While we know our northern friends may not feel it, in the South, Spring is
here. So we thought we'd share a few of our gardening sites appropriate
for this time of the year. Along with gardening, there's grilling, and getting
ready to diet so that you can fit back into that bathing suit this summer!
Walter S. Logan, Attorney for Petitioners
Wilham T. Hutchings, Attorney for
Respondents
Gentlemen: There was filed in the office of
the Commission on December 16, 1902, what
purports to be a copy of a stipulation of
counsel theretofore filed in the United
States Court of Claims in the case of the
Delaware Indians v. the Cherokee Nation, No.
21139, which stipulation, omitting: the
caption, is as follows:
"In pursuance of leave reserved and granted
by the court upon the final hearing of this
case, it is hereby stipulated and agreed
that the record herein be amended by
substituting in the place of the incorrect
description given in the record herein of
the 157,600 acres selected and claimed by
the Delaware, the annexed descriptions
which, upon careful examination, have been
found correct.
"And it is further stipulated and agreed
that the court may, in its decision and
final judgment herein, use the annexed
correct descriptions in the place of the
incorrect descriptions contained in said
record, provided, however, such substituted
descriptions do not interfere with the
lawful rights or claims of other Cherokee
citizens.
Washington, D. C, December 10, 1902.
Walter S. Logan, Attorney for Petitioners
Wilham T. Hutchings, Attorney for
Respondents
Following the above are the descriptions of
the lands therein referred to, aggregating
157,601.74 acres, said descriptions being
arranged in paragraphs designated by letters
from A to Z, AA to ZZ, and AAA to PPP.
In accordance with the provisions of section
23 of the act of Congress approved July 1,
1902 (32 Stat. L., 716), the Commission has
segregated and reserved from allotment,
subject to disposition according to such
judgment as may be rendered in said cause,
157,541.74 acres of land in the Cherokee
Nation, the same being the land described in
said stipulation, less 60 acres accounted
for as follows:
(a) On page 9, paragraph L, section 5, calls
for lots 1 and 2 E. ½ of NW. ¼ of section
30, township 21 N., range 13 E., and gives
area as 159.96 acres. The area of this
quarter section as expressed upon the
official township plat is 159.78 acres. The
area originally was as given in the
stipulation, 159.96, but owing to
corrections in areas of lots it now appears
as 159.78 acres. Deficit, 0.18 of an acre.
{b) On page 9, paragraph L, section 6, calls
for lots 1 and 2 of section 31, township 21
N., range 13 E., and gives area as 79.96
acres. The areas of these two lots as
expressed upon official plat is 79,34 acres.
Deficit, 0.62 of an acre.
(c) On page 14, paragraph Q, section 4,
calls for all of section 7, township 26 N.,
range 13 E. 12.34 acres of this section are
included within the limits of the town site
of Bartlesville. Deficit, 12.34 acres.
{d) On page 46, paragraph II, section 3,
calls for the SE. ¼ of section 8, township
23 N., range 16 E., containing 160 acres.
This quarter section is rendered fractional
by the Verdigris River, and contains a land
area of but 143.99 acres. Deficit, 16.01
acres.
(e) On page 46, paragraph II, section 6,
calls for lot 4 of section 30, township 23
N., range 16 E., giving area of same as
39.33 acres. The official township plat
shows area of this lot to be 38.80 acres.
Deficit, 0.53 of an acre.
(f) On page 51, paragraph MM, section 2,
calls for the N. ½ and SW. ¼, of section 4,
township 26 N., range 16 E., and gives area
of the same as 480 acres. The official
township plat shows area of these tracts of
land to be 480.08 acres. Excess, 0.08 of an
acre.
(g) On page 54, paragraph MM, section 1,
calls for the W. ½ of section 6, township 27
N., range 16 E. 12.50 acres of the W. ½ of
said section are included within the limits
of the town site of Lenapah. Deficit, 12.50
acres.
(h) On page 63, paragraph VV, section 3,
calls for the NE. ¼, of NW. ¼, of section
20. township 15 N., range 19 E, and gives
area as 40 acres. The NE. ¼ of NW. ¼ of said
section is lot 1, being rendered fractional
by the Creek-Cherokee boundary line, and
contains 39.98 acres. Deficit, 0.02 of an
acre.
(i) On page 72, paragraph OOO, section 1
(d), calls for the N. ½ of the NE. ¼ of
section 6, township 11 N., range 24 E.,
giving area as 80 acres. 17.80 acres of said
tract are included within the limits of the
town site of Salhsaw. Deticit, 17.80 acres.
(j) On page 73, paragraph OOO, section 1
[d), calls for the N. ½ of the SE. ¼ of
section 6, township 11 N., range 24 E., and
gives area as 80 acres. 0.08 of an acre of
the above-described tract is included within
the limits of the town site of Sallisaw.
Deficit, 0.08 of an acre.
Summary
Deficit Acres.
Acres
(a)
0.18
(b)
.62
(c)
12.34
(d)
16. 01
(e)
.53
(g)
12. 50
(h)
.02
(i)
17.80
(j)
.08
60.08
Excess (f)
.08
Total
60.00
In addition to the foregoing there have
been found certain discrepancies, which
appear to be clerical errors, as follows:
On page 2, paragraph F, section 1 calls for
SW. ¼ of NW. ¼ of section 31, township 25
N., range 12 E. There is no section 31 in
this fractional township, and the same by
location would be in the Osage Nation. This
is probably a transposition of figures, and
intended for section 13.
On page 4, paragraph H, section 4 calls for
E. ¼ of NW. ¼ of section 13, township 27 N.,
range 12 E. This is apparently a clerical
error, and intended for the E. ¼ of NW ¼.
On page 12, paragraph P, section 8(b) calls
for the SW. ¼ of section 10, township 25 N.,
range 13 E. This is apparently a clerical
error, and intended for the SE. ¼, as
section 8 (a) of the same paragraph, on page
11, calls for the W. ½ of section 10,
township 25 N., range 13 E., which includes
the SW. ¼ of said section.
On page 42, paragraph EE, section 1(a), the
¼ has been omitted from the description,
which reads S. ½ of S. ½ of NW. of section
6, township 27 N., range 15 E.
On page 42, paragraph EE, section 1 (c),
calls in part for the W. ½ of SE. ? of SE. ¼
of section 6, township 27 N., range 15 E.
The description SE. ¼ is apparently intended
for SE. ¼.
On page 70, paragraph III, section 5, calls
for lots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 of section 11,
township 23 N., range 21 E., and gives area
as 187.80 acres. The official township plat
shows area of these lots to be 149.20 acres.
The addition of lot 6, however, of the same
section, which lot contains 38.60 acres,
would make a total area of 187.80 acres as
called for in stipulation, and it appears
that either lot 6 was omitted from
stipulation by mistake, or, if intentionally
omitted, the change in total area was not
made. (Lot 6 was temporarily reserved,
making the area of reservation agree with
that given in stipulation in this case.)
On page 71, paragraph JJJ, section 7, calls
for the S. ¼ of SW. ¼ of section 25,
township 24 N., range 21 E., giving area as
80 acres. This was apparently intended for
S. ½ of SW. ¼ of said section.
In those cases where clerical errors have
been discovered, as aforesaid, the
Commission has made a tentative segregation
of the land which it believed the counsel
intended to describe in said stipulation and
as previously indicated.
You are therefore respectfully requested to
advise the Commission of such action as you
may take to amend or correct the record in
said cause in so far as it relates to the
description of the land claimed by the
Delaware, and to file with the Commission at
the earliest date possible a certified copy
of such instrument as may be filed in said
court for that purpose. Yours, truly,
Hon. Tams Bixby,
Acting Chairman Commission to the File
Civilized Tribes, Muscogee, Ind. T.
Sir: Enclosed I hand you certified copy of
the second amended description of the
Delaware lands. On reviewing we find that
several corrections were necessary,
substantially what you called our attention
to in your letter, that is: On page 2, 1
correction; page 4, 1 correction; page 9, 2
corrections; page 12, 1 correction, and on
page 14 we take exception to the town of
Bartlesville intruding on Delaware lands.
Arthur Armstrong, a Delaware Indian, who
owns this land, had been living there many
years before the town of Bartlesville was
thought of.
On page 42 we make 2 corrections; on page
46, 2 corrections; on page 51, 1 correction,
and on page 54, which you claim that part of
the selection belongs to the town of Lenapah,
we do not concede this for the same reason
as above; that is, we have made the
selection before the town was surveyed. On
page (63 we make 2 corrections; on page 72,
1 correction, and on pages 71 and 74 we
contend that our rights to this land are
older and better than the rights of the town
of Salisaw.
We offer as a substitute for any shortage
the following: SE. ¼ of the SE. ¼ of sec. 6,
T. 26 N., R. 13 E., 40 acres, and the NE. ¼
of the SW. ¼ of sec. 6, T. 27 N., R. 13 E.,
40 acres. Out of these 80 acres you can take
our shortage, taking first the 40 acres
described in T. 26, R. 13, and whatever is
still lacking take out of the other 40
acres. Both of these forties are Delaware
lands, in possession of Delaware Indians,
and can well go into the segregated lands.
Chairman Commission to Five. Civilized
Tribes, Muscogee, Ind. T.
Dear Sir: I am in receipt of a letter from
F. B. Woodard, of Dewey, Ind. T., inclosing
three letters from your Commission, relative
to the interests of certain Delaware who
hold and are in possession of part of the
land segregated under section 28 of the act
of Congress approved July 1, 1902, known as
the Cherokee agreement and ratified by the
Cherokees August 7, 1902. I can not see why
any Cherokee should be allowed to interfere
with the rights of the Delaware or their
holdings until the same shall have been
determined by the Court of Claims and the
Supreme Court of the United States.
On February 2, 1908, the Court of Claims
dismissed the suit, and during the same
month we appealed the case to the Supreme
Court of the United States. The record has
been transmitted from the Court of Claims to
the Supreme Court, and it is believed that
the case will be tried at as early a date as
the calendar will permit, but we are advised
by the clerk of the Supreme Court that we
can not be heard before the October term, if
then, and likely the case would not be
decided during the present year.
If a Cherokee is allowed to contest any
Delaware's holding before the Supreme Court
passes upon the rights of the Cherokees, it
seems to me that the intended effect of
section 28 is lost to the Delaware.
My understanding is that the 157,600 acres
of land is segregated and that no Cherokee
will be allowed to tile on this land or to
receive allotment out of it until the
Supreme Court has finally passed upon the
rights of the Delaware Indians.
I hope to receive an early early from you on
this subject, and trust that the Commission
will fully protect the interests of my
people in their rights and holdings in the
Cherokee Nation.
Dear Senator: When Congress passed the act
entitled "An act for the protection of the
people of the Indian Territory, and for
other purposes." which was approved June 28,
1898, and known as the Curtis Act, provision
was made by section 25 thereof for the
protection of the rights of the Delaware
Indians in the Cherokee Nation, to the
effect that before any allotments of lands
should be made in the Cherokee Nation there
should be segregated there from by the
Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, in
separate allotments or otherwise, the 157,
600 acres purchased by the Delaware from the
Cherokees under the agreement of April 8,
1867. Following this was a provision
referring to the Court of Claims and the
Supreme Court of the United States the
question of the rights of the Delaware to
these lands and to other allotments, and
their interest in the Cherokee tribal lands
and funds.
No action was taken by the Commission to
comply with this provision of the Curtis Act
until the passage of the act of Congress
approved July 1, 1902, which was ratified by
the Cherokees at a general election August
7, 1902, which act also provided in section
23 thereof as follows:
"Sec. 23. All Delaware Indians who are
members of the Cherokee Nation shall take
lands and share in the funds of the tribe,
as their rights may be determined by the
judgment of the Court of Claims, or by the
Supreme Court, if appealed, in the suit
instituted therein by the Delaware against
the Cherokee Nation, and now pending; but if
said suit is not determined before said
Commission is ready to begin the allotment
of lands of the tribe as herein provided,
the Commission shall cause to be segregated
one hundred and fifty-seven thousand six
hundred acres of land, including lands which
have been selected and occupied by the
Delaware in conformity to the provisions of
their agreement with the Cherokees dated
April eighth, eighteen hundred and
sixty-seven, said lands so to remain,
subject to disposition according to such
judgment as may be rendered in said cause;
and said Commission shall thereupon proceed
to the allotment of the remaining lands of
the tribe as aforesaid. Said Commission
shall, when final judgment is rendered,
allot lands to such Delaware in conformity
to the terms of the judgment and their
individual rights thereunder. Nothing in
this Act shall in any manner impair the
right of either party to said contract, as
the same may be finally determined by the
courts, or shall interfere with the holdings
of the Delaware under their contract with
the Cherokees of April eighth, eighteen
hundred and sixty-seven, until their rights
under said contract are determined by the
courts in their suit now pending against the
Cherokees, and said suit shall be advanced
on the dockets of said courts and determined
at the earliest time practicable."
In anticipation of the allotment of the
lands of the Cherokee Nation, and in
conformity with the provisions of said
section 23, above quoted, the Delaware
Indians, through me as their authorized
attorney in fact and representative, filed
in December, 1902, with the Commission to
the Five Civilized Tribes a list of
selections of land, aggregating about
157,600 acres, as and for their selections
to be segregated as in said section
provided. Certain minor errors being found
in some of these descriptions, an amended
and corrected list was forwarded to said
Commission, at its request, in January,
1903, which said list of selections
contained the description of 157,600 acres
of land, was received, accepted, and placed
on file by said Commission, as and for the
Delaware lands segregated under the
authority of said act.
On February 2, 1903, a decree was passed by
the Court of Claims in the case of the
Delaware Indians against the Cherokee
Nation, and on March 19 an appeal was filed
in the Supreme Court of the United States,
where said case is now pending.
I desire to submit that the Commission to
the Five Civilized Tribes, having exercised
the authority vested in them by the act of
July 1, 1902, above referred to, in the
segregation of the Delaware lands, their
authority and jurisdiction over the lands
thus segregated is exhausted until the final
determination of the suit of the Delaware
against the Cherokees by the Supreme Court
of the United States, and they have no
further power to do any other act with
reference to said lands. The act in question
having provided that this segregation being
made, the Commission should proceed to allot
the remaining lands of the Cherokee tribe,
they had no more power to receive any
application for or to perform any act
concerning any of the lands embraced within
the Delaware selections than if these lands
had been within the Osage Reservation in
Oklahoma or had never been any part of the
lands of the Cherokee tribe.
During the last week I have been in receipt
of many letters and telegrams from Delaware
Indians residing in the Indian Territory and
occupying parts of the segregated lands
above mentioned, who have received
notification from the Commission that
certain Cherokees have made filings upon
lands occupied by said Delaware and within
the segregated lands herein referred to, and
notifying such Delaware to appear and file
contests.
This action, which seems to indicate that
the Commission does not intend to treat the
segregated lands as withdrawn from selection
by Cherokees, would, if carried out, effect
a nullification of the act of Congress
referred to and deprive the Delaware of all
the protection for which Congress inserted
the clause above referred to in the act of
July 1, 1902. If such action could be
sustained as to one or several selections,
it could be sustained as to all, and there
would he no segregated land. This would
deprive the Delaware of their property
rights, for they can not take their
allotments at this time, and will not be
allowed to do so until the case now pending
in the Supreme Court of the United States
shall have been finally determined, which,
as I am informed by the clerk of that court,
will probably not be for a year or more.
The Delaware Indians, acting under the
advice of the Department of the Interior and
the Indian agent, Leo E. Bennett, some years
ago, spent almost all their tribal funds,
which amounted to about $1,000,000, in the
improvement of their homes in the Cherokee
Nation embraced in the segregation referred
to, They have always been loyal to the
United States, have been law-abiding and
peaceful in the Cherokee Nation, and now
deserve the protection of the Government to
the fullest extent, and it was the intention
of Congress to extend this protection and
make it fully effective. But if the law is
to be interpreted as seems now to be the
purpose of the commission, it will become
inoperative and valueless and might as well
never have been enacted. In view of this
situation and the peril of my people, I
desire to appeal to you to take such action
in their behalf as may seem to yon proper,
either by an application to the Secretary of
the Interior or directly to the Commission,
or both, as will prevent the contemplated
action on the part of said Commission and
preserve to the Delaware Indians the
selections which they have made of these
segregated lands until it shall be finally
determined whether or not they are entitled
to the same.
Yours, sincerely,
RICHARD G. ADAMS
[Indorsed.]
April 14, 1903
Respectfully referred to Hon. Tams Bixby,
president Dawes Commission. I presume there
is some satisfactory explanation if the
facts are as stated. I feel much interested
in the Delaware, who are a Pennsylvania
tribe, and trust the Commission will see
that they are protected in accordance with
the act of Congress until the pending
ligation with the Cherokees is determined.
Gentlemen: Referring to my letter of March
27 to the Commission, in which I enclose a
communication from J. W. Gibson describing
lands being a part of the Delaware
segregated lands, I am in receipt of a
letter of April 4, 1903, signed by C. R.
Breckinridge, commissioner in charge, in
which he says that Mr. Gibson had been
requested on that date to communicate to the
Commission the nature and location of the
improvements on this land owned by him, and
that, upon receipt of this information he
will be notified should any other citizen
make application for this land or any part
thereof as an allotment, in order that he
may institute a contest for the land within
the time provided by law.
Replying to this letter, I desire to submit
on behalf of the Delaware people that the
Commission, having segregated by
description, by legal subdivision, the
157,600 acres in accordance with section 23
of the act of July 1, 1902, it is not within
the power of the Commission now to accept
any filing of selections on any part of said
157,600 acres so described, and that the
Delaware Indians in possession of any part
of this said described land should not be
called upon to make contests of any such
filing. The authority of the Commission to
allot lands is limited by the said section
23 to the lands remaining and belonging to
the Cherokee tribe after the segregation of
this tract. The 157,000 acres of land
described as aforesaid is not anymore a part
of the Cherokee lands to be allotted at this
time than are the lands of the Osage
Reservation, and it is the duty of the
Commission, whenever any Cherokee attempts
to file on any lands embraced in the 157,600
acres, to decline to receive this filing,
without putting the Delaware occupant to the
expense and trouble of contesting.
The attention of the Commission is invited
to the said section 23, wherein it provides
that after the segregation of the 157,600
acres, if the Commission should be ready to
make allotments before the Supreme Court (if
the case then pending be appealed to that
court) should finally determine the rights
of the Delaware, "said Commission shall
thereupon proceed to the allotment of the
remaining lands of the tribe as aforesaid."
I submit that under this provision of the
law the Commission's authority to allot
lands is limited to the remaining lands of
the Cherokee tribe, and that, therefore, the
Commission has no jurisdiction over the
157,600 acres which they have segregated,
the act of segregation having exhausted the
powers of the Commission over these lands
until the Supreme Court shall have finally
acted on the appeal that has been taken to
that court from the decree of the Court of
Claims.
In other words, this 157,600 acres at the
present time should be treated as if they
were not embraced within the exterior limits
of the Cherokee Nation, or were never a part
of the Cherokee Reservation, and any attempt
made by Cherokees to file on any part of
this land should be rejected by the
Commission without any further Proceedings.
Gentlemen: Please inform me why all of the
Delaware lands have not been segregated, as
required by the late Cherokee treaty?
There are at least 50 Delaware whose lands
have not been set apart as contemplated by
the treaty.
We would like to have our lands placed in
the same condition as other Delaware, or a
satisfactory explanation why they are not.
Yours, very truly,
WILLIAM NAIRN
Muscogee, Ind. T., February 6, 1903.
Wilham Nairn, Coodys Bluff, Ind. T.
Dear Sir: The Commission is in receipt of
your letter of January 31, complaining that
there are at least 50 Delaware whose lands
have not been set apart as contemplated by
the recent Cherokee agreement. You ask why
these lands have not been set apart.
In reply, you are advised that there have
heretofore been segregated for the Delaware
citizens of the Cherokee Nation 157,600
acres of land in the Cherokee Nation. This
is all the land, which the recent Cherokee
agreement provided should be segregated for
the Delaware.
Respectfully,
C. R. BRECKINRIDGE, Commissioner in Charge.
Coodys Bluff, Ind. T., February 15, 1903.
The Dawes Commission
Gentlemen: I received your communication in
reply to my inquiry. In reply permit me to
say that my understanding of the late
Cherokee agreement is that the lands of all
the Delaware that had been selected in
conformity with the Cherokee-Delaware treaty
of 1867 were to be segregated by the Dawes
Commission, and not of a certain portion,
and not of Cherokee lands, as has been done.
In support of my views allow me to cite the
following clause of the treaty:
''But if said suit be not determined before
said Commission is ready to begin the
allotment of lands of the tribes as herein
provided, the Commission shall cause to be
segregated 157,600 acres of land, including
lands which have been selected and occupied
by Delaware in conformity to the provisions
of their agreement with the Cherokees dated
April 8, 1867."
This certainly has not been done. On the
contrary, as before stated, many of the
Delaware' lands have not been segregated.
While some Cherokee lands have been set
apart, and again in some instances several
thousand acres have been segregated for
certain individuals among the Delaware an
amount of land that could not in a just
sense belong to them. In this manner some of
the Delaware received much more than their
share while others have not received any.
We can not think the Commission
intentionally wronged us, but believe they
were not conversant with the true state of
the case. Yours, very truly,
Department of the Interior,
Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes,
Vinita, Ind. T., February 12, 1903.
Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes
Muscogee, Ind. T.
Gentlemen: Receipt is hereby acknowledged of
the Commission's letter of the 31st ultimo,
inclosing a letter dated January 27, 190.3,
from the acting United States Indian
inspector for Indian Territory, in which he
enclosed one copy of the exterior limit
report, showing the description of land
embraced in the town site of North Tulsa,
Cherokee Nation. Said report hears the
approval of the Secretary of the Interior
under date of January 21, 1903.
In reply you are advised that the following
described lands embraced within the limits
of said town are included in the 157,600
acres of land which the Commission caused to
be segregated for the use of the Delaware:
The S. ½ of the SW. ¼ of the SW. ¼ of sec.
36, T. 20 N., R. 12 E. of the Indian
meridian, containing 20 acres.
This for your information
P. G. REUTER, Clerk in Charge
Department of the Interior,
Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes,
Vinita, Ind. T. February 12, 1903
Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes
Muscogee, Ind. T.
Gentlemen: Receipt is hereby acknowledged of
the Commission's letter of the 20th ultimo,
inclosing a communication from the acting
United States Indian inspector for Indian
Territory, dated January 17, 1903,
accompanied by a sketch showing the land
desired for town-site purposes at Lawton,
Cherokee Nation.
In reply, you are advised that the following
described tracts of land, which have been
tentatively reserved for the town site of
Lawton, are embraced in the 157,600 acres
which the Commission caused to be segregated
for the Delaware.
The N. ½ of the SE. ¼ of the SE. ¼ of the
NW. ¼, and the NE. ¼ of the SE. ¼ of the NW.
¼, and the SE. ¼ of the NE. ¼ of the NW. ¼,
all in sec. 21, T. 28 N., R. 13 E. of the
Indian meridian, containing in all 25 acres.
This for your information.
