The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-08-04

He has been with one of the gangs of al
lotting agents in the Cheyenne and Ara
pahoe Indians for the last four weeks.
Two of the allotting gangs have gone
| southwest from Darlington and two from
directly west, while Mr.. Tackett, the chief
OF the allotting agents, remains at Oar
lington to receive complaints and superin-
tend the matter. Mr.. Allen says the In
dians are all taking their lands and are
greatly pleased. They have their particu-
lar pieces selected beforehand and
when the allotting agents arrive,
make known their wants and watch
the proceedings. Mr.. Allen says it is very
easy to tell when they are satisfied that
they have succeeded in making themselves
understood. And if they detect the least
sign of misunderstanding they are great
ly put out and grow very excited until
they feel assured that the white man COM
prehends. They are taking their lands in
families and for the most part bottom
lands, but in some cases where there is a
large family, some will select poor land to
be near together. They make mistake in
regard to the best land, always making
the best possible selections. The agents
make about five allotments day and have
made little over one hundred in toto SO
far. Mr.. Allen thinks it will take until
| December to finish the work
No trouble has been experienced
so far with several Indians want
ing the same piece of land
although there have been several such
cases. Mr.. Allen says the Indians settle
these matters amicably among themselves
and apparently without compensation or
| stipulation. However, they are not so pill
able in their covenants with white men.
He cites as an instance one squawmen
named Dutch Jake, who owns a 3OO-acre
fled of corn west of Darlington. A great
| many Indians wanted this land, expecting
to gobble the growing crop, but Allotting
Agent Kelly told them they could not
have the grain. This made Little Chief
very irate, and he threatened to complain
to the Great Chief" as Mr.. Tackett is
called at Darlington. Kelly told him that
Tackett would sit down on him, which
the interpreter probably translated liter
ally into the Indian language
and Little Chief changed his mind.
Some of the Indians do not take
good land, but seem to possess that abo-
rginal instinct which has a prediction
for wild nature and accordingly pick out
pieces of jack oak and underbrush
Mr.. Allen was fortunate enough to see
some of the Indian costumes They at
tended Christ dance of the Cheyennes
and Arapahoes. The bucks and the
squaws would dance around in two sepa-
rate circles like the children's game,
Ring around a Rosey." Pretty soon one
of the bucks would break loose and run
off about fifty feet and then, head up and
holding his expanded chest with both
hands, he inhaled the native ozone with
great fervor and evidently intense emo
ton. He was being cured by the Great
Spirit. He would then break into the
ring again where they would dance around
him, wilder than ever. This was at night
and the scene was very impressive.
One day the allotting outfit passed
through a Cheyenne and Arapahoe viii
lage. 1t was raining very hard and the
whole party was drenched In the street
of the village was the whole population
from the children to the old men and
women, stripped of everything save
breech-clout, standing like so many bronze
statutes with their arms extended to the
sky and their faces upturned and pelted
by the large lain drops. AS curious as the
Indian usually is, none of them changed
countenance or relaxed from their rigid
posture, when one or two of the crowd
gave vent to lustY yell to attract their
attention.
Mr.. Allen says that he thinks the
Cheyenne and Arrapohoe Indians are
slowly killing themselves with cigarettes.
He says they smoke them necessarily, |
squaws and all. He says that the average
Indians down there think that the whole |
allotiug outfit. comes direct from Wash |
lngton nd that they aggregate about |
all the white people on earth. The Indian |
has no idea of what is to become of him. |
They think that the land is not given in |
allotment will just lie there unused and do |
not realize that the white men will rush |
in and completely fill the country COM
pletely hiding the Indian and separating |
him as race. The average Indian does |
not dream of these things.
Mr.. Allen thinks that the white settle
ment will help the Indian out. He is a
poor farmer. He does not know how to
stack his grain and he lets his oats lie and |
rot If he mingles with the white farmer,
he will acquire in a great measure his
thrifty ways The outlook for the Indian
then is not so discouraging. Mr. Allen
says the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians
live almost wholly on sand plums just at
present, of which there are about fifteen
varieties and all unusually fiue. The
squaws and children spend most of their
time bathing in the rivers.
Little rude skeletons of bent striplings
excited Mr.. Aliens curiosity and upon in
quiry he found them to be sort of
Turkish bath arrangements. Before an
Indian is given medicine. he is put in one
Of these little houses over which can
vas is thrown. In fifteen minutes, the
heat is so powerful inside that it would
melt mercury. The Indian is then taken
out and dosed. From some droll supersti-
tuition they never use these little houses
more than once.
Old Whirlwind is still troubled. He
has been to see Mr.. Tackett several times,
and entered his protest against allotment.
Mr. Tackett has even gone so far as to
smoke the pipe with him after it had been
1uffed at by dozen or so different Indians
u a circle Whrlwind will have to give up
oon, as the al!otting outfit is already
lear his boundary line, the Red Hills
Mr. Allen says that Mr.. Tackett is a
great favorite with the Indians on account
II his strict fairness and the close atten-
ion he gives the whole matter. Mr.. Al
en- tried his hand at interviewing Little
thief. which resulted in these laconic ,
eSults:
What do you think of the Indians get
ing their lands in allotments?