University of Oklahoma College of Law University of Oklahoma College of Law Digital Commons American Indian and Alaskan Native Documents in the Congressional Serial Set: 1817-1899 8-20-1842 The aC ddo Indian Treaty. (To accompany joint resolution no. 18.) Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.ou.edu/indianserialset Part of the Indian and Aboriginal Law Commons Recommended Citation H.R. No. 1035, 27th Cong., 2nd Sess. (1842) This House Report is brought to you for free and open access by University of Oklahoma College of Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in American Indian and Alaskan Native Documents in the Congressional Serial Set: 1817-1899 by an authorized administrator of University of Oklahoma College of Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. I .27th CoYGREss, Rep. No. 1035. Ho. OF REPS~ 2d Session. THE CADDO INDIAN TREATY. [To accompany joint resolution No. 18.J • AucusT 20, 1842• • JYir. JAMES CooPER, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, made the fol~ lowing REPORT: The Committee on Indian Alfairs, to whom was 'referred th.e '":emorial of Samuel Norriss, together with the papers, docur.~..,aJs, anu testimony 'relative to the fraud alleged to have been committed by the commis­ sioner who negotiated the freaty with the Caddo Indians, on the 1st. day of July, 1835, report: On the 6th day of February, 1840, the following memorialf with the ac­ -<€ompanying affidavits, was referred, part to the Committee on Private Land Claims and part to the Committe.e on Indian Affairs, to wit : To the honomble the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of .11.merica in Congress assembled: Your memorialist, a citizen of the parish of Caddo, in the State of Louisiana> RESPECTFULLY REPRESENTS : That he is the claimant, occupant, and proprietor of a certain section of land situate on Rush island, on the southwest bank of Red river, and with- 1in the limits of the late neutral territory; that he occupied and cultivated,. .in good faith, a considerable 'portion of the said land on and prior to the twenty-second day of February, one thousand eight hundred and nineteen,. and made due proof of such occupancy and cultivation before the board of ,commissioners, organized under what is commonly called the Rio Hondo ..act of Congress; that, notwithstanding the said occupancy and proof, the :~aid claim, together with several others, was suspended by reason of the false, envious, and illegal interference and representations of George Grey, ·the then agent of the Caddo Indians; that afterward (to wit, in the au­ tumn of 1835) one Jehiel Brooks, agent of the Caddo Indians, negotiated a treaty with the said Indians, to which he made an appendage, whereby he -caused a rt!servation of three leagues of land to be made to certain free ne­ groes called Touline alias Grappe, and also a reservation of one league more to the legitimate heirs of Fran9ois Grappe, deceased, and then purchas~d :the said four leagues of land for six thousand dollars, as will appear by reference to the annexed copies of sale. Samuel Norriss, your memorialist, further alleges that, in the ratification -0f the said appendage to the Caddo treaty~ manifest injustice has been done to him as well as to a number of his neighbors, to wit, Mr. Lefroy Dupree, assignee of Leonard Dyson, who lives below and adjoining your memori­ a list, and the assignee of Frangois Poinet alias Porier, whose claim joins· the upper line of your memorialist's land, and others; that said Jehiel 2 Rep. No. 1035~ Brooks kept th_e" said res~rvation ~ecr_et and concealed from all ~he persons­ residino- on or interested m the said island, and from 1he pnbhc, and also manag~d to keep the said reserve secret and hidden from our members of the House of Representatives in Congress. Your p~titioner further repre­ sents, that the said negroes had no_ shadow of claim upon the justice or generosity of said Indians for the sa1? reserve, a1Jd th~t the_ whole affai~ of said reserve was a base finesse of said Brooks to obtain said land for him­ self which he has done ; that in this hidden and unprincipled manner the said Brooks has been allowed to speculate and to enrich himself at the ex­ pense of your mem~rialist, his neig~ bors, an~ the Feder~l _Govern men~,. and the said Brooks 1s now endeavormg to evict yonr pet1t10ner and his neighbors from their lands, homes, and .firesides; and by reason of these­ cret machinations of said Brooks, your petitioner knew uothing of said re­ serve until it appeared in tbe public prints, for, had be known it, he would have entered his protest in due time before the ratification. Your memo­ rialist further alleges that the said Indians never claimed the said island, but claimed the Bayou Pierre chute of Red river as their east line. Your petitioner feels it a duty which he owes to himself and to the Federal Gov­ ernment to expose the fraud of said Brooks in thus illegally obtaining the: said reserve of four leagues, which covers his land; wherefore your memo­ rialist pray -that your honorable body would thoroughly ir.vestigate this. subject, would send for persons and papers, and would revoke and annul the said reserve, (without prejudice. to the said treaty,) and grant our right to said section of land. And, as in duty bound, will ever, &c. SAMUEL NORRISS. Attest: ROBERT V. MARYE. TATE OF Lou1s1ANA, Parish of Caddo: Personally appeared before me, the undersigned authority, Mr. Samuel orriss, the above memorialist, who, being first duly sworn, deposes and ays that all the material facts aud allegations set forth in his foregoing pctitiou or memorial are just and true, and that this affidavit is solely made to protect his just rights and those of the Federal Government. SAMUEL NORRISS. worn and snbscribed to before me this 29th November, 1839. ROBERT V. MARYE, Justice oft he Peace of State and parish above written. TATE OF Lo 1 1. NA, Pa'rish of Caddo: Per::,onally appeared before me, the undersigned authority, Mr. Joseph Valentin, a r ole, and Thomas Wallace, sen., of said parish, who, being duly sworn, d po_se and ay that all the facts set forth in the foregoing pe­ tition and affidavit of amuel ordss are just and tme, and that said Sam­ uel is the father of a large family ; that this affidavit is solely made to pro­ tect the just rights of said orriss and the Federal Government; and that this affiiant (Jo, eph Valentin) bas no interest in said land or on said island: 1hat he, this deponent, is fifty years of age, an<l the father of a family. nd further he says not. JOSEPH VALE TIN, his+ mark. 'J;'HOMAS WALLACE, sen., his + mark. Rep. No. 1035. 3 Sworn and subscribed to before me, with their ordinary fnarks, this 30th November, 1839. ROBERT V ..MARYE, Justice of the Peace, Parish of Caddo, State of Louisiana. I, the undersigned authority, do hereby certify that I am personally ac­ quainted with Messrs. Joseph Valentin, Samuel Norriss, and Thomas Wal­ lace, whose names appear as witnesses to the above instrument, and that they are esteemed worthy and honest citizens, and incapable of taking an oath falsely. ROBERT V. MARYE, J. P. NOVEMBER. 30, 1S39. STATE OF LomsrANA, Par£s1i of Caddo: I hereby certify that R. V. Marye, whose name is signed to the abov,e instrument, is an acting justice of the peace of the parish of Caddo, State of Louisiana, and that his official acts are entitled to full faith and credit. Given under my hand and seal of office, at Shreveport, on the 2d [L. s.J of December, 1839. W. JENKINS, Parish Judge. · On the 15th day of December, 1841, a large amount of testimony, which had been taken on commissions issued under the authority of the House, was referred the Committee on Indian Affairs, in pursuance of which an inves­ tigation of the facts alleged in the memorial was undertaken. This inves­ tigation has been a most extensive and laborious one, as well in conse­ quence of the great mass of testimony, relevant and irrelevant, which the parties have produced before the committee, as of the intrinsic difficulties of the questions involved. These difficulties will become apparent as the facts are developed. By reference to the memorial it will be seen that it contains a com­ plaint of fraud against the -commissioner who negotiated the treaty with the Caddo Indians on the the 1st day of July, 1835. Hy an article supplementary to this treaty, four leagues of land, situated on Rush island, in Red river, were reserved to certain persons by the name of Grappe. At the time of the treaty this land was occupied by the me­ morialist (Samuel Norriss) and other persons. Shortly after the treaty the whole of the reservation made in favor of the Grappes, was purchased from them by Jehiel Brooks, the cornmi8sioner who negotiated the treaty. 'I'his reservation, it is · alleged by the memorialist, was a fraud upon the United States and on those who occupied the land at the time of the treaty; that Rush island, on which the reservation in favor of the Grappes was located by the treaty, was not within the limits of the country claimed by the Cad_does; and that, in fact, no land had ever been conveyed or granted in any manner by the Caddoes to the said Grappes; and that the reserva­ tion of the four leagues of land was fraudulently introduced into the treaty without the knowledge or consent of the Indians.