ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 485 



In those States and Territories in which 

 settlements are authorized by law on un- 

 survcyed land, the claimant must file notice 

 of settlement within three months after the 

 receipt of the township plat of survey at 

 the district land office, and make proof 

 and payment as required in the case of 

 tracts which have been surveyed and not 

 offered at public sale. 



Homestead Lands. — The original Home- 

 stead act of May 20, 1862, gives to every 

 citizen, and to those who have declared 

 their intention to become such, the right 

 to a homestead on surveyed lands. This 

 is conceded to the extent of one quarter 

 section, or one hundred and sixty acres, 

 held at $1 25 per acre, or eighty acres at 

 $2 50 per acre, in any organized district 

 embracing surveyed public lands. To 

 obtain homesteads the party must, in con- 

 nection with his application, make an affi- 

 davit before the register or receiver that 

 he is over the age of twenty-one, or the 

 head of a family ; that he is a citizen of 

 the United States, or has declared his in- 

 tention to become such, and that the entry 

 is made for his exclusive use and bene- 

 fit, and for actual settlement and cultiva- 

 tion. Where the applicant is prevented 

 by reason of bodily infirmity, distance, or 

 other good cause, from personal attend- 

 .ance at the district land office, the affi- 

 davit may be made before the clerk of 

 the court for the county within which the 

 party is an actual resident. 



The Amendatory Act of March, 1864, 

 xelaxes the requirements of personal at- 

 tendance at the district office to persons 

 in the military or naval service, where the 

 party's family or some member is residing 

 on the land that it is desired to enter, and 

 upon which a bona fide improvement and 

 cultivation has been made. In such cases 

 the said act of 1864 allows the beneficiary 

 to make the affidavit before the officer 

 commanding in the branch of the service 

 in which he may be engaged, and the 

 same may be filed by the wife or other 

 representative of the absentee with the 

 register, together with the homestead ap- 

 plication. His claim in that case will 

 become effective from the date of filing, 

 provided the required fee and commis- 

 sions accompany the same; but imme- 

 <Iiately upon his discharge he must enter 

 upon the land and make it his bona fide 



home, as required by the original act of 

 May 20, 1862. 



Upon faithful observance of the law in 

 regard to settlement and cultivation for 

 the continuous term of five years, and at 

 the expiration of that time, or within two 

 years thereafter, upon proper proof to 

 the satisfaction of the land officers, and 

 the payment to the receiver, the register 

 will issue his certificate and make proper 

 return to the General Land Office as the 

 basis of a patent or complete title for the 

 homestead. In making final proof it is 

 indispensable, under the statute, that the 

 homestead party shall appear in person 

 at the district land office, and there make 

 the affidavit required of him by law in 

 support of his claim. Where, from 

 physical disability, distance, or other good 

 cause, the witnesses of said party cannot 

 attend in person at the district land office, 

 their testimony in support of the claim 

 may be taken where they reside before an 

 officer authorized by law to administer 

 oaths. Their testimony must state satis- 

 factorily the reason of inability to attend 

 the district office; and the credibility and 

 responsibility of witnesses must be certi- 

 fied by the officiating magistrate, whose 

 official character must be certified under 

 seal. Where a homestead settler dies 

 before the consummation of his claim, the 

 heirs may continue the settlement and 

 cultivation, and obtain a title upon 

 requisite proof at the proper time. Where 

 both parents die, leaving infant heirs, the 

 homestead may be sold for cash for the 

 benefit of such heirs, and the purchaser 

 will receive title from the United States. 



The sale of a homestead claim by the 

 settler to another party before com- 

 pletion of title is not recognized by the 

 General Land Office, and not only vests 

 no title or equities in the purchaser, but 

 is prima facie evidence of abandonment, 

 and gives cause for the cancellation of 

 the claim. To the government only may 

 a claim be relinquished ; and in such case 

 the duplicate receipt of the settler should 

 be surrendered with the relinquishment 

 indorsed thereon; or if the duplicate 

 has been lost, that fact should be stated 

 in the relinquishment, duly signed and 

 acknowledged. 



When application is made for cancel- 

 lation of a homestead entry on the 

 ground of abandonment, the party must 



