Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1902-01-14
RICHEST NEGROES
Descendants Of Former Slaves
of The Creek Indians.
Following in the Footsteps OF the
Southern Negro, they Have
Festivals and Postum Hunts.

The richest community of negroes
IN the United States lives in the In
dram Territory, says the New York
Times. There are 1000 of them,
and they are worth on an average
| Of $1,000 each. The wealth of the
more industrious foots up even high
err certain individuals being the
owners Of from $4,000 to S15,0O0
worth of land.
These negroes are descendants OF
slaves of the Greek tribe Of Indians,
and are known as Greek negroes.
! They are entitled to share in the
division Of the Creek Indian lands,
also part of the trust funds. To
gether the 1000 negroes own d.
100000 acres of land. And yet
their social environments are crude
in the extreme and progress goes
slowly amid their huts and fields.
Unlike other Indians of the rich
Five Civilized Tribes, the Creeks
insisted upon freeing their slaves
in 1864, in order to give. them an
equal share in their lands and
money. At that time there were
but few slaves, but the number
grew through descendants until
1000 have laid successful claim to
"headright' on the Creek rolls OF
citizenship. They have their own
Representatives in the Greek Indian
Legislature. their own schools and
their own churches.
] The Creek negroes have never
progressed above their fathers who
were slaves. except that they are
we'll enough educated to care for
their lands and money without be
ing cheated out of a goodly portion
of it. They have a social set all
their own, to which not even the
Indians are invited. Their charac.
teristics are in a great measure
vastly different from the negro of
the South or the negro of the North.
It is a mixture of both, with addi-
tional peculiarities.
Like the Indian, these negroes
have their dances in the open,
which have come to be a sort of re-
Iligion with them. Aud following in
the footsteps OF the Southern negro,
they have barbecues, 'Possum
hunts and the like. AS a northern
type of the negro they are more in
dustrious and independent OF the
whites, know how to work hard and
save their money, and, like the
type from the city, are well dressed
that is gaudily, but at the same
time wearing expensive clothes.
These Creek negroes live on q
tract of rich land in the Canadian
river bottoms. Okmulgee, the cap
ital of the Creek Indian nation, had
been for years a negro town. Re
Gently, however, white people have
Aocked in and taken possession.
Now the negroes are starting other
towns for themselves exclusively
along the branch of the Frisco rail-
road.
Notwithstanding that many Of
these Creek negroes industrious,
there are those among them rent
out their estates and lounge in idle
ness about the railway stations. 1t
is a common sight to see a 5O0-acre
tract Of rich land in the Canadian
bottoms being titled by white man,
the negro owner was shooting craps
or enjoying himself eating turkey
and 'possum in neighboring village
Each Creek negro will come into
undisputed possession of 500 acres
of land when the Dawes Commission
has allotted their lands pro rata tC
them some time during the coming
summer Upon dissolution of the
Creek Government the negroes will
likewise share equally with the In
dians in the distribution of several
million dollars of trust funds.
RUSSIA S INDUSTRIAL CRISIS