The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-02-06
TRIED FOR TREASON
TELLS OF PERIL0US TROUBLES IN
THE INDIAN COUNTRY.
olonei Blackwell on His Way to David to
Stand Trial for Treasou--Cherokee Who
Sells Land to White Man Must Die
How Blackwell Was Captured and
Guarded In the Woods--Brave Woman
Searches Two Days and Finds Him.
Masked Men Come to Kill Him, But are
Driven on.

Masked Men Come to Kill Him, But are
Driven on.
Colonel Blackwell of Blackwell came
in on the Santa Fe from Oklahoma
last evening on his way to David. a
town in the Cherokee country, forty
miles south of Coffeyyille, TO stand
trial for treason.
Il will stand trial next Monday for
treason and if convicted will be hang
ed" said Colonel Blackwell, and he
laughed as if it were all trifiing affair.
"In what does treason against the
Cherokee nation consist, colonel?" ask
ed reporter for the Eagle.
Il am accused of selling some Of my
land in the Cherokee country to a
white man. The Cherokees have law
making it treason, punishable with
death to sell any Cherokee lands to a
white man and that is what l am &C
cuSed of.
The Cherokees are very much afraid
the white people will take their lands
from them and this law was made to
catch the officers of the nation who
attempt to sell any Of the Cherokee
for individuals like me, because 1
could not under the Cherokee laws
give deed for my lands if sold to any
body but a citizen of the Cherokee ma
ton.
Il was arrested in David last fall on
the charge of treas son. The Indian Of
ficers who arrested me took me twenty
miles south TO Clarrimore. They then
took me ten miles from town in a woods
Oh 1I iv,a
Il was kept there for nine days. My
wife learned of my arrest and hunted
two days before she found me. She
secured the services of a lawyer and he
came and threatened to call in the
United States authorities if l was not
brought in.
II was then taken to Clairrmore and
bond fixed at $4,000. which I gave and
was liberated but have TO go back and
stand my trial.
THE authorities became alarmed
when my attorney told them that / was
not a Cherokee, which is a fact. My
wife is one-sixteenth Cherokee. but
there is no Cherokee blood in me.
THE Cherokee officials thought they
would be able to prove that L am a
Cherokee but they cannot do that All
Cherokees are amendabie to their laws
but white man can demand trial in
the United States court.
IF / am convicted in this case which
seems hardly possible, because did not
sell my land, / will appeal TO the
United States court, unless they hang
me before 1 get achance to get my case
before the court.
THE night before I was admitted to
bail there were five masked men rode
into Clarrimore TO murder me, but
some armed men ran over from a hotel
and after several shots were fired the
masked men disappeared.
This whole thing was put up to
either kill me or run me out of the
Cherokee country. L took allotments
in the Cherokee strip and have lived
there ever since two months before the
opening and laid out the town of Black
we'll"
Were there any people in your sec
ton before the opening. cOlOnel?"
Eyes, plenty of them. The day Of the
opening | went 10 the top of the hill
near my home about two hours before
the time set for the opening. / could
see people in every direction as far rs
the eye could reach. / am safe in say
ing that 1 saw 400 people two hours be-
fore the opeing. The fact of the mat
ter is the whole country was filed with
sooners before the time set for the
opening i of course did not know who
they We're nor where they took claims
but know they We're there.
Col. Blackwell declares that his town
of Blackwell will soon have direct COM
munication with Wichita by railroad.
He has formed company to build a
road from the Kansas line to Black
we'll Associated with Colonel Black
well in the enterprise are Messrs. j. g.
Miller, William p. Hardwick. Ed l..
Peckham, +. w. Potts, j. X. May. W.
L. Pittinger, J. l.. Waite and j. c.
Stith. The capital stock of the COM
pany is 500, coo and its object is to con-
struct, maintain and operate railroad
line from the Kansas line to Blackwell.
o. T.
Colonel Blackwell says If he is not
convicted and executed in the Indian
country that he is going to rush this
road. He says the work OF grading the
road will be begun in six weeks and
that a locomotive will rumble into
Blackwell by July 4. Most of the right
of way has been granted and the new
road will start either at point sixteen
miles from Hunnewell or twenty miles
from Arkansas City.
Mr. Blackwell says this road will
draw traffic from a wide scope OF ter
ritory and will tend to give the town of
blackwell a phenomenal growth.
Blackwell now has a population OF i ,2Oo
and $4,000 bonds have been voted for
water works. The people of the tow
are making an effort to have the coun-
ty seat Of Kay located there and If this
is done, Colonel Blackwell agrees 10
build a $500 court house.