THE UTES
Congress, at its last session, passed an act directing the Secretary of the Interior to appoint a commission to treat with the Utes, in the State of Colorado, for a cession of a large portion of their reservation, and their settlement upon White River, in that State, if such settlement should prove advisable. The commission was to report before final action should be taken. That report has not yet been rendered, but, as I am informed, will be ready for transmission to Congress during the coming session.
PUBLIC LANDS.
The report of the Commissioner of Lands, which I herewith present, gives an abstract of the operations of the General Land Office under the laws relating to the survey and disposal of public lands during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1878.
During the year ending June 30, 1878, public lands were disposed of as follows:
| Acres. | ||
| Cash entries | 877,555.14 | |
| An increase over the previous fiscal year of 136,868.57 acres. | ||
| Homestead entries | 4,418,344.92 | |
| An increase of 2,240,336.75 acres. | ||
| Timber-culture entries | 1,870,434.18 | |
| An increase of 1,349,760.79 acres. | ||
| Desert-land entries | 310,553.05 | |
| This being the first entire year of the operation of the act of March 3, 1877. | ||
| Agricultural-college scrip location | 640.00 | |
| A decrease of 640 acres. | ||
| Military-warrant locations | 84,720.00 | |
| A decrease of 12,480 acres. | ||
| State selections approved: | ||
| For school indemnity | 50,142.59 | |
| For internal improvements | 17,420.39 | |
| For agricultural colleges | 24,097.40 | |
| For universities | 44.844.43 | |
| For salt springs | 24,114.56 | |
| For public buildings | 29,146.33 | |
| For penitentiary | 25,226.83 | |
| 214,992.53 | ||
| An increase of 59,354.80 acres. | ||
| Scrip locations: | ||
| Sioux half-breeds | 1,715.30 | |
| Chippewa | 8,860.92 | |
| Valentine | 324.74 | |
| 10,900.96 | ||
| Locations of scrip in lieu of lands embraced in private land-claims | 83,143.60 | |
| Approved or patented to States as swamp | 202,925.85 | |
| A decrease of 211,492.51 acres. | ||
| Certified for railroad purposes | 606,340.65 | |
| A decrease of 94,451.31 acres. | ||
| Certified for canal purposes | 5,628.00 | |
| Total | 8,686,178.88 |
