The Silver State

OPEN TO ENTRY.
An Order Relating to the Powning
Lands Near the Little Humboldt.
The Reno Gazette says the following
letter received at the General Land Office
at Carson yesterday, explains itself:
Department of the Interior,
General Land Office.
WASHINGTON, D. C. June 18, 1889.
Register and Receiver United States
Land Office, Carson City, Nev.—GENTLEMEN: The suspension of entries and filing for lands in townships 38, 39 and 40
north, range 44 east. M. D. M., in the
State of Nevada, directed by office letter
"E," of date February 6, 1886, is hereby
revoked. Very respectfully,
M. N. STONE,
Acting Commissioner.
This letter, though, as the Gazette says,
it may explain itself, throws very little
light on the subject to which it refers.
It was charged that Surveyor General
Powning applied for those lands the
moment the plats of the surveys were
filed in the Land office and before the
surveys were completed. Several persons, who built corrals on the land and
occupied them for years, were taken
by surprise when informed that they had
all been applied for under the State Land
Act. Affidavits that the lands had not
been sectionized were sent to Washington and an old gentleman named
Wharton was sent here by the Department
of the Interior to personally examine the
ground. Subsequently Colonel Maxson
was appointed to visit the lands and ascertain if they had been properly surveyed.
His report must have sustained the affidavits of the settlers as an order from
Washington suspended the entries and
debared those surveyors, who claimed to
have sectionized the lands, from doing
any more work as surveyors for the
United States. Now, unless they have
been re-surveyed, the revocation of the
order suspending the entry of those lands
would imply that the original surveys
were all right.