WHITE OAKS, N. MEX., September 6, 1902. SIR: As district attorney for the counties of Socorro, Lincoln, Chaves, and Eddy, comprising the fifth judicial district of the Territory, I submit the following report touching the business of the Territory coming to my hands for the year ending June 30, 1902: SOCORRO COUNTY. Civil cases pending June 30, 1902, in which the Territory was a party. Criminal cases filed during the year preceding June 30, 1902 Cases dismissed Acquittal Mistrial LINCOLN COUNTY. Civil cases pending June 30, 1902, in which Territory was a party Criminal cases filed during the year Convictions and pleas of guilty during same period Cases dismissed Acquittals Mistrials.. CHAVES COUNTY. Civil cases pending June 30, 1902, in which the Territory was a party. Convictions and pleas of guilty during same period. Criminal cases filed during the year preceding June 30, 1902 Acquittals.. Cases dismissed EDDY COUNTY. 14 63 64 29 36 1 10 85 96 33 31 2 11 39 24 24 None. 35 Civil cases pending June 30, 1902, in which the Territory was a party. Criminal cases filed during the year preceding June 30, 1902 In my last report I showed that there had been 95 convictions and pleas of guilty in this district for the year preceding. The year ending June 30, 1902, shows 96 convictions and pleas of guilty. Thus it will be seen that there continues a healthy sentiment in the district to punish the violations of the law. It will be observed that while there have been 96 convictions and pleas of guilty for the year just ended, there have been only 7 acquittals in the whole district, including the four counties named. It is very doubtful if any of the States of the Union can make a better showing than this in the prosecution of criminals. While there have been a few aggravated cases that have arisen in this district within the last year, still there is a material decrease of petty crimes. The larceny of stock, which a few years ago threatened to destroy many stockmen, is not nearly so general now. A number of cattle thieves have been sent to the penitentiary from this district and otherwise punished within the last eighteen months, and hence we do not have so many complaints among the stock owners as we did. Your obedient servant, Hon. M. A. OTERO, Governor of New Mexico. GEO. W. PRICHARD, REPORT OF THE SURVEYOR-GENERAL. SANTA FE, N. MEX., June 30, 1902. SIR: Replying to your request, I take pleasure in transmitting herewith a copy of my annual report to the Commissioner of the General Land Office for the fiscal year just closed. Very respectfully, Hon. M. A. OTERO, Governor of New Mexico. MORGAN O. LLEWELLYN, U. S. Surveyor-General. UNITED STATES SURVEYOR-GENERAL'S OFFICE, SIR: In compliance with instructions contained in your letter E, dated April 22, 1902, I have the honor to submit in duplicate my annual report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1902, with tabular statements, as follows, viz: A.-Statement showing contracts for the survey of public lands awarded during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1902. B.-Contracts awarded for the survey of confirmed private land claims for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1902. C.-Surveys returned during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1902. During the said fiscal year the following letters, documents, plats, field notes, and other papers have been prepared, briefed, and recorded, viz: Letters to the Commissioner of the General Land Office.. Letters to the Secretary of the Treasury. Letters to the Secretary of the Interior. Letters to deputy surveyors and individuals.. Office letters received and recorded... Transcripts of field notes: 390 10 9 1,368 274 2,819 Grant (995 pages). Township (334 pages) 28 17 Mineral (1,033 pages) Mineral monuments (35 pages). Deputies in the field (885 pages) 94 6 60 24 229 38 15 2 4 10 12 36 134 Diagram plats for General Land Office Transcripts corrected Plats altered and corrected. Outline plats or tracings for deputy surveyors 3 5 5 5 Diagrams to accompany contracts, special instructions, and examinations Mining claims copies for use of deputies in the field... Recitals and descriptive notes for patents of grants, 595 or more pages of type 21 3 written recitals made in duplicate, and compared... 18 Notices for publication, survey of private land claims, in English and Spanish languages, made in triplicate and compared ... 14 Translations (1,028 pages). Spanish and Mexican archives and documents copied and compared (110 pages). 21 83 Copies of certified copies of notices of location, amended locations, and applications for the survey of mining claims (285 pages). 108 Contracts and bonds, in quadruplicate... 25 Special instructions for the survey of public lands, grants, and small-holding claims, in quadruplicate Total number of typewritten pages contained in said special instructions... Surveyor-General's reports to Commissioner, General Land Office, on grant surveys, in duplicate (102 pages) Special instructions for examination, in duplicate.. Tracings to accompany contracts Official orders for the survey of mining claims.. Tracings of grants. Tracings, miscellaneous.. Books of field notes examined and corrected Books of field notes lettered......... Miscellaneous papers copied and compared (1,300 pages) Copies made of grant decrees and orders from the Court of Private Land Claims, and compared. Applications, approvals, etc., for extensions of time on contracts, in triplicate. Clerk's certificate and orders of Court of Private Land Claims lettered on grant plats. Miscellaneous work on large Territorial diagram, one draftsman. ..days.. Official Territorial maps corrected by placing thereon the land districts, forest reserves, and new counties.... During the said fiscal year the following lines of surveys have been established, viz: During the past fiscal year tracings and descriptive lists have been furnished to district land offices as follows: MINING SURVEYS. Mineral surveys executed during fiscal year ending June 30, 1902. Amended surveys ordered. United States mineral monuments established and approved Total...... During the said fiscal year there has been deposited on account of surveys and amended surveys of mining claims the sum of $1,545, and applications were made for the survey of 48 mining claims and the amended survey of 2 mining claims. PRIVATE LAND CLAIMS. The docket of land grants on file in this office shows that there are still 17 private land claims or grants pending before the Court of Private Land Claims, of which 2 cases are still untried; 2 decrees of confirmation not yet certified to this office; 2 cases are on appeal to the United States Supreme Court, and 11 cases are still pending on survey. Eleven of these grants have been surveyed, leaving 6 private land claims in this district to be surveyed. In addition to the above this office has instructions to contract for the survey of two land grants which were confirmed by acts of Congress, the same having been surveyed, but the surveys were never approved by the Commissioner of the General Land Office. Six private land claims have been surveyed under decrees of approval and confirmation by the Court of Private Land Claims during said fiscal year, and three grant surveys have been corrected, as follows: There have been 4,489 small-holding claims filed in this office under the provisions of sections 16 and 17 of the act of March 3, 1891, as amended, for tracts of land not exceeding 160 acres each. Contracts have been awarded for the survey of some 1,200 to 1,500 small-holding claims. Said filings cover in a majority of instances from two to six tracts, and a conservative estimate of the number of tracts embraced in these small-holding applications still to be surveyed is 9,200. Where such tracts are embraced in townships to be surveyed, the surveys of such small-holding claims situate therein are executed at the time of extending the lines of public surveys over such townships, and where they are situate in townships heretofore surveyed per diem contracts for such surveys are awarded. The time limit within which such small-holding filings could be filed in this office expired with March 3, 1901. The platting of these small-holding claims is very complicated, and aside from showing the same on the township plats small-holding plats on an enlarged scale are made in triplicate, showing sometimes only one or two sections, which often necessitates the making of twenty-seven to thirty small-holding plats for one township. When small-holding claims are situate in townships to be surveyed, the minimum rate of mileage only is allowed the deputies for establishing the boundaries of such claims and connecting the same to corners of public surveys. These small tracts entail a vast amount of labor in the hauling of stone for monuments, setting and marking corners for all angles of such irregular tracts, and payment is allowed for one boundary only if the same is a common boundary with an adjoining small-holding claim, surveyed by the same deputy, and by reason of having to write the field notes complete for each tract, setting and marking the corners for same, and connecting two corners thereof to a corner of the public survey the deputies complain that they can not make living wages at the low rates of mileage now paid, and are loth to accept contracts for this class of work. The law in this case should be changed to allow the awarding of contracts for all small-holding surveys at per diem rates, whether the same be in townships heretofore surveyed or in townships to be surveyed, and this embarrassment removed. Payment for the execution of small-holding surveys is made from the appropriation for the survey and resurvey of public lands, and for that reason the amount of the appropriation to be apportioned to the Territory of New Mexico should be increased. EXAMINATIONS. Examinations of grant surveys have been made in the field as follows: Dona Ana Bend Colony (reported No. 85, P. L. C. docket No. 24), situate in Dona Ana County, N. Mex., as surveyed by Jay Turley, deputy surveyor, under contract No. 352. Jose Manuel Sanchez Baca (reported No. 128, P. L. C. docket No. 138), situate in Dona Ana County, N. Mex., as surveyed by Jay Turley, deputy surveyor, under contract No. 350. Mesilla Civil Colony (reported No. 86, P. L. C. docket No. 151), situate in Dona Ana County, N. Mex., as surveyed by Jay Turley, deputy surveyor, under contract No. 350. Santo Tomas de Iturbide Colony (reported No. 139, P. L. C. docket No. 137), situate in Dona Ana County, N. Mex., as surveyed by Jay Turley, deputy surveyor, under contract No. 350. Fernando de Taos (reported No. 125, P. L. C. docket No. 149), situate in Taos County, N. Mex., as surveyed by Jay Turley, deputy surveyor, under contract No. 350. Cuyamungue (reported No. 54, P. L. C. docket No. 112), situate in Santa Fe County, N. Mex., as surveyed by Jay Turley, deputy surveyor, under contract No. 350. Pataca (reported No. 105, P. L. C. docket Nos. 99. 153, and 233), situate in Taos County, N. Mex., as surveyed by Jay Turley, deputy surveyor, under contract No. 350. Santo Domingo de Cundiyo (P. L. C. docket No. 211), situate in Santa Fe County, N. Mex., as surveyed by Joseph F. Thomas, deputy surveyor, under contract No. 353. Santa Cruz (P. L. C. docket No. 194), situate in Santa Fe and Rio Arriba counties, N. Mex., as surveyed by Joseph F. Thomas, deputy surveyor, under contract No. 353. Bartolome Sanchez (corrected survey) (P. L. C. docket No. 264), situate in Rio Arriba County, N. Mex., as surveyed by William McKean, deputy surveyor, under contract No. 346. Cañon de Chama (reported No. 71, P. L. C. docket No. 107), situate in Rio Arriba County, N. Mex., as surveyed by Joseph F. Thomas, deputy surveyor, under contract No. 355. Ojo de San Jose (P. L. C. docket Nos. 130 and 182), situate in Bernalillo County, N. Mex., as surveyed by John H. Walker, deputy surveyor, under contract No. 327. Nuestra Señora de la Luz de las Lagunitas (corrected survey) (reported No. 101, P. L. C. docket No. 170), situate in Bernalillo County, N. Mex., as surveyed by John H. Walker, deputy surveyor, under contract No. 319. Pueblos of Santo Domingo and San Felipe (P. L. C. docket Nos. 134, 184, and 185), situate in Bernalillo County, N. Mex., as surveyed by Joseph F. Thomas, deputy surveyor, under contract No. 355. Gijosa (corrected survey) (reported No. 109, P. L. C. docket No. 16), situate in Taos County, N. Mex., as surveyed by Jay Turley, deputy surveyor, under contract No. 356. Field examinations have been made of the public surveys under the following contracts: Nos. 306, 330, and 349. Field examinations have also been made of the reestablishment of public land lines in connection with contracts for grant surveys, and reestablishing boundaries of old grants found necessary to be established in order to show proper connections and areas to be excluded. The corrected survey of the Cañon de Chama grant (reported No. 71, P. L. C. docket No. 107), situate in Rio Arriba County, N. Mex., is the only grant survey now complete and requiring a field examination. Respectfully submitted. MORGAN O. LLEWELLYN, The COMMISSIONER OF THE GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Washington, D. C. |