The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1901-01-19
LONGEST I'll Y ED RACF
INDIANS PUT IN 4. MORE YEARS
THAN OTHER PEOPLE.
Many Indians Attain the Age OF leg
Years Years, While Centenarians Are quite
Common Mention of some Aged ana
Famous Tribe Leaders. ~

The government census takers. who
nave Just completed the census OF the
Indian tribes Of the Indian Territory,
report q number Of long-lived people
who reside in that section Of the coun-
try, says the Wichita tKan.) CORE
spondent of the st. Louis Republic.
They say that the Indian lives to an
older age than any other class of peo-
pie on earth. Many Of them attain the
age OF 125 years, while a io0-year-old
indian is nothing out Of the ordinary.
Here are q few OF them ard some facts
about their lives:
White Horse, medicine chief of the
otoes. is now 101 years old, and says
that he feels as young as when he
chased cowboys and soldiers under &C.
ronimo fifty years ago. To prove his
assertions he Is now planning a. ,0O0-
mile trip across the country to visit
soma of his warrior friends. He is Il
great medicine man among ire Otoes,
and is their ambassador TO the Great
Spirit, where he makes frequent trips,
according to himself He also lads i'll
the violent medicine dances and makes
medicine the same as he did when a
young chief.
Another aged Indian is Looking
Glass, Cheyenne warrior. He is 104
years old. and will soon be 105. He
was with Sitting Bull, the great Sioux
warrior, in most of his raids, and he
has passed through seven Indian wars
He says that he does not remember
just how many white persons he has
killed, but that it must be over 100
His eyesight is keen and his hearing is
excellent. He does not speak the
English language.
Nancy Jacobs is Choctaw woman
100 years of age, who lives alone in the
woods near Antlers. She was a cook
for the white soldiers during the civil
war, and remembers all of the big gen.
erals and commanders of the southern
forces. She has a married daughter
IS years Of age, who lives near by. The
old woman has outlived three hus-
bands and still does her own cooking
and housekeeping.
William Vann is a Cherokee freed
man living, near Catoost, who has
reached the ripe old age of 104. He
was once a slave, but when the slaves
were set free he was owned by rich
Cherokee Indian named Rogers, who
save him his freedom and also a right
to share in the lands and funds of the
Cherokee tribe. Van possesses a
unique piece of paper. 1t is a bill of
sale of himself. It, was given by his
owner in West Virginia when Vann
was young man, and the considera-
ton was $1,000. Vann is a wealthy
man, and the family is quite an inf1u-
entail one in Cherokee politics. He is
agile for his age and does not expect
to die for great many years to
come.
Among the Apaches there are ten or
twelve old women who have passed
the 100 year period. One Of the cruel
features of the Apache home life is
that when a woman has passed her
period Of usefulness about the house
she is taken into the country and left
alone by the roadside to die The white
people have talked the Apaches nearly
out Of this cruel way of treating the
old, but in some families they yet be-
lieve that it is the right way to treat
the infrm.