The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-12-17

dams are practically showed off the face
of the earth.
The author says: t'The Delawares, who
were generous in years gone past and
who have always proved their loyalty to
the United States government, have been
| forced much against their will and their
| interests to cross the continent, unwill-
| ingly but always graciously yielding, hav
| ing utmost confidence in the promises
! that this move will be the last until
| now but a handful of them are left,
where they have purchased homes in the
| Cherokee nation, Indian territory. And
| here where they were assured by both
the Cherokees apd the United States gov
eminent that their rights and interests
would be protected, they find that their
| very homes are now being covered with
! applications for mineral leases by both
| Cherokee citizens and citizens of the
United States-weaIthy corporations-who
! claim the protection of the United
! States government and deny the rights of
the Delaware Indians"
An interesting side-light on the vague
politics of the Indian territory is given
In 1866 the Lenni Lenape. then in Kan
sas, sent Captain John Connor, Captain
Sarcoxie, Charles Journeycake, Joseph
Armstrong, Andre NHller and Isaac Jour
neycake to hunt new tribal home in the
Indian territory, and these met delegated
Cherokees and purchased of the Cherokee
nation $4,000 acres for $157,G0O. They also
bought full citizenship in the Cherokee
nation. paying for it S121S24.2S Then the
Cherokee government got the United
States to pay the Delawares 100000 out
Of Delaware trust funds, for the i'm
provement Of the Delaware homes. This
was paid and so expended in the first
part of the present decade. This payment
also wiped out the fund of Delaware
money held by the United States. OF
course the DeIawares believe they are en-
titled to legal share Of the funds of the
Cherokees, but they have no way of get
ting it. Since the Delawares bought into
the Cherokee nation the Cherokees have
admitted 10000 persons to all the rights Of
citizenship without compensation to the
Delawares, and of course reducing their
interests in the communal property and
disturbing the ratio on which they bought
into the tribe. The. Cherpkees have never /
paid the Delawares their share of the
proceeds from the sale of the Cherokee .
Strip.
The Curtis law provided this:
THAT before any allotment shall be
made of lands in the Cherokee nation
there shall be segregated 7therefrom in |
separate allotments OF otherwise the one /
hundred and ffty-seven thousand six hun !
bred acres of land purchased by the Del /
aware tribe of Indians from the Cherokee /
nation"
The Cherokees have not done this and .
the Delawares have brought suit in the I
court of claims to have it done.
1t seems that on top of all this the .
Dawes commission has made a treaty .
with the Cherokee nation, not, however, /
signed by the full-bloods who are the .
Delawares friends, which seems to leave .
the Delawares out of all participation in .
proceeds coming from lands sold when .
Cherokee allotments shall have taken +.
place and even makes no provision for
alloting them land This, the author al
Ieges, was done for the benefit of inter-
married white persons and negroes now
citizens of the Cherokee nation, and adds:
The Downing party Of the Cherokee |
nation, in order to get the votes of that /
class Of people whose rights to a division
in the lands and funds would be ques-
toned, did endorse this agreement and .
made it a part of their platform and by /
offering an indirect bride of an interest
in the lands and funds for votes did Sc
cure the election of their chief and get
control of both branches of the Cherokee .
national council and viii, of course, at
tempt to further -embarrass the Della
ware Indians"
The Curtis act provided for the leasing
Of lands in the Indian territory for coal,
coal OIL, asphalt and minerals, leaving it
optional with the secretary of the in
terror to grant or reject applications for
leases. The author adds:
Before the act of congress referred to,
certain Cherokees and intermarried white
men, relatives Of the constituted authori-
ties of the Cherokee nation. did secure
what they term mineral leases from the
said authorities. covering the homes and
improvements Of the Delaware Indians
They did suitcase the same to certain
citizens of the United States who claim
to have expended twenty odd thousand
dollars in putting down eighteen oil wells.
and for this reason they claimed a pre-
ferred right to lease from the secretary
of the interior over one hundred and
eighty thousand acres Of land covering
most OF the homes of the Delaware In
dams, without respect to their rights and
without their consent"
No mineral leases were given by the
Cherokees TO lands Cherokee. The Della
wares rather think they can see discrim-
inaton in this. Thy have consequently
begun proceedings in the court Of claims
to determine what their rights are.
But what the DeIawares fear apparently :
most is this. Mr. Adams writes: "The
Delawares have just cause for alarm. If
the pending leases are executed by the
secretary OF the interior without await
ing the decision Of the court Of claims
as to the rights Of the Delawares therein.
that tribe will find its interests and
remedies at law seriously embarrassed.
The supreme court of the state of ore
son. in AIosgrove vs.. Harper, in May
term. 1895 held that after the secretary
of the interior had approved a lease Of
Indian lands he could not cancel the same.
stating; That is a matter which belongs
10 the judicial not the executive depart
ment of the government. The right Of
the lessee. when denied TO re-enter and
take possession of the leased premises
under and by virtue Of the several pro-
visions Of the lease, can only be tried out
in a court OF law, and not by some exc
cutive department Of the government
Any one can see from this that the
pelawares are confronted with two dan
gers. one more or less remote. the other
peril0uslv- near