The Sunday globe., 1901-06-09
THE OSAGE INDIANS.
The Richest People of ANY Subject
Nation on the Globe.

The English charge that we have
decimated and robbed the Indians as
no civilized nation ever plundered the
aborigines it invaded or conquered, is
on par with the usual mendacity
Of the British writer, when referring
to countries other than his own.
The Globe need not point to Ireland
as fair sample Of British spoliation
and robbery. Every place the flag flies
she has outraged, plundered and rob
bed the weaker people.
Touching our own treatment Of tho
Indians, it may not have been all that
it might have been from the point of
justice and humanity, but what sub
ject people of the British empire has
the health and comforts Of our Usage
Indians?
BY the recent renting of 6OOOOO
acres Of grazing land the Usage In
dians Of Oklahoma Territory have Sc
cured an additional income of S12O.-
GOO, Already they are the richest peo.
pie on earth, Several years ago the
lands Of the Osages in Kansas were
sold the sale realizing $S,OO0,O00. This
money was placed in the Treasury of
the United States, and from it the
Usage Indians derive an annual in.
come Of 100000 In addition to this.
they own l,51O,l95 acres Of land, which
is fairly worth S. an acre, making the
value of their land holdings S7S5O.S75.
There are 1872 Indians in the tribe.
counting men, women and children.
They all share alike in the tribal
wealth, and when a child is born it
becomes joint property owner with
all the other Indians in the tribe. The
profits from the $4,000 600 held in the
treasury the recent rental of pasture
lands, and other sources of revenue
give the Osages an annual income an.
proXimating 100000, a per capita in.
come Of S30425 for each man. woman
and child. When a family consists of
SEYEN--Globe
man and wife and eight children, as
often happens, the family receives each
year in cash S3042.50, and on their
lands they raise all their food-stuffs.
and considerable grain for the market
The realty holdings of the tribe have
a per capita valuation of So,5S7. or, for
a family of ten, $3SS70. There is no
DNA'A ld't VI ptOplt III lIlt WOElQ, IL is
declared, that can make such a show
ing.
The Usage Indians have not failed to
profit by this wealth. The sons and
daughters of families are sent East to
colleges and boarding schools to be ed.
ucated, many of them receiving pro-
fessional training. There are a few
families, of course, which still live
with almost the simplicity which
marked the lives of their savage an.
cestOrs, but the desire for education
and culture is rapidly spreading, and
when the Osages become citizens, a few
years hence, they will he fully equip
ped for the duties and responsibilities
Of citizenship.
The homes Of some Of the most pro-
gressiye Osages compare favorably
with the dwellings of white people of
equal wealth. Their houses are richly
furnished with carpets and modern
furniture, and in many homes there
are pianos upon which the boarding
school training Of the daughters has
taught them to perform. Horses and
carriages are not infrequent. and
though the automobile has not yet
made its appearance, it is not an i'm
possibility Of the near future-Detroit
Gazette.