The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1901-01-09

TAKES ALL THEIR MONEY
And Practically Leaves Them
---COmmancheS and
WichitaS in Same Fix

Mr. j. ID Blackburn. for many years
a resident Of GAINESVILLE, Texas, but
now of shawnee oklahoma, who is in
Guthrie on business. thinks the Kio
was and Comanches won't be much
aheas OF the game after the books are
balanced in their account with their
Uncle Sam. MT Blackburn has for sew
eral years been solicitor Of Kiowa
aud comapche claims, under the In
dian depreciation act of 1891 To the
credit Of these Indians he says win be
placed the purchase money derived
from their allotted lands when their
country Is opened to settlement on
the debit side stands s5SOoo,Ooo in
claims part Of which has already been
allowed and very large percentage
Of the rest standing a good chance for
eventual allowance, according to Mr..
Blackburn.
Mr. Blackburn gives the following
history Of these claims
The claims for s5s, 100000 distribute
ed over eight counties Of Texas, and
represent the bill presented by set
slers for indemnity for damages sus-
tanned at the hands OF these Indians
IN the years from 1865 on into the lat
ter 70's. Then these tribes ranged
not only the present Kiowa and Co
manche country but northern Texas
and out into New Mexico The now
populous cities of northern Texas
we're then frontier villages and the
densely peopled rural districts were
comparatively wildernesses. But in a
country like Texas the fewer the peo-
pie the broader and more succulent
were the pastures. and the more mum
erous were the fat beeves and fleet
horses craved by the then fierce Kio-
was and Comarches. No instinct Of
patriotism inspired the Kiowas and
Comanohes. such as actuated King
Philip and Teoumseh. each in his gen
GRAFTON 20 wage hopeless war against
an alien intruder, but the mere JOY
and profit 10 be had OF successfully
despoling the white man OF his four
footed beasts aud killing the owner if
ne got in the way, this same killing
being really Incidental TO the main
transaction. In the Indian view
though it was likely to be effected
under circumstances of even more
than ordinarily barbarity, for that very
reason The Indian of the warpath,
for warfare alone, might wreak his
vengeance never so terribly. but his
utter hatred was less dreadful than his
gleeful moods. The Indian is SONG
thing Of humorist. in his way, and
when from any cause murder and
hloodshed sink from serious business
to a mere side Issue, as In the long
series OF depredations TO vary the ar.
duous toll OF cattle and horse stealing
with occasional strealSs OF farce-come-
dy, which were pleasanter 10 him in
the indulgence than to even the reader
Of later years in the perusal, to say
nothing OF the miserable victim of his
jocular and ingenious nendishness.
Only those who know the Indian In his
native element. and know him in peace
and IN war; know his best and his
worst. The Indians bad, 10 whoever
knows him as ne is written of, Is so
bad chat the mere reader viii not be-
lieve ne has any good at all. The In
lian'a worst S SO bad that it can never
be told az ailnot In print that is- SO
in the case OF this long drawn out
season OF bushwhaeking. as revealed
IN the testimony taken from time 20
time ia the proving Of claims against
tho Kiowas and Comanchos for dam
age sustained many OF the stories
would be only as SO many other stories
Of Indian atrocities, commonplace
enough as compared with other such
stories. but so only because Of the vast
multitude Of such stories throughout
four centuries OF warfare since the
nrst European colony was wiped out
a. la Navidad in the Antilles. But
this war. n Il could be so called which
was All on one side, seems TO have
been repiete with instaucea Of the
coarse deyiltry above referred to. But
these stories never got any nearer tc