River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1881-03-10
AnInteryiew with Col. Payne, the lead.
er of the Indian Territory
Invasion
Chicago Times.)

over five years of which he served in
the army. He was in the Black Hills
expedition with Gen Custer, and under
stands Indian warfare thoroughly.
Col. Payne and Maj. Bloss, the Sc
cretary of the colony, were called to st.
Louis on business connected with the
approaching trial in the United States
district court for invading the Indian
Territory, and, having few days lei
sure. thought he could not use it to
better advantage than by visiting
Chicago. He expressed great surprise
at the
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
of the city since his last visit, twelve
years ago, and said that, compared
with it, all western cities were mere
| pigmies in point of size and CONNER
cial enterprise
When askedby the reporter as to his
colony and their semi-inhabited city,
the colonel cited the treaty of 1866
between the Chickasaws, Choctaws.
Seminoles, and the Creeks and the
government, by which fourteen million
acres of the southwestern portion of
the Indian Territory were coded to the
government; that under law passed by
congress in 1941 " all lands from which
the Indian title has been or may here
after by extinguished shall be subject
ed to presumption" The same as any
other public lands; that the thirty
ninth congress, in section of the act
granting the right o. way to the Allan
tic and Pacific railroad through this
coded territory, granted to the road the
right to sell their sections, and opened
the even sections to actual settlers the
the same as any other part of the pub
lie domain. He sad that no one out
side of the interior department would
claim that this entire boey of ceded
lands was not Just as free from Indian
title and as open to settlers as any pub
lie land ever held by the government.
Yet the department refuses to establish
land agents or to open it up for set
| tiers.
What reason is assigned for such
a course?"
" The explanation has been that is
was part of
THEINDIAN TERRITORY,
but nobody in that country believes
there is any sincerity in the claim. 1t
is well understood that the whole af-
fair has been managed in the interest
of the Indian ring. More recently the
entire press of Kansas and the COM
bined railroad influence has been
brought against opening up the coun-
try"
What injury can it work to Kan
sas?"
81 have spent many years in Kan
sas, and own q ranch in the southern
part of the state, and | know the con-
dition ofthe settlers III that region,
I'd there is great fear that should this
land be opened up. i: being of such
desirable qnality and 50 easily of ac-
cess, thousands of farmers would at
once leave Kansas and locate there.
For almost the same rpason the rail
roads have come to oppose the open
ing up of the land. They all have the
main lines constructed along which
they hold great quantities of land
which they must sell to emigrants,
Should these millions o. acres larger
than many of the eastern states-be
thrown open, emigralts would rush
past the high-priced railroad land, es-
pecially as they would secure better
farm by so doing"
What is the genera character of
these lands?"
The cede1 portion embrace near
ly one-fourth of the entire territory. 1t
is all we'll watered, has an abundance
of good timber, the surface is diver
sified, and in the valleys, which are
extensive,
| THE SOIL is HE BEST
l ever saw, and will produce any crop
that can be grown in the best soil of
Kansas, and many parts will grow the
finest Gotten ever Produced. | have
seen cotton growing higher than my
head, and of a fine Grade. The entire
country is filled with streams affordng
the best of water-pwers. These are
some of the inducements which would
draw the emigrationfrom the railroad
lands, and for a few years would al
most stop their revenues from that
source. And should ibis land be thrown
open, it would all BE preempted and
occupied by settlersbeforc any railroad
could secure land grant, and the
settlers would have to be protected in
their previously acquired rights. The
Atlantic and Pacicexpects to secure
alternate sections on strip eighty
miles wide across a great part of this
land, and should it be occupied before
they can get their road built their grant
would be almost worthless.
Has not the interior department
placed some small tribes on portions of
this land?"
Yes, they have temporarily located
few small bands Of what are known
out there as breech-clouts' on small
portions of it. The largest of these is
the remnant of the Wichitas, about
five hundred persons. Yes, they are
peaceable and generally well disposed
Some of them are beginning to settle
down and cultivate the soil, and in time
would if let alone by the departm ent
and the ring, get to be half civilized.
George Washington, the chief CT the
Wichitas, has built himself house,
opened up a farm, and is an indus
trious man. He has learned our lang
uage, SO as to talk with us when he
meets us.
When did you first organize for
AN INVASION
of the territory"
In 1870 we first contemplated oc-
cupying some of tits land, but that fell
through, for then thought that con-
gress would settle the matter at an early
day by passing some special legislation
ordering the establishment of land of
fees, so that we could proceed in pro-
per shape. In the meantime | went
north, where | remained until after
the Custer campaign. In 1879 we
again organized, and in the spring fol-
lowing went down to point 40 miles
directly south of Wichita, where we
founded Oklahoma. There we built a
strong stockade and put things in order
so that we could repel any attack the
breech-clouts might make The colo
nists scattered out and located their
claims on the land within few miles of
the town. But instead of Indians we
soon found squad of United States
cavalry drawn up in front of as. They
told me to surrender, to which replied
that had nothing to surrender, that
had been too long in the service of
the government to think OF antagoniz-
ing its forces, but that we were citizens
of the government, seeking to establish