Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1888-01-06
SOME MILLIONAIRE INDIANS.
The Osages Have Seven Million Dollars at In
tereSt and Get a Quarter Million Il Year.
Kansas IiLN TImna

The Osages Have Seven Million Dollars at In
terest and Get a Quarter Million At Year.
Kansas City Times.
A visitor to the Usage Reservation, In
dian Territory, if he has a mind to study
the human race under varying conditions,
finds much of interest. He is interpri-
mos among the arlstocrats. The Usage
Indians are about the only exam pie now
left IN the United States of a real aristo-
cracy. They do not depend upon Govern
ment ratiODs, as do the CheyeDnes and
others, at all, but have enough of their
own unoisputed property to make them
the wealthlest community iE the country.
Besides the land of the reservation, which
belongs to them by title hard to assail
they have about S7OJ0,OOO bearing b per
cent. interest in the hands of the Gov
ernmsst. They are paid about S25O,OOO
a year in cash. The entire tribe numbers
only 800, SO that they are actually the
richest body of people we have.
The Osages have all the attributes of
an aristocracY. They own the land, do
absolutely no work, have plenty of money
know nothing of barter aud sale, and
therefore not much of the meaDness
which characterizes all the commercial
classes. They envy nobody, and are
satisfied with themselves and their Gus
toms With the virtues of aristocracy
they have it's vices. With generosity they
have shIftless and lazlness III perfection,
Though magnificent pastures lie before
them for miles, few of them take the
trouble to own cattle, the majority pre-
ferring to- buy beef already slaughtered
and cut up from the traders. They are
not even hunters or fishers. Their lives
are spent IN lying around under tents
and sh.nties, eating TO repetition and fill
ing their blood with impurities which
they do not take exercise enough to get
rid of. Bad habits have brought on broD-
chial and scrofulous diseases, which are
hel ping 20 still further reduce their num-
Der. They have no faith III white physi-
clans, and their own medicine men have
as much influence rs one hundred years
ago.
The Government puts premium on
reproduction by the system of distribu-
tion adopted. Each member of the tribe,
including women and children receives
about 500 year. The more wives and
children an Usage mas, therefore, tsI
richer he is. In spite Of this encourage
ment the tribe Is decreasing. A white
physician at the agency estimates that
the rate of decrease is not less than per
cent. year among the full bloods. The
half breeds are increasing. 1t can be at
once reckOned that in another half cen
tury the full bloods will nave gone, and
the splendid inheritance will be in the
possession of white men and their chill
dren, even if no new policy Is adopted by
the government TO hasten the catastrophe.
The full bloods are nearly all honest
ana mainly In their way. They have an
idea that every thing on the reservation
belongs to them, and they go behind the
counters and among the goods OF the
post-traders az freely as though they were
proprietors. Up to certain point they
understand bUsIness-debit and credit
but not much beyond the sim plest forms.
As might be expected, they are chronic
ally in debt. They want to buy every
thing they see, and think little of pr.ces,
and give away as readily as they buy
Other tribes not so well provided with
worldly goods are fond of visiting the
Osages, and on these occasions the Gus
tom of smoking" presents works TO the
disadvantage of the whealthier. Several
hundred ponies and large amounts Of
various property have thus been given TO
the Ksvs and other poorer tribes within
a few years.
Can the Osages be civilized OF course
they can. They are not civilized, to be
sure. They speak little English, and
wear the blanket and breech-ciout; they
allow their women 10 die by scores in
childbirth, and compel them to do all the
work; they arr too lazy TO raise cattle
when pasture and feed cost neither money
nor work; they keep Up the cances and
paints, and cut their hair iu helmss fash
ion. All these things they do, but they
could be easily taught to adopt the Gus
toms of civilization. Five years of edu-
cation scientifically applied would make
theri quai to the Cherokees IN civiiiza-
ton, and superior TO them in force OF
haractor.