Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it shall and may be lawful for any soldier in the late war with Great Britain, to whom bounty land has been allotted and patented in the State of Arkansas, which was and is unfit for cultivation, to surrender said patent, and to receive in lieu thereof the same quantity of any of the public land subject to private entry as he may select: Provided, That before receiving such new land, it shall be proved, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, that the land so allotted and patented to said soldier is unfit for cultivation, and that said soldier has never disposed of his interest in said land by any sale of his own, and that the same had not been taken or disposed of for his debts due to any individual, and that he shall release all his interest in the same to the United States, in such way as said Commissioner shall prescribe; and such surrender and location shall be made within five years from the passing of this act.

Approved, July 25, 1848.