Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1857-10-03

h.c2CATG>;F, Sept 2Sth, 81.
EDIToR OF J"rRNAL: In my last letter
promised your readers the proof Ct the
corrcc;n"ss Of the statementmade hv Prcsi-
dent Buchanan. to wit: thai aayerv existed
Mt hat tim" (lSji) and stilFrxsts in Kan
sls, under the Constitution of the United
StatCS.'
Having shown in that letter. thatthe fam
Gus eiQh'h So fiOn. Or Missouri Compromise
line, was but stab thrown out to the pop
ular wllaIe'' at the time, and lost sight of
by its friends and foes within a twelve
month thcrcaftcr-for twas not mentioned
during the stormy md exciting session of
Congress that admitted Missouri into the
Union, which was the first session after the
adoption i shall enlcayor to trace its Con-
grossonal history in this.
Soon after the close Of the last war, the
General Government entered upon the plan
OF removing to the west side of the Missis-
srpi river Ill the Indians still on the east
side. The principal tribes in the South
were the harokccs, Creeks, Choctaws and
ChickasaWS. In 1917 the Chcrokecs and in
1920 the ho3tOws were possessed by the
United States Of certain lands in and west
Of the present State Of Arkansas On the
9Th day Of May, l>2S, the United States
agreed go possess the Chcrokces and to
guarantee it to them forever" by guarantee
solemnlv pledged, of seven millions of acres
Of land for "a home TINT shall never in all fu-
ture time, be embarrassed by having extended
around it the lines, or placed over it the
Jurisdiction of Territory or State,"- G
Salute at Large, 3li.) BY reference to the
Statute it Will be seen that the seven mil
lions Of acres includes portions Of country
north Of 36 deg. 80 min and that perpet-
ual outlet west, with free and unmolcsted
uscc of all the country lying west of the
seven millions Of acres so far as the sover
0igntv and the ri ght Of soil extend, Is guar
antccd the Chcerokccs, by the United States.
This plan was carried on until all Of the
country west Of Arkansas to the western line
:cas conrcyed in fee simply by absolute title
to the CheroLecs, Greeks, Chlckasaws and
Choctaws.
On the 26th day of May, 1880, an act of
Congress hecame the law Of the land, which
provided that the President might s'cause so
mnch Of a3sy territory belonging to the Uni
tod States. west of the Mississippi not in
cludcd in any State Or organized territory,
to which the Indian title had been extin
guished. as he might judge necessary, to be
divided into distri cts, for the reception of
such tribes Or nations OF Indians as ght
choose to exchange their lands where they
then resided and remove there. 1t provided
further, that it ''should be lawful for the
President to exchange any or all such dis
tricts with arg tribe OF nation Of indians
lhcn residing within the limits Of aay State
or Territory and with which the United
States had existing treasies; and that in
making such exchange or exchanges, he
might and it should be lawful for him to
, solemnly assure them, that the United States
would forever secure and guarantee to them,
their heirs and successors the country so ex-
changed and if they preferred it,. that the
United States would cause a patent to be
made and executed for the same Statute
at large, Ally 1t is well known that the
United States was bound by compact with
Georgia, to extinguish the Indian title to
Greek lands in that State, and that the
Greeks, Choctaws, and Cherokees were the
principal tribes with which the Government
had treaties. The law of 1880 was enacted
with special reference to them, and was new
er repealed, consequently, from the date Of
it's passage until that Of the Nebraska act,
the President could have transferred all Of