USA > Oklahoma > A standard history of Oklahoma; an authentic narrative of its development from the date of the first European exploration down to the present time, including accounts of the Indian tribes, both civilized and wild, of the cattle range, of the land openings and the achievements of the most recent period, Vol. II > Part 36
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and Chickasaw Nations is indicted for homicide, he may, within thirty days after such indictment and his arrest thereon, and before the same is reached for trial, file with the clerk of the court in which he is indicted, his affidavit that he can not get a fair trial in said court ; and it thereupon shall be the duty of the judge of said court to order a change of venue in such case to the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, at Fort Smith, Ar- kansas, or to the United States District Court for the Eastern Dis- triet of Texas, at Paris, Texas, always selecting the court that in his judgment is nearest or most convenient to the place where the crime charged in the indictment is supposed to have been committed, which courts shall have jurisdiction to try the case ; and in all said civil suits said courts shall have full equity powers; and whenever it shall appear to said court, at any stage in the hearing of any case, that the tribe is in any way interested in the subject matter in controversy, it shall have power to summon in said tribe and make the same a party to the suit and proceed therein in all respects as if such tribes were an original party thereto; but in no case shall suit be instituted against the tribal government without its consent.
Sec. 17. Acts of Indian Council to be Approved by President .- It is further agreed that no act, ordinance, or resolution of the council of either the Choctaw or Chickasaw tribes, in any manner affecting the land of the tribe, or of the individuals, after allotment, or the moneys or other property of the tribe or citizens thereof (except appropriations for the regular and necessary expenses of the government of the respective tribes) or the rights of any persons to employ any kind of labor, or the rights of any persons who have taken or may take the oath of allegiance to the United States, shall be of any validity until approved by the President of the United States. When such acts, ordinances, or resolutions passed by the council of either of said tribes shall be approved by the governor thereof then it shall be the duty of the national secretary of said tribe to forward them to the President of the United States, duly certified and sealed, who shall, within thirty days after their recep- tion approve or disapprove the same. Said acts, ordinances, or reso- lutions, when so approved, shall be published in at least two news- papers having the bona fide circulation in the tribe to be affected thereby, and when disapproved shall be returned to the tribe enacting the same.
Sec. 18. Tribal Governments to Continue for Eight Years .- It is further agreed, in view of the modifications of legislative author- ity and judicial jurisdiction herein provided, and the necessity of the continuance of the tribal governments so modified, in order to carry out the requirements of this agreement, that the same shall continue for the period of eight years from the fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight. This stipulation is made in the belief that the tribal governments so modified will prove so satisfactory that there will be no need or desire for further change till the lands now occupied by the Five Civilized Tribes
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shall, in the opinion of Congress, be prepared for admission as a State to the Union. But this provision shall not be construed to be in any respect an abdication by Congress of power at any time to make needful rules and regulations respecting said tribes.
Sec. 19. Per Capita Payments .- That all per capita payments hereafter made to the members of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Na- tions shall be paid directly to each individual member by a bonded officer of the United States, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, which officer shall be required to give strict account for such disbursements to said secretary.
That the following sum be, and is hereby, appropriated out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, for fulfilling treaty stipulations with the Chickasaw Nation of Indians, namely :
For arrears of interest, at five per centum per annum, from De- cember thirty-first, eighteen hundred and forty, to June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, on one hundred and eighty-four thousand and one hundred and forty-three dollars and nine cents of the trust fund of the Chickasaw Nation erroneously dropped from the books of the United States prior to December thirty-first, eighteen hundred and forty, and restored December twenty-seventh, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, by the award of the Secretary of the Interior, under the fourth article of the treaty of June twenty- second, eighteen hundred and fifty-two; and for arrears of interest at five per centum per annum from March eleventh, eighteen hundred and fifty, to March third, eighteen hundred and ninety, on fifty-six thousand and twenty-one dollars and forty-nine cents of the trust fund of the Chickasaw Nation erroneously dropped from the books of the United States March eleventh, eighteen hundred and fifty, and restored December twenty-seventh, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, by the award of the Secretary of the Interior, under the fourth article of the treaty of June twenty- second, eighteen hundred and fifty-two, five hundred and fifty- cight thousand five hundred and twenty dollars and fifty-four cents, to be placed to the credit of the Chickasaw Nation with the fund to which it properly belongs: Provided, That if there be any attorneys' fees to be paid out of the same, on contract heretofore made and duly approved by the Secretary of the Interior, the same is authorized to be paid by him.
Sec. 20. Controversy with Other Tribes .- It is further agreed that the final decision of the courts of the United States in the case of the Choctaw Nation and the Chickasaw Nation against the United States and the Wichita and affiliated bands of Indians, now pending, when made, shall be conclusive as the basis of settle- ment as between the United States and said Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations for the remaining lands in what is known as the "Lease District," namely, the land lying between the ninety-eighth and one hundredth degrees of west longitude and between the Red and Canadian rivers, leased to the United States by the treaty of eighteen hundred and fifty-five, except that portion called the Cheyenne and Arapahoe country, heretofore acquired by the United
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States, and all final judgments rendered against said nations in any of the courts of the United States in favor of the United States or any citizen thereof shall first be paid out of any sum hereafter found due said Indians for any interest they may have in the so-called "Lease District."
Sec. 21. Choctaws and Chickasaws to Become Citizens of the United States .- It is further agreed that all of the funds invested, in licu of investment, treaty funds, or otherwise, now held by the United States in trust for the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes, shall be capitalized within one year after the governments shall cease, so far as the same may be legally done, and be appropriated and paid by some officer of the United States appointed for the purpose, to the Choctaws and Chickasaws (freedmen excepted), per capita, to aid and assist them in improving their homes and lands.
It is further agreed that the Choctaws and Chickasaws, when their tribal governments cease, shall become possessed of all the rights and privileges of citizens of the United States.
Sec. 22. Orphan Land in Mississippi .- It is further agreed that the Choctaw Orphan lands in the State of Mississippi, yet unsold, shall be taken by the United States at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, and the proceeds placed to the credit of the Choctaw Orphan fund in the treasury of the United States, the number of acres to be determined by the General Land Office.
In witness whercof, the said commissioners do hereunto affix their names at Atoka, Indian Territory, this the twenty-third day of April, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven.
GREEN MCCURTAIN,
Principal Chief.
J. S. STANDLEY,
N. B. AINSWORTH,
BEN HAMPTON,
WESLEY ANDERSON,
AMOS HENRY,
D. C. GARLAND,
Choctaw Commission.
R. M. HARRIS, Governor.
ISAAC O. LEWIS,
HOLMES COLBERT,
ROBERT L. MURRAY,
WILLIAM PERRY,
R. L. BOYD,
Chickasaw Commission. FRANK C. ARMSTRONG, Acting Chairman.
ARCHIBALD S. MCKENNON,
THOMAS B. CABANISS,
ALEXANDER B. MONTGOMERY, Commission to Five Civilized Tribes. H. M. JACOWAY, JR., Secretary, Five Tribes Commission.
Approved June 28, 1898.
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CHAPTER LXXIV
INDIAN TROUBLES AND MILITARY AFFAIRS
During the summer and autumn of 1890, there was much excite- ment among some of the Indian tribes of the West on account of the belief in the coming of an Indian Messiah, who was promising to restore the old order of things by driving out the white people, bringing back the buffalo herds, etc. This cult is said to have had its origin among the Pah-Utes of Nevada, where the alleged prophet, or Messiah, lived. Thence its teachings were spread among the tribes of Idaho, Wyoming and Dakota. From the Sioux of Dakota it was brought to the Arapahoes of Oklahoma, from whom it soon spread to the Cheyennes and Kiowas.
In their eager expectations of the coming of the promised Messiah, many of the tribes, including several in Western Okla- homa, held ceremonial conclaves which were called "ghost dances." Many of the most intelligent Indians were deeply interested, though not all of them were credulous. Among the latter class was Apiatan, an influential Kiowa leader who expressed a desire to know the truth in regard to the matter. He was encouraged to investigate the matter by the tribal agent and by the military authorities, who were anxious to avoid the trouble which might be expected if the Indians became too much excited over the ghost dance craze.
In the course of his search after a knowledge of the real facts concerning the alleged Messiah and his miraculous powers, Apiatan left Oklahoma and went northward to Dakota, where he visited the Sioux. Thence he went to Wyoming and Idaho, where he visited other Indian tribes. His quest finally led him to a remote part of Nevada, where he personally visited the alleged Messiah and, by a few direct and pointed questions, demonstrated to his entire satis- faction that the so-called Messiah was an imposter who was playing upon the credulity of his overly trustful red brothers for the sake of presents that they might make to him. The return of Apiatan, and the report which he made concerning the head of the ghost dance cult had the effect of immediately dampening the ardor of its
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devotees in Oklahoma, so it led to no serious consequences among them, as it did among the Sioux of South Dakota, where a serious outbreak was threatened and which did result in the action known as the "Battle of the Wounded Knee."
MILITARY POSTS ABANDONED
In 1890, Fort Gibson, which was first established in 1824, and which had been abandoned as a military post in 1857, but which
OLD COMMISSARY BUILDING
was reoccupied during the Civil war and continuously garrisoned thereafter, was finally abandoned and its garrison was transferred to another station. It was not an important station during its later history as a military post, its garrison sometimes consisting of but a single company of soldiers.
Fort Supply, which had been a continuously garrisoned military post since November, 1868, was abandoned in 1891. The abandon- ment of these military stations gave evidence of the change in conditions existing in Oklahoma and the Indian Territory, there being no further necessity for their maintenance.
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THE TWO TERRITORIES IN THE SPANISH WAR
The outbreak of the Spanish-American war, in the spring of 1898, found thousands of young men in Oklahoma and the Indian Territory eager to enlist in the volunteer military service. Under the first call for volunteers, two troops of cavalry were authorized- one from each territory. The two troops, when mustered into the service, were assigned to the First Regiment of United States Volunteer Cavalry, the organization which became better known as the "Rough Riders." A part of the regiment saw active service in Cuba-at Las Guasimas, El Caney and San Juan Hill. The Oklahoma troop was commanded by Capt. Robert B. Huston,1 of Guthrie. The Indian Territory troop was commanded by Capt. Allyn K. Capron, who was killed in action at Las Guasimas.2
Under the second call for volunteers, Oklahoma was permitted to raise a battalion of four companies, which was assigned to the First Regiment of Territorial Volunteers, the other two battalions being recruited in New Mexico, Arizona and the Indian Territory. The four companies of the Oklahoma Battalion of the First Territo- rial Regiment were mustered in at various points in the territory and were assembled at Fort Reno. The battalion was commanded by Maj. John F. Stone, of Kingfisher. The four company commanders were Capt. Harry Barnes, of Guthrie; Capt. Robert A. Lowry, of Stillwater; Capt. Roy Hoffman, of Chandler, and Capt. Fred L. Boynton, of Kingfisher. After having been drilled for a time at Fort Reno, the battalion was sent to Lexington, Kentucky, where it joined the rest of the regiment. Subsequently, the regiment was
1 Robert B. Huston was born near Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1865. An attorney by profession, he took great interest in military affairs and held the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the first national guard regiment organized in Oklahoma. In the battle of San Juan Hill he was in command of Major Brodie's battalion, after the latter was wounded. After the close of the war with Spain he was recom- missioned in the United States volunteers for service in the Philip- pines, where he died in 1900.
2 Allyn K. Capron was born in 1870. His father was an officer of artillery in the regular army, and he chose to follow the profes- sion of arms. Having had no opportunity to secure an appointment to the military academy at West Point, he enlisted as a private and won his commission by promotion from the ranks. His ambition for promotion led him to seek service with the volunteers at the out- break of the war with Spain. He was killed at Las Guasimas. His father, who was in command of a battery of field artillery with the same army, died very shortly afterward.
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moved to Albany, Georgia, where it remained in camp until mus- tered out after having been in the service seven months. It was designated as the Second Battalion. One company of the First Battalion (Company "D") was from the Indian Territory and was commanded by Capt. Earl Edmonson, the other companies of that battalion being from Arizona.
In addition to the two troops of cavalry and the five companies of infantry which were assigned to the regiments already men- tioned, there were many other young men from the two territories who entered the volunteer service in regiments recruited in neigh- boring states and still others who saw service in the war with Spain as soldiers in the regular army.
THE CRAZY SNAKE UPRISING
Many of the more conservative members of the Creek or Muskogee tribe of Indians, who were not only uneducated but also unable to speak or understand the English language, were greatly dissatisfied with the changes which had been made as the result of the passage of the Curtis Act. They refused to appear before the Dawes Commission for the purpose of choosing allotments and they resented the departure from their old institutions and ways, such as the substitution of United States courts for their tribal courts and the restriction of the powers of their tribal legislative council.
Early in 1901, a large number of these dissatisfied Creek Indians (practically all of whom were full-bloods) proclaimed Chitto Harjo, or Crazy Snake, their hereditary chief, as he was of the old Mus- kogee royal line. He forthwith issued a call for the National Council, consisting of the House of Kings and the House of War- riors, to meet and proclaim the re-establishment of the ancient laws, courts and customs of the Creek Nation. Although the whole proceeding was quiet and orderly, sensational newspaper corre- spondents spread far and wide the story of "an impending up- rising," and so wrought upon the popular imagination of the day that the Government was prevailed upon to send troops to the scene. Chitto Harjo and a number of his followers were arrested and confined for a time.
Alexander Posey, the Creek poet, one of the most enlightened and progressive members of his tribe, though differing widely in opinion from his old fellow-tribesman and kinsman, Chitto Harjo, had a heart full of sympathy and respect for him, as the following
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lines, written upon the capture and imprisonment of the latter, clearly prove :
"Down with him! chain him! bind him fast! Slam the iron door and turn the key! The one true Creek, perhaps the last To dare declare, 'You have wronged me !' Defiant, stoical, silent, Suffers imprisonment !
"Such coarse black hair! such eagle eye! Such stately mien !- how arrow-straight ! Such will ! such courage to defy The powerful makers of his fate ! A traitor, outlaw,-what you will, He is a noble red man still.
"Condemn him and his kind to shame! I bow to him, exalt his name!"
It is worthy of note that the troops sent to the Creek country on account of the Crazy Snake "uprising" consisted of the only company then in garrison at Fort Reno-a mute testimonial, but an eloquent one nevertheless, of the reign of peace which had come to the people of the plains since the establishment of that post, only a little more than a quarter of a century before.
CHAPTER LXXV
THE SEQUOYAH STATEHOOD MOVEMENT
By the terms of the Curtis Act, the tribal government of the five civilized tribes was to be terminated March 4, 1906. At the same time, most of the Indians and many of the whites residing in the Indian Territory had been bitterly opposed to union with Oklahoma, either as territory or as state. Yet, as the time for the dissolution of tribal relations drew near, it was evident that some other form of civil organization would have to be substituted for the autonomous national governments of the several tribes. The long fight for separate statehood in the Territory of Oklahoma was apparently ended, as indicated by the big statehood convention held at Oklahoma City, June 12, 1905, but the fight for separate statehood was not yet ended in the Indian Territory. Indeed, just about the time the statehood convention was in session at Oklahoma City, preparations were being made for the calling of a convention to frame a constitution to enable the Indian Territory to apply for admission into the Union as a state. This constitutional convention was called to meet at Muskogee, August 21, 1905. The official call for the selection of delegates to the same was as follows:
"We, the chief executives of the Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole and Creek nations, have in conference agreed to carry out the call for a constitutional convention made by the principal chief of the Choctaw Nation and the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, for August 21, 1905, as being adequate and binding upon all the nations under their compact to convene at the call of the chief executives of the nation wherein the recording town is located. The original call for this convention is hereby modified and ex- tended as follows:
"On or before the fifth day of August, each chief executive in jurisdiction as above specified will designate such persons as he deems proper to act as presiding officer of said mass meetings for the selection of such delegates and alternates.
"If, for any reason, such presiding officer should not appear
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and preside, then the meeting is authorized to fill the vacancy. A list of delegates and alternates selected at such meetings shall at once be certified by the chairman to the chief executives of such nations and such certificates thereupon being endorsed by said chief executives shall constitute credentials necessary to entitle such dele- gates and alternates to membership in the constitutional convention ยท to be held August 21, 1905. The convention when assembled shall have full power to direct its subsequent proceedings.
(Signed) W. C. ROGERS,
Principal Chief Cherokee Nation.
GREEN MCCURTAIN,
Principal Chief Choctaw Nation.
P. PORTER, Principal Chief Creek Nation.
J. F. BROWN, Principal Chief Seminole Nation.
GEO. W. SCOTT, Secretary, Kinta."
The convention met at Muskogee on the date specified, with 150 delegates in attendance (182 delegates had been elected but not all of thiem attended). D. C. McCurtain, of the Choctaw Nation, acted as temporary chairman. The permanent organization was effected by electing Principal Chief Pleasant Porter, of the Creek Nation,1 as president of the convention and Alexander Posey,
1 Pleasant Porter was born on a plantation near Clarksville, in the Creek Nation, September 26, 1840. His paternal grandfather, a native of Pennsylvania, was a captain in the United States army at the time of the Creek war and showed such consideration for the defeated Muskogee Indians that they formally adopted him into their tribe. Years later Pleasant Porter's father, Benjamin E. Por- ter, came to the Creek country, married the daughter of a prominent chief, Tah-to-pee Tust-e-nuk-kee, and settled on a plantation. Pleasant Porter's early life was simple, if not uneventful. His education was secured at the Presbyterian Mission School at Tulla- hassee. At the outbreak of the Civil war he entered the Confederate army as a private. He saw much active service during the war and was promoted through the various grades to the rank of first lieutenant. The close of the war found him, like most of his fellow tribesmen, penniless. He began life then as a farmer. His first official position in civil life was that of superintendent of schools in the Creek Nation, in which capacity he reorganized the educational system of the Creek Nation, which had ceased to exist during the war. His ability becoming recognized, his services were soon in Vol. II-25
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also of the Creek Nation, as secretary.2 The vice president of the convention was Charles N. Haskell, a non-citizen resident of
PLEASANT PORTER
Muskogee. An outline of the work to be done by the convention was made and committees were appointed, after which the con-
demand as a representative of his people at Washington. As the commander of the Creek national forces during the Spiechee war he showed not only courage but good judgment and tact as well. During the later years of his life he occupied the position of prin- cipal chief of the Creek Nation. His attainments and integrity were such that he easily ranked as one of the most distinguished and influential Indians of his time. His death occurred at Vinita, in September, 1907.
2 Alexander Lawrence Posey was born August 3, 1873, near Eufaula, in the Creek Nation. His father was a white man of Scotch-Irish descent, born about 1842, and a native of the Indian Territory, being the son of white intruders in the Cherokee Nation.
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vention proper took a recess for two weeks to give opportunity for the preliminary committee work.
When the convention reassembled on the 5th of September, the work of the committees was submitted and the process of combin- ing, arranging and revising was begun. The convention remained in session several weeks, during the course of which it labored ' industriously on the framing of the constitution for the proposed State of Sequoyah, to be composed of the area then known as the Indian Territory. This instrument, as finally completed and ap- proved by the convention, was divided into eighteen articles, which
Alexander Posey's mother was a full-blood Creek Indian woman. Until he was twelve years old he spoke only the mother tongue of the Creek or Muskogee Indians. Then his father, who was in inde- pendent circumstances, employed a private teacher and compelled the son to learn to speak English. A year or two later he was sent to the public (tribal) school at Eufaula. When he was seventeen years old he entered Bacone University, at Muskogee. There he acted as librarian, learned to set type in the printing office of the Instructor, a small paper published by the faculty, and discovered his own bent for literary work. In October, 1892, he published "The Comet's Tale," a poem of nearly three columns which gave the Indian tradition of the coming of the first ships of the white men to discover America. Other contributions followed. Imme- diately after his graduation, in 1895, he entered Creek politics, being elected to the House of Warriors, which was the popular branch of the Creek legislative council. In 1896 he was appointed superin- tendent of the Creek Orphan Asylum, at Okmulgee. In May of that year he married Miss Minnie Harris of Fayetteville, Arkansas, who was a teacher in the same institution. In October, 1897, he resigned his position as superintendent of the orphan asylum and, two months later, he was appointed superintendent of public in- struction for the Creek Nation. All this time he was writing as inspiration prompted, his wife assuming the management of his business affairs in order that he might not be disturbed in his literary work. He soon resigned his official position to settle on his farm, near Stidham. He was a great lover of Nature and seemed to hold communion with the birds, bees and flowers. Then he was called to the superintendency of the Creek National High School, at Eufaula. Having rehabilitated that, he was asked to do the same for a similar institution at Wetumka, but he soon relinquished that to take charge of the publication of the Indian Journal, at Eufaula. There he had his greatest literary opportunity, develop- ing marked ability as a satirist and causing his fame to spread far beyond the bounds of the Creek Nation. His inimitable "Fus Fix- ico" letters, in which he humorously discussed the white man's politics through the medium of dialogues between some fictitious characters who were typical of the older and more conservative
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