The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1898-12-15
THE DELAWARE INDIANS.
Leave the United States for
Mexico.

tne last OF tnem. Inc DelaWdreS nave
a. peculiar history. They met William
Penn upon his arrival and with them
he negotiated the famous treaty. They
stood as solid wall between European
settlers on the east and the ferocious
Indian tribes on the west. They were
known as peaceful Indians, ever ready
to defend their rights, if necessary,
when attacked but never provoking
trouble nor making an attack them
selves. 1t is doubtful whether the
early English settlements in this coun-
try could have been maintained if it
had not been for their friendship. 'Lo-
gan, the friend of the white man. was
a Delaware chief
"Originally the Delawares and the
kindred Algonquin tribes occupied
more than two-thirds of all the terri
tory which constituted the original
United States, from the Penobscots to
the Savannahs and away beyond the
Alleghanies toward the Mississippi, and
they numbered nearly 100000 souls.
European civilization, ever pressing
them on the east, drove them westward
and westward, until finally what were
left of them were peaceably settled in
Kansas, where the treaty was made in
1866
The Delawares had been loyal
through the civil war and many of the
tribe served with honor and distinction
in the union army. The Cherokees, on
the other hand, sided with the south.
The white men wanted the Delaware
country in Kansas, and the fact that
the Delaware braves had stood side by
side with them in defense of the union
was not strong enough to protect them.
But the land had been solemnly guar
anteed to the Delawares by the United
States and the faith of the nation was
behind the Delaware title. Again the
Delawares proved themselves the
friends of the white man. Fertile as
was their new-found home on the plains
OF Kansas, much as they had become
attached to it, they consented to move
again. So the treaty of 1866 was made.
"A suit is now pending in the United
States court of claims and will be tried
this winter to determine the rights of
the parties under the contract The
Delawares claim that as they bought
and paid for two things-to wit, land
and the privilege of citizenship-they
are entitled to both. The Cherokees
claim that the Delawares must put their
land back into the common pool and
divide up with the Cherollees
'Whatever the result of this suit"
continued Mr.. Logan, ''the Delawares
have determined that they will shake
the dust of the United States from the
scles of their moccasins. They fore
see that the Indian territory is soon
to be opened up to the white man. They
are not strong enough to resist the
terrible and constant pressure. They
have the best lands in the United States,
and the white man is bound to have
them. The offer of citizenship and the
privilege of voting contained in the
recently-passed Curtis bill have no al
lurements for the Delaware. He has
had too much experience with the
white man. The Mexican republic. our
sister on the south, asks the Della
wares to transfer their allegiance, and
offers to welcome them to hospitable
homes. A tract of land around the
mouth of Gaqui river, on the Gulf Of
California, in the state of Sonora. fer
tile as the valley of the Nile, and in a
climate where life is worth living, has
been offered if they will come and Gull
tivate it. The leading men of the tribe
visited this country and reported
strongly in its favor. There seems 10
be little doubt that they will move to
Sonora as fast as they can sell out their
interests in the United States.
"The republic of Mexico has dealt
more kindly with her Indians than the
United States" said Mr.. Logan. "Our
fathers wiped the Indians off the face
of the earth. In Mexico there are more
men of Indian lineage to-day than in
the time of Montezuma. English col
onists in America brought their wives
with them, and the civilization that
they planted was the European civiliza-
ton. In Mexico the Spaniard came
along, and the first thing he did was
" ii"iAy al lhdldh GIN AIu 81 the
present Mexican race is the result of
the union of the strongest men of Spain
and the most attractive women of the
Aztecs.
To-day in the United States the In
dian is ward of the nation. In Mexico
he is free and the equal of every other
citizen. Benito Juarez, the great lib
orator of Mexico, was full-blooded
Zapotec Indian. Porfrio Diaz, Mexicos
present great president, combines In
dian with European blood in his veins.
Matias Romero, for almost half a CEN
fury MeXico's representative in the
United States, has the best blood of
both races in his veins. And the men
who are ruling Mexico now are of In
dian ancestry. The Delawares think
that in country where the Indian is
citizen and an equal, where he holds
the principal places of profit and
fmolument, where it is held an honor
pnd not disgrace to have Indian blood
i'll ones veins, they may find a home
and rest and peace and quiet for their
footsore race. "-Chicago Record.
At the Poles.