Tri-Weekly State Times. (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 17, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 22, 1853 Page: 2 of 4
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all settled in rae body; but.it they are
divided. th*y can bfe located in such a
manner «s to suit oxxf- people, as well as
to be most conducive £o their own be-
Mr. CROSBY said he had had a con-
versation upon this snbject with Major
Neighbor , who had informed him that
/lie thought it probable that twelve
leagues would answer for present pur-
poses, at least for those Indians that
could be got together and settled prior
to the meeting of the next Legislature.
Taking the statistics of the General
"Government, the Indians of Texas were
estimated at 24,000. He thought, him-
self, that twelve leagues would consti-
tute an exceedingly small territory
for the settlement of so large a number.
But he was perfectly willing to see the
agents try the experiment; and was
-satisfied that if the territory were found
insufficient, a subsequent Legislature
woqld not hesitate to make an addi-
tional grant of jurisdiction.
Mr. WHITE—I offered the amend-
ment in good faith, and not to encum-
ber the bill. I was not aware of the
•opinions of the Indian agent upon this
subject; and had I been, I should still
contend that if we intend to offer to the
Untied States Government a portion of
our public domain, to locate these In-
dians on, it should be an amount suffi-
cient to enable that government to ex-
tend its policy over them. There may
be some difficulties growing out of their
Settlement in a small territory, subject
to location around different points.—
It seems to me that the interests of the
peopiet and the State at large, would be
best ^observed by having them congre-
gated jaj^n ^fficientlylarge tracts to
preventiAem from being encroached
upon.' 11% a well known fact, thai the
white man and the Indian do not get
along very harmoniously together. The
State will not be injured by increasing
the quantity of land, as it will ultimate-
ly, revert to the State, with the improve-
ments.
{/{¡ir. -THROCKMORTON offered a
substitute to the amendment: Strike
out- 12," and insert u 18 leagues." He
said he had understood that Maj. Neigh-
bors had remarked, that he would pre-
fer having a few more ieagffb*; but he
feared the bill, with that amount, could
not pass the Legislature. He himself,
like the gentleman from Jackson, (Mr.
White) would Wish the Legislature to
actas liberally as possible. He thought,
however, that eighteen leagues would
support a large number. He did not
believe the estimate at 24,000 a correct
OQe. It was the Indians ol Texas that
it was intended to provide for by this
bill.
After a few remarks by Messrs. Hord
and Crosby, very indistinctly heard by
the reporter,—
Mr. BILL1NGSLY sai J: I am op
posed to this measure in every point of
view. In the first and foremost place,
it is decidedly contrary to the system of
Indian policy adopted by the United
States. It has always been her policy
to locate her Indians in one body, that
she may the better control them. And
1 am altogether opposed to establishing
a line of Indian posts across our coun-
try, and embodying ihem in three dis-
tricts. It will evidently be the policy
of the United States to get the Indians
as near together as possible.
I dislike to impugn the motives of
any gentleman; but there is a clause in
this bill which, if it has not led me to
believe that speculation is the object,
certainly convinces me that it may be
the result It provides for the location
of this number of leagues upon vacant
land, or upon land that may have been
appropriated; and iu this latter case,
that the Government of the United
States shall pay the individoal owner
for the land so located npon. Now any
gentleman of common observation and
reflection knows that officers of the go-
vernment think it a no very great crime
to speculate upon the government—
[called to order.] He proceeded:
Again, I am in favor of setting apart
a million of acres for this purpose.—
The amount set forth here is by no
means adequate for the number of In-
ilinnu now within nnr limits Ami T
a fine speculation for individuals; but
Texas, in the meantime, in her national
capacity, is to get no benefit.
1 am opposed to the amendment.—
Eighteen leagues is not adequate. If
it is intended for agricultural purposes,
such a quantity is by no means suffi-
cient to make a support upon. If it is
intended that these Indians should be
located in a town, and fed by the Uni-
ted States Government, then it might
do. But if yon intend to civilize them,'
they must have more territory than that, ¡
by considerable.
I shall move a reference of the bill
to a select committee, that they may
report upon the subject of.a location in
the north-western portion of the State.
Mr. HORD hoped the House would
not adopt the suggestion. It would be
recollected that the bill had already
been up before the House; had been
examined and reported upon by a com-
mittee, and then postponed and made
the special order of the day for yester-'
day. He thought the mind of the House
was as well made up as it ever coul I
be with regard to the merits of the bill,
and he could see no use in postponing.
Mr. FOWLER said—as one of the
committee to whom the bill had been
referred, he would remark that he was
not now fully satisfied with it himself,
though he had concurred in the report
at the time it was presented.
The House refused to refer;
Mr. FERRIS—I have but a few
words to say upon this subject; and I
must confess that I view the matter now
presented before this Housé in an en-
tirely different light from those present-
ed before the committee. When I gave
my sanction to the report of that com-
mittee, it was with this understanding,
and I wish to say this distinctly to the
House: I was informed that the larger
tribes of Indians upon the frontier of
Texas absolutely refused to be colo-
nized—that the Comanches, and other
tribes, had refused to go to any territo-
ry which either Texas or the United
States would set apart for their coloni-
zation. And I was informed further
by the Indian Agent that there area
few tribes or remnants' of tribes in
Texas, that have expressed a disposi-
tion and desire to settle down and cul-
tivate the soil, and that twelve leagues
of land, or a small amount, would be
sufficient to try the experiment, and
wonld answer the purpose of coloniz-
ing those small remnants of tribes—1
do not recollect their names, not being
familiar with our Indian tribes. With
this view of the case, I consider it pro-
per and advisable that twelve leagues of
land should be set apart for a short
time, or til! other arrangements should
have been made, for their use and oc-
cupancy, to try the experiment and set
an example before the larger and more
wat -like tribes, those that we have more
to do with, and who have more to do
with frontier depredations in Texas.
And such I understood to be the opin-
ion of the Indian Agent. And when
the main question comes up with re-
gard to removing or colonizing all the
Indiaus in Texas, I shall oppose set-
ting apart for that purpose a large dis-
trict of land, without pay from the Uni-
ted States, for that government isbound
to relieve Texas from these Indians.
With no other views than those I
have expressed, and which induced me
to concur in the report of the commit-
tee, will I vote upon this question, and
if gentlemen have attempted or intend
to enlarge the district, with a view to
coloniziug all those tribes now, they
will force me to vote against the bill,
and I shall do so.
Mr. HOLMAN—1, .sir. as chairman
of that committee, held quite a conver-
sation with Major Neighbors. He said
to me. as far as concerns the quantity
of land necessary, that twelve leagues
would be fully sufficient for the pres-
ent. He said that he should like to
have a few leagues more, but the num-
ber designated would answer the pur-
pose.
I know that then* are some prejudi-
ces here against this bill, even in the
shape in which it was reported,embrac-
ing but twefefce leagues. I therefor#
hope that neither the amendment
' M uuptr lUdi nciuiri mr: iiuu*nuil
arn in favor of ifa bein£ set aptrt in the the .substitute will be adopted.
nnt1
— — —' — "j
north-western portion of the State, at a
point where the United States can best
bring them together and control them.
At the same timé, I think it due to Tex-
as, that the United States shall pay her
a minimum price for that land. This
% U provides for no payment, unless it
is Iocatedoa the property of individuals,
(Itave no kind of doubt it w^ll be lo-
cated on some individual's property
situated apon the route of the Pacific
railroad, and command from ten to
twenty dollars ner acre u Ko
Mr. HORD moved to strike out 12
leagues, and insert 900 square miles.—
HP said—
I do not believe that amendment can
be adopted ; but I present it to show tnv
position.
I believe that is the only reasonable
amendment that can be put in the bill
lam satisfied that number of square
miles is the least upon which the Indi-
ana of this State can be settled and co-
lonized.
Gentlemen have spoken about trying
an experiment upon twelve leagues.
I think, sir, the time for experimenting
in this policy has passed. The United
States have tried it fully, and have suc-
ceeded— witness the Choctavvs. the
Chickasaws, and other tribes of Indi-
ans.
By referring to the statistics in this
matter, it will be found that the United
States give about thirty times as much
land in proportion to their number of
Indians, as that amendment proposes
for our Indians. To settle them all up-
on twelve leagues of land, would give
to each Indian about two acres. It has
been estimated that 50,000 acres are
required for the subsistence of one
hunter. A hunter would build his hut
in the middle, and hunt all over it in
one day without killing any extraordi-
nary amount ol game. To propose to
settle these Indians within twelve
leagues, is to propose to establish them
into a city. No county in the State has
anything like such a population, and
nine hundred square miles of land is
a constitutional county. The United
States Government, estimating her In-
dians at 97,000, gives them about 75,-
000 square miles.
This measure, the gentleman from
Bastrop insinuates, is gotten up for
speculation. Now, sir, I think that gen-
tleman should have considered the high
source from which this measure ema-
nated. The President of the United
States suggested the pclicy to the Gov-
ernor, and it was by him brought be-
fore this legislature. It is not a pet
measure of the gentlemen from the Rio
Grande—not at all. It was brought
up at the called session of the legisla-
ture by Major Neighbors, then a Rep-
resentative fromRexar, formerly Indian
Agent for Texas,, and supposed to be
well acquainted with the subject. From
his representations, and tbe informa-
tion he laid before the House, it was
the opinion of a large majority of
members that the bill ought to pass ;
but h was brought forward too late, and
the rules prevented a bill from being
called up twice in the same day, with-
out a vote of four-fifths for their sus-
pension. And it failed, because a fifth
of the members present refused to pass
the bill, or allow it to come up. And
1 believe some gentlemen said that they
would break a quorum rather than the
bill should pass. There was intense
opposition to it, but only from a small
fraction.
The Governor has again at this ses-
sion forcibly urgred it upon our atten-
tion, and Najor Neighbors, no. now in
this body, but who has been re-appoint-
«d Indian Agent, and who has lately
returned from a visit to nearly all the
tribes, is begging us for it.
I do not support this bill from any
sickly sentiment in favor of the Indian,
but I say that it is demanded by policy
and a regard for ourselves. They must
be taken care of; they must be sus-
tained in some place. And we are not
doing a liberal part by them, even when
we give them nine hundred square
miles.
Mr. BILLINGSLY—Idid not intend
by any remark I may have made to im-
pugn the motives of any gentleman
here. Í only intended to convey the
idea that parties in power generally
confer their benefits upon their particu-
lar friends, and to express the desire
that if flnv benefit was to be derived
from such ah arrangement, the State
should have it. The bill provides that
these districts may be located by the
agent upon lands appropriated by indi-
viduals. I remarked that under this
provision a fine speculation could be
made, as the land would he greatly en-
hanced in value by the location of the
Pacific Railroad.
I want the bill so framed that it shall
set apart the vacant lands of the State.
I would like at the same time that the
Government of the United States be
bound to pay to Texas a fair minimum
price for these lands.
I agree with the gentleman that the
amount of land proposed is too small.
But 1 am opposed to dividing it into
three separate and distinct tracts. I
want these Indians located and colo-
nized in one place. The Government
of the United States has shown to the
world that it is her policy and interesl
to tench the Indians the arts of agricul-
ture. If it is intended that tbey should
live by the chase, they cannot live on
twelve,eighteen or thirty-six leagues—
and were I to say two hundred leagues,
I it would he obvious to every man ac-
j quainted with thesubjec', that it would
I be impossible for them to subsist by the
chase on that amount of territory. If it
is intended that they shall be colonized,
and taught to subsist themselves by ag-
ricultural pursuits, the provision in
the bill is too small.
In conclusion, I hope that no gentle-
man upon this floor will think that I in-
tended to cast any reflection upon his
motives in urging the adoption of this
measure.
Mr. STOUT—Were I in favor of
grantingfor those Indians any land at
all, I should be in favor of the amend't
offered by the gentleman from Starr.
In fact, that quantity of land, 900 square
miles, is too small to settle the vast
body of Indians upon our frontier,—
that is, if the Government of the Uni-
ted States hold that all the Indians up-
on our frontier are Texas Indians.
But before setting apart any land for
this purpose, I wish the United States
to separate her own Indians from
amongst ours, and let us know what
number we have. It is well known
that when the Government purchased
from the Caddos the lands they then oc-
cupied within the limits of the United
States, it turned them loose upon Tex-
as. Furnished with arms and provis-
ions, they crossed our borders, and
committed depredations upon our peo-
ple. Those Indians have at length be-
come identified with the Texas Indians,
—and I wish to know whether the Go-
vernment of the United States considers
them as Texas Indians, or as their own ?
I think that when they come to take
their own that are now roaming over
our prairies, it will be found' that there
are very few left properly belonging to
Texas.
Sir, let the United States go to that
territory she has wrested from us—let
her go to the territory of New Mexico ;
there she has sufficient room for set-
tling her Indians. I am opposed to set-
ting apart any portion of the territory
of Texas for this purpose.a single foot
of it, without restriction. She has once
wrested from us a large portion of our
territory. And it was a direct violation
of public faith when she presented to
us that compromise—as they call if.
And 1 am not willing that she should
have any foothold here whatever. If
she wants to colonize her Indians, let
her do it within her own territory, and
at the same time remove them .from
our borders.
What kind of treatment has Texas
received from the United States since
she has been annexed ? Wh^t protec-
tion has she received on her western
and northern frontiers? Has it heen
adequate ? I presume no one will say
so. Texas has been shamefully ne-
glected by the Government of the Uni-
ted States, and until she shall show a
disposition to give us that kind of pro-
tection which is absolutely necessary
to the security of our lives and proper-
ty, I for one am not going to give her
—not thirty-six, nor twelve, nor six
leagues of land to settle those Indians
upon. And were I to vote to give any
land !or the purpose, the size of one
country would not be sufficient to place
those Indians upon—not nearly enough.
I am therefore in hopes the amend-
ment will not be adopted.
The substitute was lost, and Mr.
While's amendment was also lost.
After several amendments had been
proposed and rejected, and some m nor
amendments had been adopted.
Mr. WILEY said—1 hope Mr.
Speaker the Honse will postpone the
consideration of this bill to some fu-
ture time to enable members to bestow
upon it that attention which its impor-
tance demands. I confess that until this
debate commenced I had not read the
bill, and consequently do not feel pre-
pared to present to the House in a sat-
isfactory manner such views as I en-
tertain upon the subject. Suffice it to
say, however, that my impressions are
against the policy of passing this bill.
The first section provides lor the set-
ting apart of twelve leagues of land
or so mueh of twelve leagues as the
Government ot the the United States
may select out of the vacant domain
of Texas, for the use and benefit of
the several Indian tribes within her
limits. The second section confers
authority on the General Government
to purchase the land from private indi-
viduals if deemed expedient. But it
is the lourth and fifth sections to which
I would call the atteution of the House,
and which strike my mind as partic-
ularly objectionable.
The fourth section confers full juris-
diction upon the United States Govern-
ment over ihis twelve leagues, so far
as to enable it to enforce its present or
any future Indian policy it may see fit
to establish within its limits, and ex-
pressly exempts any Indian from ac-
countability to the local jurisdictions
of the State for any otience committed
aerainst the oersons or oronerty of the
Vvhites, This feature of the bill with
my present views of the relations be-
tween the State and Federal govern-
ments I am utterly opposed to, for in-
dependently of the constitutional ob-
jection to the exercise of such a juris-
diction within the limits of l sovereign
stale by the General Government, it
would result in conflicts between the
two jurisdictions that might endanger
the stability of the Union itself. An-
other objection to the bill is that the
fifth section provides that if the land is
selected by the United States out of
the vacant domain, it shall revert to
Texas when no longer used for In-
dian purposes, but if purchased from
private individuals, it becomes abso-
lutely the property of the United
States, to be used for military purpo-
ses, even after the Indians shall have
been removed from it. This confers
upon the United States not only juris-
diction, but also, the ownership of the
soil in a certain event, and if the
amount should be increased to 900
square miles as suggested by my
friend from Starr; it would be quite a
respectable plantation for the General
Government to own within the limits
of Texas. But apart Irom these objec-
tions to the details of the bill I am op-
posed to the policy of Texas making
gratuities of land to the General Gov^
ernment for the purposes indicated in
the bill. What obligation is there on
Texas to give this land ? Is it because
Texas is rich and the General Govern-
ment too poor to pay a reasonable com
pensation for it? Or is it because Tex-
as is under an obligation to provide a
home for these Indians? These ques-
tions are easily answered.—It is the
duty of the General Government to
provide a home for these Indians and
proteet the people < f Texas against
their depredations, and she has the abil-
ity to do so, and the only duty which
Texas has to perform in the premise?,
is to co-operate on fair and eqnitable
terms in consumating this very humane
and desirable object. If the General
Government desires a portion of the
Territory of Texas for the purposes
of colonizing the Indians of Texas up-
on it, (and that this is her policy sever-
al executive messages clearly indicate,)
I would not ' be opposed to setting
apart a limited portion of our unset-
tled territory adjacent to 36' deg. 30
min. for their temporary occupancy,
provided a fair consideration should be
paid therefor. With this proviso how-
ever, that the same should be appropria-
ted to the Indian tribes of Texas ex-
clusively, and revert to Texas when it
ceased to be used for this puipose.
This territory is of little or no value to
the people of Texas from its remote-
ness, and if we can so dispose of it as
will enable the General Government to
discharge its duty to the Indiana, and
people of Texas, I can perceive no
valid objection to the policy.
% 'feas CinifG.
JO. WALKER, PROPRIETOR & Pt^ISHER.
JOHN S. FORD, EDITOR.
AUSTIN, THURSDAY, DEC. £2, 1853.
Indian Sews.
The annexed letter contains soiae interest-
ing Indian news:—
Fort Belknap, Brazos. )
December 5th, i853, j
General—I reached this place in good
health on Saturday the 3rd ins . 4bout thir-
ty miles from Fort Belknap I met John Con-
nor, who informed me that four Keeehies stola
horses from the neighborhood of Fort Gates;
he saw the horses near Fort Arbugkle, hut had
not force enough with him to jetake them ;
they are now near the Wichita mountains.
The Wichitas told John Connor that the
northern Comanches (Yamparekas) stole the
white girl and boy. John belienea it, and I
do also.
Since my arrival here, my brother, Bill
Shaw, informs me that Yellow Wolf, was kill-
ed by some Lipans. She Li pans stole some
horses from the Comanches, who followed and
overtook them, but not being strong enough
to charge upon the Lipans, were only able to
recover and drive back their horses^ the Li-
pans pursued them and in their pursuit came
upon Yellow Wolf's camp and killed him.—
Ketempse raised a party and pursued the Li-
: pans, but we have not heard of the result.—
1 Wishing this may find you well.
Í remain your friend,
JEM SHAW,
Per David W. Kakins.
Chapilain U. S. Army.
Hon. Thos. J. Rusk.
From this it appears there is danger of still
further hostilities between those tribes.
The Comanches are too numerous for the
Lipans Major Neighbors says the Lipans
S
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Ford, John S. Tri-Weekly State Times. (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 1, No. 17, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 22, 1853, newspaper, December 22, 1853; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth181720/m1/2/: accessed June 12, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.