Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-21

comprehension of the condition of things
out in Indian Territory. According TO the
popular impression, 1t is a wilderness,
sparsely settled by savages, partially civil
lied half-breeds and few white adven-
turers and escaped criminals. That never
was the case although the territory has
had more than its share of raseals and ad
venturers and is not entirely without them
yet. Today, as you ride through from the
Kansas to the Texas boundaries on any
of the railroads. you will very little diff
ference from either of those states and
will not realize when you have crossed the
border line. The Landscape is lovely-a
rolling prairie, broken by frequent timber
and watered by large streams-includng
three of the largest tributaries of the Mis-
sissippi river Practically all of the I'M
timbered land is under cultivation, and you
are scarcely ever out of sight of a house.
The soil is thoroughly cultivated as that
of Kansas, Nebraska or Missouri; and just
at this time of year. when the wheat fields
are ready for the harvest, the corn is waist
nigh and the foliage of the forest is lus-
trous with life and vigor, no part of the
United States is more beautiful to the eye
while few sections respond SO generously
TO the labor of the farmer.
Negroes Of the Territory.
l have not seen an Indian during the
week that l have spent in the territory
except a few at the agency and the head
quarters of the Dawes commission here at
Muskogee, where they were attending to
business. l have noticed none at the rail-
way stations. or on the streets, and am
told that they shun such places and re-
main in their villages away from the rail-
roads or on their farms; and furthermore
they are the smallest class of the popula-
ton. There are no blanket Indians in the
territory, and no wigwams. Every body
wears ordinary dress. There are more ne
groes than Indians, by several thousand
and at least six white men for every In
dian, Notwithstanding the fact that the
whites are still here merely on sufferance
and have practically no legal rights But
everything will be different after the 4th
of March next. Then the red and the
black and the white men will all be placed
on an equality.
Negroes seem to predominant everywhere
at the railway station. in the cars, in the
streets, in the fields and even in the Jail.
where 20 per cent of the prisoners are
black and 80 per cent of them, L am told,
are awaiting trial for selling or intro
ducing liquor in the territory. The
anu-liquor regulations are very strict
ly enforced. Every man who is caught
with a bottle in his possession is
clapped into Jail instanter and is usually
sent to the penitentiary for six months or
a year The reason that the jails are so
crowded is that man who is arrested or
indicted for crime cannot very easily get
bail, because all of the real estate has been
held in common by the Indians. Only re-
Gently have white men been able to obtain
titles to the land they occupy, and the courts
will not take anything but cash bail or per-
SOnal property for security.
The negroes seem to be very Industrious.
have noticed many colored women work
ing in the felds-plowng and hoeing corn,
and most of the mechanical work is done
by negro men. About one-fifth of the col
ored population are descendants of slaves
brought here from Georgia, North Carolina,
Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Louis
lana at the time of the great migration.
The remainder are immigrants from the
same states and from Texas and Missouri,
who have been induced to come here by the
unusual opportunities and advantages Of
fered them for labor and trade. Oklahoma
and Indian Territory have been called 1.-The
Negro Paradise
Prosperity of the Negroes.
In the five nations thus far II, $50 negroes
have received allotments of land, all the
way from 0acres to 5000 acres each. This
includes men. women and children, for all
infants born before March s, 1905. have the
same legal right in the distribution of the
tribal lands as their fathers and grand
fathers, and the negro allottees enjoy an
advantage over their former masters in
that no restrictions have been placed upon
them. They can dispose of their allotments
for any price and at any time they like.
This is a singular anomaly because their
former masters are not permitted to sell
without the consent of the Secretary of the
Interior
The freedmen, as they are called, have
other advantages also, and in the Creek Ma
ton especially they are very influential
They have practically controlled that gov
eminent for many years. The Creek legis-
lature is composed of two branches elected
by the men of that tribe. One is called the
house of kings and the other the house of
Tha how nyyay, hnrc
in the former and a majority In the latter
In business affairs they are also doing very
we'll. Some of the richest men in the ter
ritory have negro blood in them.
A Muskogee banker told me that he knew
of twenty-five or thirty negroes in that
town who are worth $4,000 or more, and
he named eight one after another, who are
worth more than $4,000. He mentioned one
colored man who constantly kept a cash
balance of from $1,000 to $4,000 In his bank.
The richest negroes use the white national
banks for obvious reasons. but there are
two savings banks in Muskogee exclusively
managed by colored people, for the benefit
of the poorer members of their race, and
both of them seem to be doing a good bust
ness. Both have few white depositors.
Disposition to Save.
One of the most prominent negro mer-
chants told me about one half the members
of his race in Indian Territory were saving
their money. buying property and taking
good care of themselves. The other half
are shiftless, extravagant and live from
hand to mouth. They waste their money
in dissipation, gambling and gratifying
childish whims. About 80 per cent of the
II 800 negro allotttees have sold their land
Some of them got good prices for 1t, but
many were SO anxious to get
the money that they snatched whatever
was offered and signed the deeds without
a second thought. Those who have sold are
of the shiftless class, however, and would
not have made any use of the property if
they had kept it. 1t Is fortunate for their
future welfare, however, that parents are
not empowered to dispose of the lands al
lotted to their children The latter cannot
ALLEVIATE their property until they become of
age, and in the meantime their parents will
have the use of it. Some of the freedmen
have very large families, and, as each child
draws a full share, the joint holdings of
several families are very large. The COM
missioners tell of one negro in Creek Nation
who has twenty-five children, and in the
allotment every one of them receives a
tract of land appraised at S1,04S. More
than half of these children are under age
and their lands can be leased for agricul-
tural purposes for good prices.
Advancement of the Race.