Tomahawk right was a means by which settlers during early period of frontier settlement

American pioneer

American pioneers are any of the people in American history who migrated west to join in settling and developing new areas. The term especially refers to those who were going to settle any territory which had previously not been settled or developed by European or American society, although the...

s in the United States would claim title to a tract of land. The process was to deaden a few trees near the head of a spring

Spring (hydrosphere)

A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...

, and mark the bark of one or more of them with the initials or name of the person who made the claim.

Tomahawk Rights gave the settler no legal title unless followed by occupation or a warrant and a patent secured from the land office

Public Land Survey System

The Public Land Survey System is a method used in the United States to survey and identify land parcels, particularly for titles and deeds of rural, wild or undeveloped land. Its basic units of area are the township and section. It is sometimes referred to as the rectangular survey system,...

. But the Tomahawk Rights were quite generally recognized by the early settlers, and many of them were purchased cheaply by other settlers who did not want to enter into a controversy with the claimants who made them.