Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-02-27
The INDIAN IS
TO Be SHOT
For Murder Unless the Respite
Arrives in Time Today.
HIS WAS A FAMOUS CASE
Three Times Before He Was in the
Shadow Of Death--WaS a
ChOctaW Ball Play er.

South McAlester, I. T., Feb. 27.-Walla
Tonaka, the Choctaw Indian who
achieved national notoriety by touring
the west with a baseball team while
under sentence of death, is in peril for
the third time. Unless q United States
deputy sheriff, who started from here to
serve a writ of habeas corpus granted
Saturday afternoon by Judge Clayton of
the Indian Territorial federal court,
reaches the scene of execution to prevent
it, Walla Tonaka will be shot at noon
today in Alikeni, in the heart of the
Choctaw nation. At no other time has
Tonaka been nearer death than now, as
the roads are so pad that it is doubtful
if the deputy can reach Alikeni in time.
The crime for which Walla Tonaka is
to die is for the murder of Lamson A.
Young, who was an Indian deputy
sheriff, a year ago last summer. Tonaka
and two companions were carouslng
and became so bOisterous that Ionakas
uncle attempted to arrest them. They
resisted, and in the melee that ollowed
Young was shot dead. All three were
arrested, but as there were no witnesses
to the murder and one of the trio would
testify at the trial, conviction was i'm
possible.
The jury, however. convicted Walla
| Tonaka and he was sentenced to be shot
on August 6, 1897. But Walla Tonaka
had another engagement on that date.
He was a member of the Choctaw base
ball team, which was under contract to
play in Kansas City on the day for the
execution, and was to follow this with
-. q L. -.o-% Iv,1 ~, u, MO g
the best player on the team and could
not be spared, SO it was arranged to
postpone the execution by appealing to
the supreme council of the tribe A re-
spite was easily secured and in the mean
time TOnaka was free to play ball.
During all this time he vas absolutely
free, so far as physical interests were
concerned, and only his pride in the
tribal honor was depended upon for his
appearance for a rehearing and for ex-
ecution. The faith in him was not mis-
placed, as it is said it has never been
in the case of a ChOctaw, and when his
case came up for review in the supreme
council he was on hand to hear the de-
cisiOn. The review was merely form, as
it was expected it would be. The SEN
tence of the lower court was affirmed
and the execution was settled for No
vember 6, in Alikeni. Still no restraint
was placed on Walla Tonaka and he APP
peared in Alikeni, ready to be shot by
his two best friends, as the Choctaw Gus
tom required. Had he failed to do so,
the first Choctaw that INST him would
have shot him, and his memory would
lave been reviled for generations.
All possible arrangements had been
made for the execution, and Choctaws
from all parts of the nations, some of
whom had been on the road for three
days, We're there. Half an hour before
the time a reprieve arrived, and Tonaka
had a new lease of life. The execution
was then set for April 10, and again
Walla Tonaka seems to have been or
the brink of the grave, but again a re-
prieve was received just in time to save
. his life.
The case was then delayed for months
because the clash between the fedora
and territorial authorities, and the exc
cution was delayed until today. The
chief was appealed to again, but refused
to interfere, and as a last resort a wri
of habeaS corpus was asked for in tn
federal court here. 1t was granted, an(
a deputy sheriff started with it for Ali
keni but it is doubtful if he can max
the so miles overland in time to stop thu
execution.