Source: https://www.wyandotte-nation.org/culture/history/published/wyandot-floats/
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 15:02:50+00:00

Document:
James B. Gardiner, in his report to the secretary of war, Lewis Cass, alibied because of his inability to get a treaty with the Upper Sandusky Wyandots in 1832. He felt that he had been duped by William Walker and Silas Armstrong, the Indians with whom he had most contact. He came to believe that the nature of the exploring party’s report was preordained by the intent of “avaricious and envious” chiefs who with “their white and yellow auxilliaries,” preferred to remain in Ohio.8 Ten previous treaties over a period of 48 years had made the Wyandots wary of these agreements.
These government donations or gifts–no doubt carefully made to guarantee the acceptance of the remainder of the treaty‑were “floating” grants because they were not tied to a particular piece of land, as was the case with earlier Wyandot donations. Hence, these 35 sections came to be identified as “Wyandot, Floats” with a potential claim to 35 square miles or 22,400 acres. Their location on unclaimed land west of the Missouri river provided an almost unlimited region from which choice could be made.
The problem of getting settled in the new land was uppermost in the minds of the Wyandots and the donation grants to individual members of the tribe in 1842 were generally ignored. As an aftermath of the great flood of 1844 about a hundred members of the tribe, including several float owners, sickened and died.17 But Silas Armstrong reported later that he marked out his float in 1844.18 Peter D. Clark tried to sell his float in 1851. The treaty had stated that presidential approval was necessary so he sent a letter of petition to Pres. Millard Fillmore.19 Charles B. Garrett led in marking out boundaries for nine Wyandot floats in the Blue river valley in May, 1853, due to the urging of Abelard Guthrie.20 The organization of Indian country into a territory was considered imminent and some effort was made to obtain the land donations promised in the treaty. However, neither the Bureau of Indian Affairs nor the General Land Office responded to the efforts of the Wyandots to get their locations recognized.
that each of the individuals, to whom reservations were granted by the fourteenth article of the treaty of March seventeenth, one thousand eight hundred and forty two, or their heirs or legal representatives, shall be permitted to select and locate said reservations, on any Government lands west of the States of Missouri and Iowa, subject to pre‑emption and settlement, said reservations to be patented by the United States, in the names of the reservees, as soon as practicable after the selections are made; and the reservees, their heirs or proper representatives, shall have the unrestricted right to sell and convey the same, whenever they may think proper; but, in cases where any of said reservees may not be sufficiently prudent and competent to manage their affairs in a proper manner, which shall be determined by the Wyandott council, or where any of them have died ‘ leaving minor heirs, the said council shall appoint proper and discreet persons to act for such incompetent persons and minor heirs in the sale of the reservations, and the custody and management of the proceeds thereof‑the persons so appointed, to have full authority to sell and dispose of the reservations in such cases, and to make and execute a good and valid title thereto.
The principal change in this treaty over the earlier one was to make Wyandot floats easily assignable. Also, for the first time, the members of the tribe, including those assigned these section donations, were divided into competent and incompetent classes, a division based primarily on the ability to read and write English. Competency was to be determined by the Wyandot council, a feature which prompted some complaint by those who believed that the “white” Wyandots were intent on grabbing these special floating rights from the nonliterate halfbloods or full bloods.
John M. Armstrong, grantee for float No. 2, the one not reported on this list, had died in 1852. His widow had tried to locate his claim without success until she presented three possible choices for the section to cover with her husband’s warrant on March 12, 1858. At that time the land donation granted to her husband was filed.25 By 1858, when the claim for the last of the 35 floats was entered in the proper office, ownership of these rights was quite different from that anticipated in the treaty of 1842. The lapse of 15 or 16 years had brought about the death of about one half of the Wyandots who had been assigned floats. Then, during the years 1855 through 1857 when 34 of these floats were located, exactly half of them were used by Wyandots, either as the original grantee or as the agent or assignee for the grantee. White men, most of whom were recent arrivals in the territory, located 15 floats, primarily on prospective townsites and on speculative agricultural lands. The other two floats were located by Silas Armstrong in partnership with white men.
…immediately after the ratification of the treaty of January last, the claimants under the 9th article proceeded to select their locations “upon lands subject to pre‑emption,” and that fifteen of them did so on the Blue River, where they could find suitable locations, but because the Surveys were not completed the Surveyor General could not make the entry on the township plats. He [William Walker] further states that settlers in the neighborhood are cutting and carrying away what timber there is upon these lands, and in some instances have actually settled upon them knowing that they had already been selected under the treaty, but that the judiciary there is useless for redress, the judge himself being particeps crimins, with the treaty and asks the interference of the Department for their protection through the General Land Office, as in the case of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church, a copy of the proclamation for which, is enclosed. He also states that the remainder of the reservees have made their selections in various parts of the Territory & perhaps in Nebraska.
the claim of the Wyandotts is a peculiar one, and in view of the lapse of time since 1842, when the field for location had no prospect of being curtailed by the ingress of white settlers to absorb the choice lands either simultaneously or in advance of the reservees, it seems to claim the liberal action if not the equity of the Government on behalf of the Indians.
First, The term “section of 640 acres” are to be understood in a technical sense, having reference to Subdivisional Surveys in a township containing thirty‑six sections; but where the locations are made in advance of the public surveys, it cannot be expected that the lines of the former will be found to conform to the latter in any case, but, by adopting the legal Subdivisions of the public surveys; it will be practicable to reduce the area of the locations, in every case, very nearly within the limits of such Subdivisions, giving it each its proper form of a mile square and thus conform to the spirit of the treaty.
Second, It will be necessary for each reservee so unmistakably to designate the lines & corners of his location by marks & monuments of some kind in the field, as to give effectual notice of its metes & bounds & thereby forewarn all persons from intruding within the limits thereof. The lines should be made to conform as near as may be, to the cardinal points, & when the Subdivisional Surveys are being made in the townships, including such locations, the Deputy‑Surveyor will indicate such outlined in his notes & field plat so as that the same may be afterwards indicated at this office by dotted lines on the township plat, by which means the area of the location may be understandingly reduced within the limits of the legal Subdivisions. A notice & description of the location of each claim laid off as aforesaid is required to be filed at this office.
Third, If after the public survey the Indian location shall prove to have been laid upon two or more different sections the reservation will be shown forth on the township plat by taking such legal subdivisions of the different sections (making up a square mile) as will most nearly conform to the lines of such locations whether such subdivisions be quarter sections, half quarter or quarter quarter sections, & the same procedure will be observed in all other cases so requiring.
By the time of the location of the John M. Armstrong float, in 1858, all 35 of the Wyandot warrants bad been used to cover land in the northeastern part of the territory of Kansas as shown on the accompanying map. Twenty‑five of these floats were located on river bottom land, about half of them on townsites. The other 10 were laid on land, not too distant from major rivers, where the use of the property was intended to be for farming purposes.
The attention devoted to these grants in published Kansas history has been slight.28 William E. Connelley, the historian of the Wyandots, barely mentions these special donation grants made in the treaty of 1842. Nevertheless, the significance of these 35 Wyandot floats can be recognized from the land they covered on the townsites of Lecompton, Topeka, Lawrence, Manhattan, Emporia, Burlington, Kansas City, and Doniphan. In addition, valuable river bottom agricultural land was covered by these floats in the valleys of the Blue and the Neosho rivers. Other valuable properties were located in Atchison, Johnson, Douglas, and Shawnee counties.
The role in history of the Wyandot owners of these donation grants is also important. At least four of them held elective positions in the preterritorial legislature, or in early Kansas county offices. All were men of considerable ability: some were recognized as town builders and railroad promoters, and others were early business men.
The roster of early Kansas citizens who had close involvement with Wyandot floats reads like a territorial and early statehood “Who’s Who.” Charles Robinson, the first governor, owned a float at one time. Samuel C. Pomeroy, one of the first United States senators from Kansas, actively engaged in the purchase and location of these Wyandot warrants. The other United States senator when Kansas gained statehood, James H. Lane, fought to a standstill the use of the three floats on the Lawrence townsite and won his right to his quarter‑section claim. At least three of the territorial governors; Johnston Lykins, missionary, and later town father; the most ardent of Proslavers, Benjamin F. Stringfellow; and town builder and railroad promoter, Cyrus K. Holliday were among the many who had connections with at least one of the Wyandot floats.
One of the territorial delegates to congress served as an attorney in actions taken by one Wyandot float owner to secure his patent. Litigation over the rights of Wyandot floats was both time-consuming and costly and three of the warrants originally laid on Kansas land were used in Colorado, New Mexico, and other Western states. Law suits, over the use of several of the Wyandot warrants, were appealed to higher courts and one was eventually settled in the United States supreme court. The unique histories of these 35 floats Will be detailed in the next two sections. Following that the efforts of the government to satisfy the full rights to 640 acres for each grantee and his heirs, and the developments of this land in the century that followed will be presented.
Lecompton, Proslave capital of territorial Kansas, was organized in late 1854 and early 1855 through the efforts of a town company leaded by Dr. Aristide Rodrique, of Hollidaysburg, Pa. Located on the south side of the Kansas river in northwest Douglas county, Lecompton became the capital as a result of actions by the territorial legislature on August 15, 1855. George Armstrong, one of the leading chiefs of the Wyandots died in December, 1851, and in January, 1856, his heirs sold his float to Dr. Rodrique, who, as president of the Lecompton Association, used it to cover the townsite laid out some seven or eight months earlier.
Preemption declarations were later filed which threatened the claim of the Lecompton Association. In a letter to the surveyor general for the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, John Calhoun, the General Land Office acknowledged that the preemptors notice was given “posterior to the filing of the location by George Armstrong of the reserve in the Surveyor General’s Office; but the dates of the alleged settlements are anterior to the filing of the location of the reserve,–and we have no evidence that these facts were before you.” 29 One prominent resident wrote the commissioner of Indian affairs that “It is proper to remark that the town of Lecompton is laid out upon this Reservation and lots have been sold and resold all over it and that any alteration of the lines contemplated would destroy the titles of lot holders upon the Eastern part of said Reservation.” 30 The challenge was soon overcome and Lecompton’s title was protected by the patent issued June 11, 1858. By that time, Lecompton’s days as a social and political leader in Kansas were numbered and the community failed to continue its early growth.
Department notified September 17, 1857.
Public notice is hereby given that a portion of section 31, township 11 south, of range 16 east, part of the town site of Topeka, upon which a Wyandotte warrant was lain or located about two years ago, for the “use, benefit and behoof” of all persons interested by, or through or under, the Topeka Association, has been wrongfully preempted in the name of the Valley Town Company.
Therefore, all persons are hereby warned to not purchase any lot or lots, or parcels of land, within the said section 31, the title to which is derived from, or comes through, the said Valley Town Company, as such title is wholly invalid, and will in no manner be recognized by us.
* Subtracted from No. 12.
+ Added to No. 12.
Same as above except the 40 acres in sec. 36 was subtracted and 59.85 acres in the E1/2 of fr. NE1/4, sec. 31 was added.
NW1/4, SW1/4, & SE1/4, sec. 5‑T12S‑R65W of 6th P. M.
Patent issued January 17, 1868, for an erroneous location in range 66 west and made out to M. Tennery, rather than William M. Tennery. Cancelled and corrected patent issued on October 16, 1868.
Lawrence was considered an ideal site for a town and claim seekers early located throughout the immediate locality. Chosen as the place of settlement of one of the chief colonies of the New England Emigrant Aid Company, the area soon saw increasing competition for land. Two parties from New England reached the site by September 18, 1854, when they organized the Lawrence Association with the intention of occupying two square miles for the future town. Although townsite preemptions were limited by law to a maximum of 320 acres there were ways of obtaining the 1,280 or more acres desired by the aid company. Disconcerting to aid company agents was the fact that most of the desired townsite was already preempted by claim holders seeking the area for farming, purposes. Most of these preemptors refused to sell out to the company, preferring to keep their claims. Additional problems arose because of the arrival of James H. Lane, who bought out a claimant on the fringe of the colony. Lane, a lieutenant colonel in the Mexican War, former lieutenant governor of Indiana, and only recently a member of congress, was a hard man to have for an enemy. The land claim contest, involving Lane and Gaius Jenkins has been justifiably identified as “the most famous… which arose in Kansas,”51 and it had its repercussions on the use of Wyandot floats on the Lawrence townsite. Where else could one find a killer in a homicide case (Lane) gain exoneration for his crime, get elected to the United States senate shortly afterwards, and have his land claim resolved to his satisfaction? In the process two Wyandot floats had to adjust their boundaries to Lane’s demands, and a third float was relocated.
I desire to file in your dept my solemn protest against permitting Joel Walker and his associates to lay a Wyandot Warrant upon the Section of land upon the Kansas river immediately above the present Lawrence City. I am in peaceable possession & have in actual cultivation with the intention of promoting a portion of the land included within the boundary upon which they seek to lay the said warrant.
My name was obtained to a paper which they call an abandonment by a trick which renders it a nullity–this I can abundantly prove by witnesses of the first respectability.
Lawrence City has already a mile square of Territory & the public good does not require the sacrifice of my rights. I therefore file this my protest against permitting the said Indian Warrant to be located on the said land.
I have written to Mr. McClelland & to the Commissioner of the Genl Land Office & address you as I am not posted as to Persons having the Controul [sic] of the matter.
I trust you will not permit the right of the Squatter to be trampled underfoot‑for the benefit of the men [of] speculation.
I came to Kansas to become a permanent citizen, purchased a claim for which I paid a high price, built me a house, broke up, fenced & planted my land & now without remuneration or thanks a large portion will be taken from me unless you or those having the matter in charge will interfer. I appeal to you to arrest the wrong & vindicate the law passed by Congress for the Encouragement of the actual Settler.
I shall be pleased to hear from you on this subject‑as I was & am entirely ignorant as to the object & nature of these warrants. They seem to be a part of [an] engine more powerful than many by which speculators can obtain land where & from whom they please without question or force.
We can truly say that we never listened to the recital of a more gross and infernal outrage, than was recently perpetrated on Mr. Wm. J. Osborn, by a gang of Cincinnati Abolitionists, known as the Manhattan Town Company. The facts of the case, we give as they have been narrated to us. On the 5th of the present month, while Mr. Osborn was working on his claim on the Kansas river at the mouth of the Blue, near the town site of MANHATTAN, some fifteen or twenty men of the Manhattan Town Company, armed with guns, pistols and clubs, came on the premises and peremptorily ordered him to leave his property in fifteen minutes, threatening to brutally whip him, if he did not obey their orders, and assuring him at the same time with all apparent sincerity that they would drown him in the Kansas river, if be ever again made his appearance in that neighborhood. Mr. Osborn knowing that he had done nothing to warrant such violent proceedings, and that the Abolitionists had no earthly right to the ownership of his claim, refused to leave as demanded. At the expiration of fifteen minutes, Mr. Osborn, still inflexible in his refusal to leave, was violently seized and taken by force on board the steamboat Hartford, which was brought out from Cincinnati, and is still used by this company as a temporary shelter, for lodging and other purposes of living. There he was abused, derided at, and offered every revolting insult that the base, cowardly and infamous villains could think of. After a custody of some hour or two, during which time every scheme and threat was brought into requisition with the view of extorting a promise from Mr. Osborn to leave, and give up his claim to them, he was released with the admonition that if be was seen in that neighborhood on the following day, he would be bung or drowned in the Kansas river.
Please inform me at your earliest convenience if a Wyandotte Float can be purchased at your place or do you know of one for sale and the price. I mean a Wyandotte right to 640 Acres of Land.
This float was bought from Joel Walker, the executor of Hicks’ estate, without consultation with Hicks’ widow, at a reputed price of $1,000. George W. Deitzler, a short time later, said that he paid $1,800 for the float, for which he also obtained a quitclaim deed from a daughter, Jane Hicks.80 The patent was issued to the Francis A. Hicks “heirs generally” May 7, 1860, and delivered a few days later to R. S. Stevens, well‑known territorial attorney, who was representing the town company. These actions provided the setting for a long, drawn‑out lawsuit involving the ownership of the north half of the Emporia townsite, particularly that part obtained with the use of Francis A. Hicks’ float.
A broadside warning “To Mr. Agent of N(ew) E(ngland) Emigrant Aid Co.” It was signed by Lecompton’s land office personnel, Eli Moore and William Brindle.
Copy of patent for the Joseph Tennery float laid on the north half of the Manhattan townsite. Courtesy Riley County Historical Society.
William Walker located his float in the Blue River Valley. It was on the site later used for the town of Garrison.
The float of Isaiah Walker sold for $1,200 and was used to cover the heart of Topeka.
Joel Walker, whose float at Lawrence flushed out squatter Jim Lane with his dukes a flying. Lane was the victor.
Joel Walker Garrett and the other Garretts located floats in the Blue River Valley which are now in the Tuttle Creek Reservoir.
Copy of the survey platt for the Charles B. Garrett float signed by Surveyor General John Calhoun. Similar surveys were required for all floats not agreeing with normal public lines. Courtesy National Archives.
Eight Blue Valley Wyandot floats, all in Pottawatomie county, superimposed on a modern Geologic Survey map of Tuttle Creek reservoir. Another Blue Valley float was one mile downstream from the dam on the Riley county side of the Blue river.
Looking north toward downtown Topeka in July 1970, showing the approximate boundaries of the Wyandot float sold by Isaiah Walker. Missing is the southeast corner of the float which includes the downtown Holiday Inn. Courtesy Alvis H. Stallard and the Kansas State Highway Commission.
The land sought by Armstrong was easily accessible to established routes of travel, it was rich bottom land, and though subject to flooding, evidence of its desirability is seen in the variety of problems which confronted Armstrong before be obtained ownership, For one thing be was plagued by rumors that the tract was a “Military Reserve” under the control of the War Department, having been selected by Lewis and Clark more than 50 years earlier, or perhaps by the Langham survey of 1828 which marked the boundaries of the Shawnee Indian reserve.90 Even Armstrong believed that there was an “old Military Reserve near this place” and members of the Walker family did also for they sought to obtain a license to establish a ferry across the Kansas river from the War Department, which would require a landing on the tract.91 A search disclosed no record of a military reserve for the area.
The Wyandot warrant granted to Peacock, one of the chiefs and councilors of the tribe, was another of the floats purchased by Samuel C. Pomeroy. This agent for the New England Emigrant Aid Company paid Peacock’s heir $1,000, and Lyman Allen, enterprising capitalist from Lawrence and participant in other town building projects, placed the float on the north edge of the promising town of Doniphan on May 4, 1857.96 Doniphan’s town company was organized in 1854, with lots placed on sale the following year. Incorporation of the town was obtained from the territorial government on February 10, 1857, and one of the United States land offices was opened there in March. John W. Whitfield, former delegate to congress, was the first register and Daniel Woodson, fresh from the position of secretary of the territory and acting governor, became the first receiver. Before the year was out James H. Lane became president of the town company and the land office was removed down‑river to Kickapoo. The departure of the land office was a damaging blow to the town’s future and it did not grow as might have been expected from its auspicious beginning.97 Consequently, the Wyandot float, used at Doniphan, covered very little of the land included in the town and that section remained primarily agricultural land.
Later that year Walker wrote two further letters of inquiry. In the one to the commissioner of the General Land Office he asked, 11 what caused the delay in the issuing the patents upon these grants? The lands are in danger of being ‘squatted’ upon at any time, it being well known that our title is incomplete. I would earnestly invoke the attention of the Department to this matter.”113 In his other letter to W. P. Dole, of the Indian bureau, he wrote complainingly that “I have complied with all that is required by the 9th article of the treaty of January, 1855, and even paid the expenses of survey while the Government has paid for that of other grantees. And yet strange to say our patents are withheld! Twenty one years have now elapsed since these grants were made and yet [I] cannot realize their benefits.” Walker went on to say that “a generation has passed away and these grants [are] still withheld. Are we to leave this unsettled business as a legacy for our grandchildren to adjust?”114 Perhaps it was the war, or perhaps it was merely bureaucratic obtuseness, but Walker had to wait until March 3, 1865, when the patents were issued for these three floats.
The other two Wyandot floats used in Atchison county were owned, at least in part, by Benjamin F. Stringfellow of St. Joseph and Atchison, by Peter T. Abell of Atchison, and by Andrew Wineland of St. Louis. Stringfellow and Abell were founders of Atchison and leading members of the Proslave movement in the territorial period. Stringfellow had been a state legislator, and the state’s attorney general in Missouri. In July, 1854, he became secretary of the Platte County Self‑Defensive Association. Abell had been his law partner in Missouri and their partnership continued in Kansas territory. 123 Stringfellow paid $1,200 for the George Clark Wyandot float on August 9, 1855. He was repelled by what he thought was favoritism for the Wyandots displayed by George W. Manypenny and he complained to James W. Denver, Manypenny’s successor, in abusive language.
So long as your predecessor was in office I denied his right to act in the matter. I would not stoop to lay the matter before him, for I had no confidence in his integrity. With you it is different. While I am still sure.. that Department has nothing to do in the matter, I do not hesitate to present it to you. . . .
By the terms of the Treaty their rights are clearly assignable, but as I found that the head of the Land Office disposes to submit the controll [sic] of the matter to Manny‑penny [sic], to avoid all possible difficulty I made the Indians locate the lands in their own names, and then took from them acknowledgement [sic] & recorded [them]. Copies of these deals have been certified by the Surveyor Genl. and I presume are on file in your Department.
Patent issued September 29, 1858, and in subsequent court action it was found to be void. This float was used out-of-state.
Patent issued May 3, 1861, and cancelled a short time after a lengthy court battle, which upheld the cancellation, this float was used in New Mexico.
Mr. Hunter informs me of a new assessment of $5 pr. share to pay for a Wyandot float of 640 acres wh. has been laid on the town of Tecumseh and also to pay for using up our brick in the erection of a Court House for which the town takes the bonds the Title to the building and lots till paid.
The Brick had been prepared for a Hotel and was on hand, but the present Hotel was found sufficient. Please tell Donaldson. His Amt. is $10, yours $15. I have just paid $75. If you see judge Johnson please say to him that Mr. Hunter has advanced the money to pay for the Wyandot float and that he is anxious for the settlement. If not convenient to send here you can all pay to Isaacs.
The local office at Lecompton is about Eight‑Thousand filings behind the entries, with contested cases set for Sept; rendering it impracticable for the office to attend to these floats.
Perhaps the most entangled and complicated history of any of the Wyandot floats was the grant to Ethan A. Long, partly owned by Isaiah Walker, and used by Samuel Stover to locate 640 acres in east‑central Douglas county. This tract covered parts of three sections and was adjacent to the townsite of Eudora.
Stover selected the land in the spring of 1856 with apparently no obstacles to orderly acquisition of the patent. Then two contestants appeared, their cases heard, and the rights of the float were upheld. The patent was issued May 3, 1861, and sent to the owners of the float but then the orderly pattern of acquiring title broke down. Four preemptors, claiming occupancy since mid‑July, 1858, were in actual occupation of the land, and they claimed rights which could lead to ownership. Isaiah Walker and his family then sought ejectment of these settlers in the local court, where the Walker right of ownership was challenged due to the time when Stover filed on the land. Neither Wyandot floats nor preemption claims were legal on this land, which had been a part of the Shawnee Indian reservation until July 9, 1858, more than two years after the tract was selected by Stover. Thus the lower court ruled that the Walker patent was invalid and that the legal title of the Walkers was being held in trust for the defendants. The court required the Walkers to convey the deed to the defendants within 30 days. Naturally, the Walkers appealed this adverse decision, where it was heard in the January, 1870, term of the Kansas supreme court. Wilson Shannon, as the Walker attorney, held that early entry did not invalidate the Walker claim to the land covered by the Long float when the reservation was opened for settlement. He further held that “The patent issued to Long made his title perfect, both in law and equity.”155 The court, however, affirmed the decision of the lower court, ruling that the holders of the Long float did not take proper action after July 9, 1858, hence their claim was nullified.
The commissioner of the General Land Office conceded in 1879 that the grant to Irwin P. Long “remains unsatisfied.” 158 Inquiry was made about the possibility of locating the float on land in the Indian territory, or in Colorado, or in New Mexico. Former Kansas Gov. George T. Anthony directed one of these inquiries by telegram from Las Vegas, N. M., to the General Land Office early in 1881. A short time later H. K. Pinckney, an employee of the Southern division of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Company, who was stationed at Las Vegas, filed this Warrant on some unsurveyed land in southwestem New Mexico, adjacent to the track of the Southern Pacific. Proper papers, including a nonmineral affidavit, were filed, a plat was made of the land on February 25, 1881, and the patent was issued June 18, 1883.159 This time there was no complaint. The fulfillment of the treaty was 41 years late and surprisingly the grantee was still alive.
Fourteen of the Wyandot warrants covered exactly 640 acres, the amount prescribed in the treaty of 1842. Nine floats were laid on land areas larger than 640 acres, one as large a 680.90 acres, and the excess acreage, totalling 164.70 acres was paid for at the government minimum price of $1.25 per acre. Six Wyandot floats had purchased land areas from 2 to 20 acres smaller than a section of 640, while substantial losses from the allowed 640 acres, ranging from a shortage of 83.98 acres to as much as 284.10 acres, was the prospect for the owners of five floats. In addition, the owner of the Henry Jacques’ grant had been unable to claim any land at all.
The Wyandot floats which were sold before they were used for locating land generally brought from $800 to $1,800 to their owners. The Dawson float supposedly cost Johnston Lykins a horse and a dog, but the abstract of title says that he paid $800. In the end the most costly Wyandot float in a number of ways was that granted to Irwin P. Long. Isaiah Walker reputedly paid $3,000, in 1857, for this warrant and it was located on land in Douglas county. Claim jumpers successfully challenged the float owner to the land and law suits were appealed eventually to the United States supreme court with an adverse decision to Walker. This float, in 1881, covered land in New Mexico. Generally, these floats brought the minimum government price for land, an amount equal to $1.25 per acre, or as much as $2.00 per acre.
Wyandots who located the land with their warrants usually received more money for the land than they would have for the Wyandot float itself. Acquisition of the patent eliminated most of the insecurity which existed in the process of claiming land. Income from these land sales was controlled primarily by the time the sale was made. The land acquired by the John T. Walker float, for instance, sold for $10 per acre in 1877.
Evidence that the Wyandots gained slight long‑lasting profit from these sales can be seen in the removal of the tribe again in 1869 to land in the northeastern part of Indian territory (present Oklahoma).
There the portion of the tribe who had sold their lands “and are still poor, and have not been compelled to become citizens, but have remained without clearly recognized organization,” preferred “to begin anew a tribal existence.” 170 Some of the surviving Wyandot float grantees were in the party moving South.
Early Kansas town founders believed that there were definite advantages to be gained from using Wyandot floats in locating their townsites. Federal laws for preempting townsites limited the land area thus located to 320 acres and required that the lots be disposed of on a basis of equal price to all. Wyandot float owners were near at hand and some were eager to sell. These warrants enabled town companies to claim larger land units and to retain more control over the disposition of the lots than would have been possible under other laws. Free‑Staters, particularly those connected in some way with the New England Emigrant Aid Company, were much more active than were the Proslavers in using Wyandot floats.
Suggestions that Free‑State town builders, especially, sought Wyandot floats to avoid the use of Proslave public officials who would have to act on the filing of other claims is not a reasonable assumption on the basis of the Wyandot float material which is now available. At the same time it is obvious that the use of Wyandot floats to cover townsites did not automatically protect the town company from claim jumpers. In fact, some claim jumpers were able to make good on their claims in the territorial courts.
The history of Wyandot floats presents some of the territorial and early statehood Kansans in a different perspective. Such diverse political enemies as James H. Lane and Benjamin G. Stringfellow could both oppose in strong terms the Indian friend, George W. Manypenny, who was commissioner of Indian affairs. The role of Samuel C. Pomeroy, in his search for Wyandot floats for sale and in their use for the general development of the area, comes off far better than that of his fellow Emigrant Aid Company agent, Charles Robinson. Pomeroy’s position in Kansas history is so highly colored by the scandal associated with his senatorial defeat in 1873 that his earlier value as a town builder is almost forgotten. Pomeroy’s decisiveness and ability to get things done stands in sharp contrast to Robinson’s inexactness and indecision with the William M. Tennery float which he shifted from one location to another and finally used it to cover land in Colorado.
An examination of the history of the 35 Wyandot floats shows that a vast amount of time and energy was expended by the general land office, as well as the bureau of Indian affairs, in order to make good on these treaty donations. Wyandot floats had the possibility of providing unique problems which did not easily fit the land office system designed for disposal of government lands. It is little wonder, then, that the General Land Office came to regard special grants of this type as a never‑ending nuisance.
Although the area covered by Wyandot floats was small, the time and manner of their use assigns to these lands a vital role in the history of Kansas. Just as the Wyandot nation was able to select a reservation in 1843 with a strategic location for developing lines of transportation, the holders of the Wyandot floats selected lands which had strategic and political value in later days. Six of the townsites covered by these floats became county seats and only one lost this position of prestige in its county. One town was the territorial capital while another gained the state capitol. The earliest state institutions of higher learning were located in three of the towns.
The ambitions of the town fathers, who made use of Wyandot floats to cover their townsites, were not always realized. For some, however, the fondest dreams for the future of their communities have materialized.
Dr. Homer E. Socolofsky, native of Marion county, is a professor of history at Kansas State University, Manhattan. He received his degrees from Kansas State University and the University of Missouri, Columbia. He is author of a book on Arthur Capper (University of Kansas Press, 1962), and many articles and reviews in ‘historical journals, one of his specialties being land studies. This paper was sponsored by a Kansas State University College of Arts and Science Summer Faculty Fellowship, 1969.
1. Treaties negotiated between the United States and the Wyandot Indians were: January 21, 1785, U. S. Statutes at Large, v. 7, p. 16; January 9, 1789, ibid., p. 28; August 3, 1795, ibid., p. 49; July 4, 1805, ibid., p. 87; November 17, 1807, ibid., p. 105; July 22, 1814, ibid., p. 118; September 8, 1815, ibid., p. 131; September 29, 1817 ibid., p. 160; September 17, 1818, ibid., p. 178; September 20, 1818, ibid., p. 180; January 19, 1832, ibid., p. 364; April 28, 1836, ibid., p. 502; March 17, 1842, ibid., v, 11, p. 581; April 1, 1850, ibid., v. 9, p. 987; January 31, 1855, ibid., v. 10, p. 1159; and February 23, 1867, ibid., v. 15, p. 513.
2. The Indian word was ‘Wyandot, the English spelled it Wyandott, and the French contributed a final “e.” ‑ See Perl W. Morgan, History of Wyandotte County Kansas and Its People (Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1911) 2 vols., p. 59.
3. Charles J. Kappler, Indian Affairs, Laws and Treaties, second revised edition (Government Printing Office, Washington, 1904,), v. 2, pp. 146, 150, 152, 153.
4. Ibid., pp. 147, 148.
6. J. Orin Oliphant, editor, The Report of the Wyandot Exploring Delegation, 1831, Kansas Historical. Quarterly, v. 15 (August, 1947), pp. 253, 258.
7. Ibid., pp. 249, 258. Gardiner believed that the “ ‘pagan’ or ‘savage party’ would listen to ‘reason,’ ” while “ ‘the whites,’ half‑breeds, and the ‘Christian party,’ so called” would be “against treating on ‘any reasonable terms.’ ” For that reason he obtained permission to negotiate a separate treaty with the Crawford county Wyandots.
8. Oliphant, “Report of the Wyandot Exploring Delegation,” p. 249.
10. John H. Martin, compiler, National Archives, List of Documents Concerning the Negotiations of Ratified Indian Treaties, 1801-1869, Special List No. 6 (Washington, 1949), No 240, p. 77, letter from John Johnston, Columbus, Ohio, May 11, 1841, to T. Hartley Crawford. This reference to the Indian lawyer was to John M. Armstrong who was one eighth Indian.
11. ibid., Office of Indian Affairs, Letters Received, Ohio, 1‑788, June 19, 1841, Johnston Commissioner of Indian Affairs, from Upper Sandusky; Julv 25, 1841, Johnston to from Piqua, Ohio; August 16, 1841, Johnston to Crawford, from Piqua; September l7, 1841, Johnston to Crawford.
12. ibid,, October 27, 1841, Johnston to Crawford. William E. Connelley, in Kansas City Kansas: Its Place in the History of the State, Kansas Historical Collections, v. 15, p. 185, stated in exaggerated terms that, “When the Wyandots came to Kansas no member was more than one‑quarter Indian. The tribe was Indian; the people were three quarters white.” Individuals in the tribe were far more than one‑quarter Indian, just as some were fully white.
13. Martin, National Archives, List of Documents, I‑893, November 29, 1841, Johnston to Crawford.
14. Kappler, Indian Affairs, v. 2, pp. 534‑537.
16. The Delaware nation added three sections as a gift after the purchase of 36 sections. In a treaty of April 1, 1850, the United States government agreed to compensate the Wyandots for the 148,000 acres promised in the 1842 treaty.
17. Grant W. Harrington, Historic Spots or Mile‑Stones in the Progress of Wyandotte County, Kansas (The Mission Press, Merriam, 1935) , p 261; Ray E. Merwin The Wyandot Indians, Kansas Historical Collections, v. 9 ( 1905‑1906), p. 86.
18. National Archives, Record Group 49, Division K, Indian Reserve files B213 through B256, B331 and B334 are the files which deal with the Wyandot floats. The claim of Silas Armstrong was in file B215 in his letter to George Moneypenney, April 30, 1856. Hereafter, these Wyandot float files will be referred to by their individual file numbers.
19. B214, Clark to Pres. Millard Fillmore, from West Port, Mo., May 3, 1851.
20. B228, letter from the secretary of the interior to Charles E. Mix, acting commissioner of Indian affairs, May 5, 1858; letter from Abelard Guthrie to William Walker, sent December 1, 1852, from Cincinnati, Ohio, in William E. Connelley, ed. The Provisional Government of Nebraska Territory and the Journals of William Walker (Nebraska State Historical Society, Lincoln, 1899), p. 77.
21. Connelley, The Provisional Government of Nebraska Territory. Abelard Guthrie was the delegate to congress. While his position was unofficial, congress was willing to pay some of his expenses.
23. Kappler, Indian Agairs, v. 2, pp. 677‑681. The quotation comes from p. 681.
24. Sen. Ex. Doc. No.11 35th Cong. 1st Sess., v. 1, pp. 274, 275. The surveyor general reported on p. 273 that 24,960 acres in what is now Wyandotte county, Kansas, were the Wyandot Indian reserve lands. Corrections have been made in the spelling of names and two columns showing filing dates are not shown here.
26. B215, letter dated August 10, 1855.
27. “Halderman collection,” Kansas State Historical Society archives.
28. Because of lack of published sources this study has relied heavily on the Indian Reserve files of the National Archives in Washington. Other manuscript sources include the “Donation Patent Records” in the Bureau of Land Management, Washington, the archives of the Kansas State Historical Society, and the county records and abstractor’s files in the area where the floats were used. Oral stories and interpretations of these floats are found in some areas. Published reports, such as the annual reports of the General Land Office, various early newspaper accounts, and items described in local histories, have provided a more complete acquaintance to a total picture of the Wyandot floats.
29. B217; Ely Moore, Jr., “The Story of Lecoinpton,” Kansas Historical Collections, v. 11 (1909‑1910), pp. 463‑480.
30. B217, letter from William Weer to Charles E. Mix, acting coimmissioner of Indian affairs, April 24, 1858.
31. F. W. Giles, Thirty Years in Topeka: A Historical Sketch (Topeka,1886, 1960), pp. 16, 17.
32. Ibid., pp. 17, 18.
34. Giles, Thirty Years in Topeka, p. 31; Sen. Ex. Doc. No. 11, 35th Cong., 1st Sess., v. 1, p. 275.
35. Giles, Thirty Years in Topeka, p. 31; B242. In order to raise the $1,200 needed to pay Walker, part of section 31 and two quarters from other sections were sold.
36. The fractional southeast quarter in section 30, an area of 62.20 acres, when added to the 621.80 acres, covered by the Wyandot float, made a total of 684 acres for the townsite.
38. Giles, Thirty Years in Topeka, p. 32.
39. B242; Giles, Thirty Years in Topeka, p. 82.
41. Giles, Thirty Years in Topeka, p. 32. The district court of Shawnee county affirmed the title in the case of Royal Wiswell v. Cyrus K. Holliday et al in June, 1866. The case was appealed to the Kansas supreme court in the January term, 1870, apparently with the same results. Before 1884 at least two persons acquired quitclaim deeds from Walker for section 31 but they were not used in court. By that time he had moved to the Wyandotte reserve, Indian territory. He may have been among the destitute Wyandots. Typically, he did not at any time reside on his float.–See Joseph Snell, “Another House of History Faces Extinction,” Midway Magazine of the Topeka Capital‑Journal, April 13, 1969.
42. B221, B227, and B234; Sen. Ex. Doc. No. 11, 35th Cong., 1st Sess., v. 1, p. 274; William E. Connelley, “The Lane‑Jenkins Claim Contest,” Kansas Historical Collections, v. 16 (1923‑1925), p. 57, in citing Weer that the Joel Walker float was located June 22, 1855, p. 67, in citing Lykins that the Robert Robitaille float was surveyed and marked by suitable metes and bounds on July 3, 1855.
43. B234 and B237; Sen. Ex. Doc. No. 11, 85th Cong., 1st Sess., v. 1, p. 274.
44. B234, B235, and B243; Sen. Ex. Doc. No. 11, 35th Cong., 1st Sess., v. 1, p. 275. This document gives dates of filing and notification to the department and will be used hereafter without citation.
46. B234, map received with letter from the commissioner of Indian affairs, December 10, 180‑9.
50. Misc. v. 473‑”Donation Patent Records,” v. 12, pp. 344, 345, located in the Bureau of Land Management, Washington, D. C.
51.Connelley, “The Lane‑Jenkins Claim Contest,” pp. 21‑176.
52. B. G. Elliott Foot Notes on Kansas History (Journal Co. Printers, Lawrence 1906), P. 133; Samuel A. Johnson, The Battle Cry of Freedom: The New England Emigrant Aid Company in the Kansas Crusade (University of Kansas Press, Lawrence, 1954), pp. 79, 80; William H. Carruth, “The New England Emigrant Aid Company as an Investment Society,” Kansas Historical Collections, v. 6 (1897‑1900), p. 93.
53. Elliott, Foot Notes, pp. 13‑18; B221 and B227. William Tennery sold his float to Pomeroy for $800 on June 28, 1855.
55. Elliott, Foot Notes, p. 18.
56. A. T. Andreas and W. G. Cutler, History of the State of Kansas (Chicago, 1883), pp. 314, 315.
57. Elliott, Foot Notes, p. 20; Samuel Johnson, The Battle Cry of Freedom, P. 79.
58. B234; William Weer, Brief for Applicant in the Matter of the Wyandot Float (printed pamphlet, n. p., n. d.); Connelley, “The Lane‑Jenkins Claim Contest,” pp. 38‑65.
59. B234. Robitaille was the first county treasurer of Wyandotte county, gaining elections in 1859 and 1860.
60. B221 and B227; Connelley, “The Lane‑Jenkins Claim Contest,” pp. 40, 57, 58, 82.
63. See Footnote 50. Roscoe Wright, county surveyor, Map of Voting Precincts, El Paso County, Colorado, 1928.
64. B227 and B228. Sections 7, 18, and 19 were oversize, due to their location along a correction line.
66. Slagg, Riley County, pp. 53, 54; Isaac T. Goodnow, “Personal Reminiscences and Kansas Emigration, 1855,” Kansas Historical Collections, v. 4 ( 1886‑1890), pp. 249, 250.
67. Albert R. Greene, “The Kansas River‑Its Navigation,” Kansas Historical Collections, v. 9 (1905‑1906), pp. 328, 329: H. R. Report No. 200, 34th Cong. 1st Sess., “Report of the Special Committee . . . Investigate the Troubles in Kansas,” pp. 1035‑1037. Isaac S. Hascall said in his sworn statement that he had heard that Osborn “had been made postmaster at Wyandott.” Robert Baughman Kansas Post Offices (Kansas Postal History Society, c1961), pp. 141, 239, lists a William J. Osborn as the first postmaster of Wyandott, an office established October 8, 1855.
68. Slagg, Riley County, pp. 54, 55. Isaac Hascall presented no witnesses to confront his opponent’s many witnesses in Justice of the Peace Dyer’s court. He signed over his property in a quitclaim deed on September 25, 1858.
69. “Manhattan Town Association, Book No. 1,” p. 51.
70. “Halderman Collection,” archives, Kansas State Historical Society.
71. Interview with Sam C. Charlson, July 7, 1969. The rumor concerning “a horse and a dog,” was handed down by word of mouth over the years. Charlson heard it from Scott Higginbotham. The printed abstracts, issued for the land covered by, the Dawson and Tennery floats, and used for many years by the Riley County Abstract and Title Company, says Dawson was paid $800 for his warrant.
73. “Manhattan Town Association, Book Number Two,” p. 20 (March 31, 1857), and p. 27 (June 20, 1857).
74. Interview with Sam C. Charlson, July 7, 1969; printed abstract of lands covered by the Tennery float.
75. Misc. v. 473‑“Donation Patent Records,” v. 12, pp. 178, 179.
76. Printed abstract of lands covered by the Dawson float; interview, with Sam C. Charlson, July 7 , 1969, Case No. 8260 in the circuit court of the United States in and for the district of Kansas, October 14, 1884.
77. Assignment in the Riley county district court, March 19, 1894; interview with Sam C. Charlson, July 7, 1969.
78. Ibid., Harvey died in 1895 and Higginbotham had balanced his account before that. One of the five who paid for the “squaw title” was still assessing property transfers as late as 1920.
79. B239 and B247; Laura M. French, History of Emporia and Lyon County (Emporia Gazette Print, Emporia, 1929), pp. 2, 3.
80. B239, letters of A. B. Greenwood to Mrs. Matilda Hicks, n. d., and from Deitzler to J. W. Denver, February 21, 1859.
82. Abstract of title, including a synopsis of Gray v. Coffman, et al, provided by the Moon Abstract Co., of Emporia.
84. Squeendehty, a well‑known Wyandot chief, also spelled Squindehtee, Squeendeghtee, and Squeehdehtee, died in December, 1844, at the age of 61 years. B241 and B249; “Lucy Armstrong Papers,” Kansas State Historical Society; letter from J. R. Noel, abstractor in Burlington, to author, July 11, 1969.
85. William Hutchinson, “Sketches of Kansas Pioneer Experience,” Kansas Historical Collections, v. 7 ( 1901‑1902), pp. 406, 407; Andreas‑Cutler, History of the State of Kansas, pp. 653, 654; Frank W. Blackmar, Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History (Chicago, 1912), v. 1, pp. 257, 258.
86. B241. Like the patent for the land at Emporia, this one was transmitted to R. S. Stevens.
87. Letter from J. R. Noel to author, July 11, 1969.
89. B215, letters from Armstrong to John W. Whitfield, January 6, 1856, and to George W. Manypenny, April 30, 1856. See, also, National Archives microcopy 234, Roll 950, of “Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1821‑81, Wyandot Agency,” letter Jonathan Phillips, Indian subagent for the Wyandots, to Thomas H. Harvey, superintendent of Indian affairs at St. Louis, February 7, 1844, which reports float selections by Silas Armstrong and Henry Jacques of site later obtained by Armstrong.
90. Ibid. See letter from Armstrong to J. T. Cochran, November 13, 1856; J. J. Lutz, “The Methodist Missions Among the Indian Tribes in Kansas,” Kansas Historical Collections, v. 9 (1905‑1906), p. 163.
91. B215, letters from Armstrong to Manypenny, April 30, 1856, Manypenny to T. A. Hendricks, February 18, 1857, with reply, Hendricks to Manypenny, March 26, 1857.
92. B215; Andreas ‑Cutler, History of the State of Kansas, p. 1240; Grant W. Harrington, Historic Spots or Mile‑Stones in the Progress of Wyandotte County (The Mission Press, Merriam, Kan., 1935), pp. 162‑164. There were two lawsuits, Armstrong v. Wills, pending in the local courts, when Wills died October 15, 1858. D. E. James, eventually a part of the Kansas City Town Company, was the squatter with whom Armstrong was forced to compromise.
94. Harrington, Historic Spots, P. 164.
96. B246 and B255. A copy of the conveyance to Pomeroy is in these files but there is no date for the transfer.
97. Albert R. Green, “United States Land‑Offices in Kansas,” Kansas Historical Collections, v. 8 (1903‑1904), p. 7; Blackmar, Kansas, p, 52 Executive Minutes of Governor John W. Geary,” Kansas Historical Collections, v. 4 (1886-1890), p. 710.
98. B246 and B255. The letter to Ingalls, January 9, 1878, was from Adam Brenner.
100. B223 and B228. George Garrett, brother of Charles B. Garrett, died in 1846. His wife was Nancy Walker, sister of Mrs. Charles B. Garrett.
101. B226, B228, and B2,38. Joel Walker Garrett’s address was Upper Sandusky. He was the son of George Garrett and a nephew of Charles B. Garrett.
102. B228, B240, and B248. Garrett purchased this from the widow of Washington, who had died December 1, 1852, at the age of 65 years.
103. B228, B238, and B244. Warpole, or someone with that name, died as a very old man before the exodus from Ohio.
104. Connelley, “First Provisional Constitution of Kansas,” p. 112.
106. Helen G. Gill, “The Establishment of Counties in Kansas,” Kansas Historical Collections, v. 8 ( 1903‑1904), pp. 450‑452. Riley county occupied land on both sides of the Blue river when Garrett made his selections. Pottawatomie county was organized in 1857.
107. Connelley, “First Provisional Constitution of Kansas,” p. 112.
108. “Deed records,” Pottawatomie county; letter from H. E. Chadborn, October 15, 1903, to abstractor, Pottawatomie county, courtesy of Tom E. Hart, Westmoreland.
109. B220, B226, and B228. For some reason, later maps show 636.70 acres in float No. 4. Walker claimed an excess of 40.90 acres for which he paid $51.25 to the government.
110. B228, B230, and B238.
111. B228, B236, B238, and B244.
113. Ibid., in letter dated September 1, 1863.
114. Ibid., in letter also dated September 1, 1863.
115. Sale dates weee July 17, 1865, May 7, 1867, and March 7, 1877. Deed records, Pottawatomie register of deeds. The town of Garrison came into existence in 1880, near the middle of the Henry Clay Walker float, because of the completion of the Kansas Central railway to that point.
116. B219, B225, B227, and B228. The dashes on the map mark Seth J. Child’s claim.
117. B219 and B225; Riley county, register of deeds, “Deed Record,” L, p. 447. Walker served as the first probate judge of Leavenworth county, which at the time included the area which became Wyandotte county.
120. B213, B224, B251, and B334.
122. B214, letter from Manypenny to Willard P. Hall, St. Joseph, Mo., October 18, 1855, relative to sale to W. P. Richardson; B2,38, letter from C. C. Hyatt to J. Ni. Edwards, commissioner of the General Land Office, February 14, 1863, relative to the purchase of the Peter D. Clark reserve.
124. B224, letter from Stringfellow to J. W. Denver, June 30, 1857.
125. Ibid., letter from Denver to Stringfellow, July 15, 1857.
126. Letter from N. C. Greenlund, Atchison, to author, July 17, 1969.
129. B226, B228, B231, and B239. Jacques had personally tried to select a site in 1844. See Footnote 89.
131. B226, B227, B228, B242, and B250.
132. B226, B243, and B252.
140. B225, B231, and B331.
148. B245 and B247; letter from E. L. Carrier to author, July 16, 1969.
150. Charles P. Deatherage, Early History of Greater Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas (Kansas City, Mo., 1927), v. 1, pp. 510, 570; Louis 0. Honig, Westport: Gateway to the Early West (n.p., 1950), pp. 12‑14; B237, copy of copy, Johnston Lykins to J. Calhoun, November 5, 1855.
151. Letter in “John A. Halderman Collection,” archives, Kansas State Historical Society.
152. “Lucy Armstrong Papers,” archives, Kansas State Historical Society.
155. McAlpin v. Henshaw, Kansas Reports, v. 6, p. 110; B225 and B231.
156. United States Supreme Court Reports, Law Ed., v. 21, pp. 365‑367. The case was Mary Walker et al. v. Iram Henshaw.
158. B231. This letter dated January 29, 1879, was in response to an inquiry of Isaiah Walker directed to the secretary of the interior, Carl Schurz, on January 12, 1879.
160. B227, letter to commissioner of the General Land Office from Mrs. Maria or Mary A. Walker, July 25,1865.
162. B223 to Thomas A. Hendricks, March 26, 1856.
163. B225, letter from Enoch Hoag, superintendent of Indian affairs, Lawrence, to “Whom it may concern,” August 8, 1873, and from Irving W. Stanton, register, land office, Pueblo, Colo., to commissioner of the General Land Office, September 27, 1873.
164. B227, letter from L. P. Browne, Las Vegas, N. M., December 17, 1881, to the commissioner of the General Land Office.
166. B227, letter from James M. Mason, November 13, 1893.
168. Indian B250, special certificates I through 14, issued by the General Land Office, March 3, 1893.
169. Annual reports of the General Land Office, 1905‑1920.
170. Kappler, Indian Affairs, v. 2, p. 960.‑Treaty of February 23, 1867.
171. Letter from J. R. Noel to author, July 11, 1969.
172. Letter from R. L. Carrier to author, July 16, 1969.
173. Pottawatomie county register of deeds, “Misc. Records,” T, pp. 6, 21, 89, 90, 122, 123.

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