As stated in another portion of this work, the State of Nebraska contains an area of 75,995 square miles, or over 48,500,000 acres of land, and it is the purpose of the writer to show in this Chapter, as nearly as possible, what portion of this vast domain has been disposed of, and for what purposes, as also what remains undisposed of, at the commencement of the year 1879.

     The State of Nebraska has received from the General Government grants of lands amounting in the aggregate to upwards of 3,370,000 acres, as follows:

     The 500,000 acres for internal improvement purposes, were granted to the State upon its admission to the Union, under the provisions of an Act of Congress, approved September 4th, 1841. These lands were selected through agents appointed for that purpose, and disposed of in pursuance of the provisions of an Act of the Legislature, approved February 15th 1869.

     The following exhibit is taken from the report of the Commissioner of Public Lands, as published for the year 1878. It shows when these lands were received from the General Government, the amount, and how they were disposed of:

     The amount deeded in excess of grant occurred in deeding the same parcel of lands to the Burlington & Southwestern

on June 20th, 1870, that were deeded to the Omaha & South-western Road on October 10th, 1862, viz.: 20.000 acres. There are, however, 12,291 acres that was deeded in excess of the 500,000 acres as granted by the Act of Congress referred to, that ar [sic] note accounted for in the above statement.

     By an Act of Congress, approved April 19th, 1864, seventy two sections of the unappropriated lands in the State of Nebraska were donated to the State for the use and support of a State University. The selection of these lands was made by the authorized agents of the State, which were confirmed by the Interior Department, on the 17th of February, 1874. The lands were located as follows:

     Under an Act of Congress, approved July 2d, 1862, donating public lands to the several States and Territories which may provide Colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts, military tactics, etc., a tract of land equal to thirty thousand acres for each Senator and Representative in Congress, to which Nebraska was entitled by the apportionment under the census of 1860, was selected by the State, and confirmed by the Interior Department as follows:

Located as follows:

     The following statement shows the number of acres of Common School lands belonging to the State on the 30th day of November, 1878, and the Counties in which such lands are located: