The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1894-08-23
oIvlLlzgo INDIAN TRIBES.
The Gntrudcrs Among Them The Freed.
mon Various Needs.

mon various Needs.
The joint memorial Of the CherolSees,
Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Creeks
against both statehood and severalty
allotment, forwarded to congress, will
perhaps relieve the Indian territory OF
any further attempts just now tG
change its political status. Yet it ia
only a question of time when this
change must come.
The assertions Of the Indian tribes
in that memorial regarding their inn
provement and their prospects are to
considerable degree borne out 10y the
report of their government agent, Mr..
Dew M, Wisdom. "A genuine full.
blood Indian will soon be curiosity
in the Indian territory, says that re.
port 1t further appears that the pop.
ulation of what is called the Indian
territory, as distinguished from what
has been added to Oklahoma, consisted
last year of about seventy-fve thou.
sand citizens of the tribes and one
hundred and fifty thousand non.citi.
zens, The latter are expected to in
crease rapidly during the present year
They are mostly tenants OF the
SOIL and as the rents are not
large, they find it for their inter-
ests to hold lands under their
leases there and cultivate them. OF
the citizens the Cherokees by blood
with the intermarried white and the
adopted citizens are estimated at 96, 500;
the ChicSasaws, exclusive of negroes,
at 5000; the Choctaws those by blood,
intermarried whites and the negroes, at
10000; the Creeks, by blood and the
negroes, at $4,000; the Seminoles at
5000. The land owned by these tribes
on September 30 last aggregated, in
round numbers, 10000, 600 acres, OF
which about one-half was considered
susceptible of remunerative cultivation.
The agency for all the tribes is at Mus
cogee, in the Creek nation, on the line
of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas rail.
way, which goes through the heart OF
the Indian country
There are Several important problems
to be solved in the Indian territory.
Prominent among these is that of the
intrusion of non-citizens upon the
tribal domains. This is especially true
OF the Cherokee and Chickasaw nations
In the former Mr.. Wisdom estimates
the intruders at 5000, divided into two
classes. The first are those who en-
tered before August If, 1886, and have
made valuable improvements the
second are those who entered
after that date, claim citizenship
through alleged Cherokee blood, anc
accordingly refuse to take out permits
or comply with the residence law. II
is of the latter class that the Cherokees
mostly complain. Under an act of con
gress passed about year ago a boarC
of appraisers is dealing with the first
class When the Cherokee strip wa!
purchased one of the agreements was
that the United States government
should remove the iutruders In orde
that this might be done without in
justice it became necessary to put
value on all improvements made il
good faith by the intruders. These tn
Cherokee nation must pay for; but a
an Offset fair value for the use an
occupation of the lands is deducte
from the improvements and these lat
ter become the property of the nation
This seems to be as good way as coul
be expected for disposing of this ques
ton.
But ii is the second-class of intruder
that creates the most difficulty. 1t
numerous, well organized and deter
mined to stay. In some cases the clair
to Cherokee blood is honestly made
and Mr.. Wisdom thinks their exclusio
would be unjust; but this is not tru'
he believes, Of the majority of CLAIM
ants, and the Cherokee nation, in r.
sisting their Incorporation into tn
tribe, is simply acting on its az
mitted rights for the preservt
ton of its autonomy. A deci
ion of the United States suprem
court has recognized the exclusive rigl
of the Cherokee nation to determir
who are its citizens. Many of IL
intruders have had hearing on til
question, and their eases have been
cided adversely; yet they have refuse
to go alleging that the trial was u
fair, members of the court being int
ested in the result Thus it is SEE
that there is a constant source of tro
BILE there as the intruders of this ella
refuse to abide by the decision again
them, and the Indian police force
not strong enough to remove thei
while the organization is so powerf
that the Cherokee nation cannot g
rid of them, at least in any peacet
way.
In the Chckasaw nation the ca
against the intrujsys is still strong,
Gov. Jonas Wolf estimates their nu
bers at about 5000, and they are
powerful in one county that they CT
1t "the free state of Pickens, . and tire
his authority with contempt Unli
the Cherokee intruders, just spoken
they do not make claim to citizenst
by blood, but are herding cattle
the name of natives, and nomina
under leases, but fraudulently accol
ing to the agent, Gov. Wolf has ;
pealed to the government through t
latter for military force to eject the
intruders, on account Of their streng
and avowed determination to rema
The agent says that ''the whole sit,
ton is a messworl5 of fraud and CT
ming evasion of the law that will
quire heroic treatment"
Another question is presented by I
status of the freedmen among