River, or the Washita massacre, an ignominious part of the United States' Indian Wars. Removal to Indian territory The Osage were one of the few American Indian nations to buy their own reservation. As a result, they retained more rights to the land and sovereignty. They retained mineral rights on their lands. The reservation, of approximately , is coterminous with present-day Osage County, Oklahoma, in the north-central portion of the state between Tulsa and Ponca City. The Osage established four towns: Pawhuska, Hominy, Fairfax, and Gray Horse. Each was dominated by one of the major bands at the time of removal. The Osage continued their relationship with the Catholic Church, which established schools operated by two orders of nuns, as well as mission churches. It was many years before the Osage recovered from the hardships suffered during their last years in Kansas and their early years on the reservation in Indian Territory. For nearly five years during the depression of the 1870s, the Osage did not receive their full annuity in cash. Like other Native Americans, they suffered from the government's failure to provide full or satisfactory rations and goods as part of their annuities during this period. Middlemen made profits by shorting supplies to the Indians or giving them poor-quality food. Some people starved. Many adjustments had to be made to their new way of life. During this time, Indian Office reports showed nearly a 50 percent decline in the Osage population. This resulted from the failure of the U.S. government to provide adequate medical supplies, food and clothing. The people suffered greatly during the winters. While the government failed to supply them, outlaws often smuggled whiskey to the Osage and the Pawnee. In 1879, an Osage delegation went to Washington, D.C., and gained agreement to have all their annuities paid in cash; they hoped to avoid being continually shortchanged in supplies, or by being given supplies of inferior quality - spoiled food and inappropriate goods. They were the first Native American nation to gain full cash payment of annuities. They gradually began to build up their tribe again but suffered encroachment by white outlaws, vagabonds, and thieves. The Osage wrote a constitution in 1881, modeling some parts of it after the United States Constitution. By the start of the 20th century, the federal government and progressives were continuing to press for Native American assimilation, believing this was the