Worcester daily spy., 1860-11-16
The Lnnd sale. IN Exan.n..

The famine i'll Kansas, and the unsucCess-
ful application of Thaddeus Hyatt to the pres-
dent for postponement of the land sales now
pending have excited considerable attention TO
the subject. Briefly, the tract of land soon to
be offered for sale in Kansas is known as the
New York Indian Lands. 1t is situated in the
counties OF Bourbon, Allen and Madison and
comprises ithin its limits of one hundred and
twenty five miles cast and west, and twenty
four north and south, some OF the finest lands
and settlements in southern Karsas. Tie
Little Usage river heads in its upper portion,
and runs eastward the entire length ot the
tract, and the Neosho and Verdigris rivers run
southwark through the western portion.
These streams are heavily timbered, and the
valley bottoms are broad and exceedingly fer
tile. All along these streams and their trbu-
taries there are heavy settlements. The his
tory Of these is as follows The remains of
the seven Indian nations of New York former
ly owned a large tract Of land i'll Wisconsin.
Some fifteen years since they exchanged those
| lands for this tract in Kansas. The treaty
! provided that each Indian should lave three
hundred and twenty acres, proUlded, however,
that he settled thereon within five years
from its date. Not more than a dozen Of
these people ever located on the tracts.
1t was generally conceded that the Indians
had forfeited their title to the lands. When
| the territory was organized, the government
located post offices, mail routes, and land
Office at Fort Scott, which was considered as
evidence Of its determination to open them to
settlement A large number OF persons To-
Gated thereon. Various disputes have occur
red relative to their rights, which was not
finally settled till the last session OF congress-
when the lands were legally opened for pre-.
emption. So that, i'll point Of fact the settlers
in this district have not had more than nine
months grace, since the legal date of their set
| Elements. 1t has been the invariable custom
hitherto, not to sell the public lands for four
five years from the date OF opening. With a
failure OF crops and famine in their midst,
the barbarity Of forcing these lands INTO mar
ket, at this time, is selt evident.
There are other motives operating in this
unusual procedure. The position of those
settlements, filled with an active free state
population, as can be seen by glance at the
map, is such as seriously to affect the success
of a cherished scheme for making slave state
out Of the Indian territory. The slave propa-
ganda determined early to carry this plan out,
and in consequence these settlements were
rayaged by the murderer of Barber, G. w.
Clark, and Ills force, in 1866, and have since
been the field of constant outrage and aggres-
sion. By the ability and courage Of Captain
James Montgomery and his men, they have
been defeated, and the free state people keep
in the country, Fort Scott was the resort Of
all the refuse of Butord's ruffians, &c. Fail.
ing to drire out the settlers, the propaganda,
aided by the administration, have determined
to sell them out If the republican settlers
can be worried into leaving, by either means,
their places will be filled by the democratic
hordes on the frontier Here we have the Sc
cret of the animosty of Buchanan, and the
motive which induces this oppression.
The day of the proposed land sales will
probably Enthusiastically indicate the feeling
with which the people of southern Kansas re-
gard this last act Of cowardly and cruel enc
my.