FURTHER INFORMATION FOR THE HOME-SEEKER.
COME TO THE GREAT WEST!

The Western States and Territories afford unexampled inducements to the surplus energy and capital of the East and Europe; and the field which they spread out so invitingly to the emigrant's choice is as wide as it is magnificent. Hundreds of millions of acres of rich land—embracing bottom and prairie, timber and running water—are open for settlement. Counties are to be populated, and towns built, all over the new States and Territories. Each of these latter is an empire in itself. Great Britain could be set down within the borders of any one of them, and yet leave room for some of the German principalities. The records of the Agricultural Bureau at Washington show that, wherever the new soil has been cultivated, both the yield per acre and the quality of the crops produced are better than in the older States. The balance of power is moving westward, and the capital of the nation, it can scarcely be doubted, must eventually come also.There is no reason why people should starve in the great cities of this broad and heaven-favored land of ours. Business men, so often besieged and worried with applications for positions in their stores and counting-rooms, might with advantage tack up a copy of the Homestead Law by their desk, and keep a further supply on hand for distribution. Every few months some poet sings of the ill-paid seamstress in the crowded town, or some hideous murder brings to light the heroine of the garret-stitched shirt. Yet, meanwhile, at Denver City, house-girls have been getting from six to ten dollars per week, and thousands could find comfortable homes throughout Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado, with remunerative wages. Abroad, men toil, and women work in the fields, and in one year pay out from the scanty earnings which they wring from a stingy soil more than enough to purchase one hundred and sixty acres of good land in the great and growing West.

SHOULD THERE NOT BE COMPULSORY EMIGRATION?

Except in the case of the very decrepit, or totally disabled, there can be no excuse for begging, in a country which offers every pauper a quarter-section of as rich land as the sun shines upon. I suppose the millennium will commence when laws compel the cities to drive from them the idle and vicious, and make them tillers of the soil in the wilds. Instead of brooding in the dark alleys, and breeding vice to be flung out at regular intervals upon the civilized thoroughfares, these germinators of disease and crime would be dragged forth from their purlieus and hiding-places, and disinfected in the pure atmosphere of the large prairies and grand forests. Granting that it might be a heavy burden upon their shoulders at the outset, the present generation of reformers would have the satisfaction of knowing that the sores were cleansed, and that moral and physical disease was not being propagated to suffocate their children; and even although some of the present multitude of evil-doers might not be reclaimed, most of their children certainly would be. It is more profitable to raise farmers than convicts. Instead of building jails to hold men in life-long mildew, our artisans might be building steamers and cars, to carry their products to the seaboard.

"GET A GOOD READY."

Of the immense and almost boundless tracts of Western land that invite the emigrant's choice, the larger part can be homesteaded and pre-empted, and the remainder purchased on favorable terms from the different railroads. The competition among the latter for immigration has induced low prices and superior facilities for examination.

Where a number of families are coming together, the best way, as a rule, is to select commissioners from the number, to go in advance, and spy out the land, which can be done at comparatively trifling expense. On giving satisfactory proof of their mission, such representatives are nearly always able to secure low rates of fare and freight. In this way, two or three reliable agents can select a district in which a colony may settle, and make all the necessary arrangements for its transportation, and each family save a number of dollars, which will give back compound interest in the new home.

"Get a good ready" before starting, and have your route plainly mapped out; otherwise, you will buy experience at the sacrifice of many a useful dollar. And pray that your flight be not in the winter. Come at such season as will enable you to provide at least some shelter and supplies before the inclement months come on.

Furniture and provisions can be purchased at very reasonable rates at the West, and no necessity exists, therefore, for bringing one or two car loads of broken chairs, and partially filled flour barrels. Good stock will repay transportation, but common breeds are abundant and cheap on the ground. Texas yearlings can be purchased for about six dollars per head in Kansas.

HOMESTEAD LAWS AND REGULATIONS.

The following is an epitome, by a former Register of a United States Land Office, of such laws and regulations as pertain to the securing of Government land:

The Pre-emption Act of September 4, 1841, provides, that "every person, being the head of the family, or widow, or single man over the age of twenty-one years, and being a citizen of the United States, or having filed a declaration of intention to become a citizen, as required by the naturalization laws," is authorized to enter at the Land Office one hundred and sixty acres of unappropriated Government land by complying with the requirements of said act.

It has been decided that an unmarried or single woman over the age of twenty-one years, not the head of the family, but able to meet all the requirements of the pre-emption law, has the right to claim its benefits.

Where the tract is "offered," the party must file his declaratory statements within thirty days from the date of his settlement, and within one year from the date of said settlement, must appear before the Register and Receiver, and make proof of his actual residence and cultivation of the tract, and pay for the same with cash or Military Land Warrants. When the tract has been surveyed but not offered at public sale, the claimant must file within three months from the date of settlement, and make proof and payment before the day designated in the President's Proclamation offering the land at public sale.

Should the settler, in either of the above class of cases, die before establishing his claim within the period limited by law, the title may be perfected by the executor or administrator, by making the requisite proof of settlement and cultivation, and paying the Government price; the entry to be made in the name of "the heirs" of the deceased settler.

When a person has filed his declaratory statements for one tract of land, it is not lawful for the same individual to file a second declaratory statement for another tract of land, unless the first filing was invalid in consequence of the land applied for, not being open to pre-emption, or by determination of the land against him, in case of contest, or from any other similar cause which would have prevented him from consummating a pre-emption under his declaratory statements.

Each qualified pre-empter is permitted to enter one hundred and sixty acres of either minimum or double minimum lands, subject to pre-emption, by paying the Government price, $1.25 per acre for the former class of lands, and $2.50 for the latter class.

Where a person has filed his declaratory statement for land which at the time was rated at $2.50 per acre, and the price has subsequently been reduced to $1.25 per acre, before he proves up and makes payment, he will be allowed to enter the land embraced in his declaratory statement at the last-named price, viz.: $1.25 per acre.

Final proof and payment can not be made until the party has actually resided upon the land for a period of at least six months, and made the necessary cultivation and improvements to show his good faith as an actual settler. This proof can be made by one witness.

The party who makes the first settlement in person upon a tract of public land is entitled to the right of pre-emption, provided he subsequently complies with all the requirements of the law—his right to the land commences from the date he performed the first work on the land.

When a person has filed his declaratory statement for a tract of land, and afterward relinquishes it to the Government, he forfeits his right to file again for another tract of land.

The assignment of a pre-emption right is null and void. Title to public land is not perfected until the issuance of the patent from the General Land Office, and all sales and transfers prior to the date of the patents are in violation of law.

The Act of March 27, 1854, protects the right of settlers on sections along the lines of railroads, when settlement was made prior to the withdrawal of the lands, and in such case allows the lands to be pre-empted and paid for at $1.25 per acre, by furnishing proof of inhabitancy and cultivation, as required under the Act of September 4, 1841.

The Homestead Act of May 20, 1862, provides "that any person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and is a citizen of the United States, or who shall have filed his declaration of intention to become such, as required by the naturalization laws of the United States, and who has never borne arms against the United States Government, or given aid or comfort to its enemies, shall be entitled to enter one quarter section or less quantity of unappropriated public land."

Under this act, one hundred and sixty acres of land subject to pre-emption at $1.25 per acre, or eighty acres at $2.50 per acre, can be entered upon application, by making affidavit "that he or she is the head of a family, or is twenty-one years of age, or shall have performed service in the army and navy of the United States, and that such application is made for his or her exclusive use or benefit, and that said entry is made for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not, either directly or indirectly, for the use and benefit of any other person or persons whomsoever." On filing said affidavit, and payment of fees and commissions, the entry will be permitted.

Soldiers and sailors who have served ninety days can, however, take one hundred and sixty acres of the $2.50, or double minimum lands. In all other respects they are subject to the usual Homestead laws and regulations.

No certificate will be given, or patent issued, until the expiration of five years from the date of said entry; and if, at the expiration of such time, or at any time within two years thereafter, the person making such entry—or if he be dead, his widow; or in case of her death, his heirs or devisee; or in case of a widow making such entry, her heirs or devisee, in case of her death—shall prove by two credible witnesses that he or she has resided upon and cultivated the same for the term of five years immediately succeeding the date of filing the above affidavit, and shall make affidavit that no part of said land has been alienated, and that he has borne true allegiance to the Government of the United States; then he or she, if at that time a citizen of the United States, shall be entitled to a patent. In case of the death of both father and mother, leaving an infant child or children under twenty-one years of age, the right and fee shall inure to the benefit of said infant or children; and the executor, administrator, or guardian may, at any time after the death of the surviving parent, and in accordance with the law of the State in which such children for the time being have their domicil, sell said land for the benefit of said infants, but for no other purpose; and the purchaser shall acquire the absolute title from the Government and be entitled to a patent.

When a homestead settler has failed to commence his residence upon land so as to enable him to make a continuous residence of five years within the time (seven years) limited by law, he will be permitted, upon filing an affidavit showing a sufficient reason for his neglect to date his residence at the time he commenced such inhabitancy, and will be required to live upon the land for five years from said date, provided no adverse claim has attached to said land, and the affidavit of a settler is supported by the testimony of disinterested witnesses.

In the second section of the act of May 20, 1862, it is stipulated in regard to settlers, that in the case of the death of both father and mother, leaving an infant child, or children, under twenty-one years of age, the right and fee shall inure to the benefit of the infant child or children; and that the executor, administrator, or guardian, may sell the land for the benefit of the infant heirs, at any time within two years after the death of the surviving parent, in accordance with the law of the State. The Commissioner rules that instead of selling the land as above provided, their heirs may, if they so select, continue residence and cultivation on the land for the period required by law, and at the expiration of the time provided, a patent will be issued in their names.

In the case of the death of a homestead settler who leaves a widow and children, should the widow again marry and continue her residence and cultivation upon the land entered in the name of her first husband for the period required by law, she will be permitted to make final proof as the widow of the deceased settler, and the patent will be issued in the name of "his heirs."

When a widow, or single woman, has made a homestead entry, and thereafter marries a person who has also made a similar entry on a tract, it is ruled that the parties may select which tract they will retain for permanent residence, and will be allowed to enter the remaining tract under the eighth section of the act of May 20, 1862, on proof of inhabitance and cultivation up to date of marriage.

In the case of the death of a homestead settler, his heirs will be allowed to enter the land under the eighth section of the Homestead Act, by making proof of inhabitancy and cultivation in the same manner as provided by the second section of the act of March 3, 1853, in regard to deceased pre-emptors.

When at the date of application the land is $2.50 per acre, and the settler is limited to an entry of eighty acres, should the price subsequently be reduced to $1.25 per acre, the settler will not be allowed to take additional land to make up the deficiency.

The sale of a homestead claim by the settler to another is not recognized, and vests no titles or equities in the purchaser, and would be prima facie evidence of abandonment, and sufficient cause for cancellation of the entry.The law allows but one homestead privilege. A settler who relinquished or abandoned his claim can not hereafter make a second entry.

When a party has made a settlement on a surveyed tract of land, and filed his pre-emption declaration thereof, he may change his filing into a homestead.

If a homestead settler does not wish to remain five years on his tract, the law permits him to pay for it with cash or military warrants, upon making proof of residence and cultivation as required in pre-emption cases. The proof is made by the affidavit of the party and the testimony of two credible witnesses.

There is another class of homesteads, designated as "Adjoining Farm Homesteads." In these cases, the law allows an applicant owning and residing on an original farm, to enter other land contiguous thereto, which shall not, with such farm, exceed in the aggregate 160 acres. For example, a party owning or occupying 80 acres, may enter 80 additional of $1.25, or 40 acres of $2.50 land. Or, if the applicant owns 40 acres, he may enter 120 at $1.25, or 60 at $2.50 per acre, if both classes of land should be found contiguous to his original farm. In entries of "Adjoining Farms," the settler must describe in his affidavit the tract he owns and lives upon, as his original farm. Actual residence on the tract entered as an "adjoining farm" is not required, but bona fide improvement and cultivation of it must be shown for five years.

The right to a tract of land under the Homestead Act, commences from the date of entry in the Land Office, and not from date of personal settlement, as in case of the pre-emption.

When a party makes an entry under the Homestead Act, and thereafter, before the expiration of five years, makes satisfactory proof of habitancy and cultivation, and pays for the tract under the 8th section of said act, it is held to be a consummation of his homestead right as the act allows, and not a pre-emption, and will be no bar to the same party acquiring a pre-emption right, provided he can legally show his right in virtue of actual settlement and cultivation on another tract, at a period subsequent to his proof and payment under the 8th section of the Homestead Act.

The 2d section of the act of May 20, 1862, declares that after making proof of settlement, cultivation, etc., "then, if the party is at that time a citizen of the United States, he shall be entitled to a patent." This, then, requires that all settlers shall be "citizens of the United States" at the time of making final proof, and they must file in the Land Office the proper evidence of that fact before a final certificate will be issued.

A party who has proved up and paid for a tract of land under the Pre-emption Act, can subsequently enter another tract of land under the Homestead Act. Or, a party who has consummated his right to a tract of land under the Homestead Act will afterward be permitted to pre-empt another tract.

A settler who desires to "relinquish his homestead must surrender his duplicate receipt, his relinquishment to the United States" being endorsed thereon; if he has lost his receipt, that fact must be stated in his relinquishment, to be signed by the settler, attested by two witnesses, and acknowledged before the register or receiver, or clerk or notary public using a seal.

When a homestead entry is contested and application is made for cancellation, the party so applying must file an affidavit setting forth the facts on which his allegations are grounded, describing the tract and giving the name of the settler. A day will then be set for hearing the evidence, giving all parties due notice of the time and place of trial. It requires the testimony of two witnesses to establish the abandonment of a homestead entry.

The notice to a settler that his claim is contested must be served by a disinterested party, and in all cases when practicable, personal service must be made upon the settler.

Another entry of the land will not be made in case of relinquishment or contest, until the cancellation is ordered by the Commissioner of the General Land Office.

When a party has made a mistake in the description of the land he desires to enter as a homestead, and desires to amend his application, he will be permitted to do so upon furnishing the testimony of two witnesses to the facts, and proving that he has made no improvements on the land described in his application, but has made valuable improvements on the land he first intended and now applies to enter.

It is important to settlers to bear in mind that it requires two witnesses to make final proof under the Homestead Act, who can testify that the settler has resided upon and cultivated the tract for five years from the date of his entry.

Patents are not issued for lands until from one to two years after date of location in the District Office. No patent will be delivered until the surrender of the duplicate receipt, unless such receipt should be lost, in which case an affidavit of the fact must be filed in the Register's Office, showing how said loss occurred, also that said certificate has never been assigned, and that the holder is the bona fide owner of the land, and entitled to said patent.

By a careful examination of the foregoing requirements, settlers will be enabled to learn without a visit to the Land Office the manner in which they can secure and perfect title to public lands under the Pre-emption Act of September 5, 1841, and Homestead Act of May 20, 1862.

THE STATE OF KANSAS.

Our sojourn on the plains impressed our party with a strong belief that Kansas, at no distant day, will be one of the richest garden spots on the continent. I have more particularly described the central portion of the State, but both Northern and Southern Kansas are equally as fertile and desirable.

The United States Land Offices in Kansas are located at the following places: Topeka, Humboldt, Augusta, Salina, and Concordia. The rapidity with which Kansas is being settled may readily be inferred from the fact that 2,000,000 acres of its land were sold during one year, 1870.

In our note-book, I find the outline of a speech delivered by the Professor in Topeka, and I quote a single paragraph as fitly expressing the common sentiment of our entire number:

"Gentlemen, great as your State now is in extent of territory and natural resources, she will soon have a corresponding greatness in the means of development, and in a self-supporting population. 1870 holds in her lap and fondles the infant; 1880 will shake hands with the giant. The whole surface of your land, gentlemen, is one wild sea of beauty, ready to toss into the lap of every venturer upon it, a farm. The genius which rewards honest industry stands on the threshold of your State, with countless herds and golden sheaves, smiling ready welcome to all new-comers, of whatever creed or clime."

WHAT A FARM WILL COST.

The emigrant has already been told what it will cost him to obtain government land. If this adjoins railroad tracts, he can secure what is desired of the latter at from two to ten dollars per acre.

The expense of fencing material might be fairly estimated at from twenty to thirty dollars per thousand feet for boards, and ten to fifteen dollars per hundred for posts. This is supposing that all the material is purchased. If fortunate enough to have timber on his claim, the emigrant, of course, can inclose the farm at the cost of his own labor.

I have seen many new-comers protect their fields by simply digging around them a narrow, deep trench, and throwing the earth on the inside line so as to raise an embankment along that side two feet in height. One single wire stretched along this, and secured at proper intervals by small stakes, appears to answer quite well as a cattle guard.

Osage orange grows rapidly, and is cheap, and a permanent fence can be made with it, at small expense, in the course of three or four years.

The usual cost of breaking prairie is from two to four dollars per acre. With a yoke or two of good oxen, however, this item can also be saved.

The second year the farmer can set out with safety his trees and vines, and the third or fourth year he may be considered fairly on the road to prosperity.

Laborers' wages are from twenty to thirty dollars per month and board.I estimate that a fair statement of the prices for stock would be about as follows: Work oxen, seventy-five to one hundred dollars per yoke; cows, twenty to fifty dollars each; horses, seventy-five to one hundred and fifty dollars.

A FEW MORE PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS.

I would say to the emigrant, Do not be influenced to select any one particular State or locality until you have more authority for the step than a single publication. Examine carefully, make up your mind deliberately, and then move with determination. It will require no very great exertion to secure a half dozen glowing advertisements from as many new Western States and Territories. It will need but little more effort to obtain from five to fifty "rosy" circulars from as many different districts in each of the separate "garden spots." After examining these until ready to sing,—

"How happy could I be with either
Were t' other dear charmer away,"

take down your map, and let the railroads and streams assist your choice. You have then secured yourself against one danger of the journey—that of having these same circulars flung into your lap en route, and being diverted by them into dubious ways and needless expenditures. But be careful, reader, that you select not as accurate beyond the possibility of a mistake the maps accompanying the circulars; otherwise, you may find yourself unable to choose between several thousand railroad centers from which broad gauges radiate like the spokes in a wheel, and your ignorance of modern geography may be brought painfully home by discovering navigable rivers where you had supposed only creeks existed. In these matters, as in every thing else connected with your "new departure," consult all the various sources of information within your reach.