The Wichita daily eagle., 1891-10-21
nn. m1roHEL1. OF 81 KENo, rALks.

Hon. e. f. Mitchell, of Ell Reno, Okla
boma. who has been in the city for the
past two days, returned home Hast night
Mr.. Mitchell was formerly connected with
the stock yards of st. Louis, bnt Is now
thorough Oklohoma man. During the re-
cent financial boom among the Cheyennes
and Arapahoe Indians he did an extensive
business among the red brother IN the
horse and mule line. He sold them alto
gether in the neighborhood of $4,000, and
actually credited them TO the amount OF
SGT. 900, every cent of which he has since
collected. He thinks, and naturally enough
too, that it is the greatest and best credlt
record ever made.
He seems to have Ethe Cheyenne and
Arapahoe situation down pat and thinks
some important developments will be
made soon, as the Indians are loosing con-
fidence in Uncle Sam. 1t seems from his
statement. that the Indians were to have
received $3.50, 600 when they agreed to the
treaty to sell their lands. $25O,OOO
more in the July following and the balance
to be loaned out and the interest divided
annually between them. They were told
that wnen it was ascertained to the salts
faction of the government that the nrst
installment was spent judiciously the
second would be paid them whether 1t was
due or not Relying on this promise the
Indians spent their money on horses,
wagons aad such other things as they
wanted to commence farming with ana
when they applied for the second Install
ment they were told that the secretary OF
the interior would spend that for them.
In other words if they made out requlsi-
tions for~what they wanted and sent them
in to the department that they would be
issued to them under the old system.
This made the Indians hot and they be-
came uneasy. Mr.. Mitchell advised them
to go to Washington and see the president
about it but the Indians said they had no
money to pay their expenses. The matter
was brought to the attention of the bus
mess men of Westean Oklahoma and a
purse of 5000 was made up to pay their ex-
penses. They will leave in few days and
will go armed with papers to show that
the first installment of money received by
them was spent judiciously.
The business men of Kingisher and Ell
Reno are hot over the way the Indians
have beeu treated. They think whatever
money CQe lnuldUS may IcCSlN0 ShOutN NC
spent at home and many of them are sus-
picious that the contractors got in their
work with the interior department as they
did under the old system which made SO
many of them rich at the expense of the
red man. The Indians claim that they
can buy their goods cheaper from Okla
homa merchants than they can from some
Philadelphia contractor and that they can
get goods to suit them better by person
ally selecting them. They also deny the
| government the right TO spend their
money for them.
| Mr.. Mitchell was the man who ran
against Milt Reynolds for the legislature
of Oklahoma two years ago and who made
the race so interesting for the lamented
Kicking Bird. lie is shrewd politician
and thoroughly understands the political
situation in the new territory. He did not
| know Governor Steele had resigned until
| he saw it in the EAGLE but he had been ex-
pecting it for some time as he knew to his
| own personal knowledge that Governor
Steele had been offered better and more
profitable position. He thinks Judge Seay
of Kingfsher would be the proper man to
succeed Governor Steele as he would come
nearer harmonizing all the factions than
any other man now mentioned for the
| office