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Show REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 109 ' John Williams to receive and be allotted for his two children, Jobu Willmms, jr., I to be sllotted the NE. t of said mission quarter, Henry E. Williams thc SE. of do.; Andrew Caleb the SW. t of do. ; and Catherine Cokes the NW. a of do. ; Elrira , Wilson to be allotted any or all the fractions lying contiguous to the southwestern houndmy line of our reserve. EDWARMDc Co o s s ~(h i3 x mark), Lours GOKEY (his x mark), IGSATIWCASL EB( his x mark), I DIOSES H. ILLBA BACK, Counoil. Mrtj. H. W. MARTIN, Un4ted States Indian Agent. The foregoing was written and reed and eubscribed in my presence. HENRY DONOHUE. The 2d of February, 1871, this office forwarded to Superintend-ent Hoag, for the signatllres of the council, a schedule of flfteen of the, aforesaid assignments, numbered 85 to 99 inclusive (leaving out the assignment of the iission land to John and Henry E. Williams, Andrew Caleb, and Catharine Qokey), and adding one other name, Mary L. Tur-ner, numbered 104. This schedule, signed by the council, was returned to thisoffioe February 28,1871, and approved by the Department March following, and certificates were issued April 6. I t is presumed, though nowhere stated, that the assigoment and issue of certificates to John and Henry Williams, Andrew Caleb, and Oaths rine Gokey was omitted beoanse they were for lauds that hid,pre-viously been assigned and approved for so'nool and mission purposes. Subsequent investigation showed that Henry Williams, Andrew Caleb, and several other allottees in the second assignmeut were dead before the allotments were made, and in June, 1880, the mission lands were, in violation of treaty stipulations, leased by tbe council, the proceeds of lease passing into the missionary's hands for the benefit of the soh001 located upon the NE. of the SW. & of section 12. December, 1884, the school was closed, most of the children having been sent to Haskell Institute, and in 1886 the building was burned. In IS82 these Indians appointed a delegation to confer with the general council of the Cherokee Nation in regard to removal and a cou-solidation with them; and in 1884 a bill was introduced in Oo~rgress anthorising them to sell their lands, to purchase land in Indian Territory with a view to a union with some tribe located therein, or to purchase a dissinct tract of country there for their exclusive use. Owing to the peculiar tenure by which the^ hold their lands, many complications have arisen in the title by reason of the death of res-ervees, and it is becoming a tedious and difficult matter to determine who are the present legal owners or heirs of any of'the allotments, or the proportionate share of each heir. Many illegal transfers of some of these allotments have from time to time been made to white persons or otherpersons not members of the tribe. Legal transfers have been presented for the approval of the Department, most of which are to . certain members of the tribe who have the means to purchase, and sa |
