Sol Archive Mysteries · Finding #1159
Tonawanda 1857 treaty promised $256,000; the 1889 synopsis prints $250,000 and misdates its supplement
The original Nov. 5, 1857 treaty and same-day supplement specify $256,000. An 1889 Assembly retrospective prints $250,000 and dates the supplement Nov. 5, 1847 — a $6,000 understatement and a date error, not proof of individual underpayment.
Finding #1159 restores the treaty text against a widely reproduced retrospective. The Tonawanda treaty of November 5, 1857 (Charles E. Mix for the United States; Ground, Spring, Shanks, Sky, Parker for the band) Article II agrees to “pay and invest … the sum of $256,000.” Supplemental articles the same day and meeting-house allow certain purchases above the $20/acre ceiling with presidential approval. Senate consent June 4, 1858; Buchanan proclamation March 31, 1859 — dates that cannot accommodate a November 5, 1847 supplement.
The 1889 Assembly Doc. No. 51 summary prints $250,000 and calls the supplement “bearing the same date, November 5, 1847.” Difference: $6,000, not a rounding of the separate $15,018.36 improvement account (Article VII), which remained subject to apportionment and is not evidence of named individual receipt. Boundaries: no certification that the whole $256,000 was disbursed, any purchase closed, or title transferred. Distinct from #1157 valuations ≠ consent and #1158 Fellows holding.
Source: 1857-tonawanda-treaty-256000-1889-retrospective-250000-1847-typo · commit 106a808e · 12 Stat. 991–996 · standing 379