The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1892-01-27
A FAMOUS INDIAN CHIEF.
Death Of ID. w. Eushyhead, Long II Leader
OF the Lherokeea.


! Wolf Bushyhead, is dead. Busl,yhead,
says the Philadelphia Evening Tele.
! graph, was born in the Cherokee Ma
j ton east near Cleveland, Il town in
! East Tennessee, on the 18th OF March,
/ 1926. The Chernkees were then divided
into clans, as the Scotch o&ce werr-
with this essential difference; that the
members Of Cne clan being all blood re-
| lations on the mothers side, were for
| hidden by the tribal law. under the
severest of penalties, to marry except
! into another clan. The clans were seven
in number. That OF Chief Bushyhead
was called the Ah-nee-cah-ene, or Deer
clan, and his ancestors were prominent
and influential as far back as the his-
tory of the tribe is known.
His parents were both half hfo"ded
Cherokees. His father was the Rev.
Jesse Bushyhead, 4 aEapist preacher,
who held many offices III the gift Of the
tribe, and who, at the time Of his death,
in 1914, was chief justice. While quite
young Bushyhead, jr., enjoyed COM
mon school privileges in the old nation
east of the Mississippi, prior to the great
removal in lS3S-'39, he attended a
mission school, which was established
near his fathers residence. After the
removal of the Cherokees to their pres
ent home West, Dennis was sent to
another missionary school. In January,
1911, young Bushyhead accompanied
the Cher okee delegates to Washington,
and remained there until Grandfather
Harrison was inaugurated president,
when he entered the high school at
Lawrenceville, n. J. Here he remained
until July, 1914.
In August he returned home with the
Cherokee delegation, consisting of John
Ross, .Navid Eann and John Benge,
eminent and progressive men in Chero-
kee history. Before reaching homo, and
while at Van Buren,, Ark, Bushyhead,
now lad Of is years, was informed Of
his fathers death, which occurred on
Julyl7, 1914. Young Bushyhead lost
no time in putting his education to use
and served as clerk in Lewis Ross's
store, on Gran river, from October, 1871,
to the summer Of 1917. He was then
elected clerk or secretary of the senate
rial branch of the national committee
instead of senate.
In 1S49 the gold fever broke out with
violence in the Cherokee Nation, as it
did elsewhere in the southwest, and
carried off a great many young men to
California. The clerk of the senate was
one.
Bushyhead's fortune in California
was like that of many others who went
there at that early day, sometimes up
and sometimes down, though the final
issue to him was not one of di.appoint-
ment. In 1868 Bushyhead left San
Francisco for home again, arriving at
Fort Gi~son, Cherokee Nation, on the
last day 81 March, 1865.
Here he went into merchandising
and followed it until June, 1871. The
following November he was unani-
mously elected treasurer Of the Chero-
kee Nation by the national council and
was reelected by large majority in
November, 1875, the term of office being
four years. In 1879 Treasurer Bushy-
head was nominated as the most avail
able and competent man Of the Chero-
kee national party to fill the office of
principal chief. His ability and popu
larity were made evident by his re-
election to the same station at the gen.
eral election of 1888.
In 1857, when it was time for another
election, a certain Mr.. Rabbit Bunch,
Chief Bushyhead's lieutenant governor,
accused that gentleman Of ruling by
ring methods and of other high crimes
and misdemeanors. Rabbit Bunch pre-
sented himself for the nomination of
the national or aristocratic party as
reform candidate and champion Of po-
litical purity. He succeeded in impress
sing the party with the loftiuess Of his
motives and in obtaining the nomina-
ton, though it was asserted that a
liberal distribution of wampum and
promises helped him very materially.
During the canvas personal encounters
were frequent and sometimes fatal, and
barbecues and free drinks were indul-
sed in to an e1teut civaling any SINH
lar political performances among the
pale faces. Bushyhead, however, mag
turned in and gave his
support to Bunch, but with all the
influence there was not
power enough in the party to defeat the
opposition candidate, the late Joel B.
Mayes.
Justice Bradley Dead.
WASHINGTON, January 22-J uStice !