The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1884-02-07
GREER COUNTY.
Original aud Authentic Facts Ab0u,
$40 MaH's IAsd.r
Why the Dispute Was Not seiile'
Long Ago.
rcxas Has rrima Facic Right.

/ DALLAS, Fob, 7-lEiitor llsEALn,l-
I.y .st5isyH uGgAsp was given o. very
|cI.r and oauc,so art.'l, ou tle status Of
/ cqncauons involved hrtw,cn Texas and
| ID, United States q % iie boundary qucg'
/ r0u aIl tht uwrershiu ul uf'ri c'uN' "
ESD for ls 10 r1t8 o. lH str'Ci y o'rf,c'i Nu' BIZ.
/ I.Hy.f uut me very marrow ui .h- question.
. / G. .nys CORRECTLY ihH' tho boundary ~,
| Dy lr treaty OF 1919, was 10 follow Req
/ b. YER 40 to the luuDn d,grr' ui west ltu'
/ tuHa eIr., 'the wlpIf hflUB n1 ltid dnHu
/ bon NtfsU'a man li inc UHHri 3iliei, pub
ilshsd NJ Philnirlunin, Improved 81 tho 1t
/ cot January. l6ls.' Thu map ID attacked
| to tne treaty. So for 80 good,
lilt when That man b. UX miuod II shows
but one stream as II Il River, and ~ cor
! reaphuds with remhi kanle accuracy tor ~
mnp oi "a wilderness country, WIN what 10
|uuy known as tue Nor h Fork Of Rcd
River, hs claimed by Texas ~ TIE True
/ boundary; wbilH the Qlrsuq1ehono or
| Prairie Dog Town river OF .ne lndi ans,
vhich Is now called the o1n'h Fork oi II. "a
River ana Claimed Oy the uniled STATES as
the muin stream, rs MOB laid down on
Na.iah' Is man, mud was not only unknown
in 1910. but so rrmnlued till 1919 In the
latter wear, Tor tbs fire. t'me, IL became
known through The explorations 81 Gap avn
Il. y. Nnrcry, United S mates engineer, VINO,
.g he distinctly says IA hts report, IVES
puolad 20 10 by h3 iutihn guide, blhuk
beaver. Marcs, = explorations "a lol9 anu
1853 cluclu lively fhuW mat This South Fork
was prev iouslY uukro fl-hthcc c0u'd not
have been laid down uy Melish twenty
Two years bsloro-and therefore could, ia
no considerable sens, be tna Red Rlyer re-
RED Co 10y the treaty, GIyurlor Hou8'
ton perfectly understood tue question a1d
these iHcis, as is shpSn IA ms Instructions
% the Texas boundary commissioner OF
date ApHl 10, 1860. The Ncxcans held the
same view while the cou lirY belonged -
them. Their ancient road from santa re
to Nnlchitoches ran on the nor,h side aud
someWhat parallel - tho North Fork, ana
they always recognized II ~ tho Rio Colo
RADIO or X I'd River oi Nalchi,oches, the Rio
Rnxo Of tho French They knew nothing
vi tho Prairie Dog Town or South Fork,
which ran through terra incognito 10
them.
In truth. the whole trouble arose from
the bull.head ed obtusencss OF the Hon.
Jacob thompson, OF Mississippi while
secretary of the interior under Buchanan.
He hired Brown and Jones, Two private
surveyors 10 run and mark the boundaries
OF IN Indian reservation adloiulng that
part oil Texas. These private individuals
look IL upon them selves 10 assume that the
South Fork was tho true boundary, TO Xix
monument on IL at the intersection OF the
100 Ii meridian, and thence to run line
north ~ the assured west boundary OF the
Indians, 10 the north line OF their reserva'
tion. This was in 1853, aud u wholly ex-
parte proceeding.
In 1860, when tho Joint commission OF
Texas aud the United States met in that
region to complete the boundary line pre-
yiOusiy partially run from the Rio Grande
east and north, the United States commits
sioncr, under Secretary Thompson's most
rem arkable Instructions, refused tn run any
of this boundary previously liked by the
dictum OF these private survey ors--h pro.
c4eding ut war with every principle OF
right, fair dealing and com TYP acing the
net of private contractors above the power
OF two governments acting 'hrongh Joint
com m ssion, created by both Federal ana
state law. The venerable governor of Texas
considered II an outrage, ana but FOR the
civil war intervening almost a. Inc same
moment, the wrong woult doubtless have
been speedily undoue and the true boun-
dairy, as rightly claimed By him for Texas,
been run aud established
Governor Pease and Governor Roberts,
from a strictly legal snves igation OF the
facts, over their own signatures, considered
the title of Texas invulnerable.
This is the true state OF the case, and "
Justice is done, the right of Texas to Greer
county will he held as good as that ui
Travis county, in which the state capital
has existed Tor forty five years.
J. II. b.