Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1894-02-02
CHIEF BUSHYHEAD.
THE MOST NOTABLE MAN IN TIE
CHEROKEE NATION.
His Eventful and Successful Career
He Was a Forty
Now. an Oklahoma
Town Boomer.

His has been an eventful and sue
cessful career, as careers are measured
by white men. He is sixty-seven
years old, and his life has been one OF
incessant activity, in which he has at
once commanded the complete conf
dence of the Cherokee Nation and the
respect of business men and officials
with whom he has come in contact
Chief Bushyhead has many warm
friends throughout the West, and
wherever he goes is sure of hospi-
table welcome. When he talks of his
own career he is very entertaining,
and is always certain of attentive lis
teners. He was in Wichita, Kan. one
night recently, and for several hours
entertained half score of his friends
in his room. He told of his early boy
hood among his tribe in North Caro-
lima and Tennessee, of his removal to
the Indian lands now embracing the
Cherokee Nation, over which he pre-
sided for many years.
In the course of the evening he grew
reminiscent and told many stories, IL
Illustrative of the development of the
Great West, which he has seen spring
from a wilderness to mighty empire.
"Well do / remember" said the old
chieftain, "a visit made by General
Winfield Scott to my fathers house IN
Tennessee. I was fifteen years old
then, and the great soldier came 70
our reservation TO tell us that our
hunting grounds were wanted by the
whites, and that we must move West.
Most of the tribe submitted, but prob
ably n thousand of them hid in the
hills and kept the soldiers busy In
rounding them up for long time.
They never succeeded fully in this,
and doubtless there are some members
of the race there yet, who have as
simulated with the white people.
"Forty-four years ago, within n
stones throw of the Union Depot in
Kansas City" continued Bushyhead,
81 fitted myself ont for trip across
The Great American Desert 1t was
at the breaking out of the gold excite
ment in California, and gold had as
many attractions then for young
Indian brave as for the most ambitious
white man. For eighteen years | re-
mained on the Pacific coast and did
not return to my people until 1867
Then I brought with me $4,000.
81 suffered many hardships in those
years, but hardships were in my line
then, and did not mind them particu-
larly. When l crossed the then
barren plains of Kansas there was not
a house or sign of permanent habita-
tion. and the man who would then
have predicted that a great State
would be carved out of that wide waste
would have been adiudged insane.
"After all, my life has not differed
much from that of the average white
man. A mistaken idea prevails con
cerning the Cherokee Indians. They
are a civilized race. l do not know
single man in the Cherokee Nation who
has not adopted the habits and Gus
toms of the white people. We have
good schools and churches, and in fact
all of the institutions of civilized
communities. We are proud of them
and give them hearty support. The
Nation now has population Of 26,-
900 prosperous people.
'Do you know" said he, as he
poured liberal dram from bottle of
old brandy, "that the Cherokees are
pioneers in the cause of prohibition?
think you people here III Kansas got
that idea from us. In 1919 the Nation
passed a prohibition law, and in 1920
a law was enacted by the Cherokee
Nation for the suppression of polyg-
amy In that, you see, we were far
in advance of the American Govern
ment.
Chief Bushyhead is an object OF a
great deal of attention when he visits
eastern cities. Il is his custom, when
he goes to New York, Washington and
other points, to "hide out" from the
reporters, because he says they are
always after him.
On the occasion shove referred to,
when the old chief was in his happiest
mOON, ne Ielhltu OuS lu5lltAA thht
was very pleasing to his listeners. He
was in New York, and had successfully
evaded the newspaper men for three
days. Finally" he said, "a Herald
man found mo out I had RENAME
in my room, with instructions to TN
clerk to admit no one. A rap on my
door brought me face to face with a
reporter. l invited him in and We
chatted for half an hour on general
topics, when he left, assuring me that
our talk was informal aud not to be
published. Tue next morning get /
hold of a copy of S-,--naper and there
was a two-column i y "'' = i read |
along into the middlAE vBecOnd
column and could find - ~ with
the article; but the latter part was
= sn->
health. R,