The Hawk-eye and Iowa patriot. (Burlington, Iowa) 1839-1843, 1840-03-05

sary 70 place the northern line Of Nilsson.
=. As the true line was imaginary. and
mad never been traced, or rendered sensi.
BILE and tangible, and the Indian line had !
reputation running through some wears,
and was placed with sufficient precision
Tor those purposes. it was natural and easy
una! MI they should come to be COMPOUNDED.
Inc consequence was, the Indian line was
adopted as the State line, and they gene.
rally came to be considered and dlenomi.
mated one and the same. The committee
have examined numerous maps and at
lases, as well Of Missouri alone, as Of the
United States collectively. published a,
various times from 1920 up to the pas,
year; and in all, without an exception,
her northern line is placed in position to
correspond with the Indian line. while
the great bend of the Des Moines river is
represented considerably to the north, and
in none but the most recent maps, with
any rapids. If the line Of the State did
actually call for, and was intended 10 in
tersect the rapids in that bend, it is incon-
ceivable that all the numerous charts OF
this line, as well as the uniform traditions
of the country, should have placed it al
such uniform distance from them. y
But Missouri herself, in her legislation,
so late as the year 1886. has taken the
position that the Indian boundary is her
northern line. In. a law to organise the
county of Clarke, "all that territory at
tached to the county of Lewis, and living
within the following boundary. to wit:
beginning at the northeast corner of the
county of Lewis, in the Mississippi river.
thence west with the north boundary line
of the county of Lewis, to the corner of
sections eighteen and nineteen, on the
range line between ranges nine and ten,
in township sixty.,hree; thence north
with the range line, between ranges nine
and ten, until the same strikes the north
boundary line of the State: thence east,
with the said north boundary line of the
State, to the middle of the main channel
of the Des Moines river &c. When
this county was erected, the public lands
had been surveyed up to this Indian boun-
Diary line, on the south. and consequently
there were ranged lines running up to i,
in the State of Missouri; but, on the Iowa
side, there were no range lines, the pub
lie lands lying upon it to the north not
being surveyed until 1898. When this
law of Missouri gave boundary to the
county of4ewis, by running :. north with
the ngeIline, between ranges nine and
ten until the same strikes the north boun-
Diary line Of the State; thence east, with
the said northern boundary line of the
State &C., it meant, it could not posi-
bly, have meant any other line than $ the
old Indian boundary long since merged
into the State line.
. Your committee are aware that. by
the admission of Missouri into the Union,
she was invested with the qualified sove-
reignty to all the territory included within
the boundary given in the law of Con-
gress, and that this charter is immutable,
except by her consent; and by it are her
rights in this controversy to be decided.
They have not adver,ed to the solemn
acts of the Executive and the Senate in
making treaties, to those Of Congress in
voting money to carry those treaties into
effect, and to authorize the mode of sur
veying the public lands in Missouri and
Iowa, and to those Of the State herself in
defining and appropriating her rights, as
of the least potency to control or modify
her boundary. They have brought these
high and official acts into review, simply
to illustrate the matter of fact--wllat po-
siton is given TO her northern line in the
organic law by which she was cons itnted
a State. In prosecuting this inquiry, they
have come to the conclusion, that, if this
line was run as it is described, it would
take from her the strip Of territory, be-
tween parallel of latitude, intersecting
the centre of the Des lMoines rapids of
the Mississippi and the old Indian line.
But, as the latter line, so soon after the
of the State, was adopted for
the State line, became TO be generally so
regarded by those interested in it, and by
the whole country, and so many munich
pal regulations have been made to con-
form to it as The true line, they have re-
solved to recommend its adoption. To
effect this, they herewith report bill 81
W tn clause also providing for the run
ming and marking of said line, as survey
ed by Captain John Sullivan in the year
1885,
Mr. G. DAVIS, from the Committee ON the
Territories, to which the subject had
been referred, reported the following
BILL
TO establish and define the northern
of the State of Missouri.s
Be 1t enacted by the Senate and House
Of Representatives. Of the United States
of america IN Congress assembled, That
the line surveyed by Captain John Sulli-
van, in the year eighteen hundred and
as the northern boundary line of