Article 2 of the treaty made with the
Cherokee at New Echota,
Georgia, in 1835, expressed apprehension that not enough land had been set apart
for the accommodation of the
Cherokee Nation, and provided for the conveyance to
the
Cherokee of "the tract of land situated between the west line of the State
of
Missouri and the
Osage reservation, estimated to
contain 800,000 acres.
From the time this treaty was concluded the tract was called
the
Cherokee Neutral Land. Though it was assigned to the tribe, white settlers
began to settle the area when Kansas was organized as a territory. In August,
1861, the tract was invaded by a Confederate band commanded by John Mathews and
some sixty families were driven out. The following month the Sixth Kansas
Cavalry dispersed the gang and Mathews was killed. On July 19, 1866, another
treaty was concluded between the
Cherokee and the United States. Article 17 of
the treaty provided: "The
Cherokee Nation hereby cedes, in trust, to the
United States the tract of land in the State of Kansas which was sold to the
Cherokee by the United States under the provisions of the second article of the
treaty of 1835, and also that strip of land ceded to the nation by the fourth
article of said treaty, which is included in the State of Kansas; and the
Cherokee consent that said lands may be included in the limits and jurisdiction
of the said state. The lands herein ceded shall be surveyed as the public lands
of the United States are surveyed, under the direction of the commissioner of
the general land office, and shall be appraised by two disinterested persons. .
. . And the secretary of the interior shall, from time to time, as such surveys
and appraisements are approved by him, after due advertisements for sealed bids,
sell such lands to the highest bidders for cash, in parcels not exceeding 160
acres, and at not less than the appraised value. . . . Provided, that nothing in
this article shall prevent the secretary of the interior from selling the whole
of said Neutral Lands in a body to any responsible party, for cash, for a sum
not less than $800,000."
The last provision was amended to read "that nothing in this
article shall prevent the secretary of the interior from selling the whole of
said lands not occupied by actual settlers at the date of the ratification of
the treaty, not exceeding 160 acres to each person entitled to pre-emption under
the pre-emption laws of the United States, in a body, to any responsible party,
for cash, for a sum not less than one dollar per acre."
On August 30, 1866, James Harlan, then Secretary of the
Interior, sold the lands to the American Emigrant Company. Two days later,
Harlan was succeeded by Orville H. Browning, who set aside the contract with the
American Emigrant Company on an opinion of the United States Attorney General
that it was void because made on time and not for cash as the treaty stipulated.
The settlers on the tract then demanded of Senator Pomeroy and Congressman
Clarke that they use their influence to prevent another sale of the land. Both
made promises, but in spite of that fact, on October 9, 1867, Browning sold the
land to his brother-in-law, James F. Joy, representing the Missouri River, Fort
Scott & Gulf Railroad. In March, 1868, the settlers made a demand for the right
to purchase their holdings at the lawful price of public lands, and everywhere
the validity of Joy's title to the lands was questioned. The American Emigrant
Company had not relinquished its claim and the settlers were alarmed at the
prospects of long and tedious litigation before their titles could be assured.
Trouble on this score was averted, however, by a supplemental treaty on April
27, 1868, "to enable the Secretary of the Interior to collect the proceeds of
the sales of said lands and invest the same for the benefit of said
Indians, and
for the purpose of preventing litigation and of harmonizing the conflicting
interests of the said American Emigrant Company and of the said James F. Joy."
Technically, the treaty set aside the Joy sale, but authorized
the assignment of the American Emigrant Company's interests to Joy. Eugene F.
Ware said: "This was necessary so as to scoop in the land occupied in the
meantime by about 3,000 people under the public land law. The law gave a
homestead on five years' occupation, but service in the army was counted in, and
the soldier who had served three years got title in two years, but with the
right to buy the land at $1.25 per acre. The 'treaty' ratified by the senate cut
off these rights from all settlers coming in after July 19, 1866."
The supplemental treaty was ratified by the United States
Senate on June 6, 1868, when the interests of the American Emigrant company were
assigned to James F. Joy, and four days later the treaty was proclaimed by the
president. On December 18, 1868, notice was given to all persons "who had
settled and continued to live on the lands between August 11, 1866, and June 10,
1868, that they might make entry of the lands before a certain time, and thus
prevent the sale of the lands to other purchasers." The survey of the railroad
was commenced early in 1869, and then the trouble began in earnest. The settlers
organized the "Land League," later known as the "Neutral Land Home-protecting
Corps," to resist the encroachments of a corporation under what they believed to
be an illegal sale of the public lands. At first, the principal object of the
organization was to keep a delegate in Washington to look after the interests of
the settlers, but as the railroad company became more aggressive in prosecuting
what it conceived to be its legal rights, many acts of violence were committed
in the name of the "League." A land office established at Baxter Springs by Joy
was raided in February, 1869, and in April, when J. W. Davis attempted to open a
land office for the railroad company at Columbus, he was given notice to leave
the town -- a mandate he lost no time obeying. By the last of May the situation
had become so threatening that Governor James Harvey issued a proclamation
enjoining the people to commit no unlawful acts, and asked General Schofield to
send a detachment of United States troops into the Neutral Lands to preserve
order. Troops accordingly were sent into Crawford and Cherokee Counties on June
10, 1869.
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