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 37
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were subdivided into 309 sections.3 It was radically progressive in some of its provisions, though it did not go so far in the way of detail as did the Oklahoma constitution which was formulated 11/2 years later. The convention also chose four representatives to present the constitution, thus formed and submitted to a vote of the people, to Congress and ask for the passage of an enabling act.
The proposed constitution divided the Indian Territory into forty-eight counties. Twenty of these counties were given Indian names; eight were named for prominent Federal officials or non- citizen politicians; two (Washington and Jefferson) were named for Presidents of the United States; four received geographic names which perpetuated the old tribal districts or counties; and the other fourteen were christened in honor of as many prominent men or families among the several tribes. It is worthy of note, also, that nine of the counties thus proposed were approximately recre- ated, under the same names respectively, by the Oklahoma consti- tutional convention, namely, Jefferson, Garvin, Johnston, McCur- tain, Sequoyah, Okmulgee, Muskogee, Mayes and Seminole.
The Sequoyah constitution was formally published to the people of the Indian Territory, October 14, 1905, and an election pro- claimed for its ratification or rejection, the same to be held on the 7th of November following. This election, which was the first of any kind in which the whole people of the Indian Territory had
Creek full-blood element-Wolf Warrior, Hot Gun and others-who talked in the Creek-English dialect, were widely copied by the press of states far from Oklahoma, where the real force of their satire could not be appreciated because of the fact that its objects were unknown. Because of his sympathy for the ignorant people of his tribe, whose interests were jeopardized in the readjustment incident to the allotment of lands in severalty, he gave up newspaper work to become a field agent of the Dawes commission, in which capacity he rendered valuable service. In 1905 he was selected as a delegate to the Sequoyah Constitutional Convention and was chosen as its secretary. The simple, terse, clear English of the instrument framed by that convention is said to have been largely due to the writing and revising of Alexander Posey. May 27, 1908, he was drowned in the North Canadian River-the loved Oktahutchee of his dreams and poems. His pen name was Chinnubie Harjo. His poems were distinguished for their strength, beauty and sentiment, and many of them were veritable music in words. "Bob White," "To an Indian Meadow Lark," "Nightfall," "Trysting in the Clover," "The Homestead of Empire" and "The Red Man's Pledge of Peace" are some of his most notable compositions.
3 The full text of the Sequoyah Constitution is to be found in the Oklahoma Red Book, Vol. II, pp. 623-674.
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ever participated, resulted in the casting of 65,352 votes, 56,279 of which were cast for the ratification of the constitution and 9,073 against the ratification. As this was but little more than half the number of votes cast by the people of the same area in the election held for the ratification of the Oklahoma constitution less than two years later, it is fair to presume that there was consid- erable apathy on the part of some of the people of the Indian Terri- tory in regard to the proposed State of Sequoyah.
The Sequoyah constitution was duly presented to the attention of Congress but with little hope and less show of favorable action in regard thereto, for separate statehood, so far as Congress was concerned, was an issue which would not again be revived. Among the people of Oklahoma Territory there was a disposition to make light of the Sequoyah statehood movement, because they regarded it as a forlorn hope from the first announcement of the plan. Yet, notwithstanding the fact that it may have appeared impractical to those who had been through the struggle over the question of single and donble statehood in Oklahoma Territory, the Sequoyah state- hood movement served a very beneficent purpose in that it paved the way for the union of the two territories by preparing the minds of the people of the Indian Territory for the change when it did come. Moreover, as the people of the other territory learned to their astonishment and chagrin, during the sessions of the Okla- homa constitutional convention, the Sequoyah movement had also resulted in the development of a trained and organized leadership, with a capacity for "team work" which enabled it to dominate the convention and virtually dictate the essential terms of the con- stitution.
Parenthetically, it may not be out of place to state that there was always a vein of demagoguery in the opposition to the union of the two states, whether manifested in Oklahoma or in the Indian Territory. Appeals to partisan, sectional and racial prejudices were freely resorted to. A stock argument against single state- hood much used in Oklahoma was to the effect that there were no public roads in the Indian Territory and that, allotted lands not being subject to taxation, the west end of the proposed state would be heavily taxed to pay for the right-of-way and construction of the same. On the other hand, in the Indian Territory, it was freely argued that Oklahoma not only tolerated saloons at that time but that it would always continue to legalize the liquor traffic, whereas, the Indian Territory had always been under prohibition and did not wish to be "hitched in double harness" with a commonwealth
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which believed in licensing the dram-shop. Happily, these and other arguments equally as far-fetched, did not serve to influence or affect the result and the prejudices, and dislikes of other days have been dissipated as the people of the two sections of the state have come to know each other better.
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CHAPTER LXXVI
THE COURTS OF OKLAHOMA AND INDIAN TERRITORY
The first court established in the present State of Oklahoma, other than the Indian tribal courts, was the United States Court of the Indian Territory, which was established at Muskogee. Its jurisdiction 'did not include the whole of the Indian Territory, however, all of the Chickasaw Nation and a large part of the Choctaw Nation being attached to the jurisdiction of the Eastern District of Texas. The first Federal judge appointed to preside over the court thus established in the Indian Territory was Gen. James M. Shackleford, of Indiana.1
By the terms of the Organic Act, the Supreme Court of the Territory of Oklahoma was to consist of one chief justice and two associate justices, all of whom were to serve as district judges as well as members of the appellate tribunal. With only seven coun- ties in the territory, and none of these densely populated, the work of the district and supreme courts was not heavy at first. But the increase in the number of counties soon created a demand for an increase in the number of judges and two more justices were added to the Supreme Court of the territory. The judges were appointed for the term of four years, but in 1893 some changes were made for purely partisan reasons without waiting for the terms of appointment to expire.
In some of the sparsely settled western counties, where the lawless element had never been entirely cowed and tamed, the
1 .James M. Shackleford was born in Kentucky, in 1827. While still a boy in years, he served as a lieutenant of Kentucky volun- teers during the war with Mexico. After his return to civil life he studied law and was admitted to the bar. During the Civil war he served as a colonel and brigadier-general in the Union Army and was commanding a division of cavalry before the end of the war. After the war was ended he settled in Indiana, where he became prominent in political affairs. He served as judge of the Federal Court in the Indian Territory from 1889 to 1893. After his re- tirement from the bench he engaged in the practice of his profession at Muskogee. He died in 1909.
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sessions of the district court were usually considered to be notable events and the attendance usually included a relatively large per- centage of the population. As most of the counties had no railway connections, the judge and some of the attorneys traveled from one county seat to another in private conveyances and not infrequently they met with thrilling experiences on the way.
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U. S. COURT OFFICERS, MUSKOGEE
As the population of Oklahoma was rapidly increasing, there were one or more bills before Congress at every session for the purpose of still further increasing the number of judges or justices of the Supreme Court. Finally, after the opening of the Comanche- Kiowa and Wichita-Caddo Indian reservations to settlement, in the summer of 1901, it became imperative that there should be some additional judges appointed. During the next session, Con- gress passed an act adding two more justices to the Territorial
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Supreme Court, which act was approved, May 2, 1902, thus increas- ing the total number of justices (who also served as judges of the district courts) to seven. Under the provisions of the Organic Act, the members of the Territorial Supreme Court also had full jurisdiction as United States district judges, so, during its terri- torial regime, there was no exclusive Federal Court within its limits.
The location of the Federal Court for the Indian Territory at Muskogee did not give satisfaction to the more remote portions of the territory as railroads were few and the seat of the court was difficult of access. Consequently, two years later, a supplemental act was passed by Congress, reorganizing the court in three divi- sions, with sessions to be held at Muskogee for the division to be composed of the Cherokee and Creek nations and the reservations attached to the Quapaw Agency; at South McAlester, for the Choctaw Nation ; and at Ardmore, for the Chickasaw and Seminole nations. This afforded some relief, though the difficulty of reach- ing the seats at which sessions of the court were held still occa- sioned great inconvenience.
By an act of Congress approved March 1, 1895, the Indian Territory was divided into three judicial districts, respectively designated as the Northern, Central and Southern, and the number of Federal judges was increased to three. The Northern District included the Cherokee Nation and the reservations in the Quapaw Agency, the Central District included the Creek and Seminole nations; and the Southern District included the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations. The three district judges were ex-officio jus- tices of the Indian Territory Court of Appeals, which had its seat at McAlester. The respective jurisdictions of the District and Appellate courts in the Indian Territory were practically analogous to those of the District and Supreme courts in Oklahoma.
Under the terms of an act of Congress approved June 7, 1897, another judicial district, to be designated as the Western District, was added to the court system of the Indian Territory and another judge and a full complement of court officers were appointed, the judge being also a member of the Court of Appeals. The court officers, beside the judge, consisted of a district attorney, a United States marshal and a court clerk, in addition to which there were a number of minor officials.
When the first Federal Court was established in the Indian Territory, the laws of the State of Arkansas, insofar as the same were not in conflict with the laws of the United States, were
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prescribed by act of Congress to be in force and effect in the Indian Territory as regards all forms of civil procedure, misdemeanors, punishments, etc. Subsequent acts of Congress continued and ex- tended the application and adoption of the statutes of Arkansas. The laws of the Indian Territory included also special acts of Congress, parts of appropriation acts, parts of Indian treaties and agreements, precedents established by the Federal courts of the territory and rules laid down by the Dawes Commission and ap- proved by the Secretary of the Interior; so, taken altogether, the jurisprudence of the realm of the red man was quite a compli- cated one.
The act of March 1, 1895, also authorized the Federal judges in the Indian Territory to appoint United States commissioners, not to exceed six in each district. The court of each United States commissioner was clothed with power and authority. corresponding with that of a justice of the peace in a state or an organized terri- tory. A constable was also appointed for each United States commissioner's court.
By the act of June 28, 1898 (the Curtis Law), the tribal courts were abolished. Thenceforth, all legal actions, cases and causes of every class and kind whatsoever were brought before the Federal courts in the Indian Territory.
The number of towns in each judicial district in the Indian Territory in which terms of the Federal Court were held was increased from time to time by Congressional enactment, and appro- priations were made for the erection of Federal court houses and jails in a number of these "court towns." A deputy court clerk was appointed for each "court town" also. When the work of allotment began, some provision had to be made for the recording of deeds. An act of Congress approved February 19, 1903, pre- scribed the boundaries of twenty-five recording districts in the Indian Territory, in each of which the deputy clerk of the Federal District Court was constituted a recorder of deeds ex-officio.
An act of Congress, approved April 28, 1904, authorized the appointment of one additional Federal judge for each of the four judicial districts in the Indian Territory. The four new judges thus appointed were not to be members of the Indian Territory Court of Appeals, neither had they authority to appoint court clerks,' United States Commissioners or constables.
In the entire history of the Federal Courts in the Indian Terri- tory, all of the judges were appointed from outside the territory, and some democratic newspapers published in the Indian Territory
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during the Cleveland administration (1893-7) complained of "carpet bag" courts and court officials quite as much as they did during the succeeding administrations. District attorneys, United States marshals, district court clerks and deputy court clerks were also mostly imported from "the states;" nor did it end with these, for many of the United States Commissioners, constables and court bailiffs were likewise appointed from outside the ter- ritory. While the organized territories were always insisting upon "home rule" in the matter of Federal appointments, the Indian Territory was always regarded by the political powers at Washington as a sort of satrapy wherein appointments miglit be made to pay political debts or to make places for men for whom provision had to be made somewhere. Several former members of Congress sat on the bench of the Federal Courts of the Indian Territory during this period, while former state officials might have been found occupying positions as United States Commis- sioners.
A unique feature of railroading in the Indian Territory during this period was the prison car which was used at stated seasons to transport persons convicted by the Federal Courts in the Indian Territory to penitentiaries in other parts of the country.
CHAPTER LXXVII
AGRICULTURAL AND MINERAL DEVELOPMENT
At the beginning of this period, Oklahoma Territory had a population of 61,834, while the population of the Indian Territory was 180,182-an aggregate of 242,016 inhabitants in both terri- tories. Ten years later, in 1900, the population of Oklahoma had increased to 398,331, while that of the Indian Territory was 392,060-an aggregate of 790,391 for both territories. In the special census which was taken in July, 1907-just before the close of this period-the population of the two territories combined was 1,414,177-almost twice what it was in 1900 and nearly six times as many as was shown by the census of 1890. During the decade between 1890 and 1900, when the population of the two territories more than trebled, the increase was chiefly in the rural districts, as the population of the largest towns in the two territories in 1900 barely exceeded 10,000.
Such an increase in the rural population was attended by a large increase in the volume of farm products grown and marketed. More than half of the area of the state is included in the cotton growing region and the production of that staple steadily increased with the population throughout this period. Most of the wheat was grown then, as now, in the northern, central and more espe- cially in the northwestern portions of the state, the wheat growing area being largely augmented by the opening of the Cheyenne and Arapaho reservation, in 1892, and the Cherokee Strip, in 1893. Many of the first settlers were in straitened circumstances when they first arrived in the country and did not even have the means to purchase seed. In the autumn of 1890, the settlers who had arrived the year before were desirous of planting an extensive acreage in wheat, yet the seed was lacking. At this juncture, Henry E. Asp, an attorney of Guthrie, who was connected with the legal department of the Santa Fe. Railway, took the matter up with the railway authorities, with the result that the Santa Fe and Rock Island companies both agreed to furnish seed wheat to the farmers and permit them to return the same after harvest the
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next year, without charging interest on the investment thus neces- sitated. There were other instances in which transportation com- panies, banks and other business interests manifested a similar spirit of co-operation with the homesteaders.
Of course the growing of Indian corn was the first thing at- tempted in the way of crop production in every new settlement and, as a rule, with fairly successful results throughout the eastern portion of the state. In the western third of the state, however, the deficiency of rainfall, especially in the middle of the summer season when the need of moisture for the maturing of the corn crop is imperative, was often such that failures proved to be entirely too frequent. Fortunately, the non-saccharine sorghum crops, such as Kafir-corn and Milo-maize were available, first to supplement the Indian corn and afterward to be largely substituted for it. Another crop which was much grown in Western and Northwestern Oklahoma was broomcorn, much of the finest brush produced coming from that section and commanding the highest market prices, though not always until it had passed out of the hands of the produer into those of the speculative buyer.
To hay crops, comparatively little attention was given until the latter part of this period, as prairie hay was plentiful and com- paratively cheap. Alfalfa and some of the clovers were grown to a limited extent. Sorghum sown thickly on the ground was commonly grown as a hay crop.
Horticulture received but limited attention in a few localities, but enough was done in this line to demonstrate that grapes, peaches, apples, plums and several varieties of berries could be grown profitably on a commercial scale. Oklahoma peaches were shipped to England in the summer of 1903 and were sold in the markets of Liverpool at a profit, while hundreds of cars of the same fruit were shipped to the markets of the northern and eastern states in our own country. The culture of potatoes became a spe- cialty also in certain communities, especially in the vicinity of Shawnee and in those of Fort Gibson and elsewhere. Likewise, the culture of sweet potatoes, melons and canteloupes was specially developed in other localities where the local soil and other natural conditions were particularly favorable. While there were several efforts made at different places to develop the canning industry, practically all failed because of the lack of proper organization, or on account of over-capitalization by the promoter who unloaded an inferior plant on the local company.
The poultry business was a branch of agricultural industry
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which prospered almost from the day of settlement in every com- munity. The dairy industry was much slower in developing. A few ercameries were established during the years immediately following the settlement, but, like the canning factories, they were heavily overcapitalized as the result of the smooth-tongued repre- sentations of the professional creamery promoter, and practically all of them failed in consequence. Along toward the end of the period the creamery industry began to be re-established on a more conservative basis and it prospered accordingly.
Although Oklahoma was recognized as a live stock country long before any part of it was opened to white settlement, the live stock industry had to be radically changed as the result of the settle- ment of the country. As most of the settlers were poor, they brought but little stock with them, and development in this line was slow at first. As they became better established and more prosperous, they not only increased the size of their flocks and herds, but also sought to improve the quality of the same by pur- chasing foundation stock of the standard breeds. Even in the eastern part of the state, where range conditions continued much longer, the quality of both cattle and hogs was greatly improved by the introduction of better breeding stock.
COAL
The mining of coal was begun in the Indian Territory, in a small way, fifteen years before the beginning of this period, but the development of the industry was comparatively slow, being confined to two railway lines-the Missouri, Kansas & Texas, and the Fort Smith-Paris line of the 'Frisco. With the beginning of an era of active railway construction during the course of this period, however, the coal mining industry also entered upon a period of more rapid development. With a dozen different lines of railway penetrating the coal fields of Oklahoma, many new mines were opened up and production was greatly stimulated by the construction of railways in the western part of the state which opened up new markets, and also by the rapid growth of cities and towns during the last few years before the advent of state- hood. Eight hundred and sixty-nine thousand, two hundred and twenty-nine tons of coal were mined in the Indian Territory and production was gradually increased, until in 1907 the output of all the mines in the new state amounted to 3,642,658 tons.
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PETROLEUM
Oklahoma is situated in what is known as the Mid-Continent Oil Field, which includes the states of Kansas and Texas. Pros- pecting for oil began in both of the neighboring states as early as 1860, when some oil was secured from shallow wells near .Nacog- doches, Texas, and considerable gas was discovered in Eastern Kansas as early as 1873. The first prospecting was done in Okla- homa in 1884, one well being sunk fourteen miles west of Atoka and another about twenty miles north of Tahlequah. It was ten years before there was any further activity. In 1894 two wells were drilled near Muskogee. These showed good prospects, but no further work was done there until after allotment made it possible to secure titles or leases on deeded property. The real develop- ment of the petroleum industry in Oklahoma began when a pro- ducing oil well was drilled at Red Fork, early in 1901. The field which centered about Tulsa, Sapulpa and Red Fork was gradu- ally expanded. In 1904 began the development in the Osage Nation (to the entire area of which a blanket lease had been executed in 1896) and at Cleveland, in Pawnee County, and there were also some developments in the vicinities of Muskogee, Chelsea, Bartlesville, Dewey, Alluwe and Lenapah. In 1905 the Wheeler district, northwest of Ardmore, was discovered, and in 1906 the famous Glenn Pool was opened. The field about Dewey and the Morris Pool were also developed during the same year.
With such a wide range of development and more or less con- stant expansion of the industry in every field, the oil industry in Oklahoma and the Indian Territory grew rapidly in volume and value. In 1901 the estimated production of crude oil was 10,000 barrels. In 1902, it was 37,100 barrels; in 1903, it was 138,911 barrels; in 1904, it rose to 1,366,748 barrels; in 1905, to 6,466,200 barrels; in 1906, to 18,030,600 barrels, and in 1907, to 43,524,128 barrels of crude oil, valued at $17,213,524. Three pipe lines for the transportation of crude oil were in operation at the close of the period.
NATURAL GAS
The natural gas industry has developed with the oil industry. Due to careless methods of handling the gas, there has been an enormous waste in this business, it being estimated by oil and gas experts that more gas has been wasted as the result of reckless and improvident methods of handling when the wells were. first
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