The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1910-07-25
COURT OF CLAIMS
IN SESSION HERE
INDIAN DEPRECIATION CLAIMS IN
AMOUNTS OF $1,6oo AND FIFTY
TIMES THAT INVESTIGATED.

ne past week ll NluIuoIe has
been the occasion of the assembling
of many of the old time Indians of
the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations.
4 court has been in session. There
has been no loud 20 yes, o yes call
ing the sessions of the court, but there
has been a court in session and u
very important one to the litigants
and the warm weather has not in
any way interfered with the amount
of the work done. The judge is II.
+. Cricl of Pratt, Kansas, who is =
special attorney assigned here by the
department of justice of the United
States and the attorney representing
the claimants is William c. Shelley Of
Washington. The depostions are be-
ing taken and subscribed by Fred v.
Kinkaid, commissioner to the court of
claims of the United States.
The claims these Indians seek 20
collect are - years old and naturally
many of the witnesses are old-timers.
Some of them are indians who have
passed the four score mark. one of
these is well known in Ardmore. He IS
I-yah-hun-tah Pickens of the Chicka-
saw nation. And it is interesting to
hear the Indians pronounce these un-
thinkable Indian names. The accent
is low and soft and has rhythm
that sounds musical.
These claims against the govern
ment grew out of depredations of the
wild Comanches These wild tribes
swooped down upon their civilized
brethren of the forest and took their
cattle and horses and under treaty
stipulations the government undertook
to protect the civilized tribes from
inyasions by the wild tribes and
agreed to refund to them these losses
sustained in this manner. The losses
were sustained, plenty of them and
the Indians filed their claims in 1868
hut these claims lay there in the Of
flee of the interior department un-
thought of, unnoticed until ten years
ago when William Shelly an attorney
of Washington and native OF the old
Hickory state took them in charge
and began fighting for their coll"c-
| tion.
1t will give an idea of his work TO
some of them and the importance of
the collection may be realized when II
/ is known that the original depreda-
/ tions law was signed by Washington
and gave to whites and Indians the
same protection but up until these
| collections were made by Mr.. Shelley
there had never been cent recovered
/ by man of Indian blood Here are
those for whom collections have been
made through the decision of the
court of claims: Chas. Beams, Ken
arta, Richmond Sealey, VIM. Hocloc-
hubbee, John Hawkins. Wyatt Gil
christ, Oyerton Love, Shumhoka, Reu-
ben James. John Newberry, George
. T. Wilson, Booker James, Aggy Daren,
/ C. A. Burris, Edward Leader, A. b.
Johnson. James Shewahha, Ho-park-in-
tubbee, Shahtohoyer, Robt Ctuchubb1
Jinney Casey, Hopiahtubby and Ism
tickiyou
In the twenty-five or thirty cases
before the court at this hearing the
claims range from 81 500 to $4,000
Te largest is the claim of Robt. II
Love and is for five thousand head OF
cattle and many saddle horses.
Humphrey Colbert, j. c. McCurtain
and Isaac Fillmore have acted as in
terpreter for the court. The Indians
have taken an active interest in he
proceedings and with but few excep
tions they were here ready to give
their evidence in the trials.
The cases examined last week in
clude Jos. Sealey, Esther Perry, Gun
nah-hum-tah, Sho-o-ni-ky, Humphrey
Colbert, Anaca Cochran. Gabriel, Mar
tin Stick. Kelon Brown, Ona-hum-bee
I-yah-hun-tah Pickens.
The cases still on the docket and
that viii be heard this week are Chill
lee Elexander, Margaret, Ah-coo-chanl
tubby. Lavina Tauck-cullo, Lat-cham-i
ka. r. Cochran. Ub-bit-o-ono-kah, La
sin. Cornelius, Wilson Woolf, Robt. II
Love, Lewis Keel, isaac McGee, Chas
Seeley and Aaron Brown.
The hearings in these cases arc
being conducted in the offices OF ;he
Kinkaid Real Estate company.
WANTED-White girl for general
housework, family of 6, three chill
dren: good prace for an honest