THE WEST SHORE.
.February, 1882
34
been issued in donation claim". Pat
ent for donation claim (rom No. I to
5109, homestcid patent for final re
ccipU No. 1 to 1 040, and patent for
cash receipt No. 1 to 1502, have, with
tome exception in each class, been is
sued, a great many of which remain on
file in thi office, subject to the call of
the claimant. There is no fee attached
to ll.c dt'iikciy of patent fiom this of
fice, and jK-ron who are the holders
of certificate or receipt for patent in
cluded in the numbers stated, can pro
cure the patent by transmitting the
certificate or receipt to thi office.
fiKNKMAI. I.AM) LAW.
I'pon the death of a homestead set
tler be for the completion of his claim,
the widow may make final proof upon
completing requirements of the law,
and the title passe to her, or if she dies
also, then the heir may ( ontinue resi
dence upon and cultivate the claim, and
the title, upon proper proof of the ful
fillment of the law, will vest in them.
Where Ixith parents die, leaving in
fant children, the homestead may be
told for cash for the benefit of such
thildreu, and the purchaser will receive
title from the I'nited States; or upon
proof of cultivation of the land required,
patent to the laud will issue to said in
fant heir; Kronal residence on the
claim not being required in a case as
hove stated.
In case a icttler under the pre-emption
law should die before establishing
hi claim within the period of time lim
ited by law, the title may be perfected
by the executor, administrator or one
.. 1 t
01 1 nc neirs, tiy making proper proof
ami payment l the land; ihe ,.trv
to 1 m ule in the name the heir of
the deceased settler.
The right to change a pie-cmption
filing to homestead entry belong
only to the party who made the pre
emption filing, and could, therefore, not
he changed by the widow, or heirs,
administrator, ns tin- case might be.
Pre-emption 01 homestead claims my
be filed by person w, Brc thc ,1cm,
fa family, widow, or single persons
over the age of 3 1 year, who are na
live horn citizens of the United States,
or have declared their intention to be-'
come such cituen. A married woman
can t.t file a claim fls , kUv. l)u,
he could moke such filing as the head
of family if he really wcic thc head
of family, -
It is held in the rulings of the gen-
eral land office that a deserted wife, or
one whose husband is a confirmed drunk
ard, is the head of a family, or a mar
ried woman who has minor children,
and has been abandoned by her hus
band without cause and left to support
herself and children, is the head of a
family.
Any person who has the requisite
qualifications to file a homestead or pre
emption claim, may also file a timber
culture entry without regard to how
much land they may own.
In case a person under age, who is
not the head of a family, makes a filing
upon land, under the homestead, pre
emption, or timber-culture laws, such
filing is void, but it does not exclude
such person from making a legal entry
upon attaining the proper age. If the
party filing thus was single and under
the age of 21 years, a contest, based up.
on affidavit made by the plaintiff, set
ting forth the facts, and acknowledged
before a county clerk, notary public or
the register or receiver of this office,
would be initiated. The plaintiff in a
contest must deposit $10, for defray
ing expenses of costs in the case.
A hearing is then ordered by this of
fice to be had in the case, to be held be
fore a county clerk, or notary public,
resident in thc county in which tht
contested tract lies.
W. F. benjamin, register at the Rose,
burg land office, writes:
HUSINKSS for 1 8S 1 .
... Acres.
... u,, cuibracinp 7,7,11
I29 mal Homestead cnl.ics, ".17424
l)5 llomeklrail applications, " 2)i6nj
t')S Preemption tiling and 3 miner' entries.'
The preemption filings and home
stead applications are only incipient en
tries that can only be consummated by
proof of residence upon, and cultiva
tion of the land applied for, for at least
six months priorto the date of final entry,
or pre-emption tilings, or commuted
homestead applications, ifthepai ty does
not wish to reside on and cultivate their
entries for five consecutive years from
date of application. By the act of June
8, 1S72, soldiers and sailors who served
at least 00 days in the army or navy
can have credit for the time of service'
not to exceed 4 years, applied to their
!H-seads, . the applicant under
his act must reside on his homestead at
itnsi
vice
one year in addition to time of ser. 1 5rt cnlrics'
fcre he can receiv.. FJ1 Z V ,mJr cullu"
patent. 1 heir widows and orphans are
allowed the same rights. Under the act
of May 4, 1880, parties who had settled
on unsurveyed. lands can, within 90
days after plats of survey are filed in
the local land office, come m and. make
their application for their claim, and be
credited with the time they had resided
upon the land prior to the date of en-
try, when, if amounting to the full pe-
riod of five years, they can make proof
immediately after publishing notice for
thirty days of their intention to do so.
I'here is but a small portion of pub
lic land open to ordinary cash entry;
none,' except what was surveyed prior
to, and embraced in the offer of 1862,
most of which undisposed of lies in
Jackson and Josephine counties; that
in Douglas, Lane, Benton and Linn
having been withdrawn on account of
the railroad grant. Homestead entries
within the 0. & C. railroad grant, that
was restricted to So acres by any one
application, are restored, so that parties
now can enter within the grant 100
acres, same as elsewhere except as to
cost of entry, which is $16 on 160 acres
without, and $22 within said grant, be
ing what is termed double minimum
lands, '. e.: $2.50 per acre those with
out the grant are single minimum, or
$1.25 per acre. .
The amount of government land in
thisdistrict, comprisingportionsofLinn,
Henton and Lake, and all of Lane,
Douglas, Coos, Curry, Josephine and
Jackson counties, is, by estimation,
about 9,000,000 acres, the greater
part of which is unsurveyed and
mountainous perhaps 2,000,000 are
surveyed and mostly covered with tim
ber. In southern Douglas, and in Jose
phine and Jackson counties, mining is
quite extensively carried on in the win
ter months, yielding a remunerative re
turn for the labor and investments.
J. N. Evans, register of the Lake
view, southern Oregon, land office, says:
It is impossible to even approxi
mate the amount of desirable land in
this district yet open to settlement; it
can be put down as many thousand
acres. The amount of land claimed
during the year 1881, is as follows;
Act'
Prc-empiion, 65'
Homestead, 22
Final I(imi.iol -,
band sold, pre-emption net,
final desert ffniri
embracing
Acres.
10,000
3.00
2,000
4,480
2,000
1,600
1,900
-" 1 i net-
"re are many thousand acres of