Henry Henkel v. United States

• Decision Date: 05 April 1915
• Docket Number: No. 142,142
• Citation: 237 U.S. 43,35 S.Ct. 536,59 L.Ed. 831
• Parties: HENRY HENKEL, Caroline Henkel, George Henkel, William Henkel, Lizzie Henkel, and Mamie Henkel, Plffs. in Err., v. UNITED STATES
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

237 U.S. 43

35 S.Ct. 536

59 L.Ed. 831

HENRY HENKEL, Caroline Henkel, George Henkel, William Henkel, Lizzie Henkel, and Mamie Henkel, Plffs. in Err.,

v UNITED STATES.

No. 142.

Argued January 20 and 21, 1915.

Decided April 5, 1915.

Mr. Thomas J. Walsh for plaintiffs in error.

Assistant Attorney General Wallace for defendant in error.

Mr. Justice Day delivered the opinion of the court:

This suit was an action in ejectment brought by the United States in the United States circuit court for the district of Montana, to recover certain lands in the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The defendants (now plaintiffs in error) other than Henry Henkel are members of the Piegan Tribe of Indians. Henry Henkel is the husband of Caroline Henkel, and the other defendants to the action are their children. They lived together as a family and occupied the lands in question, upon which they had constructed certain buildings and improvements. On November 5th, 1906, Caroline Henkel, for herself and two daughters, together with her two sons, George Henkel and William Henkel, executed a document addressed to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, by which, describing themselves as members of the Piegan Tribe of Indians, they undertook to relinquish all claims to lands and buildings then occupied by them on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Montana, comprising about 800 acres of land, the lands being situated at the foot of Lower St. Mary lake, and south of Swift Current creek. The conditions of the surrender of the lands for use in connection with the proposed St. Mary reservoir of the United States Reclamation Service were that they should be paid the sum of $7,500 for the improvements on such selections, and be subsequently allowed to select allotments of equal area, or as provided by law, from the unoccupied lands of the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana. Henry Henkel, as husband and father, concurred in the agreement and indorsed his approval thereon.

On February 15th, 1907, the price named in the instrument just referred to, $7,500, was paid to Caroline Henkel, who, for herself and two daughters, and George and William Henkel, for themselves, relinquished to the United States all their right, title, and claim in and to the lands and buildings then occupied by them on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Montana, and located at the foot of Lower St. Mary lake, and south of Swift Current creek, and released the United States from all claims for damages to all improvements of whatsoever nature on the land. This receipt and release was also agreed to by the husband, Henry Henkel.

These facts are set up in the complaint, and it is averred that pursuant to the act of Congress of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. at L. 388, chap. 1093, Comp. Stat. 1913, § 4700), the government had made investigations of and surveys for an irrigation project which was known as the Milk River Irrigation Project, under and by virtue of which certain lands in the northern part of the state of Montana were to be irrigated; that among other works forming part of the system to be established, a dam was to be built at the foot of the Lower St. Mary lake, by which the lands above mentioned, and now in controversy, were to be flooded, and that the same were necessary for flooding in connection with the reclamation project above referred to.

The defendants answered, admitting the execution and delivery of the instrument above referred to, and the payment of the money, as recited in the release and receipt. They averred that they were all members of the Piegan Tribe of Indians, except Henry Henkel, and had the right as such Indians to be upon the Blackfeet Indian Reservation; that they had settled upon the lands in question more than ten years before the beginning of this suit, which, since a recent survey, were designated by congressional subdivisions, and embraced the land in controversy, and ever since their settlement upon said lands they had occupied the same in common as their home, and since the passage of the act of March 1, 1907 (34 Stat. at L. 1035, chap. 2285), opening the reservation to settlement, they had selected such lands as their allotments under that act, the lands being grazing in character. The answer sets out the selection of each of the defendants entitled to allotments, and it is alleged that each acquiesced in the selection made by the other. The answer then avers that the allotting officers had refused to allot the lands in question to them, but that, under protest, William Henkel, George Henkel, and Lizzie Henkel had been allotted lands elsewhere, which lands they offered to surrender if the lands selected by them should be allotted to them; the refusal to allot such lands, as the answer avers, being based upon the instruments referred to in the complaint. The answer averred that the lands were at all times since the execution of these instruments worth more than the price offered by the government, which sum the defendants offered to return.

To this answer a demurrer was sustained by the court, and the plaintiffs in error electing to stand upon the answer, judgment was rendered accordingly, awarding to the United States the possession of the premises. The case was taken to the circuit court of appeals for the ninth circuit, where the judgment of the lower court was affirmed. (116 C. C. A. 165, 196 Fed. 345.) The case is now here upon writ of error.

The contention of the plaintiffs in error, defendants below, is that no statute of the United States has conferred authority upon the government or its officers to acquire the lands described by the relinquishment from the Henkels, as above set forth. Such action, it is contended, would amount to an act of bad faith upon the part of the government toward these Indians, in view of their established rights in these lands; and to permit the reclamation statute of 1902 to have such effect, it is insisted, would be virtually to permit it to repeal previous acts of Congress disposing of these lands for the benefit of the Indians.

A consideration of these matters requires some examination of the previous status of the Indians and what Congress has undertaken to do by legislation in their behalf.

By the act of February 8, 1887 (24 Stat. at L. 388, chap. 119), as amended February 28, 1891 (26 Stat. at L. 794, chap. 383, Comp. Stat. 1913, § 4195), authority was given to the President, as to any reserva- tion which he should consider advantageous for agricutural or grazing purposes, to allot, after survey thereof, 'to each Indian located thereon one eighth of a section of land;' and if the lands allotted were valuable for grazing purposes only, to allot to each a quarter section of land. Allotments, which were to be set apart under the provisions of the act were to be selected by the Indians, heads of families selecting for their minor children, in such manner as to embrace the improvements of the Indians making the selection. Upon the approval of the allotments by the Secretary of the Interior, patents were to issue therefor, in the name of the allottees, which patents should declare that the United States would hold...