THE 



National Geographic Magazine 



Vol. IX DECEMBER, 1898 So. 12 



THE FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES AND THE SURVEY OF 

 INDIAN TERRITORY* 



By C. H. Fitch, 

 Topographer, U. S. Geological Survey, in Charge of Indian Territory Surveys 



Mr Henry Gannett, Chief Geographer of the U. S. Geological 

 Survey, presented to the readers of The National Geographic 

 Magazine in March, 1896, an article on the survey and subdi- 

 vision of Indian Territory and the progress made in the survey 

 up to the time of writing. Now that the survey has been com- 

 pleted, a summary of the work, with some remarks upon the 

 present condition of affairs in the territory, may be of interest. 



An impression prevails among many eastern people that In- 

 dian Tenitory is in the Cherokee strip, or is at least a part of 

 Oklahoma, or somewhere in the remote west, and yet apparently 

 much interest is being shown at this time in the condition of 

 affairs in the country occupied by the Five Civilized Tribes. 



Indian Territory lies between latitude 33° 30' and 37° north 

 and longitude 94° 30' and 98° west. The lands held by the Five 

 Civilized Tribes comprise nearly all the territory, and cover an 

 area of about 31,000 square miles. 



This territory, as well as that of Oklahoma, was originally 

 granted to certain tribes in exchange for lands east of the Mis- 

 sissippi, which were demanded for settlement by whites. The 

 Five Civilized Tribes consist of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choc- 

 taw, Creek, and Seminole nations, and they have been occupants 

 of these lands since 1833, when their removal from the south- 



* Presented at the Joint Session of the National Geographic Society and the A. A. 

 A. S., Boston, August 25, 1898. 



