The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1892-07-07
The Richest of Nations.

T. M. Burlington. President of the Cher
of COL E. C. Boudinot. the famous Cher
Okee statesman. arrived in the city yester-
day and have rooms at the National
Mr.. Burlington attracted no little attention
in the lobby of that hostelry Yesterday by
his magnificent physique. standing about 6
feet inches in height and weighing close
to two hundred pounds. Mr. BOudinOt,
while not as tall as his friend, is a magnif.
cent representative of the Cherokee race,
standing fully six feet and weighing about
one hundred and eighty. The two gentle.
men are not fullblOoded. but very light, the
parents of each being half white.
They are in the capital as the representa-
tiveS of the Cherokee tribe to ratify the sale
of the Cherokee Strip to the Government.
The land sold comprises 622. 900. 900 acres.
and the price agreed upon by the contract
ing parties is $1.42I per acre. This will
make the CherOkees, who number about
80, 900, the richest nation or race of people
in the world. The Usage tribe comes next
in wealth. as the money they have deposited
with the Government for the sale of lands
gives them an interest of $62.5O per capita
each quarter.
Few people in the States realize that
we have little world practically among
ourselves" said Mr.. BOudinOt yesterday,
''but we have one of the most complete
government, in existence. Our land is the
most fertile, and we raise all the grains of
the West, and in the southern portion we
raise cotton and tobacco. We receive about
$780, 900 interest from the Federal Govern
ment and with that we support ours. We
have our own Congress, the House of Rep
resentatives having forty members and our
Senate. of which Mr.. Burlington is Pres.
ident. eighteen. Our laws are all printed
in both English and Cherokee. We have
had written code of laws for seventy
years. and also an imperfect system written
in 1908. We have our judiciary, composed
of minor courts as we'll as District and Su.
preme. All proceedings. however, are car
ried on in the English language.
1.-The Cherokee is the most civilized of
all the Indians. We have always been
farmers. and have had the Government in
our debt instead OF them supporting us.
The CherOkees originally were found in
East Tennessee. North Carolina and North
ern Georgia by De Soto. who mentions
them. Our traditions. however. tell us
that. We had $1,000 acres of land given
us then. which we sold back in 1888. In
1917 large part of our people left and
went to Arkansas. Eventually all went
there and finally succeeded in uniting once
more on our present reservation in 1888.
In 1867 we adopted the Shawnees, and in
1868 the Delewares.
1--WE to day own land in Alabama, about
12. 900 acres. and other lands in Arkansas.
We sold the Oklahoma Strip some few
years ago, and recently sold the outlet of
622. 900. 900 for $l.421a the acre to the Gov
ernment. which contract we are now here
to ratify. We will leave the money with
Uncle Sam and draw the interest. and will
use it upon our roads. We have spent
many thousands upon them already, but
want to make them perfect. The word
Cherokee is pronounced 'Chal o gee.'"-
Washington Post