our land, call forth its powers,
build up its institutions, promote all its great interests and see
whether we, also, in our day and generation may not perform
something worthy to be remembered."--Daniel Webster.

Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, was a part of the public domain, that
was reserved for several tribes of Indians whose native hunting grounds
were principally in the Southern states. While they remained in their
native valleys they proved a menace to the safety of the frontier
settlers, and in times of war were sure to take sides against them.
Thomas Jefferson in his day advised that they be located together on
some general reservation. This was gradually effected during the earlier
years of the last century.

The official act of congress constituting it an Indian Reservation did
not occur until 1834, but a considerable number of the Choctaws,
Chickasaws and of some other tribes were induced to migrate westward and
locate there previous to that date. Other leading tribes that were
transferred to special reservations in Indian Territory were the
Cherokees, Creeks and Seminoles.

THE FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES

The Choctaw Indians recently occupied lands in the states bordering on
the Gulf of Mexico. In 1820 a considerable part of them, ceding their
lands in Georgia, were located on a reservation in the Red River valley
west of Arkansas. In 1830 they ceded the remainder of their lands in
Alabama and Mississippi and all, together with their slaves, were then
transferred to their new reservation in the southeastern part of Indian
Territory.

The Chickasaws, who originally occupied the country on the east side of
the Mississippi river, as early as 1800 began to migrate up the valley
of the Arkansas. In 1805, 1816 and in 1818 they ceded more of their
lands and more of them migrated westward, many of them going to the
country allotted to the Choctaws. In 1834, when the last of their lands
in the Gulf states were ceded, they were located on a reservation south
of the Canadian river, west of the Choctaws. These two tribes lived
under one tribal government until 1855, when they were granted a
political separation.

The Cherokees, previous to 1830, occupied the upper valley of the
Tennessee river, extending through the northern parts of Georgia and
Alabama. In 1790 a part of the tribe migrated to Louisiana and they
rendered important services in the army of Gen. Jackson at New Orleans
in the war of 18