said Cheyenne Indians be created and made out of a portion of the lands heretofore reserved for the use of Indian tribes. House Joint Memorial concerning the repeal of the Desert Land Act, of March 3, 1877. To the Honorable, the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States in Congress assembled: Your memorialists, the council and house of representatives, composing the legislative assembly of the territory of Montana, respectfully represent to your honorable bodies: That nearly all the public domain now left open to settlement in the territory of Montana is desert land; that is, it needs artificial irrigation to render it fit for agricultural uses; large quantities of these table or bench lands have been rendered productive under the provisions of the desert land act of March 3, 1877, and if this act should be repealed, it would be practically impossible hereafter to profitably reclaim these lands from their unproductive character, as the limited quantity which could be taken under the homestead act would not be sufficient to enable the entryman to live off the profits products, in this climate, where the seasons are short, and transportation limited and difficult. Your memorialists would, therefore, most earestly pray that the desert land act, which will be of the greatest practical value henceforward in this territory, be not repealed. JAMES E. CALLAWAY, Speaker of the House of Representatives, F. K. ARMSTRONG, President of the Council. Council Joint Memorial concerning the United States penitentiary in Montana. To the Honorable, the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States in Congress assembled: Your memorialists, the council and house of representatives, composing the legislative assembly of the territory of Montana, respectfully represent to your honorable bodies: That the United States penitentiary at Deer Lodge, Montana territory, in which are confined the convicts sentenced by the courts in this territory, has but twenty-eight cells suitable for one prisoner each, and that confined in said penitentiary are nearly one hundred convicts; that the original plan of said penitentiary contemplated the erection of another wing, which has not been built, and which is now very necessary to the proper care and safe keeping of the prisoners confined therein; that the wing of said penitentiary already constructed was paid for from the revenue received by the government in this territory; that the health of the prisoners is greatly impaired by the crowded condition of the penitentiary; and the rapidly increasing number of long term convicts, many of whom are desperate characters, and who are necessarily in constant_communication with cach other, endangers the safety of the guards, and of the community in which the penitentiary is located. Your memorialists would, therefore, earnestly pray your honorable bodies to make an adequate appropriation to complete said penitentiary according to the original plans, and would suggest the setting off of a portion of the internal revenue receipts collected in Montana for that purpose. And your memorialists will, as in duty bound, ever pray. JAMES E. CALLAWAY, Speaker of the House of Representatives, F. K. ARMSTRONG, President of the Council. |