The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1891-05-24
RICHEST PEOPLE ON EARTH
The Big Fundinthe United States Treas
ury Belonging to the Usage Indians.
So Much Money to Their Credit that the Gov.
eminent Dare Not Disburse 1t at One Pay
ment-Millionaire Indian in Kansas.

Speaking of o visit TO the Indian Terri
tory some years ago, Senator Platt said
recently: when / was ct the trading
post of the Usage Indians / was much
amused to see an Indian buying O barrel OF
good four for himself and q barrel of cheap
-four for the white man who worked for
him. The Usage Indians can afford 20 be
luxurious. They are the wealthiest Indi-
ans in the United States. IL is estimated
at the Indian Office that the Olage Indi-
ans-men. women and children-are worth
$4,000 each in what ought to be as good a.
cash. i. e.. salable land and the govern
ment's promise to pay. So great is the in
terest on the sum held by the United
States to their credit that the Secretary Of
the Interior will not pay out all o. il at
one time. and a gradual increment is add
ing to the millions already credited 20 the
tribe on the books of the government
The Osages came by their wealth through
the sale Of their lands in Kansas when they
were moved to q reservation in what is
now known as Oklahoma Territory. One
Indian abandoned hls tribe and chung TO
his Kansas land. and il is said that to-day,
through the appreciation in the value Of
that land, he is worth O million dollars. He
Is. perhaps, the richest Indian in the world.
Nothing is known of him at the Indian
Office because. having abandoned his tribe,
he has ceased 10 be q subject of solicitude
TO the gentlemen In charge of Indian affairs
at the national capital. TIL land belong
ing to the other Indians was bought BY
ment In buying this property the
government did not make any act
ual payment for it 1t announced
TO the Osages that they had been
,ra1tfad -sfh fha A.nA.n -
money. and that they would receive inter
est on that amount. There was no deposit
made to secure the Indebtedness of the
government There is nothing TO represent
1T In the Treasury Department, except the
record of the fact that IL has been assumed
by the government. This has been the
practice of the government-its exclusive,
practice-for many years A long time ago
Southern State bonds with the purchase
price Of Indian lands. and hold them in
many of these Soufhern State bonds
s hsid in n trust tn secure eas indsbtsdness to the
Indian tribes. But on the majority of
them no interest has been paid by the
States for . long time; in fact. the bonds in
ment, however. under its contract with the
Indians. is held liable for the interest
which these bonds should have drawn.
This interest it has assumed. So the pur-
chase Oh the ldL6 bonus WAS u lobluk luNtcI-
ment for the government. Its unhappy ey-
perience in this direction has taught It the
wisdom of securing its debt to the Indian.
like its other obligations, with q promise 10
pay.
AN E~IGHT-M1LLIoN ITEM.
In the deposits to the credit of the Usage
Indians there is one item Of $S.147.515. The
annual interest on this is S407. 1916. There
are about 1900 Osages on the reservation in
Oklahoma. The exact number mentioned
In the last annual report of the Indian Con-
missioner is ]. 496, but this. of course. varies
from time to time. The members of this
tribe, men, women and children, are joint
sharers in the interest money. As it IL
paid to the tribe il is divided equally
among them. Ii is drawn by the head OF
each family for himself, his wife and his
children. The Indian with q large family
draws q goodly sum each month. Even
the amount to which the single
Indians are entitled is large-for an
the Secretary of the Interior. acting
for the President, who, under the law, 10
the trustee for the Indians. to pay TO the
Usage tribe only O part of the money &c
which It is entitled. The amount paid an
nually was, for a long time. S250.0O0. Two
years ago the payment was increased at the
request of the Indians to $4,000 q year.
This is less than 20 per cent. of the amount
Il 0uo II l0utduB. II ~ OLuCI - = lCuLs
goes toward swelling the amount with
which the tribe is credited on the treasury
books. What will be done with this slowly
increasing capital and the correepondingly
increasing interest on it - q question with
which the government haB not yet troubled
itself.
Occasionally some of the interest money
which is due 10 the Osages .s expended for
their benefit by the Secretly of the Inte-
rior. within his discretion. The Indian Of
ice has on hand now plans for q $4,000
building TO be used as q dormitory and
school In connection with the education of
the Usage children. The council OF the
tribe requested the Secretary TO make this
expenditure. The government looks after
the education of the Osages and O special
fund is set aside for educational purposes.
The government supplies them with
agricultural implements and q great many
other things which the Indians could very
well afford to buy for themselves. They
do buy q great many luxuriea- Very few
of them save any of the money which 10
paid to them By the government. The
trader at the agency gets the greater part
of IL within an hour after the payment has
been distributed. The Usage leadership Is
regarded as the most valuable in the
| United States. Other traders ave more
Indians to deal with, but not 90 much
money.
WEALTH OF THE cHrPPKwAs.
After the provisions of the recent treaty
with the Chippewa Indians have been full
filled they wall be the second wealthiest
tribe in the world. They number about
five thousand. Their wealth il represented
by the value Of some rich lands bordering
the small lakes in Minnesota. which the
Chippew q commission persuaded them TO
sell. The government has paid to them
this year $4,000. Next year. they viii re-
ceive $4,000 advance interest, and prob
ably o much greater sun in the annual in
terest will be due them. The C9ur d'Alene
Indians will receive q N of half q
million dollars his year.
The Usage Indians are solitary in their
superfuous wealth. There is no other
tribe which has more money than it car
use. Most of the money paid to the Indians
by the government Is apure gratuity. Two
tribes. tthe Omahas and WinDebagos,
who are regarded az the most civilized of
all the Indians. receive no aid from the
government When the land owned by
some of the Indian tribes 10 cut mp and
sold TO settlers by the government. some
of them may be in the position OF the
Osages. and have moro interest money
coming to them every year than they can
Usage tribe is the only one sccumulating
wealth. It is not with any degree Of will
ingress that the Osages allow their princi-
pal to increase yearly. They object siren
uously 20 the policy of the Secretary or
the Interior in refusing TO pay TO them
all of their annual income. Each year they
send TO Washington a representative or
their tribe TO beg the Secretary 10 pay over
TO them the accumulated interest. They
are not to be satisfied with the full amount
now coming to them annually. They want