The Rock Island Argus., 1885-01-23
OKLAHOMA LANDS.
SENATOR VEST GIVES HIS VIEW OF
THEIR STATUS.
lie Is Very Sure No White Man Has a
Right to Settle on Them, and In
dorses the Presidents Action
Significance of the Name

Significance of the Name.
WASHINGTON CITY, Jan 20. The senate
Wednesday discussed the court of appeals |
bill for a time, and then took up the regular |
order, the interstate commerce bin, and |
Coke spoke against the senate measure. At |
the conclusion of his speech, action was |
taken upon the death of tho late J. H |
Evans, representative from South Carolina, |
and then the senate adjourned.
On Thursday Mlnderson, from the COM
mittee on printing, reported favorably q res
olution providing that The Congressional
Record shall be confined to d transcript of
the regular proceedings of congress Hoar,
| desiring to make some remarks on the sub
| ject embraced in the resolution asked that it
be laid over for day; so ordered.
! The chair laid before the senate the reso
luton offered Wednesday by Plumb calling
| upon the president for the status of the
| Creek and Seminole Indian lands in Indian
territory, as viewed by the executive; the
action taken, ii any, to expel persons seek
! ing to settle thereon, and the reason therefor.
He also directed the reading of Senator
Vests amendment to the resolution. THE
amendment directs the secretary Of the in
terror to ascertain upon what terms the
Creeks and SeminoEes will relinquish and
convey to the United States all right and
title and interest in their country.l
Vest, upon reflection, did not desire his
amendment to conflict with that Of the sen
ator from Kansas, and thought in view of
existing circumstances both resolutions
might properly be adopted. He
understood from press dispatches, pub
lished Thursday morning, that the leader
of the Oklahoma invaders was desperate
character, and rather courted an attack.
There was but one course for the president
to pursue, and that had been adopted. Nc
intelligent person could say that the terri
tory was open to settlement to white persons
at This time but Notwithstanding this, there
were ESQ armed men encamped near the
saltwater prepared 10 resist United States
| officers.
Continuing Vest said that great miSap-
preheusioa existed as to what Oklahoma
was Recent debates in another part OF the
capitol indicated a Lolief that the president
was violating law ana precedent III prevent
ing white men settling on this territory. lie
asserted that the president could not do
otherwise than he hal done. without Vloiat-
Ing his oath.
The i-inal territory of Oklahoma con
sists Of 8, 600 square miles in the most central
part of the Indian territory. The whole diff
2 licultv arose from misunderstanding of the
third section of the treaty of 1866 with the
Creeks, which ceded to the United States, tC
be used for homes for freed men and civil
lied Indians, the west half OF their entire
claim. He did not question that the inten
ton Of congress in making that treaty wa
! to include all the freedmen Of tn
/ United States, and to colonies the lately
emancipated freedmen there. Mr., Schur1
enormously, as he Vest believed, held tina
its provisions only applied to the negroe
formerly held in slavery by the Creeks them
selves. However this might be, there conl
be no question that no white man had an,
any right in that territory, and he West
was astounded to hear, and could hardly be
lieve, that a judge in Kansas had declare
the territory open to settlement Thes
lands had been obtained from the Indians q
an absurdly insufficient price. Huma
tongue could not describe the wrongs II
fiicted on the Indians. This question mus
be settled by law, or it would be settled b
blood
Dawes said that if the senate bill, passa
three or four years ago, to punish the le"i
ers in the Oklahoma invasion, had bee
adopted by the house, much suffering woul
have been saved TO the innocent but dc
luled followers Of these men. The respohs
bility did not rest at the door of the senat
The resolution Of the senator from hissou
[Nestl opened up the question OF the ult1ma
disposition of these lands, question 50 III
portaut that he [Dawesl hoped it would o
cupy the attention of the senate till 1t W.
disposed Of Here We're over million and
quarter acres of fertile lands, larger are
than the whole state of Massach
setts, without a dwelling of a
Indian or q white man upi
them, except a few cowboys herding catt
under Il single lsase--a territory of no Il
- for the purpose for which it had been Q
tanned Vast tracts in other portions OF t
Indian territory were in the same conditio
The time must soon come when all the
lands must be opened to the white man
settlement. He was in favor of the propo
ton advocated by Vest, to negotiate WI
the Greeks and Saminoles for possession
these lands but he desired the resoluti
broadened so as to apply not only to Ok
houa. but to all these Indian lands,
Hawlev inquired whether there was a
authority for calling any part of this +
ritory Oklahoma-what was the origin
- name:
Vest replied that the name was conferI
on the territory by Col Boudinot, a Che
kee and meant in the Cherokee langua
"The home of the red man." There was
law for the name
Harrison believed that some authentic J
and nay declaration by the senate that th
lands were not open to settlement niE
avert threatened bloodshed. MaXey al
Gated VIGOROUS measures to put down tn
organized lawless invasions of territory
. open to settlement,
Plumb was of opinion that some of tn
now in Oklahoma honestly believed they
a. a right to be there. He himself had hei
the rumor referred to by Vest, that Uni
States Judge of Kansas had decided tn
lands to be open for settlement and had
tanned copy of the judgment and foun
decided no such thing. The erroneous
port of this decision had done much TO br
about the present crisis.
The resolution was then laid over and
senate went into executive session on
Nicaragua treaty
The Indian appropriation bill engaged
attention of the house "Wednesday III
twenty-nine pages had been considered W
the senate resolution on the death of Sc
a.1 tor Anthony came up, and proper act
Nie was taken.
Cobb from the conference committee
the Oregon Central land forfeiture bill, s
mitted report recommending concurre
in the senate amendment, which
G. adopted.
IA The house then went into committee Of
whole on the Indian appropriation bill
Schuyler Coifax's VIII.
South BEND, Ind, Jan 23-The vii
the late Schuyler Cotfax was admitted
cn probate Wednesday, The residence,
contents, goes to Mrs Colfax, together
half the residue of the estate The rest
to Schuyler Colfax, Jr. George W.
thnu- Is nanel nxa.utor. Ihe estat