The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-01-18
AN AME RICANK KING.
The Queer Court of King Circle, Ruler of a
 Creek Indian Tribe.


 [Trom the Washington Evening Star.l
 Sixty miles southwest of Muscogee, as the crow flies, is a community of In- dians, known as Muscogee Circle. It occupies several thousand acres of the pest farming and graz lJg lands lying between the junction of the North Fork Canadian river and the We-woka riN CT anl'exrending west to the Seminole res orvation. The king of the town and member of the house of kings of Creek nation is Muscogee Circle, after whe m the community is named. lis fol'i w CTS number about two hundred, all Of whom are faithful subjae3s. His ord in all things Is law, and no one has the temerity to question his authority. King Circle is rich, and his broad acres give one the impression that their own CTS are prosperous and thrifty people. Circles people are very exclusive and do not encourage the visits of travellers. In fact, while the hungry and thirsty are not denied the necessities of life, no stranger Is ever invited within the enClOSuTG ludL IS IGStlNG0 LOt laiS EAlho and members of his court.
 This enclosure, which is known as Fort Circle, stands upon the summit of a high hill. The buildings, of which perhaps there are a score. are built on the pattern of the frontier stockade, and the whole is surrounded by thick oak fence twelve feet high, built with an idea single to purposes of defence. No stranger is ever permitted to pass the massive gates that form the en- trance to the fort Inside the enclosure is large spring that provides sufficient water for the many horses, cattle, and hogs that feed upon the big Circle ranch. Inside the fence is walk on which King Circles standing army, consisting of ten men, walk to and fro. armed with the latest pattern of rifle, doing sentry duty Below this walk the fence is provided with loop holes at regular intervals King Cir cle's army, though small, is well dis ciplined, for only two recruits have been enlisted during the past eight years.
 Outlaw bands and marshals' posses are accorded the same treatment, and both usually give the Circles ranch a wide berth. The determination of the king to protect his property and that of his subjects is so well known that for years his stock has grazed peacefully upon the ranch, undisturbed by ma rauding bands that frequent the coun- try.
 Fort Circle Is inhabited by religious 4. fr themselves, and no man outside of the king and his subjects has become ac- qlainted with the doctrine that is ex- pounded by the sovereign's preacher. Like Mohammed, King Circle and his house keep every Friday as the Lords day, and the religious services are con- ducted with profound solemnity within the fort and under Winchester protec- tion. The chaplain goes through the formality of baptizing the entire gar rison-king, warriors, squaws, and pa- pooses-every Friday in the goose pond just outside the fort The ceremony of baptism is most thorough, for it per forms the double purpose of cleansing the soul and the body.
 This part of the religious ceremonies
 
 the mysteries of the faith has ever been permitted to see, for 1t is as difficult to enter the inner court of Fort Circle as to dance under the leaden coffin of the prophet of Mecca. King Cir cle's subjects are all good citizens of the Creek nation, and they are alltfnll- blooded Indians, intermarriage with whites or the mixed races being strict ly prohibited. This Is the only one of the forty-eight kingdoms in the Creek nation that is made up entirely of full blooded Indians. King Circle Is an hon. ored and an influential member of the house of kings of the Creek nation, and he journeys every year to Okmul- gee to attend the annual session of the Creek lawmaking body. which Is com posed of the house of kings, cores to the United States senate, and the house of warriors, which takes the place of the house of representa- tives.
 In 1890, when the government was taking the census of the five civilized tribes in the Indian territory there was great opposition among the Creeks. At q meeting held at Eufaula court house In August of that year, speakers advis- ed the people to refuse to answer inter rogations or to furnish information to enumerators, assuring their hearers it was a scheme fraught with evil to the Indian and meant opening the country to white settlement, loss of domain, and taxation. The spirit was in turn re- echoed by town and clan chiefs and other local officials to such an extent IS not only seriously to impede the work, but to cause several enumerators 70 resign their positions. So general was this sentiment among the people hat in October the principal chief, L. '. Perryman, sent message to the Creek council calling their attention to existing conditions and recommending juch legislative action as would enable l he 'enumerators to discharge their du- | ies. King Circle was in the house | ,f kings when the chiefs message was | received, and although he had always | opposed any measures which l le considered broaGened the privileges | ,f the whites, he was one of the first l 0 act upon the suggestion of Chief | oerryman, and was largely instrument al in securing the adoption of the res -s.1. 11 11 pRE~