PACIFIC FISHERMAN 



69 



Land Scrip; How and By Whom Used 



Government land scrip is almost as 

 old as the American constitution, yet 

 I venture to say not ten per cent of 

 the readers of this journal know the 

 value of land scrip, or the extent of 

 its purchasing power. 



Various issues of scrip have been 

 granted to the several Indian tribes of 

 the nation, principal of which is the 

 tribe of Chippewa half-breed Indians, 

 to whom scrip aggregating 93,770 acres 

 issued. 



To the Red Lake and Pembina Chip- 

 pewa half-breeds there issued 74,240 

 acres. 



To the Sioux half-breed Indians, un- 

 der the act. of July 14, 1S54, there is- 

 sued 307,200 acres of scrip. 



Scrip issued by the commissioner of 

 the general land office, pursuant to 

 decrees of the United States Supreme 

 Court, under the act of June 22, I860, 

 and supplemental legislation, aggre- 

 gating 606,512 acres. 



Scrip issued in satisfaction of the 

 claim of Israel Dodge and others. 15,- 

 870 acres, and in satisfaction of the 

 claim of Thomas B. Valentine, under 

 the act of April 5, 1S72, 13.200 acres. 

 In satisfaction of the claim of Samuel 

 Ware, 640 acres issued, and in satis- 

 faction of the claim of the heirs of 

 Joseph Gerard. 1,920 acres. 



Scrip issued under the fourteenth 

 article of treaty with the Wyandotte 

 Indians amounting to 22,400 acres. 



Many other scrips have from time 

 to time issued in satisfaction of claims 

 against the general government for 

 lands lost or bounties earned by sol- 

 diers in the various wars. The prin- 

 cipal scrips on the market today being 

 as follows: 



Soldiers' additional homestead scrip. 

 Sioux half-breed scrip. 

 Forest reserve scrip in its various 

 forms. 

 Wyandotte scrip. 

 Valentine scrip. 

 Porterfield scrip. 

 Ware scrip. 

 McKee scrip. 

 Alabama scrip. 

 Gerard scrip. 

 Lieu selection rights. 

 Military bounty land warrants. 

 Soldiers' additional homestead scrip 

 is issued in various forms and for ser- 

 vices rendered during the war of the 

 Rebellion. This scrip is perhaps as 

 well known as any scrip on the mar- 

 ket and will successfully pass title 

 to surveyed, non-mineral land subject 

 to entry under the homestead or set- 

 tlement laws. It may be located in 

 Alaska upon unsurveyed lands. There 

 is no means of estimating the exact 

 number of acres of this scrip which 

 have from time to time been located. 

 but it is a safe prediction that the 

 number of acres far exceed 1,500,000. 

 There is a supply of this scrip still 

 to be had and it is eagerly sought after 

 by persons who are familiar with the 

 scrip business. This scrip is assign- 

 able and patents issue in the name of 

 the assignee. 



Ware scrip, formerly known as New 

 Madrid scrip, was issued in satisfac- 

 tion of lands lost in the earthquake at 



By W. E. MOSES 



Denver, Colorado 



New Madrid, Mo., April 10, 1812. It 

 is locatable upon any surveyed land 

 in what was formerly known as Mis- 

 souri Territory. It may be located 

 anywhere within Arkansas, eastern 

 Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, 

 Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, eastern 

 New Mexico, North Dakota, South Da- 

 kota and Wyoming. This scrip is very 

 desirable for acquiring title to land 

 to be used as townsite purposes, as 

 it is quick in action. This scrip is 

 assignable. 



Porterfield warrants or scrip was is- 

 sued under the act of Congress ap- 

 proved April 11, 1S60. It is a very 

 desirable scrip and held in high esteem 

 by the few people who are fortunate 

 enough to own Porterfield warrants. 

 Not a very large volume of this scrip 

 is outstanding, and it is also assign- 

 able. 



Wyandotte scrip was issued in sat- 

 isfaction of land claims of the tribe 

 of Wyandotte Indians in Kansas. There 

 was issued 22,400 acres. This scrip 

 is very clean and desirable. It may 

 be located on unsurveyed or surveyed 

 land. The supply is almost exhausted. 



Gerard scrip.— "By the act of Feb- 

 ruary 10, 1855, Reese H. P. Gerard, 

 William Gerard and Rachel Blue (for- 

 merly Rachel Gerard), the only chil- 

 dren and heirs of Joseph Gerard, a 

 messenger of the United States to the 

 Indians, who was killed in 1792, be, 

 and they or their heirs are hereby 

 permitted to enter, each one of them 

 severally, or his or their heirs, one 

 section of public lands, without the 

 payment of any consideration for said 

 three sections, being in full payment 

 for the patriotic services of said Jo- 

 seph Gerard, and in accordance with 

 the spirit of the inducements author- 

 ized by President Washington to be 

 held out to such as would consent to 

 carry a message from Fort Washing- 

 ton (now Cincinnati) in 1792, to the 

 hostile Indians of the then North- 

 western Territory." This issue of 

 scrip is valuable and will pass title 

 without unnecessary delay to surveyed 

 public lands. Gerard scrip is assign- 

 able, patent issuing to assignee. 



McKee scrip was authorized by the 

 act of January 25, 1853. This scrip 

 is very limited in its area. Only a few 

 forty-acre certificates are now out- 

 standing. 



Lieu Selection Rights.— This char- 

 acter of scrip has from time to time 

 been authorized by acts of Congress 

 in satisfaction of initiated or vested 

 rights by entrymen upon the public 

 domain which were lost by reason of 

 railroad land grants or otherwise. This 

 scrip is very valuable and locatable 

 within the states indicated by the par- 

 ticular act of Congress which author- 

 ized its issue. 



Forest Reserve Scrip. — This scrip 

 was first authorized by the act of 

 March 3. 1891, and also the act of 

 Congress approved June 4, 1897. This 

 scrip was very popular from 1898 un- 



til 1905, when it met its death at the 

 hands of Congress on March 3, 1905. 

 Santa Fe Scrip. — This scrip was cre- 

 ated under the act of March 3. 1905. 

 and it superseded the act of June 4. 

 1897, which created forest reserve 

 scrip. Several million acres of Santa 

 Fe scrip has been located throughout 

 the public land states during the last 

 eight years, under the provisions of 

 the act of Congress above referred to. 

 On March 4. 1905, the ■joker" was 

 discovered which had been adroitly in- 

 cluded in the law enacted on the pre- 

 vious day, viz.: the "killing off" of all 

 small holders claiming under the act 

 of June 4, 1897. The untimely demise 

 was tragic, creating consternation 

 throughout the length and breadth of 

 the public land states. Santa Fe scrip 

 is one of the best and safest on the 

 market today. 



Valentine Scrip. — This scrip was 

 authorized by the act of April 5, 1872. 

 There issued to Thomas H. Valentine 

 1.3,200 acres. There is a very inter- 

 esting history in connection with that 

 scrip, but space forbids reading its 

 history into this article. Valentine 

 scrip is one of the best on the mar- 

 ket today. It will pass title to un- 

 surveyed as well as surveyed lands, 

 and is held in high regard by its own- 

 ers. This scrip is assignable, patent 

 issuing to assignee. 



Sioux Half-Breed Scrip. — This scrip 

 was issued to the Sioux Indians. It 

 has been on the rocks of adversity 

 for many years and has withstood 

 perhaps as many discouraging adverse 

 decisions as any scrip on the market 

 today: however, the courts and de- 

 cisions promulgated by the Depart- 

 ment of the Interior have served to 

 smooth out the rough ways, and today 

 this scrip is regarded as a safe one to 

 use. It may be located on unsurveyed 

 as well as surveyed lands. 



Canadian Scrip. — The Dominion gov- 

 ernment has been very gracious to 

 their soldiers and issued scrip liberal- 

 ly to all veterans who participated 

 in the war in South Africa and other 

 wars. Scrip was also issued to the 

 Canadian Indian half-breeds and is lo- 

 catable in the Northwest provinces. 

 Their laws are more liberal upon the 

 subject of scrip than those enacted by 

 Congress, in that all veterans who 

 served in the Boer war receive scrip, 

 whereas, not to exceed one in 10.000 

 American veterans are entitled to such 

 rights. Canadian scrip may still be 

 located in the Canadian Northwest. 



Government land scrip has played a 

 very prominent part in acquiring title 

 to public lands during the last decade. 

 It is used largely by corporations and 

 townsite promoters. Large areas of 

 scrip have been located throughout the 

 public land states upon lands which 

 were to be used for townsite purposes. 

 Title for townsite purposes may be 

 obtained, by use of scrip, within thirty 

 or sixty days from the date of the 

 scrip filing, thus enabling the pro- 

 moter to plat and sell lots, build a 

 town quickly, keeping pace with the 

 spirit of rapid firing progression which 

 prevails today. 



