                ABOUT THE LAND PATENT DATABASE READER
                             Version 1.03


                     <<<  D I S C L A I M E R  >>>

   Simply stated - this program is FreeWare and since there is no
   cost for it I don't make any claims that it will be of any use
   or benefit to you, it's been tested but that doesn't mean that
   it might not have some bugs I didn't discover, and if you use 
   the program that's a decision that you and you alone make and I
   will not be responsible for any problems you have either with the
   program or as a result of having used it because you were the one
   who decided to use it. The limitations of my liability shall not
   exceed the amount which I charged you for the program. There is
   no Technical Support provided (although I probably wouldn't hang
   up on you if you called me some evening to chat or ask a simple
   question). This software is Copyrighted and I retain all rights to
   it. You are only granted the right to use it for free. This is
   basically what all disclaimers say - I just put it in English.

   Whew! Now that the legal stuff is out of the way let me tell you
   a little about this program. A few months ago I noticed a lot of
   interest in the BLM/GLO Land Patent CD data from people without
   CDROMs. After looking at the ASCII data I realized that it was
   difficult for many people to understand and calculating the
   location of the land could be a challenging exercise.

   I wrote this program to make it easier to read this data when output
   in a dBase (dbf) format and, since I'm into genealogy and not a
   survey tech, I wanted a simple way to locate where the land patent
   was within the state. This program calculates a 1 mile approximate
   location of the land described by Township, Range, Section and
   then describes it in simple x miles N/S & E/W of point x.

   When you request an extraction of information from these CDs from
   others, specify they send it in dbf format and the file extension
   of DBF or the 2 state abbreviation (ie. <name>.DBF, <name>.AR,
   <name>.LA or <name>.FL) if you wish to use this program to read it.

   Since it is FreeWare you are free, and encouraged, to share this
   program with your friends, BBS, genealogical society, or anyone
   else that might have a use for it or just wants a copy of a free
   program. The only restrictions are that you do not make any
   changes to the program or any of it's associated databases and
   you do not charge any fees of any kind for copies of this program
   with the exception that you may charge a fee not to exceed $2.00 for
   a disk to distribute the program on. Permission for any exception to
   this must be obtained from me, in advance, in writing.

   I've talked with the BLM and been assured that this data is public
   domain - so there is nothing illegal in obtaining a copy of the
   data from one of their CDs. 

   If you find this program usefull I would appreciate it if you
   would let me know. Kind remarks might serve as an inspiration
   to write a Version 2 which could include maps on screen with the
   boundries marked, support for multiple printers, fancier reports,
   &c. Of course, "kind" criticism would also be appreciated. If you
   find a bug I definately want to know about it so I can fix it.

   For those into techno-babble this program was written in Clipper
   5.1, uses the Nantucket Tools II Library and was compiled with
   Blinker 2.01. A copy of the source code is available for $25.00.
   (-: It's going to cost you for me having to document the code! :-)
   All proceeds above the cost of disks, mailers and postage will be
   donated to the Masonic Children's Home in Fort Worth, TX.

   You can reach me:

   (1) On the Genealogical Software Echo addressed to Michael Moreland

   (2) By mail or phone:

                          J Michael Moreland
                         1418 Ford Street #B
                        Golden, CO 80401-1949
                           (303) 278-2698


* End of : ABOUT THE LAND PATENT DATABASE READER
