The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1901-08-11
GOVERNMENT TO CLOSE UP IN
DIAN AFFAIRS IN A HURRY.
The Cherokees Will Not Be Given
Another Opportunity to Make
An Agreement With the
Government,

|
J George Wright. personal repre-
sentative of Secretary Hitc hcock,
in charge of affairs in the Indian
Territory has returned from an
official visit to Washington. Dis
cussing Indian affairs in general,
and the Cherokee in particular, he
said:
The Cherokee Indians must
take the initiative in negotiating
another treaty, If they want one,
and they say they do. The gov
ernment will waste no more time
on such an instrument.
From what | can learn the
Cherokees are sorry now that they
voted down the other treaty. They
thought that the government
would come to them with another
proposition. They were mistaken.
The government has no PROPOSE
tiops looking towards a treaty to
make. 1t is going to enforce the
Curtis act to the very letter. The
Cherokees will not fare as well un.
der Curtis act as they would under
a separate treaty. Under a treaty
they would have had voice in the
settlement OF affairs in their coun.
try. Under the Curtis act they
have but little to say. The gov
ernmeut runs things without con-
sulting the Cherokees. 1t will go
ahead under the law and civilize
that nation without asking any
odds from any one.
The Dawes commission is now
at work winding up the allotments
in the Creek nation. There were
Is, 900 allStments to make. The
Indians have already taken about
5000. This leaves only 1000
to make and it will not take long
to do that. | have also had town
site surveyors run the lines for the
various towns and the appraisers
are at work in several places. The
commission has two nations ready
/ to begin work in as soon as it
completes the Creek allotment-the
{ Choctaw and the Chickasaw This
will take some time. Surveys of
townsites are now being made in
3 those nations and the appraisers
are at work.
. The Greek Indians as a whole
t are pleased over the opening OF
. their country. They felt that il
, was only a matter of a few years
when tribal relations would have
e to cease and they went about it in
D the right way, to get as good an
a agreement out of the government
t as they could. The provisions OF
the treaty which they ratified al
Okmulgee recently are satisfactory
a to the great majority of them
d Crazy Snake and his band have
e disappeared from the footlights
e and everything with them is serene.
e Many people are coming into the
>, Creek country now buying up
j. lands or contracting for it from
e the Indians. and in my judgment
!. that section will soon be highly de.
T. veloped. Natural resources of all
kinds are there waiting develop
i ment. Now that the Creeks are
= in a position to dispose of then
+ lands, men of means are ready tC
= invest there"
Do you expect many of the dis.
. appointed homeseekers from the
. Kiowa Comanche country to Sc
= cure farms in the Greek countryi"
Not many" he replied. "Th,
fact is, Creek farms come too high
for the ordinary homeseeker who
II depend upon an opening to get &
: homestead The Greek country il
the cream of the earth While
understand there is much COCO
land in the Kiowa. .Comanche coun
4