Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1903-03-21

sippi and accept 100000 acres Of land
west of this river
There are now about 10000 Cherokee
Indians and 1000 Cherokee freedmen
living in that nation who are all mem
bers of the tribe
The CherOkees do more farming than
any of the other five civilized tribes.
Even before the first treaty was made
with them, in 1885, they invariably had
their patch OF Indian corn near their
hut, the squaw doing the labor In those
days. Now they also raise cotton. Most
of the work, however, is done by the
African descendants, their labor in
many sections of the nation being as
cheap as the wind.
When Congress created the Dawes
Commission. it instructed the same to
make rolls of the members of the Five
Tribes. In order to accomplish this. II
was necessary to take a census of each
of said tribes. When the rolls are com
pleted they will contain names of full
blood Indians, negroes, and white men
with every intervening degree of blood
Some Indians entitled to enrolment
have but one sixty-fourth degree of
Indian blood and show no resemblance
whatever to the red man. In compil-
ing these rolls, the commission was
guided to an extent by the old tribal
rolls. Great difficulties confronted it.
however, in the change of names
among the members of all tribes.
The commission has its headquarters
in the town of Muskogee in the Greek
nation. When the making of the rolls
began, the great majority of the In
dams, opposed TO enrolment, would
not come to the commission. So it de
cided TO go to them. The hotel accom-.
mOdatiOns in the interior being made
quate the commission purchased the
necessary equipment for it's mainte-
nance in the field. Then it advertised
schedule of its appointments in the
various towns and villages BY com.
ing to the Indians in this way, it could
invariably secure the enrolment of the
majority of the citizens of each tribe.
To proceed just and fairly in the al.
lOtment of land in severalty, the gov
eminent ordered an appraisement of
all lands in the Indian Territory. so
that each citizen would receive an
equal amount of dollars worth of land
In view of appraising the land, the
commission organized and equipped
many field parties Each party is com
posed of six appraisers. one clerk, two
transfers. and one cook Two Of these
appraisers are surveyors, and act In a
double capacity. Each party, while
living in one camp operates in two
divisions, with three appraisers in
each, one of them Il surveyor.
The Choctaws ana Chickasaws will
receive approximately 500 acres per
capita, the Cherokces 120, and the
Creeks and Seminoles l60.
The United States laws prohibit the
sale of firearms and Intoxicating lfq.
uors within the limits of the Territory.
This law is enforced very rigidly.
1t may be of interest to add that the
government has already allotted lands
TO seven small tribes in the northeast.
ern part Of the Cherokee nation. They
dLt thN 0udpdN W. L tOIil OIIaWHS. |
M0d0cs. Shawnees, Wyandottes and
Scnecas. When the Dawes Commits
sion will have finished its labors the
tribal government of five large tribes
of Indians will only be a memory OF
past history.-R. a. J. Mangelsdorf, in
the Illustrated Home Journal.
Tipped the Chief Justice.
Not unlike some other great men