This petition and summons relate to the case against John Ball for settling on lands belonging to the Miami tribe on January 15, 1860 in Linn County, Kansas Territory. Ball was summoned to the Third District Court of the Kansas Territory to pay a fine of one thousand dollars. The summons was issued and delivered successfully in April of 1860. During the 1820s and 1830s, many Native American tribes were forcibly removed to lands west of the Mississippi River. When Kansas became a territory in 1854, the influx of settlers led to encroachment on lands promised to Native American tribes. At the time of this case, the Miami tribe inhabited land promised to them by the U.S. government in present day Miami and Linn counties.
Kansas Memory
Kansas Historical Society
United States versus John Ball for settling on Indian lands - 1