The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1911-05-01
K|CKAPO0
COMPROMISE
ACCEPTED
GoVaTuusnt Drops Suits In
VoIVl0g ANOtmeniS In
Three Counties

Washington May BY an al.
rangemeut mutually satisfactory 10
.he government the Kickapoo IN.
idians ala the defendants in the cele-
brateh Klrkapoo land SUITS, involy-
ing title TO seventy valuable allot-
nents IN P0tta watomic. Lincoln and
Dklaboma counties, Oklahoma, the
/ .ndians recover their lands free Of
/ All incnmhbance and further legal
proceedings are dropped by the
United States
/ This announcement was made TO-
day by attorney General Wicker.
sham. Il means that all OF the suits
aending m the United States circuit
court for the Western district Of Ok
iahoma have been settled out Of
court and the Kiokapoo controversy
closed
Officials Of the government accept
"a the Cvertures of settlement ad.
| anced hy the defendants in these
| sltits only because everything has
been secured for the indians that
could be recovered at the end OF te-
C5ous and expensive litigation, except
the extraction to stand trial ON
charges OF forgery in that county
Land Held In Trust
The allotments were made In 1894
aud trust patents were issued To the
several allottees, declaring in eact
case that the land was held In trust
hy the United States for the allottee
or his heirs for twenty-five years.
and SO much longer as the pen9d
might be extended By the president
The land was TO be conveyed to the
all0ttee o. his heirs free from all in-
cnmbranco at the end Of the trust
eriod Many Of the Indians we're
dissatisfied with their allotments
and refused to settle on them, but.
migrate to Mexico for the purpose,
Of establishing a community therS
and escaping the conventions OF adj
vancng civilization
On June p, 1906, congress passed
IN act which was supposed by many
20 give the nonresident Indians UNI
restricted mower to sell their allot-
aents i 4 Oklahoma A scramble all
once fOlowea on the part Of variousl
Oklahoma land spectators to 0btainl
eeds frpm the indians, and soon
leeds APPEARED OF record coveringI
the lanis Of most Of the Kickapoos
who hal gone 10 Mexico, purporting,
Il have been executed by them inI
Mexico, and at Eagle Pass, Texas.
Committee Charges Fraud
The mnnner in which the lndianl
deeds were procured became thel
subject to an Investigation by com-l
nittee OF the United States senate,
resulting III 4 report containing thel
& arge that many OF the deeds hadl
been procured by fraud, coercion. mi
dmidatlon and forgery and the rccl
nmmenda'iou that suites be instltutl
cd to cancel the deeds
Many suits were pending ln thel
oklahoma territorial courts betweenl
The Indians and claimants under all
legged deeds from them The United
sates inieryened Id these suits and
emoved tue controversies into thel
federal court upon The admission otl
oklahoma 10 statehood Additional
suits were brought by the govern
ment IN the federal court 10 set asideI
ihe remaining deeds
Meanwhile FIVE Of tho persons WHO
I'D beel active IN procuring these
indian deeds were indicted ia MeicOl
upon charges OF forging the names
of Kickapoo Indians TO deeds and
checks Three of them we're com
ndrted to jail at Guthrie, Okla byI
. United states commissioner for OK.
tradition 10 Mexico and applications
70 the I nited States district court
for writs Of habeas corpus we're de
MED
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