The Secretary of the Interior, after a careful examination of the whole subject, was of the opinion[657] that the restriction placed upon the use of these lands (being limited to Indian occupancy only) did not warrant a reduction of 50 per cent. in an appraisal of their value.
The price paid by the Osages for their reserve was 70 cents per acre. The Pawnee tract was of about the same general character as that of the Osages, and there seemed to be no good reason why the same price should not be allowed to the Cherokees therefor. This Pawnee tract was appraised by the commissioners at 59 cents per acre. As the appraisal of the whole unoccupied country west of 96° was made by the same appraisers and upon the same basis, if an increase was determined upon in the case of the Pawnee tract from 59 to 70 cents per acre, it was only just that a proportionate increase above the appraised value of the remainder of the lands should also be allowed. This would give an increase for the latter from 40.47 cents to 47.49 per acre. The adoption of this standard was therefore recommended to the President and was by him approved and ratified.[658]
In addition to the Osages, Kansas, and Pawnees there have been removed to the Cherokee lands west of 96° the Poncas, a portion of the Nez Percés, and the Otoes and Missourias.
Poncas.—An appropriation of $25,000 was made by act of Congress approved August 15, 1876,[659] for the removal of the Poncas, whenever their assent should be obtained. After much trouble and a threatened resort to military force, their assent to remove to the Indian Territory was secured in the beginning of 1877.[660] They came overland from Nebraska in two different parties and encountered great hardships, but finally reached the Territory, where they were temporarily located on the northeast portion of the Quapaw reserve, a few miles from Baxter Springs, Kansas.[661]
They were not satisfied with the location, which was in many respects unsuitable, especially in view of its proximity to the white settlements. They were, therefore, permitted to make another selection, which they did in the Cherokee country, on the west bank of the Arkansas, including both banks of the Salt Fork at its junction with the parent stream. To this new home they removed in 1878,[662] but it was not until 1881[663] that Congress made an appropriation out of which to pay the Cherokees for the land so occupied. This tract embraces 101,894.31 acres, for which the price of 47.49 cents per acre, fixed by the President, was paid.
Nez Percés.—The Nez Percés, previously alluded to, are the remnant of Chief Joseph's band, who surrendered to General Miles in 1877. They were at first removed from the place of their surrender to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where they arrived in November of that year as prisoners of war, to the number of 431. Congress having made provision[664] for their settlement in the Indian Territory, a reservation was selected for them on both sides of the Salt Fork of the Arkansas. To this tract, which adjoined the Poncas on the west, they removed in the summer of 1879,[665] having in the mean time lost a large number by death, the mortality being occasioned in great measure by their unsanitary location while at Fort Leavenworth. The reserve selected for them contains 90,735 acres and was paid for at the same price as that of the Poncas.
Otoes and Missourias.—By act of March 3, 1881,[663] provision was also made for the removal of the Otoes and Missourias to the Indian Territory and for the sale of their lands in Nebraska.
A reservation was accordingly selected for them, west of the Arkansas River and south of the Ponca Reserve, to which they were removed in the autumn of the same year[666]. It contains 129,113.20 acres and was paid for at the same rate as that of the Poncas and Nez Percés.[667]
EAST AND NORTH BOUNDARIES OF CHEROKEE COUNTRY.
For many years there had been much doubt and dispute concerning the correctness of the boundary line between the Cherokee Nation and the adjacent States. Especially had this been the cause of much controversy with the citizens of Arkansas. In the interest of a final adjustment of the matter, it was stipulated in the twenty-first article of the Cherokee treaty of July 19, 1866, that the United States should, at its own expense, cause such boundary to be resurveyed between the Cherokee Nation and the States of Arkansas, Missouri, and of Kansas as far west as the Arkansas River, and the same should be marked by permanent and conspicuous monuments by two commissioners, one of whom should be designated by the Cherokee national council.