Omaha daily bee., 1909-05-03
SOME GOOD INDIANS ALIVE
Features Of Life In Oklahoma Noted
with surprise by the
Easteruers

In spite Of all that has been told Of
Crazy Snake and his band OF warning
Greeks, out in Oklahoma, the only good
Indian is not the dead Indian. Neither
is he always the downtroddeu, defrauded
redman. In Oklahoma, at least. he Is fire.
quently the prosperous American citizen.
TIL new state is more southern than
western. Oklahoma swarms with negroes.
Muskogee has an unusually large colored
population. In the late fall the fields Of
southeastern Oklahoma are filled with
negro cotton pickers, for even then the
days are as warm as a New York Septem-
Der. Trains throughout this region stop
at little settlements whore all the inhabi-
tants are negroes. One Of the largest OF
these, curiously enough. was christened
Redburg. 1t boasts stores. a church. school
house and hotel, and, so the railway Of
ficials tell the wondering easterner, no
white man 10 allowed to stay there.
In contrast to this careful separation of
the negroes from the whites is the status
OF the educated, well-to-do Indian. For
example, Mr.. H., an Indian, is attorney
for one OF the biggest western railroads.
a graduate of an eastern university. and
a man Of influence in the community.
His wife, a charming white woman. is as
proud Of her husbands red ancestry as Il
many a New Yorker Of descent from the
De Lanceys or Livlngstohs.
No special stigma attaches to the inter-
marriage of whites and Indians. at least
when the latter are of the better class
An illustration OF this state of affairs was
the experience Of a New York woman
travelling this winter in Oklahoma.
ION my way from Muskogee to a nearby
city" she said, II met in the Pullman car
an intelligent, well appearing young white
woman who chatted with me about the
country and the people. I displa yed my
tenderfoot ignorance by asking her il many
Indians in the state were civilized.
MY neighbor smiled at me iudulcentlv
and answered: oh, yes. many of our finest
men are Indian, or part Indian. Nv hus-
band she added, holding her head a little
higher, lis a member Of the C~hickasaw ma
ton
My husbands father she went on to
explain, was a white man, q physician.
He sent his son to Yale, and when he died
he left a good property in M. Ny own
people were early corners to Oklahoma. and
| have lived here all my life. My husbands
mother, a fun blood Ghickasnw. is still liy-
hAb hhh Nlls Ol6 VI TIE IdIuSOmeSt MONIES
in NJ. She has a great many indian relics
of which we are very proud. ! suppose YOU
know that the two principal tribes here
are the Choctaw and the Chickasaw.
Every member Of these tribes has land
apportioned to him by the government.
My little daughter 3 years old. as a mem
Der of the Chickasaw nation, has land
WINCH brings her an income of $3.50 a year.
My husband and l are putting this money
in the bank to her account. and when she
is old enough il will be sufficient TO send
her to an eastern college. My husband also
has holdings in the Chlckasaw lands, ard
the laws gives ms, as an 'intermarried
citizen an equal amount.
Such il the attitude Of the old settlers
toward the educated Indian. Then, too.
the pioneer does not take to his new home
the formalities of Back bav. An elderly
woman from Kansas thus gave her rea-
sons for moving to the new state:
My son and l." she said. lived for
eighteen years on a farm near Newton.
Kan, When we first went there il was a
new country, and folks were scarce but
very sociable. Lately Kansas has got
filled up and people amt n bit neighborly
any more. So we just picked up our traps
and started for Oklahoma. Felix's amt too
thick to be friendly here."-New York
Times,