The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1920-10-03
PRESERVING
: OSAGE TONGUE
e w. Marland Heads
Fund to Hire Expert
Service.
AIST0RY OF THE TRIBE
Now the Richest Body of
.Aborigines on the Ameri-
can Continent.

pONCA CITY, oct. 2.-The Usage
Indians known world wide as the
ricbcst ueople per capita on esrth
,r5 whose oil royalties are now av-
arsyirg $4,000 each per annum,
arc h. nave their tribal language pre-
scrvcd through being reduced to
,,rlfiug. This work Is 10 be done by
an expert. secured through tho
srithouian Institute at Washington,
a man well acquainted with the
Osage tongue.
n was made possible to have this
work stated in the near future
through a subscription of $4,000 to
the flnd by Il. W. Marland of Ponca
CIV. head OF all the Marland oil and
gas interests, several times million
aire. philanthropist, and formerly
uracticiug attorney at Pittsburg. Pa.
Mr. Marland is also the holder of the
greatest tract of mineral Ieases thus
far granted by the Indian depart
nent on Usage Indian lands to any
Individual as he has $4,000 acres
practically the entire western half OF
Usage county-for natural gas de-
yelopment He holds also several
thousand acres of Usage land under
oil lease
Back Of the movement and really
the originator to preserve the Usage
language Is the Missouri Historical
society OF which Breckenridge Jones,
the ST. Louis banker Is the president.
/, was through Mr.. Jones, 1t is un-
dprstood. that Marland of Ponca
CITY became interested IN the move
mont and made possible to start the
work at once through a subscription
10 the fund.
Lived on st. Louis Site.
The site OF st. Louis was formerly
Oage land and the first portion OF
the city was built on a grant from
the Usage tribe. The Osages had
Formerly lived along the SOUTH
eastern Atlantic seaboard and
branch Of the Siouan nation. They
moved westward to the Missouri
territory many years prior to the
coming OF DeSoto and the Spaniards
and when the first French and Span
lsh explorers reached the Mississippi
river they found the Siouan tribes
living on the west bank, all the way
from the Arkansas river north to the
Mississippis course. The states OF
Iowa, the Dakotas, Kansas, Missouri
and Arkansas took their names from
various sub-tribes, OF which the
OSdFeS were also one.
When Thomas jefferson in 1898
bought Louisiana from France, the
Osages were living in Missouri. and
when General Zebulon Pike made his
famous trip westward at Jefferson's
request to find out Just what he had
bought, Pike took with him from
st Louis number OF Usage Indians
as guides, and he also returned to
the tribal headquarters in the Usage
a number OF Usage prisoners OF war
whom the government had been
holding as hostages. The Usage
guides were still with Pike when he
met the Spaniards for the first time.
near the present site of Baxter
Springs. Kan, and fought the first
battle with them for possession of
much Of Jefferson's purchase.
Had II Written Constitution.
In preserving the Usage language
i Is interesting to note that the
Usage, Quapaw (Arkansas) and Kaw
'hsnsaS) tribes used the same LAM
guage, being near relative branches
OF the Siouan nation. Following the
establishment OF the Usage nation In
what Us now Usage county, the
trloe had a written constitution
from 1881 to 1907 when statehood
came 10 all of Oklahoma and Indian
territory, with executive, judicial and
ieglslatiye government. Since state