The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-11-26

l.. Mckerracher, who came TO the
indian Territory long before state
hood and lived among the Seminoles
when that tribe maintained its own
government, talked very interesting
~ to Miss Rosalie Mills. field secre-
tary for the Delaware Baptist asso-
citation. He said in part:
'On an Indian summer day, when
Oklahoma was wide stretch of
prairie land, dotted here and there
with wigwams and log houses, | sat
on the side line and watched the
Green Corn dance, an annual fes-
tival of great Importance with the
Seminoles,
"Prosicharjo, the medicine man,
lifted his gourd from the pot of
green herb brew and gave each
passer-by a sufficient amount for
the year. Sick, well, squaw. chief.
little or large, all had to take his
annual doctoring, whether it was
needed or not. Green shawls and
red ties passed by the medicine man,
and danced away, sometimes giving
the brew round-trip ticket. The
doctor had spent great deal of
time. collecting and making his
coldron using roots and leaves for
a tea.
Marriage Customs.
II never remember in the nine
years hearing OF a separation. and
such thing as divorce, the Seminoles
never heard of except later from
the white man. A man and woman
Just started life together without
oourtlng. without ceremony or
honeymoon. Many times they had
as many as six wives. each in a
separate cabin made of logs. The
wives did not fight nor fuss az
might be expected, but seemed sat
istIed in making a living for the
husbaOd, The floor of the houses
was made Of split logs, or just the
dirt floor. A fireplace of sticks and
mud adorned the front OF this single
room. The daily life of the squaw
was not very romantic from a white
mans viewpoint. She carried tho
baby across her back in a shawl,
while she worked the tometoe
patch a garden of two acres. The
favorite dish was the sotge, made
of early corn. The squaw put the
corn in a hole, burned in a block,
marshed 1t until 1t became meal,
sifted It to get the husk out. and
then cooked II. After it had set for
several days and fermented, 1t was
ready TO serve, and considered rare
dainty.
1T was the squaw's task to wash
the clothes in no lesser laundry than
the creek, hang them across the
rocks and when dry they were ready
for wear without any iron.
Indolcnt, Idle Life of the Men.
"The men had few troubles, and
they We're not mean. a fellow IS
good when he's asleep and the men
slept most OF the time. With six or
eight women to make the living,
there was but little to worry over.
II they exerted themselves at all,
1t was to kill the game. They would
hunt Whisky caused more trouble
among the Indians than everything
else put together. That was nearly
always the source of any meanness
on their part The white man
brought IN the whisky, and he
taught the Indian trickery and ly-
ing for the word of an Indian was
as good as bond. On the whole
they were honest.
Political Life.
There was no need OF jails and
courts. II an Indian committed any
otfense, he was whipped 80 lashes
for the first time. 100 for the sec
ond; the third meant death, regard
less or What II was. Ihefc was an
| Indian council, and the policeman
was called a light horseman,' |
knew old Dress Walker, who was
| 100 years old In early territory days,
He had fought In the second Semi
mole war, that they called Red
| Stick war. He came from Florida
with the Seminoles when they were
driven from the swamps there and
given the strip in oklahoma. The
government provided schools, doe
tors and 500 annually 10 each OF
them, but their governor cheated
them out of so much of this
Religious Ceremonies.
zone day / heard the screams
and walls OF the Seminoles and dis
covered they we're out from their
little cabins with a dead body. They