Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-11-08
QDblIlo) 10 State'sr1l1arr'rt.. i N.
THECHEROKEE NEUTRAL LANDS.

THECHEROKEE NEUTRAL LANDS.
Reply OF Gen.ThOmas Ewing, Jr., to
Hon. James Harlan. '"'- '.
'1u. . WASHINGTON, Nov. 3, 1865.
Hon. James Harlan: 90 ruttr.a.. s# '..
SIR--I have read In yesterdays Chronicle,
your letter to the Hon. d. N. Cooley, late
Commissioner Of Indian Affairs, defending
your sale of the Cherokee neutral lands to
the American Emigrant Company of Con-
necticut, some statements in which l feel
called upon TO notice. You say: "", lU
"Who' arc the parties that object to the
sale? AS far as l have been informed two
have come to the surface. They protested
as attorneystor the Indians before the sale
was made. One OF them informed me that
If it should be consummated, he could and
would "burst it up" He stated frankly
that if these lands were sold as the lands
of the Sacs and Foxes, he and his friends
could make money out of the transaction,
and explained in detail how it could be
made to yield handsome little fortune for
several persons. The other protestant
stated to me as a reason for preferring the
other mode of sale, that it would, he
thought, enable the Indians to pay their
indebtedness at an earlier period. But l
had reason to believe, and did believe, that
he was at the time purchasing this indebt-
edness for speculative purposes. Not re-
garding them as dsinterested advisers,
their advice was not followed by me.
AS lwas one of the two attorneys of the
Cherokees who protested against the sale,
think it proper to say that / never had
any conversation with you such as you i'm
pute to the first protestant; and that the
only reasons ever stated or suggested,
against the sale were presented to you in
the following letter, while you were nego-
tiatingit: 'I
eG. WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 1866, 90
or ,. No. II North A street.I
Hon. James Harlan, Secretary of the Inte-
riOr: lN ...
SIR-As attorneys for the Cherokee ma
tion of Indians, we beg leave to inform you
that it is reported that sale is being ne
gotiated by you of the 100000 acres of
lands in Kansas, known as the neutral
lands, in whole or in part on credit-and to
protest in behalf OF that nation against
such sale.
The 18th article of the treaty promul-
gated August II, 1866, with the Senate
amendment to that article, authorizes sale
of the whole of these lands in body, ex-
cepting I60 acres to each settler, to any
responsible party for cash, at not less than
one dollar per acre. In both the article
and the amendment the provision is eX-
press that, if sold at all without appTaise-
nent and advertisement and competitive
bids, it shall be-sold in body for cash. The
use of the word Irresponsible" before the
word "party, " in the article and the amend
ment, was evidently mere rhetorical in
| elegance, affecting not in the slightest de-
gree the condition emphatically expressed
and repeated that such sale should be not
on credit but for cash.
One great object Of the provision for the
sale of these lands in body in advance OF
survey and apprasement was, that the ma
tion might get funds promptlyrto pay its
citizens who hold the warrants of the na-
tion, issued during the five years. suspen-
sion of its anuuities. We
therefore repeat, and ask to be filed in the
| Department, our protest, as attorneys for
the Cherokee nation, against any such sale
Very respectfully, your obedient servants
3s.s -. THOMAS EWING, JR,r
.... ..f. JNo. w. WRIGHT, la
Attorneys.
AS to the motive imputed by you to the
second protestant" have to say that, il
you believed was purchasing Indian in
debtment, you believed what was not true
| as have never engaged in such purchase
1t would, however, have been not incon-
sistent with my duties, as attorney for the
| Cherokees, to buy on speculation the war
| rants issued by their government; and,
| therefore, the suspicion that | was so en-
| gagged, even if it had been well founded,
would not tend to justify you in refusing
| to consider the protest of the Cherokees
made through me. ' -".'-.'' .- ...-
You say: .1.''r
"The treaty provides for the sale in either
of the following modes: ,-.
81. BY sealed bids after appraisement, tC
the highest bidder, by legal Subdivisions, at
price not less than one dollar and quar-
ter per acre on average; or, a,.. H.. e.. nov
80. In one body, to a responsible party,
for cash, at not less than one dollar pei
| acre. .,..--
y - This minimum price was
| fixed by the Indians themselves, after full
deliberation, with the advice aud counsel
of no less than five attorneys, including one
of the law partners Of the present Secrcta-
| ry of the Interior"
1t is true that the minimum price of
| SIPS per acre was fixed by the Cherokees
| for the lands to be sold in the first of the
modes designated, to wit: On sealed bids
to the highest bidder on each parcel fol-
cash. But your statement that the Cherokee
delegation fred the price indicated in the
| second mode is not correct. The history of
that provision in the treaty authorizing
the sale of 9thelands in one body is this |:
After the negotiation had been going on for
several months you presented in your own
handwriting the provision which will be
found at tie end of the 10th article (statutes
| 1866, p. 12O), as follows: "Proyided, that
nothing in this article shall prevent the
Secretary of the Interior from selling the
whole. of said neutral lands in body to
any responsible party for cash, for sum
not less than $S00,000." AS you drew the
clause the price was $750000. The dele
gates were greatly dissatisfied with the
provision, because most of them thought
Che land would net, if sold in separate par
GELS, $l,500,000 or more: as they asserted it
was not only rich, well watered, and well
timbered, but also contained extensive de-
posits of lead, coal and petroleum. Their
objection was yielded once during the ne
gotiation in consideration of concessions to
them on other points. But as the nego-
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