Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-05-16

! ests of the bill that established United
/ States court in the Third judicial division
/ Of the Indian Territory.
what caused the effort now being made
/ to eXpel the intruders from the Chickasaw
Nation2''
The effort to eXpei the Intruders has its
origin in the contest for the Chickasaw
gOvernorship four years ago between Will
lam Guy and ". L. Byrd. Guy was sup
ported by the more intelligent half-breed
Indians and white Inen who had become
citizens Of the Chickasaw Nation by inter
marriage, and had clear majority of the
votes. Byrd vas supported by the full
blood, pull-back element The contest was
fierce, but Byrd got possession Of the office
and has held il ever since. Bitter feelings
were enEendered between the two factions
in this contest, and before the next general
election the Byrd party absolutely disfran-
chised the intcrmarried citizens. This in
/ tensitied the hot blood, and is perhaps the
first instance in the history Of any country
where a class Of citizens numbering nearly
| half of the members of the community were
deprived OF the right to vote solely because
Of their superior intelligence.
Naturally enough, the intermarried citi-
zens and their allies, among the more en-
lighteued citizens by blood. lost respect for
the Chichasaw government, and since that
time they have disregarded the writS Of the
Chickasaw courts and defied Chickasaw au-
thorities generally. -Four years ago these
intermdrried citizens We're about the only
farmers in this country. Since then they
have caused thousands Of farms TO be
opened up under leases to white men, the
leases running from three to ten years. At
least nine-teuths Of the farms II the
Chickasaw Nation have been opened
up by the intermarried citizens and
their tenants, who have been at
tracted here by the rich, but forbidden
soil. There are, according TO the last CEN
sus, IS 600 whites and about twenty thou
sand Indians by blood in the Chickasaw
Nation. :. Since their Acknowledgement
4 great many Of the inter-marr;ed citi-
2eus have refused TO procure for their ten
ants the annual permit TAX Of s. levied by
the Chickasaw Nation on the non-citizens
for the privilege Of living here"
Are all the non-citizens called in
truders}"
No; only the non-citizens whose land
lords have refused to procure permits for
them are called intruderS Il is claimed
that the Indian authorities have furnished
the interior department with the names Of
about six thousand United States citizens
who are here without permits, and it is
these the secretary Of the interior has com
manded the Indian agent TO eXpel from the
ChicAasaw Nation
why don't they get the permits them
selves instead of relying upon their land
lOrCS''
Because the Chickasaw laws forbid I'M
der heavy penalty the issuance OF permits
l. any but citizens of the ChckaSaw Nation,
and make it their duty to procure permits
Tor their nOn-citizcn tenants These in
termarried citizens have openly charged the
permit collectors with swiudliug the Nation
out OF the permit money, refused to procure
permits For their Tenants and have done
all in their power to encourage the nOn-citl-
zens in nor getting permits. Their antipa-
thy To the Chickasaw government is at the
bottom Of it, and ii the trouble the Byrd
party IS now having about the permits they
are simply reaping some Of the tares they
sowed when they DISTINGUISHED the better
class of their citizens"
DO you think the order directing the
Indian agent to eXpell the iutruders will be
euforred:1
i can't tell. The government, Of course,
has the pOwef to enforce il, but il would be
very unjust to these freemen."