The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-04-04
CH0CTAW BALL PLAYING
ALMOST AS LIVELY Il GAME as THE
FOOTBALL or THESE DAYS.

Playing for Valuable stakes-KickIng
After the Game, With Sometimes seri-
Gus Results-Legislation Brought to
Bear.
Occasionally in certain towns of the
idly lingering around the door of q
supply store or sitting idly in the sun
shine with his unsold stock of baskets
disposed around him. He is not fair to
look upon; many lands and looms have
contributed to the dirty raiment that
he wears. and his straight, black hair
testifies to lifelong immunity from
the comb. Ragged, ignorant, and I'M
clean, he is a hideous parody on his
ancestors; a pitiful example of the de-
| generacy wrought by civilizations; an
| incarnate admission of racial incapac-
| ity. If the town be one of the very few
in Mississippi where whisky can be OBJ
tanned by any primitive artifice, he is
more than likely to be under its influ-
| erlce. If it were not for such casual re-
minders, the average citizen would for
get that any remnant of the unfortun-
ate and decadent race still existed in
Mississippi. Yet in certain counties of
the state they exist in considerable
numbers. Sometimes, however it
| chances that people are reminded of
this contingent by methods more start
| ling and unique as, for instance when
a ball play is pulled off between OPP
posing settlements. A very recent case
illustrates how hilarious and sensation
al these little diversions sometimes be-
come. AT a ball play" held near Car
thage a few weeks ago several braves
We're killed and others wounded as a
consequence Of the game.
The Indian population of the state is
confined to a few counties, chiefly
! Newton Leake, Jasper, Scott and Mes
hoba. OF course in all parts of the
state isolated instances occur where a
few Indians or half-breed descendants
remain, but the counties mentioned are
the only ones which have anything
like an appreciable Indian population.
The last census gives the state 2,036 Of
them, of whom fully nine-tenths are
| Choctaws. In fact, of all the tribes
that once lived in Mississippi, the va
zoo, Biloxi, Pascagoula, Chickasaw and
others, only the Choctaw remains.
| Civilization has done as little for the
Mississippi Indian as for his brother
in the territory. In spite of efforts to
civilize and Christianize he has the
same exhaustive and absorbing thirst
| that renders the Tndian r,,astio, such
a problem to the department of the in
terror Abandoning his viewam for an
uninhabitabIe Int. he has lost even tbe
element Of nicturesoueness that onc4.
| distinpuished him Tbe but in which
he lives as a usua1 thing is nac,,liar
for dirt snualor And the general ab-
seuca of Furniture Tbare is ono tbinc
| he never lacks bowever and that is a
| fnlI and varied assortment of curs and
bounds of bigb and INV daoraa The
| majority of Indians do NOT own land
| but are moro tanants unon what ;s
known &c tba ..sba,-a systan, - wbarahy
one gives half of what ba makes div.
ing tbe vear for tba ran+ of tho land
and utensils furnished This is the pen-
eral rule. althoupb there are several
1 exceptiona1 casas where Indians own
homesteads urine the snrinp and ear
lv SIMMER he HEDGES and ditches about
in the ordinary ia sbion with his natob-
es ar COTTON corn and tobacco Rut
whom these Iabors actually reoassarv
tn his existence are comnleted he feels
the iynnulse If his sayaea ancestors
stir within his SLUGGISH blood Then
ali sttemnts to conflne him To routine
ara unayai1inq Several If tben, naval.
Iv hand together 10 eo ,,non a hunt
Having estahlisbad tbeir camn in the
swarm territory wherein thew intend
to HINT thew leave tbe scuaus and ma
nooses +o take care of II while tbev
scatter oven, tba surrounding country
what mart of tba nroceeds of the cbase
remains aftar tho oon,,,,on mot has
heen nrovided for is sold IN the nearest
town Ono indian lie delegated +o dc
tbis ca that tba others NAV continue
Tho snort without intern,ission n
wbisl1v oan he gotte, +he ,,a+,,ros VIC
alwavs devoted r. it's nurcl,asa. If NOT
+hara 10 a ,ossihi1itv +bo+ +ha WOW, A.,
r,a,, 10 ra,yorded with nv 80 hr;o,,
rihl,oy, ~, a shawl of ,yoriaoo+od oo1ors
Thasa bunts fraoua,+l,, 10 e. ~, ,,,a1,1rs
al tive
rba r,os+ +,,,,iool .rd ,a,.,,.ns +h,
o,,1,r a,1,ara;o,, - +ho Tnaior,r o,,ta;aa ~
tho chase 10 what is 1rro1wr a dol
r,1o,,, Tha so,,,a 10 ~ 1,ar.,r errao+ a -.
+;o,,i+,, havi,,gg rrohot1v hea,, ,,1a-yat
| 3 80 80