Sec. 1. Each citizen of the Muskogee Nation shall be required to furnish the district judge of the district in which he resides, and in which his cattle range, with the brand or brands of his stock, or stock held in his possession, and the district judge shall keep a record of the Each district judge shall furnish each of the other district judges with a true record of all stock brands in his district.

same.

Sec. 2. No brand shall be recognized by the citizens of the Muskogee Nation unless the same be recorded according to the provisions of this article.

ARTICLE II.

ESTRAYS.

Sec. 1. Any person finding and taking up estray property, shall report the same to the light horse captain of the district in which such estray is found, giving a full description of the same.

Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of the light horse captain to post and advertise all estray property reported to him, for the period of six months, and at the expiration of said time he shall offer the same at public sale, and shall sell the same to the highest bidder, taking in payment National script or cash in hand, giving due notice of the time and place of sale.

Sec. 3. Any person finding and reporting estray property to the light horse captain, shall take charge of such estray, and shall appear with it at the time and place of sale.

Sec. 4. Any person finding his or her property posted or advertised, shall, upon proving the fact, be possessed of the same, upon paying at the rate of two (2) dollars per head for horses and cattle, and fifty (50) cents per head for smaller stock.

Sec. 5. All money accruing from the sale of estrays, except one-third, which shall be paid to the person who shall have taken charge and care of the same, shall be paid into the National treasury.

Sec. 6. Any person buying estray property at public sale, shall be required to keep the same for a period of six months before he is at liberty to sell or make any other disposition of the same; and should any person find his or her property within six months after it has been posted and sold, and proves the fact, he or she shall be entitled to the same.

Sec. 7. Should any person find his or her property after the expiration of six months from the sale, he shall be entitled to the amount accruing from the sale, except the one-third which shall have been paid to the person having had charge of the same.

Sec. 8. Any person taking and proving his or her property, which may have been sold as estray, shall pay one-third of the amount for which the same shall have been sold to the purchaser, and shall receive the other two-thirds from the National treasurer.

Sec. 9. All live stock which shall estray from persons not citizens of the Muskogee Nation, shall be subject to the Muskogee estray laws.

ARTICLE III.

PURCHASE OF STOCK FROM DROVERS.

Sec. 1. In all cases where citizens of this Nation shall purchase live stock from drovers passing through the

country, there shall be taken with such stock a bill of sale for the same, and said bill of sale shall describe the property, giving the marks, brands, &c., which shall be written in ink, and shall be signed by two witnesses.

Sec. 2. Should any drover, passing through the country, lose his stock by stampeding or otherwise, and should he employ a citizen of the Muskogee Nation to hunt up and deliver the same, the terms of such contract shall, in order to be binding, be distinctly understood before witnesses.

Sec. 3. Such witnesses as are mentioned in this article, shall be persons well known for their veracity and honesty in the community in which they live, and any purchasing and contracting party failing to comply with this law, shall forfeit his claim to the purchased property, or to the benefit of the contract.

ARTICLE IV.

INTRODUCTION OF CATTLE AND HORSES.

Sec. 1. The importation, by any other means except by railroad, and the transit through our domain of cattle or horses, from the fifteenth day of April until the last day of October, of each year, from the State of Texas, and that portion of the State of Arkansas, situated south of the Arkansas River, is hereby prohibited.

Sec. 2. It is hereby made the duty of the light horsemen of the Muskogee Nation to guard our frontier against the introduction of cattle and horses as mentioned in this act; and should such horses or cattle gain such an entrance, it shall be the duty of the light horsemen to meet them and turn them back.

Sec. 3. It shall be the duty of the Principal Chief to furnish such aid in carrying out the provisions of this act as shall be necessary for their strict enforcement.

CHAPTER IX.

LAWS GOVERNING ELECTIONS.

Sec. 1. The election of the First and Second Chief and members of the National Council shall take place on the first Monday in September, and shall be conducted in the following manner :

1. Each town shall convene on the day specified.

2. The members of the National Council shall be judges of election in their respective towns; but in the event of their disability by reason of sickness, &c., the Town Chief shall be the judge.

3. The election rolls shall be closed and sealed when the day of election has ended.

4. Before the roll has been sealed, a duplicate of the same shall be taken and retained by the Town Chief.

5. The sealed copy of the roll shall be forwarded to the President of the House of Kings.

6. The rolls shall be opened at the meeting of the Annual National Council by a committee appointed by the Council, and the duplicate roll left in the hands of the Town Chief shall be compared with the same.

7. The said committee shall count the votes.

8. When the votes have been counted and the result ascertained, it shall be declared and promulgated by the Principal Chief by proclamation.

9. All officers elected under the foregoing laws shall enter upon the duties of their office on the fifth day of December following.

Sec. 2. The election of light horsemen of each district shall be held on the second Monday in September, before the expiration of the term of those holding the office.

ADMINISTRATION OF PROPERTY.

Sec. 1. When any male citizen of this Nation shall die without having made a will, it shall be the duty of the judge of the district wherein such deceased person may have resided to grant letters of administration to any citizen of this Nation who may request the same, and such person shall be required to give bond in double the value of such estate, with at least two good securities, each of whom shall also own property equal to twice the value of such estate.

Sec. 2. All estates of deceased persons shall be valued by the judge and two disinterested persons.

Sec. 3. The administrator shall, at all times, be required to make and provide liberal means for the support and education of all heirs of the deceased, to make any trade that may be of advantage to such estate, and to advise and direct the affairs of such heirs until they shall have become of age, according to the laws of this Nation, or until such heirs shall marry, in which event the administrator shall turn over to such heirs, of his or her inheritance, everything connected with the estate that may have been placed in his care, or its equivalent in money or other property.

Sec. 4. If an administrator, when required to do so, fails to turn over everything connected with an estate of which he shall have had charge, or its equivalent in money or other property, the proper authority shall seize the goods or property of his securities, and appropriate therefrom sufficient to make up any deficiency that may occur in the value of the estate; and if any person shall sign a bond as security, and afterwards die, the