Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1889-08-01

MT. BOuulnOb SNlu LnhJ nc nhu
determined to go with the Down
ings for the reasons given by his
father He reviewed the situa-
ton of our western lands. He
said our title would successfully
hold them; that the treaty of
1876 had more fully declared they
were for the use and possession of
the Cherokees. That Chief JUS
tice Marshal had decided that in n
dispute between the Indians and
whites that the old common law
rule of strictest construction did
not apply, but what was in the
Indians mind and the fairest con-
struction for the Indian. Judge
Stanley Mathews had reiterated
their doctrine in a decision of the
U. S. Supreme court; and undoubt-
edly the Indian had understood
that he was to possess and use alike
every acre included in his patent
but had not bothered himself
regarding the legal expressions
used.
The only question now was,
were we to accept the offer of one
dollar and a quarter per acre from
the United States2 That was all
the commissioners could lawfully
offer, and those gentlemen who
were talking about two and three
dollars per acre were only cloud
ing the real issue between the two
governments. He was opposed to
the acceptance and the Cherokees
could tell the commissioner the
proposition could not he enter
tanned. The offer was absurdly
below the real value of the lands
and no man or people were called
upon to argue about an offer that
was so apparently inadequate.
Then referring to Cherokee poll
tics, he said Dick Wolfe and Bob
Ross had offered these lands for
sale without any authority. Col.
Phillips had written the instruc.
tions authorizing the delegation to
sell, but the council had struck it
out. But so confident was he that
what he wanted would be done
that he wrote q letter Offering
these lands for sale at AZ 40 cents
and the delegation signed it. Our
safety was in citing the facts that
the delegation had been refused
any such authority and their acts
were not binding upon US. IfDick
Wolfe were elected would the Ma
tional senators who had to meet
him in council be apt to ruffle his
feelings, expose his wrong doings
and repudiate his unauthorized
acts, or would they not let them be
covered up? The Dowhings would
not be embarrassed. They would
repudiate his action and would not
care whether it hurt him political
ly or not, and they could more
successfully defend the interests of
the nation at this crisis. They
and the chief would pull together.
A National majority would fight
the chief. They were even max
ing threats of impeaching him.
For what? For no good reason,
but because he had prevented them
from making successful deal with
The Cherokee strip live stock aSso-
citation. lie had put the money
into the pockets Of the Cherokee
people instead of COW men from
Kansas. He knew what he was
talking about, because he had been
helping to try to override the We
toes. Money had been used.
Some one had paid Joe Tapp four
hundred dollars. Money had
flowed at Tahlequah then, but the
immortal fourteen in the house
stood like a rock, supporting the
vetoes while the waves of corrup-
ton dashed unsuccesslully against
them, and while the chief deserved
praise, they did also. Any one of
them could have got five or ten
thousand dollars. None were rich.
They stood by their country and
forever deserve praise and reward.
While he had been in the COM
bination to override these vetoes,
he now knew he felt five times
better than any of the men who
worked against the interest of the
Cherokees aud voted for the low
est amounts. And he felt better
after denouncing such actions than
the party men who were endorsing
1t or trying to cover il up.
Mr.. BoudinOt then turned his
attention to Judge. George Benge,
whom he said while perhaps not
telling a positive untruth, was in
effect so doing, by running around
the country with what ne called
documents" and reading them,
while he left the later and more
recent record entirely unnoticed
and thus suppressed the truth and
deliberately tried to create Il false
impression, and any man who
would suppress the truth when he
knew, and only tell one-half the
facts, showed he was afraid Of the
truth and was unfair.
Judge Bchge had told the ne
groes that the Downing party was
opposed to them. lie held a mes
sage in his hand written by Lewis
Downing, calling attention to the
necessity of legislation so those
negroes who returned after six
months from the signing of the
treaty would have no trouble be-
cause circumstances prevented
them from getting home sooner.
Boudinot portrayed the injustice
Of any such strict ruling against the
negroes and said he was willing to
share with them. And although