The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1900-11-29
CIVILIZED, INDIAN TRIBES.
The Intruders Among Them The Frese
men-VariOua Needs.


The Intruders Among Them The Freed.
men-variOua Needs.
The joint memorial of the Cherokees,
Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Creeks
against both statehood and severalty
allotment, forwarded to congress, will
perhaps relieve the Indian territory oil
any, further attempts just now tc
change its political status. Yet It Ia
only question Of time when this
change must come.
The assertions of the Indian tribes
In that memorial regarding their Inn
provement and their prospects are to q
considerable degree borne out by the
report of their government agent Mr..
Dew M, Wisdom "a genuine full
blood Indian will soon be curiosity
In the Indian territory" says that re-
port. 1t further appears that the pop.
ulatiOn of what Is called the Indian
territory, as distinguished from what
has been added TO Oklahoma. consisted
last year of about seventy-ave thou
sand citizens of the tribes and one
hundred and Atty thousand non; citi
Eens The latter are expected to In
crease rapidly during the present year.
They are mostly tuants of the
soil, and, as the rents are not
large, theys. find it for their inter
ests to hold lands under their
leases there and cultivate them, OF
the citizens the Cherokees- by blood
with the intermarried white and the
adopted citizens are estimateda at 20, 500;
the Chiclsasaws exclusive of negroes,
at Q, 900; the ChActaws, those by blood,
interInarried whites and the negroes, q,
10000; the Creeks, by blood and the
negroes at $4,000; the Selninolss al
5000. The land owned by these tribes
on September 80 last aggregated, In
round numbers, 10000. 900 acres, o
which about one.half was considered
susceptible of remunerative cultivation
The agency for all the tribes Ia at Mus
cogee, In the Creek nation, on the line
OF the Missouri Kansas & Texas rail
way, which goes through the heart o.
the Indian country
There are several important problems
to be solved in the Indian territory
Prominent among these Is that of the
intrusion, of non-cltizens upon the
tribal domains This is especially true
OF the Cherokee and Chickasaw nations
In the former Mr.. Wisdom estimates
| the intruders at 5, 900, divided into two
classes. The first are those who en-
tered before August IL, 1886. and havt
made valuable improvements; the
second are those who entered
after that date, claim citizenship
through alleged Cherokee blood, anC
accordingly refuse to take out permit,
or comply with the residence law. Il
Is of the latter class that the Cherokee.
mostly complain. Under an act of con
gress pissed about a year ago board
of appraisers Is dealing with the first
class When the Cherokee strip wa
purchased one of the agreements wa
that the United States governmen
should remove the intruders In orde
that this might be done without In
justice it became necessary to put |
value on all improvements made Il
good faith by the intruders These tn,
Cherokee nation must pay for; but. a
an offset, fair value for the use an
occupation OF the lands Is deducte,
from the improvements. and these lat
ter become the property OF the nation
This seems to be as good way as coul,
be expected for disposing OF this ques
j ton. ..... .,.9
But it is the second-class of intruder
that creates the most difficulty 1t
numerous, we'll organized and deter
I mined to stay In some cases the clair
to Cherokee blood is honestly made
and Mr.. Wisdom thinks their exclusion
i would. be unjust; but this is not true
he believes, of the majority of claim
ants, and the Cherokee nation, In re
sistihgr, their incorporation into tn
tribe. is simply acting on its ad
mitted rights for the preserve
ton of its autonomy. A deci,
ion of the United States suprem
court has recognized the exclusive RICH
of the Cherokee nation to determin
who are its citizens. Many Of tn
intruders have had a hearing on thi
question. and their cases have been d,
cided adversely; vet they have refuse
to go, alleging that the trial was VI
fair. members of the court being intel
ested in the result Thus 1t Is see
that there Is a constant source of tro,
BILE there. as the intruders of this elias
refuse to abide by the decision agains
them. and the Indian police force
not strong enough to remove then
while the organization is SO powerf,
that the Cherokee nation cannot ~
rid of them, at least in any peacef,
Z way.
In the Chickasaw nation the cas-
against the intrudcrs Is still stronge
Gov. Jonas Wolf estimates their nun
bers at about 5000. and they are s
powerful in one county, that they ca
1.-THE free state of Pickens, and tres
his authority with contempt Uhlih
the Cherokee intruders, just spoken o
, they do not make claim to citizenshi
by blood, but are herding cattle
the name of natives, and nominal
under leases, but fraudulently,. accor'
ing to the agent Gov. Wolf has a.
pealed to the government through I'll
latter for military force to eject the'
intruders, on account of their strengt
and avowed determination to remain
The agent says that "the whole situ'
, ton is messwork OF fraud and cul
/ ming evasion of the law that will r
quire heroic treatment"
Another question is presented by Il
: status Of the freedmen among IL
chiclsasaws band cherolees The 10
mer do not allow the negroes to vot
Ehold office, or enjoy the school fund
I.ws f d . ~ ..l 49, n . -