The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1889-05-18
THE CHEROKEE INDIANS.
GLIMPSEs OF THE RED MAN IN A
CIVILIZED STATE.

Cherokee Life and Government I'm
the Indian Territory "A Good
School System and Prosperity.
Tahleauah, the capital of the Cherokees
in the Indian Territory, is lovely little
village. nesting amid a range of flint
covered hills. The capitol building is
as fine State building as might have
been seen q few years in some of our
Western States. The chief, at the time
of my visit, was Hon. ID. w. Bushy-
head. Mr.. Bushyhead has proven him
self to be quite statesman. He took
grea. pains to instruct us in his manner
of running the government. There is
perhaps no government in the world so
Independent and yet so dependent as the
Cherokees's. They have large surplus
on hand or at interest, enough to more
than run their government, for schools
and support of the blind are never fully
expended. After paying every appro-
priation they have surplus OF several
thousand dollars left. They rent the
Cherokee strip for almost enough to pay
all the current expenses of the nation,
funds which bring in large amount OF
revenue. Their citizens pay no taxes,
they have no paupers, and consequently
no poorhouses All the land is held in
common, and each Cherokee is entitled
to all the land he can cultivate or rent,
be it 100 acres or 10000. If their present
prosperity continues, with all the facilities
at their command (Which they seem capa-
BILE of taking advantage of, they will in
a few years become race OF mllllonalres.
Chief Bushyhead was a half-blood
Cherokee and half Scotch. He was
bonn in Tennessee on the 10th day of
March, 1926, and was educated at one
of the mission schools. He made an ex-
cellent official, and was in 1887 sue
ceeded by Hon. Joel b. Mayes, for a
number of years Chief Justice of the
Cherokee Supreme Court, who is the
chief at the present time. There are
number of Cherokees who have become
famous, and among them is Colonel
William P. Boudinot, who, as musician,
according to his training, has no
superior. There are many excellent
musicians among the Cherokees, and
when he was young man Boudlnot
stood foremost among them.
The Cherokee Government is re-
public. The chief executive is the
principal chief, who corresponds to the
President of the United States or
Governor of a State. The second in
power is the assistant chief. They have
Q national council consisting of Senate
and lower house. They have Supreme
Court to which all litigation from the
lower courts can be appealed, consisting
of three judges. Their lawyers and
judges are all men learned in the law,
many of them being graduates OF law
schools in the States. The nation is
divided into districts which correspond
to counties, and there is sheriff to each
district, and circuit Judge appointed
over every three or four districts. All
officers are elected, either by the people
or by the National Council, except few
appointed by the chief who have to be
confirmed by the Senate. We found
many ambitious politicians among the
red men The Senate is composed chiefly
of white Cherokees and is by far the
ablest body. The House of Representa-
tives, consisting of one from each dis
trict, is made up mostly of full bloods.
The Senate and House are both opened
with prayer. The Senate has Presi-
dent and the house Speaker, elected
from its own body. There are three
clerks and two Interpreters for each
body. \ bill is read in English and
then translated and read in the Cherokee
language, which makes the mills of the
gods in Tahlequah grind slowly. There
are no blanket Indians among the
and some of them dress much better than
their immediate white neighbors.
We visited the missions and public
schools of the Cherokees and found them
all in excellent running order. The male
and female seminaries are magnificent
buildings, the former about one and the
latter four miles from the capital. Fifty
students are admitted free to the male,
and fifty to the female seminaries free
BY saving free, We mean free of books,
board and tuition. The tuition and
books are free to all Cherokee children
who will 20, and we have the first to
ind yet who did not attend some school A;
but fifty are selected, whose board is
paid during their tuition by the nation.
The Cherokee school system Is some
thing of which they are justly proud.
All children are boarded in the building
and are under the direct supervision of
the principal of the school. The princj-
pals of these schools get $1,000 year,
and are boarded at the expense of the
nation. The principals are white men,
but many of the assistants are native
teachers. The native teacher is gaining,
and it viii not be long until the white
man will be removed from his comforta-
lie position OF a net thousand a year