J. Thompson, Secretary of U.S. Department of the Interior, wrote to Charles E. Mix, Acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs, instructing him on how to proceed regarding J. B. Chapman's unlawful purchase of Osage Indian lands for railroad use. He told Mix to inform Agent Andrew Dorn in Neosho, Kansas Territory, where the sale took place, so that he could warn the Osages not to engage in any further sales. Thompson also requested that Mix contact Chapman to inform him that legal proceedings against him would be instituted immediately.