The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1910-05-10

deals with these people, paying out
to them considerably more than
million dollars year. There Is also
here, on Federal reservation OF
eightysiN acres, an Usage boarding
school whprp the children are not
only given literary and musical lh-I
struction but are taught farming
housekeeping, gardening, stock raia
Ing and football which is the one
game about which they get excited
"rhe old tribal organization IS
maintained in way, but it Is very
much of bluff Every other year.
in September, the polls are opened
and Usage adults proceed to elect
chief, an assistant Chief, treasurer,
supreme Judge and members of the
council, but these officials do not
count for much.
Bigheart. the present chief, Is a
| typical Usage He Is about 80 years
old. talks English well If not fluent
] ly and is unwontedly wise. He gets
| SiO0 a year for wearing his extra
feather OF purely nominal leadership,
for he doesn't do d thing except pre-
side over an occasional council meet
/ ing that also doesn't do thing
part because it hasn't any power to
do it, anyway.
"Bigheart has private secretary
who probably never wrote a lette'
in bis life, but who gets $3.50 a year
for not writing them. Blackdog, as
sistant chief gets salary and also
has private secretary with one
but both are mere ornaments, as
indeed, are all the other officials, All
election is On for September nex'
and there is little Usage politics
going on right now, but it is pretty
dull. There is nothing approaching
The mercurial in the Indian makedp
+ He absolutely refuses to be stirred
The proper time TO see the Osag'
/ is at payment which is an abbre
: waited title applying to the quarterN
distribution of annuity money TO
payment all Osages come to tow
/. to draw-and stay until the none
: is practically all spent. Knowin
! how the Indian delights to see M
4 money evaporate, everybody get
ready to help make the process rapi
!. and the professional takers swoo
i down in droEes. Pawhuska was iu
+ of them in the March outflow of II
!. dian money, wheels Of fortune of th
!. rankest variety prevailing. Whe
q the mayor drove these robbers
# whose capital prizes were tin an
l. pewter ornaments, off the streets, tn
3 indians became righteously Indii
IS nant.
N But the Usage has new sourc
d Of money. He can now sell his su
n plus land-497 acres. There are tN
N ways in which he can do this. II
Al can get certificate of cOmpetent
20 from the interior department an
= thereafter he can do what he please
r.. with everything except his hom
h. stead. Or, if he fails to get cert
v cate, he can petition the governmel
is to sell his land for him, whereupt
SO il advertiscs and gets sealed bit
10 and turns the land to the hshes
nj provided, of course, that he IS ab0'
o. the appraisement Last week tive
,y ty.six Osages we.e granted certl
m Gates aud about thirteen thousal
re- acres Of land were put on the ma
So ket AT the same time the COVER
mert advertised one hundred n
ne twenty quarter sections or abo
IT, twenty thousand acres. to be sold t
Nh dead ana noncompetent Indians. I'll
n. is what is meant by the opening
~ the Usage reservation, which b
m been so widely advertised and IS
IN generally misunderstood to be a tr
he distribution of land that hundreds
,h strangers are at Pawhuska every d
for farms, The Indian doesn't wa
= land lie wants money IN
he can spend right now, All Of viii
explains what Is happening to- t
Osages reservation There are
Usage regrets in this connection.