The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1909-07-23
INDIANS in
POLITICS SWAMP
The PALEFACES

BONESTEEL, S. DAT last the
Sioux Indians have gone in for poll
tics and so quickly have they adapted
themselves to the white mans method
of running a campaign that in the
first election held in Trip county, a
part of the Sioux reservation recently
opened for settlement, the Indians
worsted the whites and elected an
entire ticket with the exception of
two white men, whom the Indians In
| dorsed.
And then in answer to complaints
of irregularities and threats of the
white men to secure an injunction
| preventing the Indian officials elect
from assuming their offices, the willy
Souix stole another march on the
white men, organized the county took
the aoth of office and had everything
in running order before the white
was then too late for the whites to
take legal steps and the red men are
in office and conducting the affairs of
the county in the most approved and
up to date manner.
| The Indians are so e1ated over
their success that they threaten to
elect Indian officeholders in all South
Dakota counties cut from Indian re-
servations, where the Indian popula-
ton is heavy.
First Time For Indians.
This election was the first, in all
time, in which the Indians took an
interest. In previous contests, the red
men have refused to participate,
leaving the voting and the officehold-
ing to the whites.
| Great was the surprise, therefore,
when about a week before the recent
| ELECTION a stoical red man stalked
into the Auditors office and filed for
the office of constable. The name
signed to the affidavit was Thomas
C. Bull" but the Indians name avs
| Crazy Bull" Half an hour later
Isaac Bettleyoun. one of the best
known Indians on the reserve, filed
for the office of county commissioner.
Ed Colombo, another wealthy and in
fluential Indian also filed for a COM
missionership, of which there are
| he
full Indian ticket, with the exception
of States attorney, was in the field.
There was not a single Indian lawyer
in the county, and the Indians in
dorsed w. B. Buckus, a well-known
| white lawyer, for that position.
The white candidates stood aghast.
The idea of the Indians voting was
surprising in itself, but that they
should attempt to elect Indians to Of
flee was something entirely unheard
of. Democrats and Republicans alike
were simply paralyZed. Before the
action of the Indians the white can.
| didates had been up to the usual po-
litical tricks, but they had confined
their efforts altogether to the white
voters. When they recovered from
their surprise white voters were for
| gotten and the Indian vote was gone
after. Dances, barbecues and all kinds
of celebrations" were quickly al
ranged, and every Indian in the coun
ty attended all of them. They danced
at the pale faces dances and they
ate the pale faces grub, Not an In
dian missed celebration" But no
an Indian would promise a white
man to vote for him. The red mer
simply wouldn't talk politics at all.
"Gum Shoe" Politics.
If there was ever a gum shoe
campaign those Indian candidates
waged one. Not a speaking, mass
! meeting or pow-wow of any kind did
they pull off, but when election day
arrived every Indian in the county
came to the polls and voted. And
tne lnQldn cdHulQdleS WOH OuI III eN'
cry case, including the white can
didates whom the Indians had indors-
ed Judge Backus, big Eyes Han, -
topped the ticket.
Then the whites began talking ill
Junction The vote was canvassed
in Lyman county, seventy-five miles
away across the Missouri river. The
Indians sent a representative i'll an
automobile to this point, and the mo-
ment the certificates of election were
issued this messenger got them,
climbed into his machine and, racing
across the praries at top speed,
placed them in the hands of the In
dams early next morning. Then, to
forestall any action of the whites, the
Indians went to an abandoned school
house, borrowed a tabld a chair, pa
per and pencil from a settler and got