The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1906-01-25
THE OSACE
INDIANS
THE RICHEST PER CAPITA PEo.
PIE IN THE WORLD.
Their Fertile Lands Abound With oil
and Gas from Which They Derive
Good RentaIs-Thelr Lands
viii Soon Be Allotted.

pie aside from being the richest peo
capita people on the face Of the earth.
Their great holdings will probably be
allotted in severalty before the close
OF the year and the surplus land sold
TO white people and the Usage nation
opened up to civilization which has
been barred by the government res.
ervation plan for many years.
The Osages, from many years OF
pampering by the government and
the payment Of much money have be.
come spoiled lot. Out of the nearly
1000 Osages, there are less than fifty
families that actually work in an intel
ligent and vigorous manDer the lands
which they hold. Yet II is true that
the average cash annulties that the
Usage families draw Is between three
and four thousand dollars In add
ton to whatever income from rentals
they receive from the land which has
been appoitioned TO them, this
amounting sometimes to two or three
thousand dollars
There are five towns in the Usage
nation that are segregated from the
reservation and are being sold by the
government. They are Pawhuska, the
Usage capital, Hominy, Big Heart.
Fairfax and Foraker OF these towns
Pawhuska has been practically all
sold. One small irregular lot in the
triangle forming the council house,
sold for $4,000 without any improve.
ments on It, This Is $3.50 per square
foot for the lot Another lot not so
well located, 25x125 feet sold for
$4,000. Residence lots six and eight
blocks from the center OF the town
site, sold at from six to eight hundred
dollars per lot. The other towns will
be sold soon but they will not bring
the prices that Pawhuska did The
townsites are smaller and the towns
will not be so large. Pawhuska will
some day be a town of ten thousand
people, probably more
There are 1,470,055 acres in the
Usage reservation. OF this $50 900 are
tillable. There are coo, 900 acres under
one oil and gas lease This lease pays
ten per cent royalty and during the
last six months the royalty on oil
at 81 cents per barrel has been S10S,.
934. Another six months will bring
the royalty up to s25O,OOO for the year.
After the eighth Of April the royalty
is increased to 1919 per cent
Last year the Osages received from
rentals of their lands to farmers and
cattlemen $275,OOO They received as
interest on their vested funds $416..
e1f. From other sources they receiv.
ed 100000. I.. o."
There are 1887 Usage Indians who
share inthe annuitles of the tribe, Qf
these there are Sil full bioods and
1895 Of mixed blood. A majority of the
full bi0ods wear blankets, The mixed
blods are like any other mixed blood
Indians. Some of them are apparent
ly white people. and act like white
people, well educated and intelligent,
but they do not work-there Is no
necessity for It, They are rich and
the Indian agent pays their annuities
TO them each year with the regular
ity OF a coupon clipper. The average
total annuities In cash paid to each
Usage by the agent Is s65i. Each
Usage family has an apportioned farm
of from 200 to 1000 acres which the
head of the family rents to some
white man and gets for It from 81
TO So per acre. The average family in
the Usage nation is six, making the
total income per family S3096. In ad-
dition to the apportloned farm rem
tails. The lack of necessity for labor
ing is obvious.
There are 10000 white people in the
Usage reservation. They are princi'
pally farmers and cattlemen thohgh
there are 1000 men in Pawhuska and
perhaps as many more in the other
IOul lOWnS COHlulHcu' All Nhl'' p'oPlS
lease lands from the Indians II they
have any land and they must deal
through the Indian agent,
There are 1000 school children on
the reservation and Of these there are
900 who have no school privileges.
The Osages have schools OF their own
but whites are not admitted.
The osages acquired the foundation
of their wealth from the government.
They formerly held strip OF land
in Kansas fifty miles wide and tho
entire length of the Cherokee strip.
The government decided to move
them and to do so bought this land
and paid sS,OOO.OOO for it and gave
the Osages their present reservation