Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-12-12
INDIAN MAY BE SENATOR.
Pleasant Porter, Chief Of Creek Nation,
a Possible Candidate.

|
a Possible Candidate.
With the admission Of Indian Terri
ritory and Oklahoma as one state, says
Muskogee, Indian Territory, cores
pondent, may come the appearance In
congress of the native American Indian
as law-maker. BY an act Of congress
tribal relations will end on March 4,
and Indians will become voters under
the flag. They will be privileged for
the first time to pay taxes, and for the
first time in the history Of congress,
an Indian senator may be elected to
represent his people.
There will be two ends to the new
state and a senator from each END.
There will be countless candidates, for
a peculiar feature Of new country Is
the number Of men who think them
selves competent to hold any Office.
The one figure for United States
senator from the Indian Territory end
of the new state is Gen. Pleasant Por-
ter, chief of the Creek nation. General
Porter Is a Democrat and the new state
will be Democratic.
AS there are 5000 negro voters In
Indian Territory, the control Of this
army of colored voters will decide the
destiny of any political question. Most
Of these negro voters are nominaily
Republicans, but they are members OF
the Creek tribe and have sincere re-
gard for their chief. M
General Porter is probably the only
Democrat who. could command the ne
gro vote Of Indian Territory as well
as the Democratic white and Indian
vote.
General Porter Is not stranger In
Washington, but as q United States
senator he would occupy a unique and
spectacular position. He Is man OF
wealth and 65 years old. 1t is probable
that It would satisfy all the pride In
his nature II he can be sent as sena-
tor from his own country.
Gen. Pleasant Porter was born IL
miles from Muskogee. His great grand
father was Andrew ]. Porter Of Nor
ristown, Pa, and his grandfather, John
Snodgrass Porter. The latter was
captain in the regular army and mar
ried an Indian, being afterward adopt
ed into the tribe in Russell county
Ala. OF this union Benjamin Edward
Porter was born. He married Phoebe,
daughter Of Tahlopee. an Indian chief.
He brought his wife to Indian Terrific
ry and lived on the banks Of the Ar
kansas river. It was here that General
Pleasant Porter was born.
At the opening of the civil war Gen.
Porter enlisted in the Confederate ser
vice as a member Of the first Creek
regiment, and through acts Of bravery
was promoted to be first lieutenant.
He fought through the war and return
ed home in 1885, He has since follow
ed farming and cattle raising.
He Is a good soldier and in 1872, at
the head Of the militia, put down the
Sand insurrection. He also put down
the Loche Tario insurrection in 1875
and the Sparhecker insurrection OF
1884. All his efforts have been for law
and order. He was elected chief OF
the Creek nation in 1889, and has held
that position ever since. He Is
Knight Templar in the Masonic Lodge
and has taken the thirty-second degree.
An a.ecdote is related to show the
character Of the man. When about 1S
years Of age he was hunting deer on
horseback He shot and wounded
deer in the early morning. The deer
ran and he rode after it, expecting to
get q finishing shot. All day he pur-
| sued the deer, and just before sun
down the animal close pressed and suf-
fering from its wound, leaped from
high bluff into the Arkansas river. 1t
was so feet from the top Of the BLUM
to the water. Young Porter urged his
horse to make the jump, but the ami
NAL would not attempt the feat. The
deer was swimming the stream and
would soon be lost Young Porter dis
mounted, seized his horse by the bri-
die turned him around and backed him
over the cliff. When the horse struck
the water young Porter jumped after
it, caught the animal in midstream and
captured the wounded deer.