THE FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES 487 



the Indians are slow to think and slow to act, and have per- 

 sistently opposed any change in their tribal relations. Recently, 

 however, some progress has been made in this direction, and 

 agreements have been prepared and signed by representatives 

 of certain of the tribes and the Dawes Commission. A bill pro- 

 viding for the protection of the people of Indian Territory, com- 

 monly called the Curtis bill, has recently become a law. Its 

 most important provisions are for the allotment of lands in sev- 

 eralty to the Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes, and for the 

 laying out of towns, leasing of coal lands, etc. 



To allot the lands there must of necessity be a subdivisional 

 survey. The only survey that h'ad ever been made was that of 

 several outboundaries of the nations, and the subdivision of the 

 Chickasaw Nation, accomplished about twenty-five years ago. 

 Under the provisions of an act of Congress approved March 2, 

 1895, an appropriation of $200,000 was made for the survey and 

 subdivision of lands in the Indian Territory, under the rectan- 

 gular system. The act referred to provided further that the 

 Secretary of the Interior might in his discretion place the work 

 under the supervision of the Director of the U. S. Geological 

 Survey. Usually, surveys under the rectangular system are exe- 

 cuted under contracts let by the surveyor general for the dis- 

 trict in which the surveys are to be made. Where there is no 

 surveyor general, as in this case, the contracts are awarded by 

 the Commissioner of the General Land Office, with the approval 

 of the Secretary of the Interior. The contracts are let at stipu- 

 lated rates per linear mile, as fixed by law. 



The Secretary of the Interior decided, under the authority 

 granted by Congress, to place the work of the subdivision of the 

 Territory in charge of the Director of the Geological Survey, 

 and a plan of operations was drawn up by the latter officer and 

 approved by the Secretary March 21, 1895. Immediate steps 

 were taken to begin the work and by April 1 the first parties 

 were in the field. 



The force was increased as rapidly as was consistent with econ- 

 omy, until two parties were engaged in establishing the standard 

 meridians and parallels at intervals of 24 miles ; six parties 

 were engaged in running township exteriors within the blocks 

 bounded by standard lines ; and four parties, each consisting of 

 two camps with two surveyors or transitmen in each camp, were 

 engaged upon the subdivision of townships. Each of the sub- 

 division parties was placed under the control of a topographer 

 of the permanent force of the Geological Survey, whose duty 



