This exception was declared in the deed to cover the lands above the
Raccoon Fork disposed of to settlers by the Government in 1848 under the
proclamation of the President opening said lands to sale and settlement,
which has been referred to; and it is conceded that neither these lands
nor the rights of any settlers thereto are affected by the terms of the
bill now under consideration.
The amount of land embraced in this deed located above the Raccoon Fork
appears to be more than 271,000 acres.
It is alleged that the company in winding up its affairs distributed
this land among the parties interested, and that said land, or a large
part of it, has been sold to numerous parties now claiming the same
under titles derived from said company.
In December, 1859, the Supreme Court of the United States decided that
the grant to the Territory of Iowa under the law of 1846 conveyed no
land above the Raccoon Fork, and that all selections and certifications
of lands above that point were unauthorized and void, and passed no
title or interest in said lands to the State of Iowa. In other words, it
was determined that these lands were, in the language of the bill under
consideration, "improperly certified to Iowa by the Department of the
Interior under the act of August 8, 1846."
This adjudication would seem to conclusively determine that the title to
these lands was, as the law then stood, and notwithstanding all that had
taken place, still in the United States.
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