THE INDIAN TERRITORY.

Area,.

Population in 1870,

68,991 Square Miles. about 17,000.

THE Indian Territory consists of a tract of country set apart by the United States as a permanent home for the Indian tribes removed thither from east of the Mississippi as well as those native to the Territory. It lies between 33° 30' and 37° N. latitude; and between 94° 30' and 103° W. longitude. It is bounded on the north by Kansas, on the east by Missouri and Arkansas, on the south by Texas, and on the west by Texas and New Mexico.

The country slopes gently from the western border, which lies near the foot of the Rocky Mountains, towards the eastern border. With the exception of a large sandy and barren tract in the northeast portion, called the Great American Desert, the surface of the Territory consists of undulating plains of great extent. The Ozark or Washita Mountains enter the eastern portion from Arkansas.

The Territory is drained by the Arkansas and Red rivers and their tributaries. The Arkansas and Red are navigable for steamers for a part of their course, but the tributaries are too shallow for navigation. The greater part of the Territory is still in a wild state, and abounds in game. Vast herds of buffaloes and wild horses roam over its prairies. The antelope, deer, prairie dog, wild turkeys, and grouse are found.

The United States Government has military stations at Fort Gibson, on the Arkansas, Fort Townson, on the Red, and Fort Washita, on the Red River, but the Federal Government exercises no authority over the Indians except for the punishment of certain crimes committed by them against the whites. For this purpose, the Indian

Territory is annexed to the Judicial Districts of the States of Missouri and Arkansas, that the offending Indians may be brought to trial before the United States Circuit and District Courts when sitting in those districts. The Indians are allowed to live under their own laws, and to follow their own customs and modes of life. Each tribe has its lands assigned and secured to it by the United States. Several efforts have been made to organize the Territory. In the latter part of 1870, a general council of the tribes was held at Ockmulgee, at which a Constitution for the Territory, similar in its provisions and requirements to the Constitution of the United States, was adopted by an almost unanimous vote, subject to ratification by the people. This Constitution provides for a government and political system similar to our own, and confines its privileges to the Indian tribes of the Territory. In the new system the various Indian nations correspond with the States of our own Confederation.

The principal tribes now occupying the Territory are the Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks, Seminoles, Cherokees, and Osages. Some of these tribes-the Cherokees being the most improved-have made great advances in civilization, and have their towns, farms, schools, and churches, whilst others are fast falling into vagrancy. The United States Government holds in trust for these Indians the sum of $1,600,000, yielding an annual income of over $100,000. The tribes have ceded nearly 40,000,000 acres of their lands to the United States, and the organization of the Territory would open these to settlement. The chiefs oppose the movement.

THE Territory of Montana, with the exception of a small portion in the south west, lies between 45° and 49° N. latitude, and 104° and 116° W. longitude. Its extreme length, from east to west, is about 560 miles, and its extreme breadth, from north to south, about 320 miles. This is at the projection in the southeast portion. In other parts its average breadth is about 275 miles. It is bounded on the north by British America, on the east by Dakota Territory, on the south by Wyoming and Idaho Territories, and on the west by Idaho.

"The surface is generally mountainous. The great Rocky Mountain range extends across the Territory. Commencing at the northern boundary this range extends for a distance of about 200 miles in a south-southeast direction, and then describes a great curve towards the west until it touches the border of Idaho. From this point it extends along the southwestern boundary of Montana for a distance of nearly 200 miles. The Bitter Root Mountains also form a part of the western boundary. Minor chains of mountains occur in different parts of the Territory. The long valley of the Yellow Stone River, in the eastern part of Montana, is reported to be fertile, and to be bordered on one or two sides by grand walls of mountain. The valleys. of the extensive region, between the Yellowstone and the Missouri, are said to be liberally supplied with running water and forest trees, among which the pine and cedar are to be found. The pine, fir, and cedar also abound on the Rocky Mountains and Bitter Root Mountains. The country bordering on the Jefferson Fork, the Gallatin Fork, and the Madison Fork of the Missouri,' says Captain Mullan,