Extinction of Indian Titles. The numerous Indian reservations, embraced within our limits, are detrimental to the interests of the State. The Indians will neither improve nor cultivate the lands, and their occupancy prevents others from doing it. I recommend that you memoralize Congress for the removal of the various tribes from this State to the Indian Territory, and that patents be issued to those having selected homes, thereby enabling them to dispose of their lands, if they so desire, and remove with the others; and if not, that their land may become subject to taxation, as that of other settlers. By an examination of the treaties made with the various Indian tribes on the southern border, and from recent surveys made by my order, in my opinion, the Osage tribe of Indians now possesses and occupies about four million acres of land in Kansas, to which they are not entitled by treaty stipulations; which, in addition to the three million acres recently treated for, will remove them south of the thirty-seventh degree, north latitude, the southern boundary of this State. The Cherokee tribe is now holding the land between 36° 30' and 37° 20′ (most of which is the proper territory for the Osage reservation,) in connection with their seven million acres south of 36° 30'. I herewith transmit maps of said reservation, and annex copies of correspondence with Hon. James Harlan, Secretary of Interior, and others, and recommend such action as in your judgment may be deemed best. CORRESPONDENCE. STATE OF KANSAS, Executive Office, Topeka, Aug. 3d, 1865. HON. JAMES HARLAN, See'y of Interior. } SIR-After a full and careful examination of all treaties made with the Osage, Cherokee, Seneca and Quapaw Indians, and from my own personal knowledge of their respective reservations, I am fully convinced that the Great and Little Osage Indian tribes now claim, hold and occupy a large tract of land in Southern Kansas, to which they have neither right, title or claim. By treaty of June 2d, 1825, the Great and Little Osage Indian tribes ceded to the United States, all their lands west of the Mississippi River, except the following described tract, to wit: Beginning at a point due east of White Hair Village," and twenty-five miles west of the western boundary line of the State of Missouri, fronting on a north and south line, so as to leave ten miles north and forty miles south of the point of said beginning, and extending west with the width of fifty miles, to a line drawn from the head sources of the Kansas River, southerly through the Rock Saline. White Hair Village." the starting point of the Osage boundary, is situated about ten miles north of the thirty-seventh degree, which is the southern boundary line of the State of Kansas, and thirty miles. west of the western boundary line of the State of Missouri. According to the above statement, which is in accordance with the Osage treaty of June 2d, 1825, the north line of the Osage reservation should run about twenty miles north and parallel with the thirty-seventh degree, while at present they claim their entire reservation north of the thirty-seventh degree, and within the State of Kansas. The same is true as regards the Cherokee neutral lands. They claim this entire tract within the State of Kansas, while by treaty of December 29th, 1835, the Government sold and conveyed to them eight hundred thousand acres of land situated between the west line of the State of Missouri and the Usage reservation-less the Quapaw lands-and extending as far north as the Osage lands. Hence the Cherokees and Osages are claiming and holding lands in Kansas to which they have no legal right or claim, and which should be thrown open for settlement. I therefore ask that the Commissioner of the General Land Office be instructed to investigate the whole affair, and that the Surveyor General of Kansas, or some other competent party, be directed to immediately make a new survey of the above mentioned reservation, and set apart to each tribe the exact amount of land to which it is entitled by treaty stipulations. All of which is respectfully submitted. I am Your Honor's most obedient servant, (Signed.) S. J. CRAWFORD, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, General Land Office, August 31st, 1865. HON. JAMES HARLAN, Searetary of the Interior. } SIR-I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a copy of a letter from Governor S. J. Crawford of Kansas, relative to metes and bounds of the Great and Little Osages and Cherokee neutral lands in that State. referred by the Department to this office, on the 25th inst., with directions to examine the subject and to report the facts in the case. In obedience to the instructions, I have to report as follows: The Governor of Kansas alleges that the above mentioned Osages and Cherokees are "claiming and holding land in Kansas, to which they have no legal right or claim, and which should be thrown open for settlement;" and requests that the Surveyor General be directed to make a new survey of the reservation, in accordance with the respective treaty stipulations. In support of these premises, the Governor states that the "White Hair Village, the starting point" for the Osage boundary, is situated about ten miles north "of the 37th degree, which is the southern boundary line of the State of Kansas, and thirty miles west of the western boundary line of Missouri." It is upon this erroneous hypothesis that the Governor's request is made for the re-survey of the boundaries, so that the northern lines of the Osage and Cherokee Neutral lands should run about twenty miles north of the 37th° of north latitude. The actual condition of these lines appears from official data on file in this office. to the following effect: The White Hair Village, the beginning point referred to in the 2d Art., treaty, June 2d, 1825, with the Osage tribes: Statutes at large, vol. 7, page 240, is about 43 miles, and not 20 miles, north of the southern boundary of Kansas. It is 40 miles and 26 30-100 chains, and not 30 miles west of the western boundary of the State of Missouri, and the northern boundary of the Osage reservation, as well as that of the Cherokee neutral lands, is 10 miles north of the White Hair Village. The latter was actually admeasured by Geo. C. Van Zandt, U. S. Deputy Surveyor in 1859. These evidences place the Indian Reservations within the State of Kansas; their width from north to south being 50 miles, according to the treaty. From the surveying records on file in this office, it appears that the northern boundary of the Osage Reservation was originally surveyed from the northeast corner thereof, a random line having been first run from White Hair Village east, to the western boundary of the State of Missouri, 40 miles, intersecting it between the 102d and 103d mile post of the boundary. This survey was made by R. P. Beauchamp, Ass't Surveyor, in May, 1827. Subsequently, from May 26th to September 16th, 1836, the northern boundary of the Osage reservation, was partly retraced from the northeast corner thereof, and extended west 124 miles, to the left bank of the Arkansas river, as the terminus of the survey of the north line of the Osage lands, by John C. McCoy, under orders of Gen. Wm. Clark, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, at St. Louis, Mo. Finally, in closing the lines of the public survey in Kansas, upon the northern boundary of the Osage and Cherokee neutral lands, in 1859, it was found necessary to ascertain the lines and retrace them. Accordingly Deputy Surveyor Geo. C. Van Zandt was dispatched by the Surveyor General of Kansas and Nebraska, for that purpose, who, in the months of May, June and July of that year, re-established the north-east corner of the Osage reservation, by actual admeasurement of the ten miles north from a point due east of White Hair Village, and twenty-five miles west of the western boundary of the State of Missouri, and re-surveyed the same due west to the intersection with the guide meridian, east of the 6th principal meridian, 75 miles and 8 90:100 chains, and surveyed the northern boundary of the Cherokee neutral lands, starting from the northeast corner of the Osage lands, due east to the intersection of the Missouri State line, four miles south of the fifth standard parallel south, the length of the line being 24 miles and 74 61:100 chains, south of the 92d mile of the western boundary of the State of Missouri Deputy Van Zandt, in his field notes of the survey, states that Mr. Aikin, the Osage interpreter, who was with Major Langham, the original surveyor, when he started his random line east from White Hair Village, situated on the right bank of the Neosho River, pointed out the site of the old White Hair Village, the point at which Major Langham started his line. "After identifying the village mentioned in the treaty of June 2d, 1825, Mr. Van Zandt established the northeast corner of the Osage reservation, it being by actual measurement, ten miles north of White Hair Village, from a point due east, and 25 miles west from the western boundary line of the State of Missouri. The correctness of the admeasurement was proved by finding on the north boundary of the Osage lands "a white oak, eighteen inches in diameter, marked on the east and west sides with a blaze, and two chops in each blaze, noted by McCoy" in 1836; this tree being seven links south of Van Zandt's random line west from the northeast corner of the Osage lands, and at the distance of 9 miles 53 82:100 chains from the same, Mr. Van Zandt being entirely satisfied of the correctness of his survey, as to the northern boundary line, offsetted south his random line west to the extent of the aforesaid seven links, and assuming the tree nine miles and 40 chains west from the northeast corner, per McCoy's survey of 1836, and the original survey by Major Langham having been identified by many mounds existing in 1836, Mr. Van Zandt continued his due west course to the intersection of the guide meridian east of the 6th principal meridian. From the foregoing it appears that the northern boundary of the Osage reservation, under the second article of the treaty of June 2d, 1825, was properly established-that its distance from the 40° of north latitude, as the common boundary line between Kansas and Nebraska, which is also the principal base for the survey of the public lands therein, astronomically established in 1854, by Captain T. J. Lee, Topographical Engineer U. S. A., is 154 miles, which taken from 207 miles, the product of three degrees of the meridian, from the 37° to 40°, north latitude, would leave 53 miles as the distance from the northern boundaries of the reservation, as now marked in the field, to the southern boundary of the State of Kansas, affording sufficient extent for the breadth of 50 miles, for the Osage lands, as provided in the treaty. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, &c., (Signed.) STATE OF KANSAS, EXECUTIVE OFFICE, TOPEKA, September 15th, 1865. DEAR SIR: Sometime ago I referred the question as to the boundary lines of the Osage and Cherokee reservations to the Secretary of the Interior, at Washington, which was by him referred to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, and he reported adverse to our claims, taking the survey and report of Deputy Surveyor Geo. C. Van Zandt, as his basis, and ignoring previous surveys. The only way we can settle the question definitely is, to ascertain the exact locality of the "old White Hair Village," its distance from the western boundary line of the State of Missouri, and the 37° or southern boundary of Kansas. Also the location of the subsequent villages laid out and called by the same name of White Hair Village. If you will, at your earliest convenience, go down and ascertain these facts, together with the names and location of parties now living, who know them to be true, and report them to me, (in person if possible,) I shall be able to have a new survey made and the boundaries of these reservations properly established. I am satisfied that a great fraud has been committed, and think we should use every effort to have it corrected. Answer. (Signed.) To G. J. ENDICOTT. Yours truly. S. J. CRAWFORD. Governor of Kas To His Excellency, Governor S. J. Crawford: SIR: In accordance with your instructions, I proceeded to ascertain the bounds of the Osage and Cherokee neutral lands, and have the honor to report that during the month of November, 1865, I proceeded, in company with John A. Cramer. Wm. Howard, Jacob Youstler, John Q. Adams and George W. James, to ascertain, by actual survey and admeasurement, the exact boundary line of the Osage Indian reservation, and the Cherokee neutral lands; also the Seneca. Quapaw and Shawnee reservations. The first and most important question for us to determine, was the exact location of the original "old White Hair Village," the place designated in the Osage treaty of June 2d, 1825, as the starting point for the described boundary of their reservation, and from which the boundary line of the Cherokee neutral lands is established. Starting at a point on the western boundary line of the State of Missouri, 136 miles south from the Missouri river, and 41 miles north from the southwest corner of the State of Missouri, thence running on a due west line for twenty-seven miles, to the original "old White Hair Village," which is situated on the right, or west, bank of the Neosho river. From the "old White Hair Village" to the 37th of north latitude (the southern line of the State of Kansas) is eleven and a half |