Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1894-01-18
OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESI-
DENT.
The Other Side of Governor Fish
backs Position.
VlNIrA. |. T. Ian. 16. 1851

YINITA, |. T., Jan. 16, 1894.
To THE PREsIDENT:-An open
letter addressed to you recently by
the governor of Arkansas suggests
the propriety of following SO illus
trious an example.
The proposition advocated by
Governor Fishback is Of such
startling character, and is so impor-
tant to the Indian population Of
this territory, that you will not
wonder if you are told in plain
words that the Indians Of this te;
ritory are very justly alarmed that
a man occupying so high a posi-
ton as the governor of a state
should have the temerity to advise
the ignoring of all treaties between
the United States and the Indian
tribes of the Indian Territory, and
advocate the seizure of the prop.
erty Of the latter, and the over
turning and destruction of all the
most sacred relations of a people
who for more than a hundred
years have implicitly trusted and
confded in the power, protection
and friendship of the United
States.
That there have been men equally
unfriendly to the Indian and ready
to find some excuse for eeizing up
on his paternal heritage is a fact
well known to this government
ever since the first treaty made
with this people at Hopewell.
The ingenuity of the white man
has been prolific of reasons
why this government should act
the robber, but it has been left TO
the governor of Arkansas to sug-
gest this last excuse to proceed
against an unoffending people in
the name of public safety and un-
der the authority of eminent do
main" In the infancy of the
republic she disdained to invoke
such authority from any sense of
danger. 1t is only when the
great nation numbers sixty-fve
millions of people that "public
safety" seems endangered.
To bring into activity such inhu-
ences as will induce the govern
ment to bring about the destruction
of the Indians Governor Fishback
only initiates the pious Quaker
who desired the death Of his neigh
boris dog which had become often
sive to him. and who lacked the
courage to do the reprehensible
deed himself. 81 will not kill
thee" said the Quaker, "but |
will give thee a bad name" And
so he begun crying mad dogi
mad dog!" The result was that
the poor dog was riddled with bull
lets and shot before he had gone a
quarter of a mile from the good
Quaker. The plan was sue
cess; the bloody cunning of the
Quaker is now being repeated up
on the poor Indian, and his ruin is
now being sought by giving him a
"bad name" The mine for his
destruction is to be laid in traduce-
ment, and his country seized under
false pretenses.
And "who is this that daTkeneth
counsel By words without knowl-
edge2" Who other than the gov
ernor ol Arkansas? And how does
he attempt to Justify before the
American people and the world
the extreme measure he so unfeel-
ingly recommends? He complains
that recently at a train robbery at
Oliphant in his own state there
was found on one of the robbers a
map of the route they had taken
from the Indian Territory, and
also map Of the country around
Chattanooga, Tenn; that the cap
tured leaders Of this robbery are
noted characters in this business
and inveigled some very respect
able citizens along the border into
this bold robbery. But mind you,
he does not even intimate that any
of them were Indians. How is II
that very respectable citizens of
Arkansas along the border get in
weighed into such business? The
governor throws 90 light on this
question, but he says that he sus-
poets that large per centage OF
the bank and train robberies west
of the Alleghanies and east OF the
Rocky mountains are organized or
in the Indian Territory.
He further adds that during the
past twelve months sixty.one
acquisitions upon the Indian Ter
ritory authorities Tor fugitives
have been issued from the states
of Arkansas, Texas, Kansas and
Oklahoma; that the criminals who
find refuge in this territory are
rapidly converting the Indian
country into a school OF crime and