§544. Conditions for issuance of patent

           No patent shall issue for any lands entered under the provisions of this Subpart until after the expiration of five years from the date of the entry. The person making the entry, or in case of his death, his heirs or devisees shall be entitled to a patent for the land so entered if, at the expiration of the five year period or at any time within two years thereafter he proves by his own affidavit and the affidavits of two credible witnesses, taken separately, that he has resided upon and cultivated the land for the term of five years immediately succeeding the date of entry, that no part of the land has been alienated or encumbered except as provided in R.S. 41:543, and he has paid to the register of the state land office a fee of five dollars. In case of the death of a homesteader, it shall not be necessary for his widow or heirs to prove actual residence upon the land after the date of death, but she shall show continuous cultivation and improvement for the full period of five years from the date of the entry.