The testimony should also show the agricultural capacities of the land, what kind of crops, if any, have been raised thereon, and the value thereof. The testimony should be as full and complete as possible, and, in addition to the leading points indicated above, everything of importance bearing upon the question of the character of the land should be elicited at the hearing. Should the tracts be adjudged saline lands, the Register and Receiver will be instructed to offer the same for sale, after public notice, at the local land office of the district in which the same shall be situated, and to sell said tract or tracts to the highest bidder for cash, at a price of not less than $1.25 per acre. In case said lands fail to sell when so offered, the same will be subject to private sale at sah land office for cash, at a price of not less than $1.25 per acre, in the same manner as other public lands are sold, and already indicated on preceding pages. X. Desert Lands. Any party who wishes to make entry of desert lands can do so only in the States of Caliifornia, Oregon, and Nevada, and the Territories of Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, and Dakota, and must file with the officers of the land office for the district wherein the land is situated, the following No.-. DECLARATION. LAND OFFICE AT 18-. A of county, — of —, being duly sworn, depose and declare, that I am a citizen of the United States, of the age of and a resident of said county and, and by occupation a; that I intend to reclaim a tract of desert land, not exceeding one section, by conducting water upon the same, within three years from date, under the provisions of the act of Congress approved March 3, 1877, entitled "An Act to provide for the sale of desert lands in certain States and Territories.' The desert land which I intend to reclaim does not exceed one section, and is situated in county, in the land district, and is described as follows, to wit: the of section No., township No. -, range No. containing acres. I further depose, that I have made no other declaration for desert lands under the provisions of said act; that the land above described will not, without irrigation, produce an agricultural crop; that there is no timber growing upon said land; that there is not, to my knowledge, within the limits thereof, any vein or lode of quartz, or other rock in place, bearing gold, silver, cinnabar, lead, tin, or copper, or any deposit of coal; that there is not within the limits of said land, to my knowledge, any placer, cement, gravel, or other valuable mineral deposit or salines; that no portion of said land is claimed for mining purposes, under the local customs or rules of miners or otherwise; that no portion of said land is worked for mineral during any part of the year by any person or persons; that said land is essentially non-mineral land; that I became acquainted with said land by ; and that my declaration therefor is not made for the purpose of fraudently obtaining title to mineral land, timber land, or agricultural land, but for the purpose of faithfully reclaiming, within three years from the date hereof, by conducting water thereon, a tract of land which is desert land within the meaning of the act. LAND OFFICE AT I hereby certify that the foregoing declaration was this day sworn to and subscribed before me. This declaration may be executed before the clerk of any court of record having a seal. If the applicant is not a citizen, but has declared his intention to become such, a duly certified copy of his declaration of intention to become a citizen must be presented and filed. The declaration must also contain a description of the land applied for, by legal subdi. visions if surveyed, or, if unsurveyed, as nearly as possible without a survey, by giving, with as much clearness and precision as possible, the locality of the tract with reference to known and conspicuous landmarks or the established lines of survey, so as to admit of its being thereafter readily identified when the lines of survey come to be extended. As preliminary to the filing of such declaration, it must be satisfactorily shown that the land therein described is desert land as defined in the second section of the act. To this end, the testimony of at least two disinterested and credible witnesses is required, whose testimony will be reduced to writing in the usual manner; or the evidence may be furnished in the form of affidavits executed before the clerk of any court of record having a seal, the credibility of the witnesses to be certified by said clerk. The witnesses must clearly state their acquaintance with the premises, and the facts as to the condition and situation of the land upon which they base their judgment. A form of affidavit, to be sworn to and subscribed hv each witness, is as follows: No. I, county and AFFIDAVIT. LAND OFFICE AT 18 of- county, -, being duly sworn, declare, upon oath, that I am a resident of said ; that I am of the age of, and by occupation a; that I am well acquainted with the character of each and every legal subdivision of the following described land: the section No.-, township No.-, range No. containing acres; that I became acquainted with said land by; that I have been acquainted with it for — years last past; that I have frequently passed over it; that my knowledge of said land is such as to enable me to testify understandingly concerning it; that the same is desert land within the meaning of the second section of the act of Congress approved March 3, 1877, entitled "An Act to provide for the sale of desert lands in certain States and Territories;" that said land will not, without artificial irriga tion, produce any agricultural crop; that no agricultural crop has ever been raised or cultivated on said land, for the reason that it does not contain sufficient moisture for successful cultivation; that the same is essentially dey and arid land, wholly unfit for cultivation without artificial irrigation; that said land cannot be successfully cultivated without reclamation by conducting water thereon; that said land has hitherto been unappropriated, unoccupied, and unsettled, because it has been impossible to cultivate it successfully on account of its dry and arid condition; that it is a fact well-known, patent, and notorious, that the same will not, in its natural condi tion, produce any crop, that the land is the ; that there is no timber growing thereon, but that it is devoid of timber; that there is not, to my knowledge, within the limits thereof, any vein or lode of quartz, or other rock in place, bearing gold, silver, cinnabar, lead, tin, or copper, or any deposit of coal; that there is not, within the limits of said land, to my knowledge, any placer, cement, gravel, or other valuable mineral deposit or salines; that no portion of said land is claimed for mining purposes under the local customs or rules of miners or other. wise; that no portion of said land is worked for mineral during any part of the year by any person or persons; that said land is essentially non-mineral land; that I am not interested in any way or manner, directly or indirectly, present or prospective, in any application or declaration made or to be made for said land, or in the land itself, or in the title which may by any person or in any manner be acquired thereto. After this proof has been made to the satisfaction of the district officers, the Receiver will receive from the applicant the sum of twenty-five cents per acre for the land applied for; the Register will receive and file his declaration, and they will jointly issue, in duplicate, a certificate in the form attached : No. UNITED STATES LAND OFFICE, 18-. It is hereby certified that under the provisions of the act of Congress approved March 3, 1877, entitled "Au act to provide for the sale of desert lands in certain States and Territories,' has this day filed in this office his declaration of intention to reclaim the following described tract of land, viz. : ; that he has proven to our satisfaction that the said tract of land is desert land, as defined in the second section of said act, and that he has paid to the Receiver the sum of dollars, being at the rate of twenty-five cents per acre for the land above described. It is, therefore, further certified, that if within three years from the date hereof the said his neirs or legal representatives, shall satisfactorily prove that the said land has been reclaimed by carrying water thereon, and shall pay to the Receiver the additional sum of one dollar per acre for the land above described, he or they shall be entitled to receive a patent therefor under the provisions of the said act. Register. Receiver. NOTE.-The word "heirs" is substituted in this form for the word "assignee," the Secretary of the Interior having declined to recognize the assignment of desert land claims. One of these duplicates will be delivered to the applicant; the other will be retained by the Register and Receiver with the declaration and proof. At any time within three years after the date of filing the declaration and the issue of certificate, provided the United States surveys have been extended over the land, the proper party may make satisfactory proof of having conducted water upon the land applied for. This proof must consist of the testimony of at least two disinterested and credible witnesses, who must appear in person before the Register and Receiver. They must declare that they have personal knowledge of the condition of the land applied for, and of the facts to which they testify; and their testimony must be reduced to writing in the usual manner. Ques. 2. Are you a citizen of the United States, or, if not, have you declared your intention to become such? (If not native born, proof-record must be furnished.) Ans. Ques. 3. If you have heretofore made a desert land entry, give the number and date thereof, and describe the land embraced therein. Ans. Ques. 4. Have you conducted water upon the land embraced in said entry, and irrigated the same, and reclaimed it from its former desert character, to such an extent that it will now produce an agricultural crop? Ans. Ques. 5. What crops have you raised upon said land in each and every year since your first entry thereon under your declaration No. -? Ans. Ques. 6. How many acres have been sown or planted in each year, in what crops, and upon what portion o ubdivision of the land, and what amount of such crops has been actually produced? Ans. Ques. 7. What crops, if any, had been grown upon the land, or upon any portion thereof, and, if any, upon what portion, previous to your entry thereon! Ans. Ques. 8. Would the land, or any portion of it, by cultivation without irrigation, have produced any agricultural crop whatever, and, if so, what crop? Ans. Ques. 9. Was there any natural water supply upon such land sufficient to fertilize or irrigate the whole or any portion thereof, and, if so, what portion?" State fully. Ans. Ques. 10. Has the amount of water conveyed upon the land in any one season been sufficient to so irrigate the entire tract as to render the same productive, and, if so, what crop or crops would such irrigation produce? Ans. Ques. 11. Has the whole tract been irrigated and cultivated by you in any one season? Ques. 12. Has each smallest legal subdivision or portion of less than forty acres been irrigated or cultivated Ques. 13. How much water per acre has been conducted upon the land, or upon any portion under cultivation in any one season; for how long a time was it so conducted upon the land, and at what times or seasons? State fully. Ans. Ques. 14. In what manner was such water conveyed upon the land, whether by pipes or ditches, and how was it distributed over and through the soil? State particularly and in detail, and describe the ditches as to their width, depth, direction through or around the land, and give the length of each. Ars. Ques. 15. Have you at this time the right and proprietorship of water sufficient and available to continue the irrigation of this tract and make perpetual reclamation of the land, and is it your purpose so to continue its use upon this land, and for the purposes of such reclamation? Ans. Ques. 16. How was such right or proprietorship obtained, and by what tenure do you now hold the same? (Duly verified abstract of title must be furnished.) Ans. Ques. 17. Have you the sole and entire interest in said entry, and in the tract covered thereby, and the water appropriated to irrigate the same? Ans.. Ques. 18. Has any other person, individual, or company of individuals, any interest whatever in said entry, tract, or water appropriation? If so, give the name, residence, and occupation of each such person, and the nature, amount, and extent of such interest. Ans. Ques. 19. Have you made or become the assignee of any other entry, or have you any interest, direct or indirect, in any other entry under the desert land act? Ans. (Signature.) I HEREBY CERTIFY that each question and answer in the foregoing deposition was read to the applicant before- signed -name thereto, and that the same was subscribed and sworn to before me this day of 18 Register. Receiver. NOTE.-The officer before whom the deposition is taken should call the attention of the witness to the follow ing section of the Revised Statutes, and state to him that it is the purpose of the Government, if it be ascertained that he testifies falsely, to prosecute him to the full extent of the law: TITLE LXX.-CRIMES.-CH. 4. SEC. 5392. Every person who, having taken an oath before a competent tribunal, officer, or person, in any case in which a law of the United States authorizes an oath to be administered, that he will testify, declare, de pose, or certify truly, or that any written testimony, declaration, deposition, or certificate by him subscribed is true, willfully and contrary to such oath states or subscribes any material matter which he does not believe to be true, is guilty of perjury, and shall be punished by a fine of not more than two thousand dollars, and by imprisonment, at hard labor, not more than five years, and shall, moreover, thereafter, be incapable of giving testimony in any court of the United States until such time as the judgment against him is reversed. [See 1750.] The deposition of two witnesses, in the following form, taken separately, is required in each case. DEPOSITION OF WITNESS. Ques. 5. Has water been conducted upon the land embraced in said entry, so as to irrigate and reclaim the same from its former desert condition to such extent that the same will produce an agricultural crop? Ans. Ques. 6. What crops have been raised upon said land in each and every year since its first entry by under declaration No., and by whom? Ans. Ques. 7. How many acres have been sown or planted in each year, in what crops, and upon what portion of subdivision of the land, and what amount of crops have been produced thereon, and by whom? Ans. Ques. 8. What crops, if any, had been grown upon the land or upon any portion thereof, previous to the entry of thereon? Ans. Ques. 9. Would the land, or any portion of it, by cultivation without irrigation, have produced any agricul tural crop whatever, and if so, what crop? Ans. Ques. 10. Was there any natural water supply upon such land sufficient to fertilize or irrigate the whole, or any portion thereof, and if so, what portion? State fully. Ans. Ques. 11. Has the amount of water conveyed upon said land by in any one season been sufficient to so irrigate the entire tract as to render the same productive, and if so, what crop or crops would such irrigation produce? Ans. Ques. 12. Has the whole tract been irrigated and cultivated by in any one season? Ques. 13. Has each smallest legal subdivision or portion of less than forty acres been irrigated or cultivated either during one season or different seasons since the date of entry? Ans. Ques. 14. How much water per acre has been conducted upon the land, or upon any portion under cultivation in any one season; for how long a time was it so conducted upon the land, and at what times or seasons? State fully. Ans. Ques. 15. In what manner was such water conveyed upon the land, whether by pipes or ditches, and how was it distributed over and through the soil? State particularly and in detail, and describe the ditches as to their width, depth, direction through or around the tract, and give the length of each. Ans. Ques. 16. Has at this time the right and proprietorship of water sufficient and available to con. tinue the irrigation of this tract and make perpetual reclamation of the land? Ans. Ques. 17. How did you become acquainted with the facts relative to the irrigation of said land? Ques. 18. Have you any interest, direct or indirect, in this entry, in the land covered thereby, or in the water (Signature.) I HEREBY CERTIFY that witness is a person of respectability; that each question and answer in the foregoing testimony was read to name thereto; and that the same was subscribed and sworn to before me this before signed -, Register. Receiver. NOTE.-The officer before whom the deposition is taken should call the attention of the witness to the follow. ing section of the Revised Statutes, and state to him that it is the purpose of the Government, if it be ascertained that he testifies falsely, to prosecute him to the full extent of the law. TITLE LXX.-CRIMES.-CH. 4. SEC. 5392. Every person who, having taken an oath before a competent tribunal, officer, or person, in any case in which a law of the United States authorizes an oath to be administered, that he will testify, declare, depose, or certify truly, or that any written testimony, declaration, deposition, or certificate by him subscribed is true, willfully and contrary to such oath states or subscribes any material matter which he does not believe to be true, is guilty of perjury, and shall be punished by a fine of not more than two thousand dollars, and by imprisonment, at hard labor, not more than five years, and shall, moreover, thereafter, be incapable of giving testimony in any court of the United States until such time as the judgment against him is reversed. [See 1750.] The party must also present and surrender the duplicate certificate issued when the declaration was filed. When this is done, and the final proof made to the satisfaction of the district officers, the Receiver will receive the additional payment of one dollar per acre, receipt therefor in duplicate, in the following form, and give the party a duplicate receipt: RECEIVER'S FINAL RECEIPT, No.--. . DECLARATION NO. 18-. Received from --of -county, the sum of dollars and -cents, being final payment of one dollar per acre for the- containing acres, at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, the sum of twenty-five cents per acre having been heretofore paid, as per original receipt Ño. $ Receiver. The right to the use of water by the person conducting the same on or to any tract of desert land not to exceed six hundred and forty acres, shall depend upon bona fide prior appropriation; and such right shall not exceed the amount of water actually appropriated and necessarily used for the purpose of irrigation and reclamation; and all surplus water over and above such actual appropriation and use, together with the water of all lakes, rivers, and other sources of water supply upon the public lands, and not navigable, must remain and be held free for the appropriation and use of the public for irrigation, mining, and manufacturing purposes, subject to existing rights. Rulings Under the Desert Land Law. A desert land entry may be made by a married woman(a). Desert land entries are not assignable(Þ). A school section or part thereof cannot be embraced in a desert entry. Sections 16 and 36 while unsurveyed may be embraced in a desert entry("). Entries must be compact in form, not more than one mile and a quarter in any one direc tion, where 640 acres are entered (a). Desert lands may be surveyed on the deposit system(*). Lands that one year with another for a series of years will not, without irrigation, make a fair return to the ordinarily skilful and industrious husbandman for the seed and toil expended in endeavoring to secure a crop, are desert lands within the law. Crop means such an agricultural production as would be a fair reward for the expense of producing it(). To be desert land it must be shown that irrigation is essential to produce any crop upon the land in question(8). Lands that have been reclaimed and produce crops are not subject to entry under the desert land law(). Tracts entered under this law are desert until their non-desert character is established by preponderance of testimony(1). The crop Final proof must show that the entire tract is irrigated in the cropping season. may be hay, vegetables or cereals. Proof that all the land has been cultivated is not necessary, but it all must be in a suitable condition for cultivation. Mere conveying of water upon desert land is not a fulfillment of the law, unless in sufficient quantity to prepare such land for cultivation(). The best proof of the right to use water must be produced, either by record evidence or a contract for water to be delivered by an incorporated company or prior appropriation (*). The final certificate and patent in a desert land entry can issue only after the public surveys have been extended (1). Patent will issue only in the name of the original party("). A party whose desert land entry has been canceled for non-compliance with law cannot claim the land as a pre-emptor or homesteader by virtue of settlement and residence thereon prior to such cancellation("). Repayment not allowed where a desert land entry has been canceled for non-compliance (°). When repayment in a desert land entry cannot be made(P). Where a desert land entryman, after the expiration of three years from entry, applies for repayment of purchase money on the ground of inability to secure water, such application will be refused(9). Desert land entries are included in the act of May 14, 1880, and as pre-emptions may be held subject to the Rules of Practice in the matter of hearings and contests("). (0) Samuel B. Reeves, Land Owner, Vol, 6, p. 76. (*) Instructions, Land Owner, Vol. 7, p. 26. (4) Philip Shenon, Land Owner, Vol. 8, p. 8. Copp's (e) Instructions, Land Owner, Vol. 9, p. 120. () John H. Bowman, Land Owner, Vol. 6, p. 192. (m) Pedro Sodello, Land Owner, Vol. 9, p. 38. (4) Perkins Russell, Land Owner, Vol. 10, p. 175. |