Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1897-12-30

1
to come to Washington and pre-
sent formal protest so that, in flu
ture litigation and legislation, il
might not be said that We failed tC
protest at the proper time and
"slept on our rights"
Mr.. Duncan is a man of fine
impressive appearance, and is a fit
ting type of the intelligent, well
educated Indian.
For the past week / have sew.
eral times met and talked with the
Ardmore and Purcell townsite del.
egates, Messrs. S. T. Bledsoe and
J. H. Humphries. They are act.
i've, alert and hard at work.
They are giving special study
and consideration to the legal
status of the townsite question: i.
e., as to the right of the United
States government to extinguish
the Indian title to the townsites.
At the next meeting of the COM
mittee, or as soon thereafter as
the committee may indicate, they
will ask to appear before the sub
committee and present the legal
status of the question.
Judge Little will, in a few days,
introduce a bill to convert the
United States Jail at Fort Smith
into a penitentiary for the confine-
ment of those convicted in the
courts of the Indian Territory and
sentenced for one year and less.
A report from the marshal and
jaller at Fort Smith shows the Jail
to have holding capacity of 5SS.
This number can be accommodated
by utilizing all the available space.
Judge Little has conferred with
the officials at the department of
justice, and the plan is ooked on
with favor by them. They now
have under consideration some
matters of detail, and are endeav-
oring to get a bill prepared that
will be effective without conflict.
ing with existing law.
Mr. Curtis of Kansas has intro
duced bill 10 grant right of way
through the Indian Territory and
Oklahoma to the "Muskogee Coal
and Railway Company" The
proposed line extends from Fort
Gibson in a westerly or southwest
erly direction through the Indian
Territory and Oklahoma to Yer
non, Texas.
A bill has been introduced by
Mr.. Callahan, delegate from Okla
homa, to create the office of sur
veyor general of Oklahoma and
the Indian Territory. The bill
provides: "That Oklahoma :and
the Indian Territory shall consti-
tute one surveying district, that
the surveyor general shall receive
a salary of 1000 a year, that the
Office of the surveyor general shall
be located in Oklahoma at such
place as may be designated by the
president"
As is quite generally known
there il a small strip of the Choc
taw nation between the Arkansas
and Poteau rivers, and adjacent to
the city of Fort Smith that has for
a long time been the resort of
petty criminals and rowdies, to the
great annoyance of that city.
1t is difficult of government by
the officers of the nation, because
of the Poteau river, and is, of
course, without the police juris-
diction of Fit. Smith. The matter
has been called to the attention of
many times, and in the
recent agreement with the Dawes |
it was provided that
this portion of the Choctaw nation |
be sold and added to Ft. Smith.
Judge Little has taken the mat
ter up and will present, at the
proper time an amendment to the |
Indian appropriation bill, provid-
ing that this strip of land be in
cluded in the police jurisdiction of
Ft. Smith. The amendment is as |
follows:
1.-The jurisdiction of the city of
Ft. Smith. Ark, is hereby ex-
tended over all that strip of land
in the Indian Territory lying and
being situate between the corpo-
rate limits of Ft. Smith and the
Arkansas and Poteau rivers and |
up said Poteau river to
the mouth of Mill creek; and all |
laws and ordinances of said city,
as far as the same are applicable
are hereby put in force therein,
Provided: that no charge or tax
shall ever be made or levied
against said lands or the tribe or
nation to whom it belongs, by said
city,"
Second Chief Rolly Mcintosh
and Anderson, Creek delegates,
are here.
, The Bar association of Sallisaw
las petitioned congress for a court
1t that point. The petition recites
he location of the town of Salli-
saw, the scope OF country by which
t is surrounded, the distance to
courts at present established, and
,ther facts in support of the peti-
ion. 1t has been referred for the
of the judiciary COM
nittee.
The senate has just published
he protest of the "Choctaw- Chick
saw Union party" against the
reaty made by those nations with
he Dawes commission, as senate
document 25. The protest is
igned by ]. B. Jackson, Josiah
Gardner and others, and is the
ruit of the convention held at An
lers on the Oath of November |
asst.
The fraudulent Creek warrants
re now engaging the attention of
he Indian bureau of the interior
and the report Of the
inspectors will probably be laid