Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1894-08-30
LAST OF THE PAYMENTS.


by the treasurer in making the dis
bursement, and the crowd of toughs
has been constantly accelerated
until the payment just closed was
made to rival Cripple Creek or
Creede, Colorado. The fullblood
Indian when left to himself, or
rather when found at his home in
the hills away from the crowd and
free from whisky, is peaceable and
quiet, even to the extent of stoic-
ism, but when full of whisky and
crazed by long continued debauch,
and armed to the teeth he becomes
reckless and dangerous, and should
these payments continue a few
months longer the number of des-
perate characters developed would
be simply appalling The pay
ments that have been made at the
court houses away from the towns
have been the harvest fields of the
gamblers and fakirs generally, he
cause there were no restraints
whatever; everything was run
."wide open" An army of fallen
women have followed the treasure
wagon from first to last, and open
and shameless prostitution has
gone on to an extent never equaled
in this country before.
At Saline the crowds begun to
gather about a week before the
payment, (which commenced on
Wednesday morning, August 22nd.
By that time a city of'not less than
ten thousand people had been
built, two narrow streets at right
angles had been laid out, on either
side of which all kinds of stores
and establishments were jammed
in every conceivable shape. All
nationalities, nearly, were repre-.
sented, but the fuflblood Cherokee
for once was in the majority. Sa-
line is the fulblood district of the
nation. 1t touches no state lines,
is traversed nor touched by no
railroad, and is inhabited by few
white people. If the Dawes com
mission wanted to study the real
Cherokee in his "native heath"
they should have attended the Sa-
line payment.
No prettier place could be found
in the country at which to make a
payment than at Saline court
house. Two fine springs of cold,
clear water bubbled up and ran of
in inexhaustible quantity, and the
sylvan shade of the great spreading
forest trees that stand thick anC
tall on every side gave the place
| mOst UedulIfuE sssIos ~t-...,.t.1
pearance.
The frugal Levite with his stock
of clothing, grocery stores, milli
merry and notions, hotels and res
taurants, jewelry stores, shows anC
museums were there; a theatrical
troupe played nightly in a large
pavilion filled to its utmost, dance
halls ran all night, as also did the
merry-go-round and every other
style and kind of amusement.
During the week a number Of
exciting incidents occurred. On
Tuesday a deputy sheriff of the
district fred two shots at close
range at the sheriff; both balls
struck the court house and passed
entirely through Lac wall and
splintered things inside. The
sheriff in turn fired on the deputy
as he fed and killed his horse.
A drunken man fred a winchester
through the floor of an upper room
and bored hole in a collectors
book in the room below. A Fort
Smith attorney on entering the
pay ground had his grip seized
and was about to be searched foI
whisky when the captain of guards
interlered and no doubt saved the
waste of some of Fort Smiths best
liquor.
But the big payment is over,
With all its incidents and its acci-
i5a.s, with its wildness and its
excitement and its pathos-for il
was not without pathos--it is gone
forever. We, in future years il
spared may tell our little ones OF
the Strip payment but they will
never witness anything like it.
Like the people that acted it, it
will have passed away forever.
If there is one thing more than
another in fha cOunfrV newenanere