The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-09-20

than bale to the acre. Inc pest isTHis
however, are owned by white men or half
breeds. and white men are acquiring more
farming territory here every day.
cHIcKAsAw LANDS.
Some of the best lands in the Indian
territory are those of the Chickasaws, and
you find some of the largest farms among
them. Frank Murray, white man, mar
ried to Chickasaw woman, has 5000
acres under cultivation, and keeps 300
head of cattle. He Is said to be worth
half million dollans. and he adds to his
lands every year. Sam Paul, half-oreed
Chickasaw, has 5000 acres under cuitlva-
ton, and white man named Rector, who
married Chickasaw girl, is farming 90
acres. Here among the Cherokees there is
O half-breed named Starin, VINO has o,OO
acres. and there are many other
saw country is the only one
which has been surveyed and divided
into sections. and don't think that there
is q good system of records among the
other tribes. Lands may be sold as lar as
their improvements are concerned, out an
Indian cannot sell bis Land TO "nite
man. The Texas cattlemen look with
envy on these rich plains OF green, ana
thew try ali sorts Of lodges TO get IN. Not
long AGO. In the Greek country, they tried
10 steal 10000 acres, and they Dulit lI0
miles of wire fence around this. They had
something like 10000 head OF cattle on
this land. and they rather dehed the In
dams. The Indians held a council, and
went along the fence and chopped OIL the
posts close to the ground. They said:
FIVE don't know about the wire; that
NAV belong to the white men, and
we won't touch it. But as
for these POSTS, they ho1one
cut from our forests, ana they oeiohg
TO the Indians and We will cut them
down" The result was that the Texans
had 10 take their cattle out OF the country.
A great MANY Texan cattle are graZed IN
fbe territory bv Indians for Texans, and
there are a number of pastures in the
Creek country ranging in size from 1O,VOO
TO $1,000 acres. They receive from S1 10
cattle in this way is against the law OF the
tribes it is winked at and permitted to be
done. MANY of the Cherokees employ
white men to work for them, and In the
Chicasaw nation, in the Washita valley,
there is farm fifty miles long, the owner
of which is an Indian and the laborers are
white. There is an Indian here who has a
costly residence in the center of 900 acres
of beautiful land, and among his hands are
some Cherokees that get SIG month.
They could have farms of their own, but
don't seem to care to take them.
THE cHoCTAws.
had talk with Governor Smallwood,
who was for long time chief of the Choc-
taws. / met him at the little town of
Atoka, and found him very intelligent
man. He tells me that the Choctaw ma
ton has seventeen counties in it, and that
1t has its Senate and House Just as the
Cherokees have. It's governor gets 81, 600
q year as a salary and is elected for term
of two years. He has the same authority
as one of the governors of our states, ex-
cept that he cannot pardon. Governor
Smallwood says that there are about
1900 Choctaws, and that these believe in
the Christian religion and are of all de-
nominations except Catholic. The Choc-
taws live in log houses and plain cottages
and their people are steadily advancing in
culture. There is no state in the Union
that pays proportionately more towards
education than the Choctaws, and / find
that the Cherokees here have an excellent
system Of public schools.
THE EDUCATIONAL FIGHT AMONG THE cHERo-
KEGS.
One Of the leading political issues here
at Tahlequah Is the public school system.
They have big boys college here and a
female seminary, and they have a system
of public schools which extends through
out the country. The revenue of the
nation, however, ran behind, and these
schools have all been shut up for q year
on account Of there being no money to
pay the teachers, and the question of this
payment and the reorganization of the
schools In one which the young Cherokee
orators are now discussing on the stump.
The opposition to Chief Mays reelection
charges that Ii Is due to his inefficiency
AaI hal ko.
been enough money to pay the teachers,
and the friends of the chief show quite as
plainly that the deficit arises from other
causes. In the meantime the big semi
nary lies idle and the university has no
scholars. ! went through the seminary
this afternoon. II has as fine accommo-
dations as any college in Ohio, and it is
run on the Mount Holyoke plan, the girls
keeping their own rooms In order and
doing part of the Homework of the insti-
tuition.
THE INDIANS AND THE GOVERNMENT.
The government has not treated the
Cherokees fairly, and in the sale of the
Cherokee strip, Uncle Sam ought to give
them what Ii is worth. Chief Bushyhead
tells me that when he was at the head of
the government he was offered So an acre,
or more than 100000 for it, but sup
pose that the government will try and get
1t for 81. IS an acre. 1t has been So ar
ranged now that the Indians get no rev.
enue from 1t, and if Uncle Sam holds on
long enough they will probably come to
his terms. II will in all likelihood be the
old story of fraud against the Indians, and
will take its place among the unpaid
claims Of congress-. In 1866 the United
States made a treaty with the Chocktaws
and Chickasaws, and thereby got large
tract of land. for which they
agreed TO pay the Indians S6,2l1,-
money and the whites have the land. Al
the same time there was a treaty made
with the Greek Indians which hung lire
for years, and the i've civilized tribes, il
they had their dues, would receive millions
of dollars from the United States treasury
As IL is they get certain amount yearly
The Cherokees have received $40, 600 q
year. This is divided up per capita and
the man who has dozen children gets ten
portions more than the man who has two
travelled 10 Tahlequah with a little bow
and his Cherokee mother and the woman
told me she was going 10 the capital of the
nation TO get her government money.
The Creeks get about $4,000 PEI
annum and they pay $4,000 of this tor
keeping up their schools. They are now
pattIng up three colleges and they have a
very good educational system. / had a
long talk with the United States govern
ment agent of the territory who pays all
this money and lives among the Creeks al
Muskogee. He was just going out TO ma xe
payment 10 the Delaware Indians and ne
aald that he had another payment of <525
30 make to each of them during the wear.
lie spoke IN high terms of the condition
Of the civilized tribes and ne told me tina;
the Seminoles mad Just completed a school
building, which is heated by stem and