The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1869-02-04
Senator Harlan's Defense.

sentatives, who will be remembered
as a valorous chap, who threatened
not long ago, to slap thu one armed
christian hero Howard in the face, in
church quarrel, is tho Washington
correspondent of the Cincinnati Ga
sctte, and has been repeating for that
journal, the stereotyped oopperhcad
villiticatlon of Senator Harlan, in re-
gard to the sale of the Cherokee
lands, while the latter was secretary
of the interior.
Our Senator made lengthy, cir-
cumstantial, and entirely satisfactory
reiutation Of these calumnies, from
his place in the Senate, on the 18th
inst.
We regret that our room, or rath-
or want OF ii, prevents us from pub
ishing it entire
The following will be found to the
point, and highly interesting;
The next paragraph that refers to
me personally is headed Tho Chero-
kce Neutral Land job" l did ex-
plain that once in the Senate, and
regret very much to allude to it
again; but my brother Senators will
bear in mind that that explar alton
was made in executive session, and l
prefer chat the same explanation
may go to the country. The facts in
that case are briefly as follows: l
think in the year 1885 the United
States made u treaty with the Cher
okee Indians, and in payment Of
claim which this nation of Indians
held against the United States the
Government decided to that tribe Of
Indians ir foe simple a tract of land
lying in the south east corner Of the
State OF Kansas, about fifty miles in
length and twenty-five miles in
breadth This was not sold and con.
veyed 70 these Indians for home
reservation, they never occupied it;
they never lived on it; it was an out.
lying possession. They lived long
distance south Of 1t, in what is called
the Indian Territory. A few years
ago Congress passed law directing
the Secretary Of the Interior, rs rap
idly as practicable, to make treaties
with the Indian tribes in the State
OF Kansas with the view of extiE>
gushing their titles located in that
State and of moving the Indians to
the Indian territory, and throwing
open the lands thus acquired to occu-
pancy by the people. In the year
1865 or 1866 a treaty was negotiated
with the Cherokee Indians providing
for the sale of these lands-not the
cxtinguishment Of an easement. the
right to occupy and possess, the kind
OF tenure by which almost all other
Indian tribes hold their lands, but for
the sale of the foe of the land. Tho
treaty provided that it should be sold
to two classes of persons The first
class was the white people then lily
ing on the reservation, SO called; not
that those white men had any right
to 20 on to this tract OF land any
more than they would have had to
90 on to tract Of land ownedssby you
Mr.. President, and held by q title in
fee simple. They were naked tres
passers; nevertheless the treaty pro.
vided that they should have the pri-
or right to buy their homes at the
appraised value of the land separate
from the value of thcir improve
ments. There were about twelve
hundred of these claimants, each
having the right under the treaty to
purchase. one hundred and sixty
acres, making in the aggregate near
~ Two hundred thousand acres. The
residue, the treaty directs, should be
sold to the highest bidder, but not
for less on an average than $l,25 an
acre; or it might be sold in a body
"tor cash to a responsible party or
parties for a price not less than one
dollar an acre.
Exercising this discretion thus con
terred, l sold this part of these lands
In gross for ''cash, at one dollar an
acre, this being the highest price Of
tered, and in my opinion their full
value.
The Attorney General did after.
ward write an Official letter, at the re-
quest of my successor, advancing the
opinion that the treaty required the
whole of the price to be paid in hand
at the time of the sale. In relation
to this opinion have but a word to
say. The treaty said, as l quoted,
that the land should be sold for cash
to a responsible party or parties for
not less than one dollar an acre. The
Attorney General did hold that that
meant cash in hand. Having been
privy to the negotiation Of the treaty,
l knew that it did not mean any such
thing as understood by both Of the
contracting parties, as understood by
the Indians themselves aud by the
Department. And these Indians are
not savages. They are civilized PEG.
pie. Their chief at that time was
John Ross, man who, measured by
his talents, would not have disgraced
II seat in this body, or in any other
deliberative assembly. Their lead
ing men are men of marked ability,
of fine culture, who understand their
rights as fully at least as the average
OF white men. They desired the
terms "cash"to be put into the treaty
not to prevent time sale, but to
prevent sale of the land for certi.
ed Indian indebtedness. There was
outstanding large amount of Indian
scrip, SO called, in the nature Of
county order, which will be well un-
dcrstood by my brother Senators
who nail from western States. To
prevent the purchase of this land by
the use of deprecated Indian scrip or
evidences Of indebtedness Of the
tribe they desired to have it stipula-
ted that the land should be sold for
cash; and that, you will preceive, is
in harmony with the added phrase,
TO a responsible party or parties.
Whv examine into the responsibility
olthe purchaser if he paid down in
lawful money for the thing sold?-
Whether the Attorney General was
right in his construction or not is not
material to my purpose here to-day.
he was wrong as to the understands
ing of both contracting parties, the
officer who represented the Govern.