The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-04-22
WHITE MEN OUT;
INDIANS GET LAND.
Full Blood Cherokees Are Vic
tors in a Long Fight Which
Went to Supreme Court.

NEW YORK, April 21.-If the Chero-
KEGS have cherished enmity against
white men as a class for attempting
to absorb the Indian patrimony they
certainly got some measure OF satls-
faction recently when nearly three
thousand intermarried whites stood by
and saw Cherokees by blood walk IN
and file on tho land on which the
white men had lived, some OF them
for fifty years.
II was the closing chapter of a long
struggle of the full blood element and
the government against the white
man. and the white man lost. by forc-i
ing him out the Cherokees have about
enough land upon which to nle clalms
for oil their newborn babies, ABOUT
100000 acres in all, including some OF
the finest oil land and best Improved
farms in the nation.
Two weeks ago every intermarried
white man believed that his property
rights would be protected. me SUI
preme Court had held that he could
not file on the land, but he believed
that ne could sell his improvements to
a Cherokee and thus get his money
back for expenses. This was done IN
many instances. when an order came
from the department at Washington
that such bills of sale would not give
a preference RICH to file.
Immediately after came in an order
to throw open the, lands held by tho
intermarried whites for the Cherokees
by blood to file upon. This did not
give the white man chance 10 pro
tecs himself. The government was liy-
ing up to an assumed duty as guardian
of an Indian ward.
Tribe Recognizes White Men.
White men have intermarried Chero-
kee Indians ever since the close OF
the Revolutionary War, when num-
Der OF Scotchmen went to Georgia and
married Cherokee girls. Ever since that
time they have been recognized as
mmbers of the tribe. October 10, 1855.
the Cherokee council passed law
which authorized white mon to inter-
marry Cherokee women. This carried
with it all the property rights OF q
Cherokee by blood.
to property rights. according to the
Supreme Court. though the Indian
councils never so held. White mon
who married prior to 1878 according
to the Cherokee marriage laws arc
allowed to file on allotments. There
are 200 OF them living.
The Cherokees generally conceded
to the white men equal rights until
four years ago, when a full blood ele-
ment, headed by Dave Muskrat, en-
tered suit In the United States Court
to prevent the white men from filing.
Powerful Cherokee influences smoth-
cred this suit for a time. as members
OF tho most prominent Cherokee fami-
lies had married white men. But the
court decided against them.
White men have developed the
Cherokee nation. White blood has
made tho Cherokee schools what they
are and placed the Cherokee nation
at tho head OF all tribes OF American
Indians They have married Chero-
kee women and have educated Chero-
kee daughters and sons. They have
also grated the Indian and the Indian
has grated back and is now getting
tho last whack by taking the white
mans land for his own.
Protecting Homes With Guns.
But the white men are not giving
up easily. Word has been received here
that two men had been killed In the
Northern part of the Cherokee Nation
because they were looking over some
land owned by n white man with
view of filing on 1t. There are other
white men who are guarding their
land with rifles.
A prominent lawyer OF Tulsa, who
is an intermarried whito man, came
to file for child. Ie owned certain
lQnd, una WNlte lle WAS SthhuliS up al
night In line, with the mercury at zero,
waiting for chance to flo, he had
two white mon and two negroes with
rifles patrolllng his land to keep any
ono from looking at 1t or taking pos
session before he did.
This shows the temper Of tho white
men. If they have child by Chero-
kee wife that child is entitled to file,
and they propose to file that child
on the best improved land they have
been holding, oven II they have to
use tho Winchester methods to keep
others Off
eyes Of tho mon who stood in line all
night In n hitter wind, tanning each
other toward a narrow entrance to the
land office. ready to fight at the slight
eat Indicntlon or unfairnsss In any one
ahead Of them, indicates that they