The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1934-11-16
Warchief in Mourning for Capt. Payne

graham, the dime novelist, who was helping Maj
John NJ. ("Arizona John") Burke as press agent
for Cody. This is the way Ingraham told it:
Captain Paynes Oklahoma colony comprises
nearly 10000 persons, many of whom have fol-
lowed their intrepid leader into the territorial
wilderness and there reared their cabins, only
to be arrested or driven out by the q. s. mill
tary. The Indians have surrounded his
cabin In the lonely solitude of those primeval
forests, threatened his life, tried to burn his
home and watched day and night for opportunity
to murder him. but ever on the alert, Payne has
defed the danger which threatened; with trusty
Winchester he has defended his cabin against
scores of his willy foes, and laid low many prowl.
ing night-hawks, until his very name has be-
come terror to the Indians Of that region To
continue this fight against the greed Of remorse-
less capitalists Captain Payne has endured such
hardships as few men have been forced to suffer,
proving himself true to principle, and frontier
hero of just renown-a man who cannot be in
Inundated nor swerved by hardships from his
purposes and duty. While waiting for certain
developments in his still continued contest, Cap
tain Payne will accompany, for recreation only,
his old friend Buffalo Bills wild West to renew
again the cherished object so dear to the pro-
gressive spirit of the Oklahoma Raiders"
Payne had made many visits to Washington
to argue his case before the federal authorities
but without success After his last visit in 1884
he returned to Wellington, Kan, strengthened
his colony and again entered the territory. He
was arrested again by the soldiers and taken
to Fort Smith, Ark, but there the court, pre-
sided over by Judge Isaac Parker tthe famous
Hanging Judge" of those days. said it would
have nothing to do with the case. A week later
Payne was in camp in Indian Territory opposite
Fort Smith, badly crippled with rheumatism and
suffering other illnesses caused by bad treatment
at the hands of his captors Cor so he alleges in
some of his letters which preserved by the
Oklahoma Historical society,"
On September z he wrote from Fort Gibson,
"This makes three days here-do not think they
will undertake to hold US longer than 1ve :.
They may yet take US to Fort Scott. One
thing seems evident now and that is to keep us
up In the Territory until the Court at Wichita
adjourns-they do not want us to get before that
Court now" From which 1t will be seen that
Payne was just being pushed around by the
authorities who were loath to bring the issue to
q court test
Two months later he was In Wellington again
and there on the morning of November % he
died quietly while sitting at breakfast In the
Hotel De Barnard. OF his death Sutton says:
His friends believed then, and believe yet,
that he was poisoned by those who opposed the
opening of Oklahoma His death filled the Okla
homa boomers with resentment, focused public
attention upon the opening of the territory and
FASTENED 1t. The first opening came soon there
after. Moses led the Israeites to the edge of
Canaan but died just before they went in to pos
sess it So Payne led his Oklahoma boomers
through wilderness of struggle and was per-
znitted only to view the promised land. He win
live In history the Father Of Oklahoma"
Payne's work was carried on by some of his
followers, notably Capt w. L. Couch Col Sam.
uel Croker, Captain Cooper, Sidney Clark and
Maj. Gordon w. Lille ("Pawnee Bilr), who
came to be known as the big Five" They lived
to see Oklahoma thrown open to settlement by
proclamation Of the President md to take part
In the big run" Of April D. 1889 But Of all these
only one survives today-"Pawnee Bill" "Chief
Little Bear" the white chief of the Pawnees
who Is spending his declining years in peace and
comfort at his buffalo ranch, blue Hawk Peak
near Pawnee. Okla
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