General Land Office. And whenever, prior to said time, any of said sections or parts of sections shall have been granted, sold, reserved, or covered by private land grants, or occupied by homestead settlers, or preempted, or otherwise disposed of, other lands shall be selected by said company, in lieu thereof, on the line of said road, within 20 miles of the same, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, in alternate sections, and designated by odd numbers: Provided, That all lands containing gold, or silver, or copper, be, and the same are hereby, excluded from the operations of this act, and in lieu thereof, a like quantity of unoccupied and unappropriated lands, in odd-numbered sections, within the said 20 miles of the line of said road, may be selected, as above provided: And provided further, That the word "mineral," where it occurs in this act, shall not be held to include iron or coal. 16 STAT. 94, MAY 4, 1870. OREGON CENTRAL-MINERAL LANDS EXCEPTED. AN ACT Granting lands to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from Portland to Astoria and McMinnville, Oreg. Be it enacted, etc., That for the purpose of aiding in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from Portland to Astoria, and from a suitable point of junction near Forest Grove to the Yamkill River, near McMinnville, in the State of Oregon, there is hereby granted to the Oregon Central Railroad Co., now engaged in constructing the said road, and to their successors and assigns, the right of way through the public lands of the width of 100 feet on each side of said road, and the right to take from the adjacent public lands materials for constructing said road, and also the necessary land for depots, stations, sidetracks, and other needful uses in operating the road, not exceeding 40 acres at any one place; and, also, each alternate section of the public land, not mineral, excepting coal or iron land, designated by odd numbers nearest to said road, to the amount of 10 such alternate sections per mile, on each side thereof, not otherwise disposed of or reserved or held by valid preemption or homestead right at the time of the passage of this act. And in case the quantity of 10 full sections per mile can not be found on each side of said road, within the said limits of 20 miles, other lands designated as aforesaid shall be selected under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior on either side of any part of said road nearest to and not more than 25 miles from the track of said road to make up such deficiency. 16 STAT. 573, p. 576, MARCH 3, 1871. TEXAS PACIFIC-MINERALS EXCEPTED-COAL AND IRON NOT EXCEPTED. AN ACT To incorporate the Texas Pacific Railroad Co. and to aid in the construction of its road. Be it enacted, etc., That (certain persons here named) and all such persons as shall or may be associated with them, and their successors, are hereby created a body politic and corporate in fact and in law, by the name, style, and title of the Texas Pacific Railroad Co., and by that name shall have perpetual succession, and shall be able to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, defend and be defended, in all courts of law and equity within the United States, and may make and use a common seal; and the said corporation is hereby authorized and empowered to lay out, locate, construct, furnish, maintain, and enjoy a continuous railroad and telegraph line, with the appurtenances, from a point at or near Marshall, county of Harrison, State of Texas; thence by the most direct and eligible route, to be determined by said company, near the thirty-second parallel of north latitude, to a point at or near El Paso; thence by the most direct and eligible route, to be selected by said company, through New Mexico and Arizona, to a point on the Rio Colorado, at or near the southeastern boundary of the State of California; thence by the most direct and eligible route to San Diego, Cal., pursuing in the location thereof, as near as may be, the thirty-second parallel of north latitude, and is hereby vested with all the powers, privileges, and immunities necessary to carry into effect the purposes of this act. SEC. 9. That for the purpose of aiding in the construction of the railroad and telegraph line herein provided for, there is hereby granted to the said Texas Pacific Railroad Co., its successors and assigns, every alternate section of public land, not mineral, designated by odd numbers, to the amount of 20 alternate sections per mile, on each side of said railroad line, as such line may be adopted by said company, through the Territories of the United States, and 10 alternate sections of land per mile on each side of said railroad in California, where the same shall not have been sold, reserved, or otherwise disposed of by the United States, and to which a preemption or homestead claim may not have attached at the time the line of said road is definitely fixed. In case any of said lands shall have been sold, reserved, occupied, or preempted, or otherwise disposed of, other lands shall be selected in lieu thereof by said company, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, in alternate sections, and designated by odd numbers, not more than 10 miles beyond the limits of said alternate sections first above named, and not including the reserved numbers. If, in the too near approach of the said railroad line to the boundary of Mexico, the number of sections of land to which the company is entitled can not be selected immediately on the line of said railroad, or in lieu of mineral lands excluded from this grant, a like quantity of unoccupied and unappropriated agricultural lands, in odd-numbered sections nearest the line of said railroad may be selected as above provided; and the word "mineral," where it occurs in this act, shall not be held to include iron or coal: Provided, however, That no public lands are hereby granted within the State of California further than 20 miles on each side of said road, except to make up deficiencies as aforesaid, and then not to exceed 20 miles from the lands originally granted. * * * SEC. 23. That, for the purpose of connecting the Texas Pacific Railroad with the city of San Francisco, the Southern Pacific Railroad Co. of California is hereby authorized (subject to the laws of California) to construct a line of railroad from a point at or near Tehachapa Pass, by way of Los Angeles, to the Texas Pacific Railroad at or near the Colorado River, with the same rights, grants, and privileges, and subject to the same limitations, restrictions, and conditions as were granted to said Southern Pacific Railroad Co. of California, by the act of July 27, 1866: Provided, however, That this section shall in no way affect or impair the rights, present or prospective, of the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad Co. or any other railroad company. A. RAILROAD GRANT-TEXAS PACIFIC. 1. INDEMNITY LANDS-PETROLEUM LANDS EXCEPTED. Under the power given the railroad company to sell indemnity lands the railroad can not select lands containing petroleum. Union Oil Co., In re (on review), 25 L. D. 351, p. 352. See Union Oil Co., In re, 23 L. D. 222. 16 STAT. 580, MARCH 3, 1871. SOUTH & NORTH RAILROAD-MINERAL LANDS EXCEPTED. AN ACT To renew certain grants of land to the State of Alabama. Be it enacted, etc., That the grant of lands made to the State of Alabama by the act of Congress approved June 3, 1856, entitled "An act granting public lands, in alternate sections, to the State of Alabama, to aid in the construction of certain railroads in said State," to assist in the building of a railroad from the city of Montgomery, Ala., to some point on the Alabama and Tennessee State line, in the direction of Nashville, is hereby revived and renewed for the use and benefit of the South & North Alabama Railroad Co., subject to all the conditions and restrictions contained in the act referred to, and subject to the further limitation, that if the said railroad is not completed within three years from the passage of this act no further sale shall be made for the benefit of said road, and the lands unsold shall revert to the United States: Provided, That the lands granted by the act hereby revived, except mineral lands, shall be sold to actual settlers only, in quantities not greater than one-quarter section to any one purchaser, and for a price not exceeding $2.50 per acre. DENVER & RIO GRANDE RIGHTS CONFERRED. AN ACT Granting the right of way through the public lands to the Denver & Rio Grande Railway Co. Be it enacted, etc., That the right of way over the public domain, 100 feet in width on each side of the track, together with such public lands adjacent thereto as may be needed for depots, shops, and other buildings for railroad purposes, and for yard room and sidetracks, not exceeding 20 acres at any one station, and not more than one station in every 10 miles, and the right to take from the public lands adjacent thereto stone, timber, earth, water, and other material required for the construction and repair of its railway and telegraph line be, and the same are hereby, granted and confirmed unto the Denver & Rio Grande Railway Co., a corporation created under the incorporation laws of the Territory of Colorado, its successors and assigns; * and the same rights, powers, and privileges conferred upon the Union Pacific Railroad Co. by section 3 of an act approved July 2, 1864, are hereby conferred upon the abovenamed company, its successors and assigns: * * A. RAILROAD GRANT-DENVER & RIO GRANDE. 1. MINING CLAIMS SUBJECT TO GRANT. A mineral claimant must take his claim subject to the right of occupation by a railroad company for station purposes. McCarthy, In re, 14 L. D. 105, p. 110. This act was an absolute unconditional grant in presenti, which acquired precision upon the location of the company's road, and in an action by a mineral claimant for damages for appropriation of his claim for a right of way, the act itself is not proof sufficient to show that the mining claim was within the limits of such right of way. Jackson v. Dines, 13 Colo. 90, p. 97. 24 STAT. 477, MARCH 3, 1887. SALT LAKE & FORT DOUGLAS-RIGHTS CONFERRED. AN ACT Granting a right of way through certain public lands in Utah. Be it enacted, etc., That a right of way is hereby granted to the Salt Lake & Fort Douglas Railway, a corporation duly organized under the laws of the Territory of Utah, across the Fort Douglas Military Reservation, by a route surveyed and laid down on a properly certified map, a copy of which is now on file with the Secretary of War, which location has been submitted to and approved by the post commander and the commander of the department. Said right of way hereby granted shall not exceed 100 feet in width through said reservation, except where sidetracks, spurs, turntables, or stations are located or to be located; and at such points the right of way shall not exceed 200 feet on each side of the main track and not exceeding 2,000 feet in length. * * * SEC. 2. That the grant contained in the first section of this act is made upon the express condition that the Salt Lake Rock Co., its successors and assigns, shall first convey to the United States a title in fee simple, free and clear of all encumbrance, to the approval of the Attorney General of the United States, of the following lands, water, and water rights in Salt Lake County, Territory of Utah, to wit: Sections numbered 25 and 35, township numbered 1, range numbered 1 east, and section numbered 19, township numbered 1, range numbered 2 east, with all the water and water rights thereon, excepting and reserving to the said company, its successors and assigns, all stone, brick clay, and other building materials, and all minerals in and upon said lands, and the right to enter thereon and prospect for, develop, quarry, and remove such stone, brick clay, and other building materials, and all such minerals, with the right to locate and construct all necessary railroads, wagon roads, and trails, to give the said company the benefit and enjoyment of the rights reserved to it, and its successors and assigns, by this act, and also, in addition thereto, the right of use of so much water as may be necessary for engine purposes; and the said reservations are hereby confirmed as against the United States: * A. DESERT LANDS. Desert lands under this act are those exclusive of timber and mineral lands. 24 STAT. 556, MARCH 3, 1887. ADJUSTMENT OF GRANTS-FORFEITURE OF UNEARNED LANDS. AN ACT To provide for the adjustment of land grants made by Congress to aid in the construction of railroads and for the forfeiture of unearned lands, etc. Be it enacted, etc., That the Secretary of the Interior be, and is hereby authorized and directed to immediately adjust, in accordance with the decisions of the Supreme Court, each of the railroad land grants made by Congress to aid in the construction of railroads and heretofore unadjusted. SEC. 2. That if it shall appear, upon the completion of such adjustments respectfully, or sooner, that lands have been, from any cause, heretofore erroneously certified or patented, by the United States, to or for the use or benefit of any company claiming by, through, or under grant from the United States, to aid in the construction of a railroad, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to thereupon demand from such company a relinquishment or reconveyance to the United States of all such lands, whether within granted or indemnity limits; and if such company shall neglect or fail to so reconvey such lands to the United States, within 90 days after the aforesaid demand shall have been made, it shall thereupon be the duty of the Attorney General to commence and prosecute in the proper courts the necessary proceedings to cancel all patents, certification, or other evidence of title heretofore issued for such lands, and to restore the title thereof to the United States. SEC. 3. That if, in the adjustment of said grants, it shall appear that the homestead or preemption entry of any bona fide settler has been erroneously canceled on account of any railroad grant or the withdrawal of public lands from market, such settler upon application, shall be reinstated in all his rights and allowed to perfect his entry by complying with the public land laws: Provided, That he has not located another claim or made an entry in lieu of the one so erroneously canceled: And provided also, That he did not voluntarily abandon said original entry: And provided further, That if any of said settlers do not renew their application to be reinstated within a reasonable time, to be fixed by the Secretary of the Interior, then all such unclaimed lands shall be disposed of under the public land laws, with priority of right given to bona fide purchasers of said unclaimed lands, if any, and if there be no such purchasers, then to bona fide settlers residing thereon. * * * SEC. 5. That where any said company shall have sold to citizens of the United States, or to persons who have declared their intention to become such citizens, as a part of its grant, lands not conveyed to or for the use of such company, said lands being the numbered sections prescribed in the grant, and being coterminous with the constructed parts of said road, and where the lands so sold are for any reason excepted from the operation of the grant to said company, it shall be lawful for the bona fide purchaser thereof from said company to make payment to the United States for said lands at the 56974°-Bull. 94, pt 2—15——21 |