The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-05-13

old Indian shakes his head when TIT
schemes to open up the territory and oil
vide the lands are mentioned in his pres
ence He SAYS that he remembers that &
great many years ago, when he was young
the agents of the United States came
among the Creeks in Alabama and made
fine promises as to what the government
would do if the Greeks would agree tC
have their lands allotted. The Greek!
did agree, but it was only little while I'm
til the promises were broken and the trfbt
was forced to emigrate across the MiSsis
sippi to the lands it holds now. Old Is-pa
he-char says he remembers the homes II
Alabama, and he remembers that hun
dreds of his people persisted on that long
pilgrimage of many years ago to the new
country in the wilderness. How, he asks
can he look with confidence upon this new
plan to allot the lands?
Is-pa-he-chars constant companion IL
Washington is Colonel G. W. Grayson
He, too, is Greek, and he is also here as q
delegate representing the tribe in matters
before congress and the departments
Grayson is tall and straight as an arrow.
He was in the Confederate army during
the war, and was in command Of a native
officer, it is said, and the fact that he and
Is-pa-he-char were on opposite sides during
the great conflict, does not in the least in
terfere with their friendship now. Gray,
son was educated in the schools at home in
the territory and in Arkansas, and is one
of the leading men among the Greeks. He
is merchant at Muscogee, while his com,
panion, Is-pa-he-char, lives out in the coun-
try near that place on a big plantation OF
his own.
One of the best known Indians from the
territory is l.. B. Bell, of Vinita. He Is a
member of the Cherokee legislature, and
is known at home as "Hooley" Bell. He
is the Yankee of his tribe, and is described
by one of his friends as being smart as a
steel trap" One time congressional
committee engaged in solemnly Investigate
ing the Indian problem had Hooley upon
the stand, and the chairman asked:
''Mr. Bell, what do you do for living"
Hooley looked at the amiable statesman
from Massachusetts, in aquizzical way and
replied:
Various things. practice law little,
run for Office occasionally, farm some, now
and then take hand at poker and never
miss horse race if / can get to it."
Hooley was born in Georgia. He was
educated at Fowler institute in Texas,
where Congressman Kilgore was a student
at the same time He also took a course
in Cane Hill college in Arkansas. He
came home from the Confederate army TO
find it necessary to go to work. The Cher
okee Nation had freed all of his forty
slaves. 1t is not generally known that the
Cherokees led off in the emancipation
movement in this country. By legal en-
actment that nation declared all negroes
owned by Cherokees to be free shortly be-
fore President Lincoln issued his famous
proclamation.
George Sanders, who used to be one of
the Cherokee delegates here, still visits the
capital occasionally. He owns a farm in
the Arkansas valley, and is one of the
members of the Cherokee senate. His In
dian name is Soggy. He reads and writes
his own language, but when it comes u
talking English he has to rely upon an in
terpreter. He is a very sensible Indian.
Not long ago the delegates of the Five Civ
ilized Tribes, who were then in Washing
ton, invited some other Indians to their
weekly council. The visitors were mostly
Chippewas and Sioux from the northwest.
They went back to their old customs, and
came to the council in blankets and feath-
ers and paint. Soggy was disguised. Be
fore any of his associates knew what he
had in mind, he took the floor and began to
lecture the guests. Soggy weighs about
800 pounds, and he can be very serious or
very funny, as he pleases. On this occasion
he did not wait for the ceremony of passing
around the pipe and the fire water, but
stepping out in front of the blanketed In
dams he said, with long pauses between
his words:
"No more buffalo, no more deer" Then,
pointing to the garb of the visitors, he
shook his head and in a tone of contempt
exclaimed:
Blankets no good-feathers no good
paintl Ughl'
He suddenly changed his manner to one
of earnest advice, and going through an
elaborate pantomime said
"Injuns must work-plow-raise corn
mow-cattle-get fat-goOd clothes"
With that Soggy made a sweeping ges-
ture which included his companion dele
gates, and then he laughed till his great
sides shook. The visiting Indians looked
ashamed, thoughtful and amused, all at
the same time, while the delegates gazed
upon Soggy in establishment. 1t was his
first Grafton in English.
Once while Soggy was in the senate Of
his nation the question arose whether
$50, 600 which had been paid into the Cher
okee treasury should be divided per capita
or set apart for school purposes. Soggy
took the side of the schools, and he said
in his own tongue:
fsOpa do xr-Ii RI
house. He said to me, Have you any corn
to sell? Not knowing English could not
understand. l thought maybe he was
asking for the next house. pointed the
direction Then he said to me, I'll give
you one dollar a bushel' Now | had corn
to sell, and would have been glad to get
fifty cents. But ! thought perhaps he
wanted to know how far it was to the next
house, so pointed again and said, A mile
and half So he went off / don't want
my children TO grow up like me, unable to
sell their corn because they don't know
English. 1 am in favor of using that
S60 coo to build the school,"
Many other Indians are beginning to
share the wise SogGy's views. Most OF the
Indian delegates who visit the capital ev-
cry session are well educated, and they are
earnest advocates of the education of their
young people at home. Not few of the
advanced Indians begin to talk of terri
torial government for the five civilized
tribes in the Indian Territory, and they
look ahead to 4 sovereign state Of their own
in the future. They expect their people
some time to have representation in con-
gress, and then the voice of the much
abused red man will be heard on the floor
Of the house and senate.