The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1859-09-17
letter from Washinrton.


in ssthis duh and dusty city" and find that
almost every person with tEeir Uncle
Tom have gone to the springs, or the
sea-shore. / met Gov. Medary and Senator
Greene at the National Hotel The Presi-
dent is staying at s.the old soldiers home.
Yesterday we had an interview: with him,
and presented to him the petitions from
Southern Kansas and Missouri asking that
the lands of Kansas be withheld from pri-
vate entry till after the next session of Con-
gress. so that appropriations can be made
for our railroads and other internal improve
ments. The. President said that he was
anxious to do what he could for the bene-
fit of the Territory but required time to
ascertain whether he had the power to with
hold lands from private entry after they had
been offered at public sale. TO determine
that question heshas referred the petitions to
the Department of the Interior. In the
General Land Office here we have prece-
dents in the cases of lands in Michigan and
Wisconsin where, after the lands were expo
sed to public sale, they were withheld frog,
private entry till grant of land was made
for the construction of railroads. We had
every assurance from the President and
General Land 0 I1ce that they will do all
'hey can to Keep the lands out of the hands
OF speculators, so that the country may be
i improved by the construction of railroads
and the actual settlers thereby be benefited.
. If this promise is fulfilled we can get a
grant of land from Congress next winter,
and provisions made to secure sufficient
lands to construct a good system of rail-
roads in Kansas, ii szfsl,g. =
In regard to the Miami lands. Gov. Me-
diary Tin accordance with the request Of
citizens of Linn and Lykins counties) has
presented the subject to the President, and
upon an investigation it is ascertained that
this matter is more complicated than was
supposed before we came here-the inter-
esis of the General Government, the Mi
ami Indians, and the white settlers are all
involved. and it is thought it will require
the action of Congress to secure and legal
ize the claims of those who pre-empted in
1857, when the land Office was opened by
| mistake.
| had an interview to-day with the acting
Commissioner of the General land Office
He informed me that an Investigation has
been ordered so as to protect those who
hold lands pre-empted when the office was
open in ST. Anaexamnation has also been
ordered in regard to settlements made on
lands selected by the Indians, and also on
| what is called ssthe National Reservation
The latter contains about 70, 900 acres, and
are principally in. Lykinsi county,, being
townships 10, and the north halves of town
ships 90. in ranges 90, 24, and Is, Gall
| filing and presumption on this portion Of the
| reserve has been ordered to be suspended
The south halves of townships 20, and
all lands south of that in Linn county, will
remain open, and there will be no obstruc-
| ton or interference in regard to the right of
way to the ]. G. d n. V. R. R., which we
obtained over those lands: that right is full
ly scared, and we can GO OH with the con-
struction of our railroad this fall, and wher-
ever we find material on government lands,
south Of the middle line of township 20,
we have the right by our grant, to use them
in the construction of the railroad. The
Department express a determination to do
justice to the Indian. and at the same time
to do full Justice to the white settlers. Such
measures will be recommended (after a full
to the next Congress, as will
secure 10 every S0ltleF, Tie iduu
he has paid. or that he has improved with
the intention of pre-empting, and the actu
al settlers will in all cases be protected in
their claims against Jumpers" If the
people who have settled upon those lands,
in Lvkins and Linn counties, will peacea-
bly, carry out their plan adopted at Paris on
the 23I of July last, and take measures to
have their interests looked after during the
next session of Congress, I have no doub
that those who have settled upon the lands
in good faith, whether they have paid for
them or not, will obtain their titles from
government. Returns of the re-survey of
that part of the northern boundary of the
Usage indian Lands, in Kansas, which was
established by j. G. Mccoy in 1886. lying
east of the meridian, and the north least
corner of the Usage lands, distance of 75l
miles, s chains and 81 links have been re-
csiyed at the General Land Office Also of
the survey of the northern boundary of the
Cherokee Neutral lands, distance of 243
miles commencing with the northeast cor
ner of the Usage lands, and intersecting the
western boundary of the State of Missouri.
four miles south of 9Th standard parallel
south in Kansas. The establishment of
these boundaries is FOR the purpose of linn
ting the extent of the New York lands,
which are being subdirided in order to allot
$50 acres to each of such of the New York
Indians, AS ARE NOW UPON THE LANDS, under
the provision of the treaties of 1888, and
1842, with those Indians and for the fur
ther purpose of se-gregating the residue of
the reserve, and declaring it public lands.
AS the Indians have made thrcats to drive
out the settles. (it has been represented to
the Department. that tits filled up by har-
| dy and Industrious class of emigrants, and
that some. of the largest and best improve
ments TO be found anywhere in Southern
Kansas. are on that portion of The Terrific.