Los Angeles herald., 1908-05-13
WORLDS RICHEST INDIAN
BUYS MANY VALENTINES
Spends $4,000 for Them at One Time.
Left Property Valued at Three
Million Doilars--Was
an Usage

Talking about sales" said a small
bookseller whose stock of valentines
had been exhausted before the demand
had been fully supplied. Ibid you know
that one of the largest single orders
of valentines ever heard about went
to an Indian? 1 don't know that many
white men could have afforded to
spend as much and those that could
would probably have invested the
money in a more permanent form, a
diamond ring or necklace. Two thous-
and dollars is not a small sum for even
rich man to spend on tokens of at
lection, and when those tokens are
lace paper and tinsel cupids, 1t seems
a lot more. But that is what James
Bigheart, Indian chief, and richest red
man In the country at the time, spent
for valentines while he was In Wash
ingtOn in connection with allotmentS
of his peoples land. He was a pic
turesque and interesting man himself,
and his ready spending naturally at
tracted attention. He sent the valen-
tines to members of his tribe and to
all the prominent statesmen whom he
had met in connection with his mis-
sion. OF course, the trade were all in
terested in his order, both because of
its size and because he was an Indian.
1 recalled the incident when / read
of his death the other day. But when
/ read that the property he had left
was estimated at $3,000.000, I decided
that a $4,000 order did not mean so
much to him."
richest redman in the land, died at his
home near Bigheart, In the Usage ma
ton, January 20. During his long life
of SiXty-Seven years he did more than
make large purchase of valentines,
says the Chicago Record Herald. He
was thrice elected chief of his people,
he fought in several battles of the Civil
War, he represented his people in their
conferences with the white men at
Washington, and he amassed large
fortune, consisting mainly of oil lands.
The Usage Indians are the richest in
the country, and he was the richest of
the Osages. Their reservation in north
eastern Oklahoma consists of 1,47O,06S
acres. Divided among them this would
give each a farm of 1000 acres.
This reservation was purchased from
the Cherokees under the treaty of 1906
and paid for with money received from
the sale of Usage lands in Kansas,
where they had lived until they moved
to Oklahoma in 1871. The government
holding money belonging to them, has
paid to each member Of the tribe an
often has had, besides its interest in
the land, an income of $4,000. Their
farms they rented to white men, thus
increasing their incomes and their has
tening decline. George w. Dorsey of
the Chicago university who has writ
ten of them, says that their wealth
making 1t possible for them to pass
their days in idleness drinking and
gambling, has contributed to their de-
generacy.
To be three times a chief of the
Osages was in itself proof that James
Bigheart was an exceptional man
among his own people, as it is an elect
i've office, to which anyone who is 81
years of age is eligible. The tribal
form of government OF the Osages
consisted of ono principal chief. called
q overno- or1 -,0il,,-s--
elected by the tribe to make laws by
which it's members are governed. The
term of office was two years. Acourt
of Indian officers consisted of chief
justice, two associate justices, a clerk
and five sheriffs, one for each of the
five districts of the reservation. The
sheriffs' tried all minor offenses and
acted as a probate court for the set
Element of estates and other matters.