian allottee "can not personally and with benefit to himself, occupy or improve his allotment or any part thereof."

In order to give full force and effect to the above enactments, the following amended rules and regulations are hereby promulgated for the information and direction of United States Indian agents and all parties concerned.

WHO MAY LEASE.

604. 1. The term "age "" as used in said amended act is defined to apply to all persons under 18 and all persons disabled by reason of old age.

2. The term "disability " is defined to apply to

(a) All unmarried women.

(b) All widows who have no sons of suitable age under their control to cultivate their lands with profit.

(c) All married women whose husbands or sons are not in condition to cultivate their lands with profit to the family.

(d) All allottees who are disabled by reason of chronic sickness or incurable physical defects.

(e) All'allottees who are disabled by native defect of mind or permanent incurable mental disease such as to prevent them from cùltivating their lands.

3. The term "inability," as used in said amended act, can not be specifically defined as the other terms have been. Any allottee not embraced in any of the foregoing classes, who for any reason other than those stated is unable to cultivate his lands or a portion of them, and desires to lease the same, may make application therefor to the proper Indian agent. If his inability to cultivate his lands (or the portion thereof he desires to lease) is clearly shown in the reasons assigned, the allottee may be permitted to lease. In submitting such application the agent must state in brief, concise terms the cause of such inability.

4. Every adult male able-bodied Indian not engaged in some permanent business or occupation by which he is gaining a livelihood for himself and family will be required to reserve not less than 40 acres . of cultivable land from his own allotment for occupancy and cultivation by himself, which shall always be exempt from leasing.

Adult male Indians not wholly disqualified by physical or mental infirmities from working a portion of their allotments, but who may be less able than those not so disqualified, will be required to work or manage a part of their allotments, to be regulated and determined by the actual conditions in each case, to be fully and conclusively shown in the applications for permission to lease.

In both of the last-mentioned cases the alottees will be permitted to receive a portion or percentage of their lease money from that portion of their allotments that may be leased, the remainder to be retained until the expiration of the lease period, whenever, in the discretion of the agent, such action will not work a hardship to the allottee.

These requirements are not applicable to the several classes named in article 2.

All leases covering unfenced allotments should have provision therein for fencing the lands, and with further provision that the same shall be kept in good order and repair and become the property of the Indian owner of the land at the termination of the lease.

5. Indian agents, however, are hereby expressly directed that it is not intended by the terms "disability "and" inability " to authorize the making of any lease by an allottee who has the necessary physical and mental qualifications to enable him to cultivate his own land, either personally, through the aid of his minor children, or by hired help, unless for exceptional reasons, which must be clearly shown, he falls within the provisions of rule 3.

605. All leases submitted for Departmental action should show clearly the nature and extent of the disability or inability of the Indian owner of the land; if from old age, the exact or approximate age and physical condition and capacity for work should be given. In cases where lessors are minors their ages should be stated, and when heirs of deceased allottees are lessors it should be shown whether or not they have allotments of their own, and if so, the extent thereof and whether they are occupying and improving the same. In cases where lessees agree to break up and prepare a certain number of acres each year the agent's certificate as to the character of the land should show how much of it has already been cultivated, if any, and whether all or any part of that agreed to be broken is new and previously unbroken.

606. Every individual case submitted for consideration should be accompanied by full and complete information as to its merits. Any lease which does not contain all information necessary to form an intelligent judgment of the case or present especially good reasons why it is thought desirable to lease the land will not be approved.

607. Leases should provide for some specific improvements of a permanent nature in addition to money, such as buildings, fences, wells, breaking new land, etc., and with further provision that the same shall be kept in good order and repair and become the property of the lessor after the termination of the lease.

608. No applications for mining leases will be considered by the Department unless specific permission has first been granted by the Department for negotiating for the same with the individual Indians whose lands are sought to be leased.

LENGTH OF TERM.

609. Leases for a money consideration alone will be made for a period of one year for grazing purposes, and two years for grazing and farming, or farming; but where there is other consideration in addition to money, such as placing substantial improvements on the land, they may be made for two and three years, respectively, and in cases of an exceptional character, upon a full statement of facts, leases may be made for three years for grazing and five years for farming, and in the case of the Yakima Indians farming leases may, as to unimproved land, be extended to ten years.

The lands of minor heirs or allottees may be leased by their natural or legal guardians. Such leases, however, must not extend beyond

the time such minors atttain their majority, after which they must act for themselves.

The word "majority" must govern the age at which Indians will be permitted to take charge of their own business in connection with leasing their allotments as fixed by the laws of the States or Territories in which the allotments are located.

The Department will assume the age of 21 as the majority for males and 18 for females unless specific information is furnished to the contrary.

HOW EXECUTED.

610. 1. The indenture of lease must be executed in conformity with the terms and conditions expressed in the printed blanks issued by the Indian Office and approved by the Department. Leases executed on other forms will not be recognized. Agents in charge of reservations where there are allotted lands will be furnished a supply of these blank forms on application.

2. The lease must be executed in triplicate in the presence of two subscribing witnesses and acknowledged before the Indian agent within the limits of whose agency the allottee resides.

3. If the allottee or lessor does not reside within the limits of an Indian agency, the instrument of lease may be acknowledged before a justice of the peace or other officer having legal jurisdiction, whose official character must be certified by the clerk of a court of record under the seal of such court.

4. If only a portion of the allotment is leased a definite description by subdivisions or by metes and bounds of said portion should be incorporated in said lease, accompanied by a diagram indicating the portion to be leased, whenever said metes and bounds do not conform to the public survey.

5. The lease must be accompanied by the certificate of the Indian agent for the tribe to which the allottee belongs that the contents, purport, and effect of the lease were explained to and fully understood by the allottee or legal representative of said allottee; that said allottee, being years old, can not personally and with benefit to

self occupy or improve allotment or the part thereof described and covered by said lease, giving the specific reasons therefor as indicated in rules 2 and 3; that the lessor is competent to manage his affairs and thus lease said allotment; that he has examined the said land and the character thereof, which he shall describe by legal subdivisions or by natural metes and bounds, and give a general description of its surface, wood and water supply, improvements, present use, nearness to market, use for which best adapted, and any other details which will enable the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and the Secretary of the Interior to form a just estimate as to the desirability of the lease.

He shall state clearly and in detail the specific reasons why authority to make the lease is asked and make recommendation in the premises, stating expressly whether, in his judgment, it would be to the manifest advantage of the allottee to authorize the lease, and that he is satisfied that the land can be occupied, used, and improved more advantageously and profitably for the purposes named in the lease than for the other purposes referred to in said act; that he believes the rent or consideration agreed upon to be a full, fair, just, and rea