The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1911-08-25

Thirty thousand Choctaw and Chick !
asaw Indians whose hearts and tribal
organizations are SET uron navingI
their landed estate or more commonly
termed the coal and asphalt lands, dis
posed OF. so they can WIND up their
tribal affairs. will have TO await the
convenience of another congress-, ac-
cording to V. NJ. Locke, Jr., OF Antlers,
principal chief OF the ChoCtaWs, who
has been here ATTENDING the national
encampment of the Spanish war vet
erans The question was not reached
during the special session, although
representatives of the tribes. includ-
ing the principal chief, spent many
days at the national caritaL There
was disposition among some OF
the departmental officials to sell the
surface. which is in line with the Me
Nester idea. thus placing at the dis
posal of settlers in the nejghborhood
OF 100000 acres of rich Oklahoma
land. Members of both tribes are
AGAINST the piecemeal disposal. They
want to turn loose the mineral de
posits as well as the surface.
In the first place" said the prin
cipal chief, "the Indian wants to 90
ont OF business. It is costing him
! too much to handle his affairs, and
| he realizes the sooner he can get rid
of these questions the better off he
| will be. If they succeed in selling
the surface and leave us with min
eral deposits we will be CRYING for an
opportunity to sell that for the next
half a century. As IL is. We have the
active backing of white people for
some sort of disposal. but once the
white people get anopportunlty to buy
the surface the Indian will be alone
in his efforts to have the minerals
sold The general government has Its
ideas about conservation Of the nat
ura resources, and wants the miner
ais retained for such purposes, while
we do not think we should be made
to bear the brunt of this illustration
even for the sake of proving ii sue
cess. There are several things to be
considered Indians want representa-
ton when the deals are made for il
the end they have to make convey
ances, and they want the government
to keep its promise and bear the eX
pense of the disposition. One of the
bills before congress provided that
the Indian should pay the bills. i
possible, we want to make the gov
ernment do as It agreed"
According to the principal chief, tho
full-blood Indian is rapidly passinf
away. and in a few years he will be
as rare as are veterans of the battle
! of San Jacinto.
; "The red man, born and brought NJ
under conditions favorable to a Ions
life" explained the principal chief
"can not adjust himself to the new
tangled way of living. He was taught
to enter the forest and bring dowr
his food with arrow or gun, and pre-
pare it in the way to make it the
most palatable. He can't sabe. let
alone digest the canned food of today
The Lord gave him faculties for ex
listing in the open, unhampered and
uncramped by rigors of law or DEGREES
of society. He had as much air as
he wanted; he could stretch across
two townships if his fancy led that
way, and above all, what he had TO
eat and drink were pure by the Lords
standards. New conditions have cir.
cumscribed his free life until he is
pinched. so to speak. and being forced
to eat adulterated and sometimes EN-
balmed foods, it don't comport with
what he was taught or been used to.
Then he worries. He knows he has
valuable estate, also knows that II
/ is growing less as far as he is con
cerned. He is told that he is rich. but
he cant cash in. All these things
/ have a more or less undermining eff
feet upon the full-blood. He is be-
coming a ready subject of tuberculosis
and pneumonia
According to Chief Locke. the
Chickasaws and Choctaws have been
liberal giyers at the behest of the
federal government. While In Wash.
ington recently he ran down" all the
treaties affecting these two tribes,