The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-08-14
WHITE MANS
! NEXT GRAB IS
CREEKNATION
Secretary of Dawes Commits
sion Talks on Subject.
LAND WILL BE FOR SALE
Peculiar Situation in the Mat
fer of Citizenship.

Kansas City. Aug. ia. L. Aylesworth
secretary of the Dawes commission 10 the
five civilized Indian tribes. with head
quarters at Muscogee. 7. T. was at the
Baltimore hotel yesterday. Mr.. Ayles-
worth has held his position since Nc
Kinleys first election.
THE commission is busy hearing oiti-
zenship claims" said he. "Of the five
tribes no agreement as TO the allotment
of lands has yet been made with the
Cherokees, and claimants to citizenship
in that tribe are consequently stu ap-
/ pearing before the commission. The Choc
tavs and Chickasaws have made q treaty
with the United States. but nave set no
date for CLOSING the citizenship rolls.
"The Creek nation is the only one in
which the opening of Indian lands is as
sured. The allotment there IS under way
and it is only a question OF a short time
until citizens Of the United States can
go in there and buy property.
''The work of the Dawes commission is
nothing more or less than the settling up
OF a vast estate. There are about 5000
bona fde citizens of the five tribes, and
each is an heir TO share OF the estate
I may be pessimistic. but baslng my
opinion on my experience with the work
7 believe the time for throwing the IN
dian territory wide open TO white set
tlement. which can only come with the
final settlement with the Indians, is ff-
teen years OF.
ff-TFT-- - - -f4
zenship question with which we are now
dealing is the claim Of the Mississippi
Choctaws.
Away back in 1S30. when the govern
ment made its famous treaty by which
the Indian territory was set aside for the
Indians. It was provided that whenever
a Choctaw removed from Mississippi to
the Indian territory he became entitled
to an interest in the property Of the
Choctaw nation
There was no time limit fixed and the
right holds good today Whenever a Mis-
sissippi Choctaw sets foot on the soil Of
the territory he becomes a full-fedged
citizen. It will be readily understood
that before there could be an allotment
of the Choctaw lands it would be neces-
sary to find out how many Of the Choc-
taws still living In Mississippi intend to
assert their rights and to take steps 10
bar all except legal claimants
with this end in vie wthe Dawes com
mission opened a branch Office in Meri-
dian. Mis-. last April. Now a most pc
culiar complication has grown out OF the
situation A man named Hudson has
gone among the Mississippi Choctaws
and made greement with them by
which he is to get oue-half OF their land
for establishing their claims in the m
dian territory. When he secures n power
Of attorney from each claimant and
fences up a claim for him in the Choctaw
nation This done. Hudson goes 20 Texas
cattle raisers who want grazing lands in
the Indian country and induces them To
advance money on the contracts. I under
stand he has secured $1,000 in this way
from the Texas cattlenen alone.
when I left Nuscogee. the Choctaw
nation the lands OF which are involved.
had secured an injunction IN the United
States court restraining Hudson from
continuing his operations.
There are approximately an. .000 people
in the India nterritory todav. -Four out
Of five Of these are United States citizens
III the creek Nffl0n IflETe are 4+-'HN aEi-
dians and only about 51o0 Of them are
full-bloods. the others having a half
quarter. eighth or sixteenth Indian blood
in their veins Intermarriage with the
whites is not recognized In the Creek
nation and there are no 'squaw-men' or
the citizenship rolls. Despite the fact the
popular error that the man who married
an Indian girl would come in for = share
OF the nations land IS prevalent. and az
the commission headquarters we receive (
letters dailv from young men in the east /
many of them physicians. lawyers ard I
I mother professions. asking for iafor- /
nation REGARDING the matter Some ~ /
them are so little interested in the details /
that thev ask us 70 pick ont wives for 4
the uam0nF the Indian girls
IN the Greek nation. each citizen has 4
been allotted 1s1 acres. the value 70 aver
ace $3.50 per acre. Of this he ls obliged +
70 keep forty acres as . Homestead. but
Just as soon as the secretary ~ the fn-
terror issues the deeds 20 the property
the Indian owner win be permitted to
sell the remaining 20 acres ~ his aTot-
nent How soon this VIII 30 f. a matter
~ con lecture. but u wiz mark rev era
for the Indian country"
That PFNfTFNTiEPY 0UFcTI0V f