The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-08-17

Tney are not occupying large tracts ot land. neither are they crowding each oths CT in their small holdings.
 '"The full-bloods dream Is to cut down the wire fences to drive out the vast herds of cattle, to see the great wheat farms of Cooscoowee and Delaware dis tricts run wild, and again see the suns flower and native grass nod in the winds to hear the howl of the coyote-in short, to turn back the tide of the nineteenth century civilization, and save his racs from extinction. Then. too, the big farms are an eyesore to the squirrel shooters. and the dearest object of their lives is to cut down the big fields. The white man Is now the common enemy; he and his labor must be banished from the country.
 If it were possible every lover of ths human race would say let the full-blood have his way--let him work out his saf- vation in his own way. The position of the full-blood Cherokee in this country is pathetic. His Vel. intelligence and pro- gressive spirit have proved a snare to his people. His superiority over other tribes has been his ruin. Every real test of strength in the Council and Senate proves that those of mixed and white blood arc slowly and surely getting larger and larger maJorities. and before the sunset of this century the full-blood Indian will have disappeared from the halls of the Cherokee Council"
 Whiskey and bribery have. unfortunate ly, been allied with the whites against the fullLbloods. Bribe-takers have not been more plentiful in the Indian legisla- lures than in others, but full-blood who can refuse full whiskey bottle Is U rarity. Under the influence of drink, many a measure granting privileges to the whites has received fuIl-blood vote that was afterwards vainly regretted. Al the closing meeting of the session of 1S9s a certain well-known and corrupt mem- Der was to introduce a miscellaneous ap, propriation bill, carrying an appropriatiou of $25.OOO to cover very vague list of expenditures. Out in the lobby of the council room this member, with the co. author of the bill, stationed himself big, half-gallon flask of whiskey in the bag at his side. As each Indian law. maker came in the bottle was brought forth, and, in the colloquy over the mer' its of the liquor, the miscellaneous ap- propriation bill was mentioned as worthy of support
 But the corrupt member ove-estirnated his own capacity for whiskey-when the time came to call up the appropriation bill its authors were sleeping deeply, un' conscious of little $25,0OO appropriation bills. Sober men attacked the bill. and killed it before adjournment.
 Present Chief of the Cherokees.
 Tom Burlington. the present chief of the Cherdkees, is carrying forward in very able way the work begun by Mayes. Buff fington is a big man physically. standing about six feet four, powerfully built. da is somewhat slow of speech. and he de. bends less upon the power of oratory than most Indian politicians. Toms popular. lty is due largely to his magnetic per- sonality. He has just returned from Washington, where ne has been in tha interest of the latest Cherokee allotment bill and he has called special election to obtain the ratification Of the bill by the people. One bill before this passed the United States Congress and was sent down for action by the tribe. But Buf- tington opposed it, his following opposed it. and it was defeated. Tom favors tnn tn
 Curious and futile laws have been pass ed by the tribal legislatures. majority of them aimed agaInst the growth Of white influence. Among the mlscsila- neous acts in the Cherokee book of laws are the following that can scarcely pc duplicated: ~
 An intermarriage law. requiring white man who sought to marry Cnerokee bride to furnish to the District Clerk, wEo issued the license, twelve references as ta the mans good character from his former neighbors in the States.
 A law reserving all minerals, wherever found in the Nation, to the tribal Gov ernment. and making them subject to trt- bal control.
 A not unusual law was that requiring the counting of votes for Chief In tne senate chamber upon the assembling of the legislative body after an election; but the action of one Forum Davis, President of the Senate, in refusing to call for the counting of the votes appeared unique. until a committee, headed by Senator "Clem' Rogers, waited on the President in a secluded spot, and. putting a pistol to his head, demanded that upon the assembling of the Senate the votes bs counted. Davis promised with alacrtty, ad, when he had rapped for order next day. said: Senators, I have examined the law some more, and have concluded to order the counting of the votes-pro'
 In 1s4S at a council at Tahlequah, this section was inserted in the law passed to govern intertribal relations:
 'Revenge shall not be cherished. noI retaliation practiced, for offences com mitted by individuals. Today one of tha most complete ana modern judicial sys- tems in the country obtains over the Ter HtOry.
 Ouaintly reminiscent seems the pream' hle to that 1S43 body of laws, embracing in brief though fiorid terms the history of these enineteenth-century Indians:
 ''The removal of the Indian tribes from tho homes of thedr fathers, east of tho Mississippi, has there eXtinguished oui ancient council fires. and changed our po- sitlon in regard to each other; and where as, by the solemn pledge of treaties, wt are assured by the Government of ths United States that the lands we now pos. sess shall be the undisturbed home os ourselves and our posterity forever; there fore we. assembled around tne great council fire kindled in the West al Tahleuuah In order to preserve the relar tions between our several communities" etc The council fire is dead-a commodi- ous brick legislative hall hears the wrang- ling of Indian parllamentarians today.