422 THE GEORGE CATLIN INDIAN GALLERY. 



MAPS OF THE INDIAN COUNTRY AND LOCATION, 1833-1840. 



Two maps are given, drawn by Mr. Catlin, and which precede his itin- 

 erary. The first of these is an outline map of Indian localities in 1833, 

 showing a partial location of tribes prior to their removal west of the 

 Mississippi River. The second is of the United States Indian frontier in 

 1840, showing the position or location of the tribes that were removed 

 prior to that date west of the Mississippi River. The words Indian 

 country are frequently found in Mr. Catlin's works, and these maps bear 

 upon it. 



When Mr. Catlin first began his travels in 1831 the Indian country 

 was understood to embrace a portion of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illi- 

 nois, Wisconsin, Florida, part of Alabama, and the country to the west 

 of the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains, and in Oregon. It was gen- 

 erally considered to be any lands over which Indians roamed, or upon 

 which they lived, and embraced an indefinite area. The law of 1834, 

 known as the trade and intercourse act (Revised Statutes, 729), was an 

 act defining the " Indian country"; it was repealed by the Revised Statutes 

 of the United States, 1875. A legal decision was rendered by Judge 

 Hillyer, of the United States district court of Nevada, in the case of the 

 United States vs. Leathers (6 Sawyer, 17), in which he decided that the 

 first section of the intercourse law of 1834 was repealed by the Revised 

 Statutes, and that the words " Indian country" now referred to the 

 portions of the public lands allotted to the use and occupation of the 

 Indians. The Indian Bureau holds that the words '■ Indian country" 

 now applies to the following classes of Indian reservations: Lands ex- 

 pressly reserved by treaty or act of Congress, or set apart for the use 

 of the Indians by executive order of the President of the United States ; 

 lands patented to Indian tribes ; and lands which have been purchased 

 by or ceded to the United States for the purpose of settling friendly 

 Indians thereon. 



