The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1912-02-17

cAABLEsl & GUSTS
hLHEpI ~ s0ll TERIlgllE

49, NfltlN- - n. ~ VI ~ 49, y ~ Z
This ma story that begins hi
wigwaml ana ends In the capitol at
washington the story Of a '.redskin'
who has risen high in the councils Of
the government With whom his race
have watted-the story Of the ttst
Indian senator Charles R. Curtis.
iW,ho 4as once JokiHg caIed Che
only American in the United States
senate
Curtis was born in tepee 81 the
'ISaw tribe, IN Kansas, IN 1860. HIS
mother was Kaw woman and his 10:
ther 4 French officer. Left an orphan
al the age Of three, the future senator
spent bis early boyhood in the wig:
wan Of his mothers people near
Council Grove, Kan. One Of his first
reeoiiectOns Is the sight Of a gallop;
ing. painted war party Of Kaw braves
dashing forth 10 battle against their
foes, the cheyennes.
Soon after this fight he was sent to
Topeka to school. But<he was too
used 10 the free outdoor life Of an In.
dian youth TO relish the confinement
Of a schoolroom. Moreover- accord
ing to white mans standards-he was
poor; and he found 1t necessary TO
turn his hand to some means Of
livelihood.
A Jockey and HBadp Horse.
He went to work as a ne%sbcy;;
then as a peanut vendor; then as a
bootblack. But none Of these jobs
promised wealth nor even an especial,
~ comfortable living. 50 he sought
for better work. Here his buyish ex.
perienee in riding bareback the Wild
Kaw bronehos stood Curtis in good
stead. And when his chance came he
was ready for It. He obtained a job
in a racing stable as a jockey. and
rode many winner. He aud the
veteran jockey Fred Taral struck up
a warm friendship in those race track
days.
The Kansas City Interstate Fair as.
sociation was holding a meet in 1877.
One Of the horses entered for a GER
tain race was known to be very
speedy, but had bad way Of boiling
and becoming unmanageable when
every lie reached certain point on
the track Hence he was looked upon
as a sure loser. Curtls-a slender,
black.halred, dark-skinned wisp Of a
lad-was assigned to ride this crazy
horse" Unlike the usual story book
hero he did not win the race against
fearful odds On the contrary. the,
horse hurled him agalnGt high board
fence With such force as to leave
scars which the senator still bears.
This practically ended the young 1n.I
dams racing career.
He next became a hack driver.
While he was working at this unin-
spring trade he became smitten with
longing for better education. He
took to studying Law in his spare mo-.
ments. While waiting for fares" he
was forever delying in some mqsty
law book he had borrowed. It was
during this time that he managed to
forget the Indian dialect Of his motif
er's people; because his white friends
laughed at him for his use Of the IN.
couth SPEECH. Today he remembers
scarce phrase Of the ancestral Ian:
guage.
Two years after he gave up racing
Curtis was admitted to the bar A
little while afterward he had made so
good a start in politics that he was
sent as delegate to Gnear.by conyen-
ton. All twenty.four he was prosecute
ing attorney of Shawnee county. and
in 1890 was an unsuccessful candidate
for congress
But in 1892 he made the congress
sional fight again in "whirIwind cam.
paign" as vigorous in It's way as any
waged by his warlike ancestors on the
plains. And this time he was elected
W NOuBleoss 'i
From Wigwam to U. s. Senate.
At the capitol he quickly made his
presence felt. Brilliant, a tireless
worker, stanch partisan, he was
not content to be merely one Of
host Of representatives, but at once
won an Individual name for himself.
Curtis served three terms in con.
gress; then, in 1907, was sent to the
United States senate He was the
first Indian to sit in this august body,
where bis career includes more than
one strenuous effort for the better.
ment Of the western red mems condl.
ton.
From tepee to capitol; from jockey
to senator; from the ranks of Uncle
Sans hereditary foes to place
among the governments foremost law.
makers, 1t is a record that well en-;
!