[200] Arthur initially resisted their efforts, but after Secretary of the Interior Henry M. Teller, an opponent of allotment, assured him that the lands were not protected, Arthur opened up the Crow Creek Reservation in the Dakota Territory to settlers by executive order in 1885.[200] Arthur's successor, Grover Cleveland, finding that title belonged to the Native Americans, revoked Arthur's order a few months later.[200]

Health, travel, and 1884 election[edit]
Arthur on an expedition in Yellowstone National Park along with Philip Sheridan and Robert Todd Lincoln
Shortly after becoming president, Arthur was diagnosed with Bright's disease, a kidney ailment now referred to as nephritis.[201] He attempted to keep his condition private, but by 1883 rumors of his illness began to circulate; he had become thinner and more aged in appearance, and struggled to keep the pace of the presidency.[201] To rejuvenate his health outside the confines of Washington, Arthur and some political friends traveled to Florida in April 1883.[202] The vacation had the opposite effect, and Arthur suffered from intense pain before returning to Washington.[202] Later that year, on the advice of Missouri Senator George Graham Vest, he visited Yellowstone National Park.