Farmers from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and various points south crowded the Crawfordsville, Indiana, Federal Land Office on Christmas Eve in 1824. Some had been there for weeks scouting the best farm sites or waiting for their favorite parcel to come up for auction. They read surveyor's notes in the office, rode out into the thick forests to investigate land parcels themselves, imagined timber stands becoming cabins and profitable lumber, assessed the quality of springs and streams for drinking water and market transport, smelled the dirt to test for fertility, and maybe took a shot or two at the still-abundant wildlife. In the evenings the farmers returned to town, visited with relatives and acquaintances, drank whiskey in the local taverns, and slept on the floors of log cabins. Then it was time for the auction itself, when the government agent began selling parcels of land by their...