The Wichita daily eagle., 1900-06-24
WORK on HORSEBACK
Indian Land Appraisers are
Now Mounted.
IN CHlCKASAW COUNTRY
Covering a Strip of Land
Sixty Miles Wide.

l.
Having received numerous interroga-
tories, both oral and written, from friends
az home (au of whom, if not readers of
the Eagle, should be). relative to claims
in the Indian country, L take this method
Of giving what information l can of the
work. 1 hope this will at once be salts
factory to my friends and of some inter-
est TO your readers.
First Of all warn an possessed of In
dian blood against paying retainers fees
to unscrupulous lawyers who advertise
for cash consideration to successfully
push al! claims. and eventually land the
claimant upon hundreds of broad acres
Of the virgin soil of their respective tribes.
That they will land him is a certainty,
but he will be landed stranded.
None living outside the Indian country
and possessed of no essential qualifica-
ton of citizenship other than blood. and
whose names, or the names Of their i'm
mediate ancestors are not already on the
allotment rolls, will or can become par
ticipants in the allotment. IN other words
claimants must be bona fde residents,
citizens of their respective nations.
1 hope / have made this sufficiently
plain that none viii be allured by the
false hope of sudden wealth.
Judgments as to citizenship have been
rendered upon the following six propo-
sitions, to-wit:
l. As to the right of citizenship of those
Choctaws who, under the treaty of 1850,
decided to remain in the state of Missis-
sippi, called mississippi Choctaws," and
have not since removed into the present
Choctaw nation.
q AS to the right to citizenship Of those
Mississippi Choctaws who have since the
treaty Of 1880 removed into the present
Choctaw nation.
g. AS to the right to citizenship of
others who are not Mississippi Choctaws
who have removed from the Ghoctaw ma
tior into the states and are now residing
there.
4. AS to the right to citizenship of white
men having married Indian women in
Chcctaw nation.
S. As to the right Of white men to citi-
zenship. by virtue Of a legal marriage to
Choctaw women and residence in the
Choctaw nation who had become lawful
citizens, but, their Indian wives having
afterwards died, they married for their
second wives white women.
6. As to the right to citizenship of white
men who, having married Choctaw
women in violation of the Choctaw laws.
afterwards remarry the same women in
conformity with their laws.
With the following summary of opin-
ions:
1. Absent Mississippi Choctaws are not
entitled to enrolment.
2. All Mississippi Choctaws who may
are entitled to enrolment, without respect
to the Quantum of blood.
8. All absent Choctaws who have per-
manently moved away from the nation
and have not returned are not entitled to
enrolment.
4. All white persons married to Choc-
taws in accordance with their laws are
entitled to be enrolled.
5. White persons married to Choctaws
in violation of the Choctaw statute are
not entitled to be enrolled.
6 White men who have married Choc-
taws IN accordance with their statutes,
and the wife dies and the widower after
wards marries a white woman. are, with
the children by such marriage, entitled to
enrolment, but Go not, IN case Of their
death. confer on the wife citizenship to
such an extent that she may confer it on
a second white husband and the children
by such marriage.
I. A white man, having married q
Choctaw woman not IN accordance with
the Choctaw laws. and afterwards mar
ries her in accordance with such laws, Is
entitled TO enrolment
As TO our present work of appraising or
classifying lands the work is done under
the following rules and schedule:
Land shall be valued in the appraise-
ment as If in its original condition, ex-
Guiding the improvements.
Land Will be graded and appraised by
quarter sections, except in cases where a
part Of quarter section is of widely DIFF
feTent class from the rest. In such cases
the quarter section will be graded and ap-
praised in smaller parcels. but no parcel
to be less than forty acres.
Ii timber is of commercial value, the
quantity will be carefully estimated. the
variety stated, and it will be valued sepa-
rately, and If not generally distributed
over the tracts. its location viii be given
Appraisers will grade and appraise lands
without regard to location or proximity
| to market.
Whenever necessary the appraiser-in-
| chief. in cooperation with the representa-
tives appointed by the respective execu-
! tives OF the Choctaw and Chickasaw
tribes. will thereafter readj1st and equal
ize the appraisements.
Upon completion Of this work the values
will be adjusted by the commission to the
Five Civilized Tribes. on this basis OF
values fixed for each class. and the loca-
ton Of the land and its proximity to mar
ket
Glass I Naturally open bottom land
Class ? ta) Cleared bottom land. (b)
Best black prairie land.
Class 3. Bottom land covered with tim
Der and thickets If the timber IS ot
| commercial value. ii wiz be appraised
| separately
Class + (al Bast prairie land. other
than black (b) Bottom land subject to
| overflow.
Class 5. Cal Prairie land, smooth and
unaole 90 Swamp laad easily drain
able
Class S tal Rough prairie land Co
Upland with hard timber III the timber
S OF commercial value, it VIII be sp-
praised se2ara.ely)
Class : ta) Rocky prairie land ID
Swamp land not easily drafnable.
class tal Aikal prairie land. o.
Billy aaa rocky land tep Swamp lard
no, p-0ftably drainable- Csj Mountain
pasture land
Class ; "a Sandy iand with plne tin
be-. III the timber Is O.: commercial