The Washington times., 1902-02-24
Involve Rights in Matter Of
Allotment of Lands.
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS SUED
Justice CiabHuRh Rules That II Per
son Injured while Riding az II
Free Pass Cannot RecD,rr DAM
ages From Defendant Company.

Among the matters Of Importance pond
ing before the District courts are the
Indian land cases. involving the rights of
Indians in the matter Of the allotment Of
lands and their rights under certain
treaties with the Government in rela-
tion 10 the leasing OF grazing lands.
There are three OF these cases, two
pending before ihe Supreme Court OF the
District and enc before the Court OF APP
peals of the District. The first of these
was filed in June last by Lone Wolf, prin-
cipal chief of the Kiowas; Eshitie. chief
of the Coranchcs. and others represent
ing the confederated tribes Of the Kiowa.
Comanche. and Apache indians. naming
Secretary Of the interior Hitchcock.
Commissioner Of Indian Affairs Jones and
Mr.. Bnger Herman. Commissioner OF the
General Land Office. as defendants.
Claim Extensive Control of Lands.
The court was asse;l 10 restrain the
defendants from surveying. Iayirg cut.
and planning town sites on certain lands
in Oklahoma. The Irsians are represent
ed by Judge William NJ. Springer. and
claim exclusive control of the lands Il
question under treaty entered into with
the Government in 1852.
1t is further stated that persons unau-
thorized by the Indians entered into
treaty with the Uni,od States il 1892.
by which over ll,00o acres of land was
lost to the complainants and those they
represent.
After argument in the lower court the
the Indians teak an appeal to the Court
of Appeals of the District. The case was
argued before that tribunal on January 10,
but, owing TO the illness OF Chief Justice
Alvey, no decision has yet been an
nounced.
White Mems Rights by Adoption.
The question of the ability of white men
to acquire the right guaranteed In
dians in relation to the allotment of
land by adoption into tribe is propound-
ed by the court III the suit of Willis C.
West, Emmett Cox, and others against
the Secretary of the Interior and the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs for a writ
of mandamus. In this case the complain
ants are white men who married Indian
women and were adopted into the Wachi-
tas as members, acquiring all the rights
and privileges OF the others.
Under these circumstances Willis C.
West and others, who had been adopted
as members of The Wachita tribe, claimed
their allotment OF lands, as did the other
members. 1t is stated that the Secretary
OF the Interior refused to ratify these al
lotments, and the claimants asked that
a writ of mandamus issue against him to
compel him to do SO. West and the other
adopted Indians are represented by At
torney William C. Shelley
Leasing of Lands for Grazing.
Another interesting question is raised
in the suit recently flied bv Thunder
Hawk. Mad Bear. and other members of
the Sioux tribe, residing on the Stand
ing Rock Reservation, in North Dakota.
These ask the court to restrain the Sec /
retdry OF the Interior and the Commits
sioner OF Indian Affairs from advertising
and leasing certain Of their lands TO cat
tlemen for grazing purposes
1t is claimed by the Indians that they
entered into an agreement with the In /
dian agent by which about one-half of |
their land would be leased at the rate Of !
81 per head for the cattle turned out to |
Craze upon it. Il is eontended however. |
that the agent advertised the land for |
lease a. the rate Of 81 per acre This the /
indians claim is in violation Of their con- |
tract.
Result Watched With Interest.
The result Of the petitions in these
cases is being watched with great inter- /
est by the cautlemen of the Southwest
and Northwest, as it will materially af-
feet their interests.
The litigations, however. it is expected
Will continue for a long time and there
IS little doubt that either party VIII be
satisfied with anything less than Z de-
cree by the Supreme Court Of the United !
States.
Decision i'm Darling Case
1t is expected that Justice Hagner will !
during the coming week announce his de-
cision in the suit of Mrs. Flora Adams
Darling against the Washington Loan
and Trust Company. to compel il TO ray
20 her an annuity Of $50 a month Mrs.
Darling claims hat the annuity is due
her under an agreement with her daugh-
ter-in-lsT for services rendered IN con-
nection with the preservation of the es-
tate OF The late Joshua Pierce The an
nuity was paid her for a number of years.
but was stopped In 1885. 1t il claimed
by the defence that there was no written
agreement between Mrs. Darling and her
relatives in reference to the payment
10 her Of an annuity.
Justice Clabaugh announced an i'm
portant decision last week in connection
with the suit of Mr.. John D. Boerilg and
his wife, Mrs. Meachin C. Boering.
against the Chesapeake Railway Company
TO recover $4,000, claimed as damages to |
the last named plaintiff.
riaintifr Rode on Free Pass.
II appeared from the testimony that the /
plaintiff while riding on free pass was
injured in q collision between two of the
cars Of the defendant. The question arose
whether or not a person could recover
damages fer injuries sustained while rid
ing on a free pass. Justice CiaDaugh. !
after hearing exhaustive argument On the
question. decided that person could not
recover under such circumstances.
The case was then continued the
plaintiffs Offering testimony tnat the pass
used was net q free Uass, but was enc
issued for services rendered The defendant
company The case was submitted to the
jury on Thursday afternoon. with in
structions To return a sealed verdict this
Yorkc Nelson 10 BE Placed ON Trial.
Yorke Nelson, coiorcd, will be placed
on trial this morning in Criminal Court
No. before Justice Anderson, on the
charge of nanslaughter. He is accused
Of killing George Washington, also color
ed, in November last.
The men quarreled about woman At
least Washington, il is alleged, accused
Nelson Of not having shown woman he
was with proper respect. This Nelson
iisclaiuled Lut if is alleged WASHINGTON