Joseph McKenna

“ The action of the Land Department is necessarily a strong consideration. But it is opposed by later action and also by congressional action. At any rate, the action of the Department has been brought in controversy, and because it may be supported by plausible or even strong arguments, it does not follow that the opposing claim becomes immediately so doubtful as to determine judgment against it. ”

“ It rejects that attitude and accepts a greater responsibility. It yields to the rule which this court has declared-that it 'will construe a treaty with the Indians as 'that unlettered people' understood it, and 'as justice and reason demand in all cases where power is exerted by the strong over those to whom they owe care and protection,' and counterpoise the inequality 'by the superior justice which looks only to the substance of the right, without regard to technical rules,' Choctaw Nation v. ”

“ It also shows a tributary of the Pisco river as headed near the east side of the mountain, and a spur of hills projecting between them southeasterly to meet the ridge constituting the Satass-Columbia divide. The field notes of the survey are attached to the government's brief and have this note: 'South boundary only was surveyed, in accordance with the instructions of the superintendent. The other boundaries are defined naturally.' Some of the marks and posts of this survey were found by Barnard.
One other piece of evidence needs only to be adduced. ”

“ The Interior Department ordered a survey, which was made, and which is known in this record as the Schwartz survey. Upon this the title of appellants depends. The discontent of the Indians continued and another survey was ordered by the Interior Department to be made by E. C. Barnard. This survey is the foundation of the bill and of the contention of the government. It was made and reported to the Interior Department with a map delineating the exterior boundaries of the reservation. ”

“ They reserved, it is true, a much lesser tract, but it was natural and inevitable that 'the greater boundaries of nature' should be selected to define both. These the Indians could understand and estimate. 'The inferior ridges or spurs, connected with, but leading away from, the main ridge,' could not be so definitely intelligible. The Indians had to be satisfied. ”