The Ripley advertiser. [volume] (Ripley, Miss.) 1843-1897, 1845-08-16


mand the principal. (Which God fofbidl) have
no fear but Congress will deal ius,ly with them.
can see NJ Justification os thls bill, therefore,
on this ground.
Another reason IL gyou--iha', IN the process
Of their emigration, the Secretary OF War had
caused 20 be paid for, certain rations, and TO a
certain contractor by tho nemc Of Buckncr,
some forty five or fifty thousand dollars out Of
the Chokasaw fluid, contrary 10 right and good
conscience. On one occasion during my ser.
Vice IN Congress, ] seriously examined these
Expenditures; and think there may DO some
pausibty in this complaint. But suppose this
also TO be true. we have Chickasaw agent, q
salarcd officer, whose duty II is 10 take charge
OF their interest, and TO present their grievances
TO th government; and Il 10 an lrnputaton up.
on ourselves to Say that Congress will allow
this trust furd 20 be plundered. And here in
my place. pledge myself, whenever the proper
Officers of government investigate this matter,
aud ascertain the facts which shall exhibit the
Chlckasaw rights, | will be their champion on
this floor; and surely we can trust ourseyes.-I
10 doubt Congress is a reflection upon this body
which no one on this floor, trust, will sanction.
There is another ground of compa which
| is that certain moneys have been paid out Of
this fund for clerk hire, which was unauthor.
led This may be true: never investigated
the matter. But if true we require no suit or
decree in chancey to convince us OF It; and as
soon as the facts are ascertalned, no one can
hesitate in the belief that the mischief will be
Irepared;and if we are eager to do justice to.the
Indian, let us call upon the Secretary of War to
report the facts at the next session Of Cong ess,
and that Congress- will do right.
But there are other and different considera.
mot hno oh
straln me to oppose The passage of this bill
ny the treaty OF 1884 with this tribe of Indians,
reservations were allowed each Chckassw In.
dian. Alter the business had been completed
on the east side of the Mississippi river, all the
Indians that could be found were brought for
ward and obtained, and sold their lands. After
the Indians we're removed TO their new homes
on the west side of the Mississippi river; other
Indians were found, amounting in nurnbe to six
or seven hundred, who claimed reservations of
Land. To salty these claims. the land sales in
all north Mississippi were suspended, and cou-
sequenty the settlements were retarded. The
lands thus covered amounted in all TO eight or
nine hundred sections to be worth one thousand
dollars, the value of the claim was eight or nine
hundred thousand dollars Five years ago
these facts were made known to me, and I'M
mediataly called the attention Of Mr.. Van Blu.
rem 10 -ibis overwhelming claim; expressed TO
INN my opinion that this was a stupendous fraud
attempted upon the Chickasaw nation; urged
him to refuse his sanction to this claim till full
investigation was had; and to act on this ques-
ton with full and ample advice. The conse.
quence was suspension of all the claims; adj
dnional proof was called for aud obtained; and
after the suspension had continued for four
years, while decision was pressed during the
whole time by me, the subject WAS at last taken
up by that able, prompt, and efficient executive
officer, John &. Spencer, and the whole batch,
with five or six exceptions, were rejected.
And here, Mr.. Speaker, | wish to do justice
to an excellent officer. If John c. Spencer
leaves no other record behind him, his decision
in this case will ever entitle him to the lasting
gratitude OF the Chickasaw nation and the I'M
measured pIaudits of my constituents. lmme- ,
diatey after this decision, the suspension of The
sales of the land was discontinued and new life !
and impetus were given to the immigration into I
the country. But the spectators were not dis
posed quietly 10 submit TO this defeat. Again ,
and again has this matter been brought before
the different departments; but thank the diff
ferent secretaries that, as often as they have
been brought forward, they have been promptly
refused.
But these claims have been brought up in a
new shape. found on my return TO the seat Of
government, forty-nine other Indians claiming
reservations of land amounting to sixty Sc
ven sections Of land. These reservations
covered sixty-two garter sections OF land sold to
my constituents, and on most OF them they are
settedin quiet and pursuing their different avo.
cations in peace, contentment and Indepen- (,
dence. The commissioner of Indian Affairs
passed favorably upon their claims; they were
approved by the Secretary of War and the Presl-
dent. At this stage, before further action was
had, became acquainted with their condition
and state of forwardness. Iappeared in person
before the Secretary of Var; ad1'sed him OF
their nature and character; Of the effect OF their
confirmation upon my constituents; and, 10 the
credit of the Secretary, he at once saw ana feit
the power of my representations, and promptly
suspended all further action upon them, and
sent out for further and additional proof Here,
then is the condition of this claim, worth sixty.
five to seventy thousand dollars. Are you pre-
pared to throw all these cases into court OF
chancery in this district, to excite the alarm OF
all the thousand people in Mississippi, VINO nave
purchased and are settled on those lands Tor
fear of loosing their houses, to play into Inc
bands of these men. who have been hanging Tor
whole years around your departments, pursu-
ing their Ubiquitous claims with defeat meeting
them AZ every turn, to allow them to collect and
make out their testimony; for the district attor-
ney of this district can never match the cunning /
or head the carefulness ofthcse Indian men
and thus submit their cases! know, IN view
of these iacts, you cannot, and ! believe Will
not.
There is another ground Of complaint. The
holaro,nr ~, ho 1ndianc pYon0uDCet