GOVERNMENT PUBLIC LAND SALES.
Sheldon, Iowa.
I have heard on good authority of the sale, by officers of public land offices, of timber claims at public auction to the highest bidder for cash. Is there any authority of law for such a proceeding?
C. H. Cottle.
Answer.—Where large bodies of land are to be sold, a proclamation is issued in the name of the President, describing the tracts, and specifying the time and place of sale. When only a few isolated tracts of land, not embraced in the regular proclamations, are to be disposed of, notice is given in a local newspaper. The land is then sold to the highest bidder for cash only. Purchasers are not compelled to reside on or cultivate such lands. As the present policy of the government is to encourage pre-emption and homestead settlement and timber culture there are now few public land sales. Lands that have been offered at public sale but not sold may be bought at any time thereafter at the local land office if not withdrawn from market. This is called a private sale or entry.
MAGGIE MITCHELL.
Vicksburg, Mich.
Please give a short biography of Maggie Mitchell. What is her present age?
S. C. Van Antwerp.