Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 45 Part 1.djvu/1301

 1250 SEVENTIETH CONGRESS. SEss. II. Cii. 275 . 1929 . De scri ption. Lands not ceded, and erroneous per capita paym ents. Vol. 28, p. 329. Gold mined on Res- ervatio n before cessi on. Vol.14,p. 647. Proviso. Restricted action of Act. Time for filing. Verification, etc. Evidence admitted. Counterclaims, etc., to be considered. Jo ini ng of othe r bands. Proviso. Attorneys ' fees, etc ., by decree of court. "Commencing at a point at the margin of Clearwater River on the south side thereof, which is three hundred yards below where the middle thread of Lapwai Creek empties into said river, run thence up the margin of sai d Clearwater River, at low- water mark, nine hundred yards to a point, run thence south two hundred and fifty yards to a point, thence southwesterly in a line to the southeast corner of a stone building partly finished as a church, thence west three hundred yards to a point, thence from said point northerly in a straight line to the point of beginning." 2 . Claim for certain lands included in canceled allotments within said Nez Perce Indian Reservation in Idaho and thereafter disposed of by the United States, said lands not being included in the area ceded by said treaties or said agreement of May 1, 1893 (Twenty- eighth Statute s, page 286), to the Unite d States and a lso certain erroneous per capita payments out of the amount appropriated by Congress in payment for lands ceded to the United States under the said agreement of May 1, 1893 (Twenty-eighth Statutes, page 286). 3 . Claim for gold mined and removed by white men, without authority and in trespass, from the Nez Perce Indian Reservation lands in Idaho prior to the treaty of June 9, 1863, and its approval or ratification by the Senate on April 17, 1867 (Fourteenth Statutes, pag e 647), cedin g such lands to the United States, such claim, in any event, not to exceed one-eighth of the amount of gold so mined and removed : Provided, That this Act shall not be construed as creating any rights which may be made the basis of a legal or equitable cause of action but shall only authorize the said Nez Perce Tribe of Indians to present to the United States Court of Claims for adjudication such legal rights and claims, if any, which may . exist under the treaties and agreements mentioned in this Act. SEC. 2 . Any and al l claims agai nst the Unite d States withi n the purview of this Act shall be forever barred unless suit or suits be instituted or petition, subject to amendment, be filed in the Court of Claims within five years from the date of this Act, and in any such suit or suits said Nez Perce Tribe of Indians, or any band thereof, shall be party or parties plaintiff and the United States shall be the Jarty defendant. The petition of the said Indians shall be verified
 * )y the attorn ey or attorne ys employed t o prosecute su ch claim or

claims, under contract with the Indians, approved in accordance pith exist ing law, upon information a nd belief as to the facts therein alleged and no other verification shall be necessary. Official letters, papers, documents, records, maps, historical works, and affidavits in off icial files, or cert ified copies thereof, may be used in evi dence and the departments of the Government shall give access to the attorney or attorneys of said Indians to such treaties, papers, maps, corre- spondence, reports, documents, or affidavits as they may require in the prosecution of any suit or suits instituted under this Act. SEC. 3 . In the said suit or suits the court shall also hear, examine, consider, and adjudicate any claims which the United States may have against the said Indian tribe, or bands thereof, or any of them, and any payment or payments which have been made by the United States upon any such claim or claims shall not operate as an estoppel, but may be pleaded as an offset in such suit or suits, as may gratuities, if any, paid to or expended for said Indian tribes or bands, or any of them. SEc. 4. Any bands of Indians associated with the Nez Perce Tribe deemed necessary to a final determination of any suit or suits brought hereu nder may be j oined therein as the court may order : Pr ovided , That upon final determination of the court of any such suit or suits the Court of Claims shall have jurisdiction to fix and determine a

�