1895-96 Manuscript Cattle-Lease Map of Indian Territory
DESCRIPTION
This exceptionally rare manuscript map was prepared for the U.S. Senate during the 54th Congress, 1st Session (1895–1896) as Enclosure No. 3 within Senate Executive Document No. 48.
Created to support federal investigations into illegal or improperly approved cattle-grazing leases on the Cheyenne & Arapaho Reservation, the map combines manuscript red and black ink to illustrate contested boundaries, tribal jurisdictions, and the enormous lease blocks held by private cattle syndicates. Unlike standard printed General Land Office maps, this example was clearly produced for internal governmental analysis, making it a rare and highly significant document of Indian Territory land policy.
Map Content and Visual Composition
The map depicts the Cheyenne & Arapaho Reservation at center, bordered by the Kiowa, Comanche, Wichita, Sac & Fox, Seminole, Pottawatomie, and Chickasaw Nations. Manuscript red ink labels tribal territories, agency jurisdictions, and several “Unratified Agreement” boundaries dated to the 1860s and 1870s. These notations mark proposed but never approved land-cession treaties, information essential to understanding which boundaries were legally recognized during the cattle-lease controversy. The combination of red treaty lines and black administrative markings creates a layered geographic and political portrait of western Indian Territory.
Cattle-Lease Annotations: Acreage, Financial, and Administrative Revenue
Large rectangular blocks in black manuscript ink identify the extensive grazing leases held by major cattle syndicates, including the vast tracts assigned to H. T. Finley (575,000 and 363,450 acres), R. J. Fink, W. S. Converse (500,000 acres), and W. N. Briggs. Additional notes such as “About 500,000 Acres” and “18 miles west of Fort Reno” provide spatial context used by Senate investigators to assess the leases’ proximity to military supervision and agency authority. The black script conveys not only the acreage and position of each lease but also the logic used by investigators evaluating the legality of these holdings.
In the lower-left margin, a rare and revealing manuscript calculation totals the acreage controlled by all cattle syndicates and then multiplies that figure by $0.02 per acre, yielding a valuation of $62,357.60. This two-cents-per-acre rate reflected what cattle companies claimed they were obligated to pay, often far below fair market value and, in many cases, never fully remitted to the tribes. The presence of this computation confirms that the map functioned as a working analytical exhibit for the Senate inquiry, providing economic evidence of the scale of private benefit derived from tribal lands and highlighting the financial disparities central to the investigation.
Historical Significance of the Map
As a manuscript evidence map created for a federal investigation, this piece documents not only the geographic layout of the Cheyenne & Arapaho Reservation but also the political, legal, and financial forces shaping Indian Territory in the 1890s. The map illustrates the vast reach of cattle syndicates, the legal ambiguity created by unratified treaties, and the federal government’s struggle to regulate land use, military oversight, and tribal sovereignty. Few surviving maps integrate this level of manuscript commentary, combining territorial boundaries, economic analysis, and lease-block delineation, making this an especially valuable primary source for understanding the transformation of Indian Territory in the decade preceding Oklahoma statehood.
CONDITION
1200 W. 35th Street #425 Chicago, IL 60609 | P: (312) 496 - 3622