Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1893-02-23

year 1901, Wnen Cume 10 Nlnlta
to practice my profession, found
not single physicians Office in
the town except little attic
room occupied as a dental Office by
DR.. Thompson. sought in vain
for a place to put up my books
and to receive my patients. No
sooner did our brother know of my
quest than with his characteristic
Kindness he invited me to share
with him this little office. From
that time to his death we were
close friends. The committee who
made it my duty to address you
tonight understood the kindly re.
lations which existed between us.
which | suppose accounts for their
action. As a professional man Of
the town, knew him. AS pri-
vate citizen, | knew his views upon
the political questions lof the day.
He wasa patriot without bias. |
was associated with him in the
same office while he was editor of
THE INDIAN CHIEFTAIN, when that
paper was trimming its sails for
free speech. Those were days
when political questions affecting
the Indian Territory were APP.
preached with great caution. 1t
was a time when the paper refer
red to was the only one in the
Cherokee nation which had the
courage of its convictions. He re-
sisted the tyranny of ignorance and
was an important factor in estab-
fishing for the press of the country
the right of free speech.
In his private intercourse he rose
entirely above prejudice. Be it
said to his honor, he was a modest
man, seldom volunteering opin-
ions. He was endowed with a
good mind and a kindness of heart
seldom equaled. | was again most
intimately associated with him
while he was mayor of our town.
In this relation he was true to his
trust and as firm as the rock of
Gibralter. Permit me to say in
this connection it requires often
more moral courage and integrity
to successfully fulfill this public
trust in a village where business
and social relations are close than
in the more liberal sphere of the
metropolis.
Suffice it to say that in every
sense he was a good man, and his
desire, as often expressed to me.
was to have been a better one. |
do him not the injustice to say that
he was perfect-none are perfect.
Our eternal state shall depend not
so much upon what we shall have
been as what we would have
been-not so much on what we
have accomplished as upon what
we have attempted. Ger the
frailties of human nature we draw
the mantle of charity, He loved
his friends-he loved humanity.
He was q faithful knight, ready
10 do battle for a brother or a
brothers. family in distress. His
voice was not heard in the swell
ing strain of "man's inhumanity to
man which makes countless mil.
lions mourn" SANDER, dark,
cruel slander, that often robs a
soul of its last solace, and sends
it relentlessly adrift in the cold
realm of despair, found no place
in his heart or upon his lips. Not
made of the baser materials, he
saw beauty in charity-that charity
which "thinketh no evil and is not
pulled up" This lodge mourn'
him as a true knight worthy of
our admiration.
In his last sickness his suffer-
ings were long continued, and Sc
we're He calmly reviewed his life,
recognized its weak points, ex
pressed the belief that God was
about to call him from conflicts in
which his flesh was too weak to
conquer. He battled with disease
manfully and patiently, but finally
turned his face homeward. Ended
were his conflicts, his troubles, his
defeats. Out upon the shoreless
ocean his bark fioated. His chair
is forever vacant, but he took not
with him all of the life ne lived.
He who lives must die; life is a fail
ure without death; death is the
fruitage Of life; we plant here but
the cleaning ia beyond the river.
The city of God the home of the
soul, can be reached by the way of
Bethany. Life is a prilgrimage
to the shrine Of eternity" and
faith says, 81 wonld not live
always" In this solemn hour we
hear the muffled tread Of ages-all
moving to voiceless eternity. Our
friends press our hand and pass by
to the silent rank Of the dead. Our
hearts ask
''Do the dead think Of the living
In the blue heaven over head.
All repeniing, all forgivinE,
As the living think Of the dead9"
Yes while we weep. surveying
Pathways long, with lonely feet,
They In heaven smile softly. saying,
IT'S tomorrow and we meet"
When we shall have surrender.
ed our Pythian armor and lain
down to rest may we have each
merited the reverence which we
tonight pay to our dead.
|
Will not some of our friends who
say that allotment is the only way
to get rid of the intruders explain
how il can be done in that way?
We again ask the question Arrow.
If the Cherokee people allot all
their land to her bonafide citizens