Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-15
The Usage INO|ANs
Proposed Allotment of Their
Lands in Severalty.
RICH IN MINERALS
ON, THE RESERVATION.
Entertainments Of Civilization-Rich-
est People Per Capita on Earth
A Valuable Concession.
BE WILLIAM Z. CURTIS.

pt.a By WILLIAM z. CURTIS.
Written for The star and the Chicago Record
Herald.
Strong pressure will be brought upon Con-
Eress during the approaching session to
pass a law for the allotment in severalty
Of theSsafads- beioasing to the Usage In
dams. Their reservation Is the last tract
OF undivided Indian iaiTd in Oklahoma. 1t
occupies the extreme northeastern corner
OF the territory, adjoining Kansas on the
south and Indian Territory on the west,
and is undoubtedly one of the richest sec
tons Of agricultural country in the west.
The land Is about 80 per cent prairie ana
40 per cent timber, the latter covering the
river bottoms and broken hills. The entire
reservation 10 watered by innumerabie
streams and springs and IS exceedingly rich
In coal, OIL and other mineral products'
while the agricultural land is as rich as
any section of the neighborins states. the
reservation area is 1,410,o5o acres, or whicn
about 100000 acres Is now under culttva-
ton or used for pasturage by the lndlahs
themselves. The rema inder is either Idle or
is leased TO white ranchmen for grazing
purposes.
Hordes- of land-hungry people have been
looking at this reservation with eager
II There are two railroads crossing the
land-the Santa Fe' and the NJ. X. & T.
and tie Frisco line will lay its tracks
through 1t within the next year or SO. Ihere
are several towns and villages OF whites
who have business relations with the In
dians and about 100000 acres OF the lano
is leased to the Indian Territory llluminat-
ing Oil Company. The town or PaWhusha,
the metropolis of the Osages, located about
a mile and half from agency heaoquar-
tiers, is the center of commerce ana trace
1t is precisely like hundred other towns
in Oklahoma and Indian Territory, nshte9
and heated by natural gas and connected
by telephone with the outside world Ihefe
are four churches, with settled pastors, ne
longing to the Methodist. Baptist, Eplscopdl
and Catholic denominations; an excellent
public school, two or three missionary
schools and other institutions OF progress.
Richest People Per Capita.
The Usage Indians are the richest people
per CAPITA of all the inhabitants Of the
earth. and no member of the tribe Will
ever be compelled to work for a living I'M
less he squanders his fortune. BY the CEN
sus of 1904 they numbered altogether $50
souls, of whom sos were full bloods and the
remainder mixed with white and negro
blood: e46 are men and 949 are women, OF
all ages; and 90 OF both sexes are under
eighteen wears of age. The mixed and the
full bioods have equal rights in the trloai
property and will participate in the distri-
button whenever 1t occurs.
These S95 people have joint annual
income of more than S6o00O0. OF which
S41S611 is 5 per cent interest on a trust
fund OF IS, ST., 1880, held, for them by ths
Treasury Of the United States: The re-
nainder Is derived from royalties on gas
and oil and from the lease of grazing lands
This gives each man, woman ana child IN
the tribe an average of $911 year, payable
quarterly, which is more than sufficient Tor
their maintenance, and as nearly all of
them live on farms and raise most or tneH
own food supplies, their annuity gives them
plenty OF spending money. The families
will average more than five persons each
husband wife and children--who Jointly re-
cefve in cash an income of at least S1,oSe,
and some of them, where there are more
children, receive as much as S2Vo ana W
500 a~year without doing any labor what
ever Unfortunately, the greater part OF
this money Is wasted. Very few OF the In
dams save any of it. They realize that
they are well fixed financially for life and
thus have no incentive for practicing econ
ony, acquiring wealth or improving their
condition in any way.
A former agent describes the Usage as
"a mld-mannered, good-humored, con-
tented sort of a fellow, with an appetite
for something good to eat and plenty or
it. He has a good opinion or himser, ana
Is ever jealous of his honor and Integrity.
The mixed bloods predominant, and some
of them are shrewd and progressive; but,
like many OF their red brothers, the appe-
tite of some Of the Osages for LIQUOR is
Unsuitable Still, / do not believe that there
Is any more liquor-drinking among them
than there is among other residents Of the
United States, taking the population
throughout.
Men Drunken and Lazy.
This charitable view OF the haf4ts of the
Osages is not corroborated by other people
who are familiar with the habits OF the
tribe Everybody speaks well of the wo-
men, as being honest, Industrious, modest
and intelligent: and with little training
they make excellent housewives. But the
men, as rule, are lazy, drunken, stupid
loafers who are fond of sport, hate work
and prefer to hire white and negro laborers
to cultivate their farms. as they are per-
fectly well able to do. The land under
cultivation Ia occupied by different menu
bers Of the tribe by common consent. and
disputes that arise are settled by the agent.
Most of the farms have been in possession
of the families that now occupy them for
at least two generations-ever since the
Osages settled down in fixed abodes and
became agricultural people. Some OF
them have good houses and farm build
ings; good horses and cattle, and up-to-
date wagons and farm machinery. They
usually lease their land to white farmers
TO cultivate on shares. Their share of the
produce and their annuities from the gov
eminent enable them to live comfortably
and crafty every within and appetite. They
are orderly. peaceful and there Is very lit
tie trouble in the reservation, except when
some young brave fills up with firewater
and goes out hunting for trouble.
A Valuable Concession.
Tn March. 1896. Hoke Smith, then Secre-
tary of the Interior, gave Edwin B. Fos-
ter, New York promoter, a concession for
ten years. covering the entire Usage res
eryation, to develop oil and natural gas.
He was to pay the owners q royalty of
10 per cent Of all the oil produced and
$50 a year for each gas well utilized. Al
though this lease Was of great value ana
the terms liberal. Mr.. Foster did not utilize
it. He did nothing under 1t for four or
five years, but In 1900 he sublet several Sec
lions Of territory to practical operators, who
bored wells and developed the Industry, so
that the Indians received q royalty of
something like $4,000 a year. Then Mr
Foster died and his son. b. b. Foster. as
signed the entire concession to the Indian
Territory Illuminating OIL Company, which
has since paid him between 16 and II per
cent royalties for all oil produced. This
has left Foster net profit Of between