Notable Men of Indian Territory at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century, 1904-05.

              NOTABLE MEN
OF
INDIAN TERRITORY
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE
TWENTIETH CENTURY
1904 - 1905
Prorr..inent in Business. Fraternal, Religious and Political Circles,
who are making the History of the last new Country.
A Pictorial Collection of Interesting Personalities
EDITED BY
~.
PAUL W. H. DEWITZ.
PUBLISHERS:
SOUTHWESTERN HISTORICAL CO.
P W. H. DEWITZ. Mgr.
MUSKOGEE, INDIAN TERRITORY
( A153D3677379
INTRODUCTION.
ONE of America's most distinguished citizens, referring to this work, declared
it invaluable to him because it brings into view, in compact shape, the
faces of hundreds of his intimate frieuds and acquaintances, the contemplation
of which affords him unbounded pleasure and gratification, besides including, as
it does, an aggregation of Indian Territory men who have in their respective
fields or spheres earned a share of public notice by reason of their intellectual
talents and business ability.
Men come upon the stage of life, play their respective parts in the great
drama of time and events, and then pass away. Some, by reason of the impress
which they make upon those of their time and generation, live on in history
while others-the greater number-die and are forgotten. The love of posthu­mous
fame is inherent in most men. Those who attain to distinction in life are
solicitous that such distinction be transmitted as a legacy to their descendants,
and to posterity outside the bands of consanguinity. This is a noble in­stinct-
one which prompts men to higher aims and deeds, and brings out of each
his best and utmost endeavors to deserve the approbation of his fellow men.
vVe love to contemplate the success of friends in their respective vocations,
and to dwell upon their virtues after they have gone off the stage of life. In no
way can we obtain such a comprehensive and pleasurable view of them, their
just fame, thc:ir virtues and accomplishments, as in a work like this.
The scope of the work and the time alloted rendered it impossible to include
every man prominent in his respective vocation, but we have, we feel assured,
presented within these pages a very great number of the men who have made
their mark, in various ways, and have been active in the upbuilding of the
Indian Territory, and of their home towns of which they are a part.
On account of the great space it would have required, the titles and expla­nations
are not lengthy. In every instance they have been condensed to between
four and seven lines. This brevity was rendered necessary in order to prevent
the work assuming a size too voluminous. In addition to the portraits, their
titles and classifications, there is in this volume an index containing the names
of subjects therein.
At a first glance this might appear to be a plain, simple compilation, but
the preparation of these 181 pages required nearly thirteen months of patient
26 NOTABLE MEX OF IXJ)]AX TERRITORY.
labor, and the work will, we feel assured, receive the approbation of all who take
an interest in biography. The title, "Notable Men of Indian Territory," is
used in its broadest sense. It has been interpreted to mean those who, whether
born within the limits of the Commonwealth or not, represent interests or con­nections
within its borders, or who have served to illustrate or illumine the
progress of the future State. That the work is not complete nor perfect is
admitted. It is hoped, however, that, as a whole, it will receive general ap­proval,
because of the fact that it brings together, at one view as it were,' the
faces of so many who are worthy representatives of their fellowmen in the sev­eral
walks of life.
The uses of a work of this kind are unlimited. Aside from the personal
satisfactio<l or pleasure it affords, it will prove invaluable as a reference book for
libraries, newspaper offices, counting rooms and generally in the homes and places
of business of people everywhere. During the compilation of the work some of
its subjects have pass d away, both young and middle-aged. As the years slip by
others will go, and the steady procession to the grave will go on until all whose
faces appear within tl1ese pages shall have paid the last great debt of nature.
Future generations will then pick up the book, and contemplate with renewed
interest the faces of those on the pages within it. Looking backward as they
gaze, will rise into view those who, in their day and generation, illustrated the
genius and business effort of their time, and who, by their merits and accomplish­ments,
were entitled to be preserved within the pages of "N otabJe Men of Indian
Territory. "
PRINTING.
The printing of a book like this, aside from the great amount of labor
bestowed in the collection of its subjects, and their arrangements, is a notable
undertaking for any publishing house. Each sheet impression is from a form of
sixteen pages, containing sixty-four portraits, everyone of which must be shown
up to its full value. The press work must be A-I, or this value, or acme of ex­cellence,
cannot be satisfactorily set out to the eye. The ordinary high speed
press of the newspaper can rush its forms through. But where there are artistic
features to be sought, or produced, the matter of time and speed are mlllor
considerations.
In fine book-making, the most perfect register and impression are absolutely
nece::sarYi else the end sought will fail of materialization. Hence only the finest
and most perfect presses are used.
XOTABLE ~j EX OF l"(IlIAX TEHI{ITORY. 27
This volume of but ten different for111s-30,ooo 3ox4o-inch sheets-on
which a 1110dern press has been engaged for several months, will afford some idea
of the difference between bo)k and newspaper work. The printing was done by
the Combe Printing Co., St. Joseph, Mo. The style of its execution speaks for
itself, and will bear the inspection of the most critical connoisseur on the
art of book-making.
PHOTOGRAPHS AND ENGRAVING.
Over five hundred portraits, made by the skilled engravers of the Barnes­Crosby
Co., St. Louis, Mo., make this the most comprehensive collection of true
likenesses ever published for any state except New York.
These portraits are all exact reproductions of photographs from life, made
by such eminent artists as
Wilcox Hanly Drum Redmon
Webb Baldwin Holtwick Hughes
Smith Wenkle Cole Gannaway
l\lore than five hundred of such original photographs were made for this
collection, and in order to make a reasonably satisfactory selection, it was found
necessary to accumulate nearly one thousand photographs. The pictures have
been classified into groups, affording at a glance a coterie of those who have
been, or are, conspicuous in any particular vocation.
THE EDITOR.
INDIAN T:ERRITORY
ST:AlISTICAL AND HISTORICAL
BY
COL. CLARENCE B. DOUGLAS
Editor Muskolloe Daily Phoenix
At a time when the foundation stones of the New Commonwealth are being laid
on the crumbling ruins of the governments of the j1""'ive Civilized Tribes, it seems
entirely fitting that some record should be kept of the men who have in the past,
and are now, making the history of what will become a part or all of one of the
greatest states of the Union. \¥ith this thought in mind the publisher of this vol­nme
conceived the idea of leaving to posterity a likeness of the individuals who
have made the history of this country, and who are pounding into shape an O1'gan­ized
form of government to take the place of the chaotic conditions which have he1'e­tofore
prevailed in the Indian Territory.
Most of those mentioned herein belong to that tireless, restless class of Amer­ican
pioneers who have pushed civilization ever towards the setting sun, not sat­isfied
to wait for place and position where it is inherited and handed down from
father to son, and where a man's ability bring's no reward except that it can be de­scended
from generation to generation. It is of the class of men who believe in a
free-for-all race in the battle of life on a broad, open track where there are no handi­caps,
and where each one shows his own ability, that this volume has to do; and
when the history of the transition period through which we are now passing has
been written, the imprint of many of the characters herein portrayed will be found
in indelible letters.
That the competition here is keen Hnd sharp is a well knOvyn fact, and that to
keep up with the human procession requires energy, integrity and a large degree of
indiyiduality, is also tme.
In this country it has not been so much a question of who your father was, or
your grandfather, but the supreme point has been, who and what are you?
'l'he population of the Indian Territory is very cosmopolitan, the sons of Cali­fornia
rubbing elbows ,\lith those of the Carolinas, and the man from "Maine is the
business associate of the brawny Texan. As the American citizen, a composite of
all the nations of the world, is the greatest of all citizens, so is it also true that
~OTAllLE ME); OF Ic\IHAN TERRITORY. 29
the rising generation of this 'ferritory, a composite of all the states of the Union,
will be the greatest of American citizens. In the days yet to come it will be a
pleasant task to review the lives and characters of the dominating spirits of the
present time, and much will be said and written of those whose faces in this vol­nme
will have become familiar.
The Indian Territory is the young man's last land left for settlement in the
domain of the United States. It,is becoming the home of the best blood and brain
and brawn of the Union and will, in time, be developed into one of the richest sec­tions
over which the Flag floats. Situated as it is, south of the blizzard belt
and north of the hot winds, it is safe from the rigors of the Nebraska winter and
free from the devastating heat of 'l'exas. West of the flood lands of the :Mississippi
valley and east of the droughts of the great American plains, it knows no excess
of rainfall and is a stranger to the hot winds of the Ari;wna plains. Nature, in her
lavish mood, showers her blessings on this section of the United States, and intended
that it should be a garden spot, not only for things created and things produced, but
for intellectual giants and for the highest type of the human family.
Thinking that some statistical information regarding the Indian Territory
will be of interest, the following data have been compiled by the editor from the most
reliable sources, and are Rubmitted for the consideration of the reader:
STATISTICAL.
"Indian Territory is situated in the south-central part of the United States,
between latitudes 33° 2G' and 87° 00' and between longitudes 94° 25' and 98° 00'.
It is bounded on the north by Kansas, on the east by ArkanRaR, on the south by
'l'exas, and on the 'west by Oklahoma.
The north boundary is the thirty-seventh parallel; the east boundary, com­mencing
on the south at Red River, in approximate longitude 94° 29', follows a
meridian north to Arkansas river, and thence runs in a direct line to the south­weRt
corner of Missouri, thence it follows the west line of Missouri, which is a me­ridiall
through the mouth of the Kansas river, north to the thirty-seventh par­allel.
'l'he south boundary is the mid-channel of the Red river. The west
boundary commences in Red river at its intersection with the ninety-eighth
meridian and foHows this meridian north to Canadian river, thence south­eastward
along the mid-channel of Canadian river to a point in approximate
longitude 96° 46', where the river interRects the middle line of range five
eaRt. The line then runR north along the range line to its intersection with
the North Fork of Canadian river, which it follows eastward to its intersection with
the range line between ranges six and seven east; thence it follows the range line
north to itR intersection vyith the township line between townships nineteen and
,(OTABLE ,IE/I OF INDIAN TERHITORY.
twenty north, thence eastward along this township line to thc ninety-sixth merid­ian,
which it follows north to the thirtY-3eventh parallel. The area of the Terri­tor,\'
is 31,400 square miles.
'fhe surface presents considerable va "iation of relief, ranging from ruggecl
hills to level or rolling prairie. The nort1ern part, including the western part of
yrhat is known as the Cherokee .:'\ation, is almost a rolling prairie. The eastern
part of this Nation, however, lying nort'1 of Arkansas river and east of Neosho
riYer, is hilly and broken, containing a plrt of the Ozark Plateau, which is deeply
dissected with streams flowing in canyons.
The region between the Arkansas and Canadian is mostly a rolling plain.
South of the Canadian, in the part of the 'I'erritory known as the Choctaw and Chick­asaw
Nations, much of the land is hilly and mountainous, being occupied by the
Ozark hills. These consist mainly of narrow winding ridges, with a general east­west
trend, separated by narrow fertile v'llleys. These hills extend into the 'ferri­tory
from western Kansas and stretch near:y across it, fading out to the westwar'a
in the Chickasaw Nation. North of the Ozark hills the country slopes to the
Arkansas and the Canadian, and south of them to the Red River.
The lowest part of the 'I'erritory, which is the southeast corner on Red rIVer,
lS about 300 feet above sea level, while its greatest altitude is approximately 3,000
feet.
The principal rivers of the Territory are the Canadian, Arkansas, Red, Ver­digris,
Washita and the Blue. The Arkansas crosses it in the northern part,
flowing in a southeasterly direction. Fr;)m the north it receives three large
branches, the Verdigris, the Neosho and the Illinois, and from the south the Cana­dian.
Red river forms the southern boun iary and receives in its course along the
border the waters of Mud Creek, 'Vashita and Blue rivers, Boggy creek and Kiam­ichi
river. Little river joins Red river outside the Territory in Arkansas, and
drains a considerable area in the southeastern part of the Territory.
A bout 62 per cent. of the area of the Territory is wooded. The chief wooded
areas, which lie in the east and southeast, consist of the Ozark Plateau in east­ern
Cherokee Nation and the Ozark hills, mostly in Choctaw Nation. Besides these
areas, timber is found more or less scattered in all parts of the Territory. 'I'he
tim bel' is of great variety; the mountain forests in the eastern and southeastern
parts contain considerable amounts of pine, mixed with hard woods; elsewhere the
forests are everywhere composed of hard woods, comprising oaks, black walnut,
ash, pecan, cottonwood, sycamore, elm, hackberry, maple and many other species.
The climate of the Territory is that of the transition region between the for­ested
lands of the :Mississippi valley and the Great Plains. It is that of the prairie
regJOn. The mean annual temperature of muc·h the largel' part of the 'ferritory
31
ranges between 60° and 65° F., but in the n()rthern part, including most of the Cher­oker
eountry, and in the mountains of th8 southeast, in the Choetaw Nation, the
lllean annual temperature is somewhat 10~\Yer, ranging from 55° to 60°.
The di;;;tribution of mean annual rainfall follows meridians rather than paral­lels.
The eastern part of the Territory is a lmnd:mtly watered, receiving from 40
to 50 inches annually. The western part of the 'rerritory is not so well ~watered, but
still receives a sufficient amount for all ag 'icultural requirements, the precipitation
being from :30 to 40 inches annually.
Almost the entire area of Indian Territory is floored with carboniferous rocks;
only in the southern part of the Territory, along Red river, is any considerable area
ill other formations found. Here there is a belt of cretaceous beds extending over
from central Texas, overlain in a small area in the southeast corner by tertiary rocks.
The western part of the Chickasaw Xation, in the southwestern part of the
Territory, contains an area of jurassic ncks. In the eastern part of the Nation
is a small area of ig'neous rocks, whose eruption has brought to the surface silurian
heds, extending northwestward across the carboniferous and jurassic, belts into
Oklahoma. It is pro ba bly a continuation of the unlift which forms the Wichita
monntains in southeastern Oklahoma.
A t various places in the Choctaw Nation coal has been discovered and is being
mined in large quantities. 'rhe most important of these localities are just east of
::\f e Alester and in the vicinit,v of Coalg·ate. It is an excellent bituminous coal of
('arhoniferous age. In the year 1902 ther3 were mined 2,518,452 tons.
The great hody of the Territory is divided among five tribes-the Cherokee,
~whose reservation is in the northern part; the Creek in the central part; the Semi­nole
just ,Yest of them; the Choctaw in the southeast and the Chickasaw in the
s()llUnY(~st. Besides these there are a number of small tribes who have reserva­tiolls
grouped in the northeast corner of the 'l'erritory. These are:
quapaw, Pem'ia, Modoc, Ottawa, Wyandot and Shawnee. 'rhe Cherokee, Creek,
Choctaw and Chickasaw ~were removed from thE' south to this Territory about 1833.
The Seminoles, who came from Florida, were, after a costly war, removed to their
]H'eHent reRe1'Yatlon in 1845. On these resp,rvations the people have developed a con­siderable
degTee of civilization, and hwe been long known as the Five Civilized
TribE'S. Each tribe has its own system of government, which is patterned in many
ways after our state governments, ~with a governor, a legislature and a judiciary of
11I('i1' own. The lands ~were until recentlv held in common and occnpation gave all
the title that was needed. There was an aJmndance of good land for all and no oc­easion
for the dashing of interests.
The total population of the Territory 111 1900 was 892,060, of which not less
32 XOTABLE MEX 0[<' INDIAX TERRITORY.
than ;m2,680 were whites, 52,500 were Indians, and 36,853 were negroes, either
former slaves of the Indians or their descendants.
'rhe following table shows the number of whites, Indians and negroes in each
of the Nations and reservations:
White Indian Negro
Cherokee Nation ............................................. .
Chickasaw Nation .......................... " ................. .
Choctaw Nation ................................................ .
Creek Nation ........................... , ....................... .
SemInole ...................................................... .
Modoc Reservation ............................................. .
66,591 25,639 9,162
124,306 5,872 9,066
79,332 10,321 10,123
25,187 7,963 7,520
1,143 1,662 981
96 44 .........
Ottawa Reservation ................. , ......................... .
Peoria Reservation . . . . . . . . . . .. . ............................... .
2,029 176 ..........
995 184 .........
Seneca Reservation. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. ... . ..................... . 799 171 .......
Shawnee Reservation .......................................... . 239 58 .... . ...
Wyandot Reservation ........................................ . 992 221 .........
Quapaw ...................................................... . 611 189 " ..... "
Of the total population the males formed 5:3.3 per cent and the females 46.7 per
cent. '1'he population was almost entirely of native origin, the persons born in the
United States forming' 98.8 per cent and the foreign born 1.2 per cent. The whites
constituted 77.2 per cent of the total population, the Indians 13.4 per cent, and the
negroes 9.4 per cent.
The chief industries of Indian Territory are farming and cattle raising. The
rainfall is ample and the soil rich, and nearly every crop produced within the lim­its
of the United States can be raised in the Territory. 'fhe prairies of the Chero­kee
Nation have been in large part leased to cattlemen and. enormous herds range
over them.
In 1900 the number of farms in the Territory was 45,505. Of these 35,451
were occupied by white farmers, 5,957 by Indian farmers, and 4,097 by negro farm­ers.
Only 25.1 pel' cent of these farms were said to be ovyned by the occupants, by
which was meant probably that they were occupied by Indians or squaw-men under
(:ommunal rights; 19.5 per cent were rented for a money rental, and 55.4 per cent
were rented for a share in the products.
The total area included within the farrm; of the 'J'erritory was 7,269,081 acres,
of which 3,062,193 acres were improved. Of the entire area of the 'J'erritory 15.4 per
(~ent was under cultivation. 'fhe average size of the farms was 160 acres, considera­bly
larger than the average in the United States.
;\;OTABLE MEN OF ["DIAN 'l'EHUITOHY. 33
The following table itemizes the value of farms:
VALUE OF FARMS, ETC., OF INDIAN TERRITORY IN 1900.
Land. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . ................................................... $39,188,250
Buildings .................... ',' . . . . . . . . . .. ........... ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 7,675,190
Implements and machines ............................ ........................... 3,838,480
Live stock ........................................... ........................... 41,378,695
Total value ................................................................. $92,080,615
Average value per farm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,026
Value of products ............................................................. " 27,602,002
Average annual value per farm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 608
The following ta ble shows the products of Iudian Territory in 1899:
PRINCIPAL FARM PRODUCTS OF INDIAN TERRITORY IN 1899.
Corn.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .......................................... bushels ..
Wheat. ................................................................... do ... .
Oats ..................................................................... do ... .
Hay ..................................................................... tons .. .
Cotton ............ . ........................................ ' ........... bales .. .
The following table shows the number of live stock:
STATISTICS OF LIVE STOCK OF INDIAN TERRITORY IN 1900.
Neat cattle .................................................................... .
Horses...................................... . ............................ .
Mules ......................................................................... .
Sheep ......................................................................... .
Swine ........................................................................ .
30,709,420
2,203,780
4,423,810
400,393
143,608
Number.
1,499,364
217,699
56,858
17,005
650,255
Value of animals sold in 1900 ................................................. $ 6,415,707
Railroad mileage in recent years has been greatly increased; in 1902, there
,,'ore 1.800 miJes wi.thin the 'l'erritory.
Manufactnres are not extensive; the conntry is too young and too little devel­oped
for this branch of industry to have mnch importance. In 1900 manufactur­ing
estahlishments with a product of over $600 each numbered only 789, and the
capital employed in them '\'OlS $2,624,265. 'l'here were 1,849 employees and the net
prod\lct, after deducting the value of the raw material was $3,892.181. The chi.ef in­dustries
were cotton ginning, with 187 gim;: flour milling, with 61 mills, and lum­lwr
making, 'with fj sawmills.
The enti.re Territory, with the exception of the small reservations in the north­east
corner, has he(m surveyed and mapped on the scale of 1 :125,000 by the United
States Geological Survey in connection with the subdivision of the lands, which was
execnted by that organization.
The total of non-taxable lands is as follows: Seminoles, 110,160 acres; Cher­okees,
1,400,000 acres: Creeks, 596,960 acres; Choctaws and Chickasaws, 500,000
acres; total. 2,112,120 acres. The Quapaw reservation in the northeast part of the
Cherokee Nation is omitted. It contained 25,000 acres and has all been allotted.
The total acreage in the Cherokee Nation is in the neighborhood of 5,031,351;
34 XOTABLE MEl, 01,' INDIAN TERRITORY.
reserved for townsites, 6,887.65 acres; reserved for schools and churches, 1,000
acres; reserved for railroads, 10,000 acres; total, 18,000. 'fhe total amount of acres
subject to allotment'in the Cherokee Nation is 5,013,35l.
There are approximately 36,000 allottees in the Cherokee Nation and about
1,500,000 acres of land is non-taxable. The following property in the Nation will
be subject to taxation: Allotments, 3,631,315 acres; town sites, 6,887 acres; rail­road
right of way 615 miles.
The total acreage of land in the Seminole Xation is 365,851.57 acres; reserved
for townsites, schools, railroads and churches, 2,272.6:1 acres; subject to allotment,
363,578.92 acres; already allotted, 244,948.28 acres, or nearly all of it; a surplus is
left of 18,630.64 acres which have not been allotted. The homesteads of the allottees
are free from taxation, and consist of forty acres each. There are 2,754 allottees,
so that the total number acres reserved from taxation ag'gregate 110,160, leav­ing
subject to taxation in this Nation: Farm lands, 258,418.92 acres; \¥ ewoka
townsite 625.70 acres; Choctaw, Oklahoma & Gulf Railroad and St. Louis, Oklahoma
& Southern Railroad, 25 miles.
Total acreage in the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations is approximately 11,-
338,935 acres. Reserved from allotment: Townsites, :32,843.57 acres; railroads,
20,000 acres; schools, churches, etc., 5,000 acres: coal and asphalt, 500,000 acres;
total, 558,000 acres; leaving subject to allotment, ] 0,780,9:35 acres. None of the
allotments are exempt from taxation, and the following property of these Nations
will be subject to taxation soon as allotments are completed: Alloted lands, 10,-
780,9:35 acres; mineral lands to be sold by the Interior department, 500,000 acres;
railroads, ] ,360 miles.
The total acreage of the Creek ~ation is 3,172,813.77 acres; reserved for town­sites,
schoolR, churches, etc., estimated, 15,000 acres; subject to allotment,3,157,81i3.15
acres; allotted, 277,262.44 acres; not allotted, 980,550.72 acres. Homesteads are
free from taxation, and are estimated at 40 acres to the allottee, or land equal in
value to 40 acres of the average allotable land. There are 14,824 allottees, mak­ing
the total acreage exempt from taxation a bout 596,000 acres, and leaving the
following property in this Nation subject to taxation: Allotments, 2,560,853.19
acres; townsites, 10,546.79 acres; railroad mileage, 400 miles.
A revolution has been effected in the Indian Territory in regard to the govern­ment
and policy of the United States towards and concerning the Indians in partic­ular,
and the whole population in general, and a total and radical change has been
made as to the land titles and tenures of the Indians. The great transformations
which have been accomplished in these respects in the last ten years, and those
which are proposed and are pending, have attracted general attention towards the
Territory. So much so that newspaper offices, postoffices and private individuals
XO'l'AllLE MEN OF IXDIA)'; TERRITORY.
are the recipients of constant and increasing requests for all manner of information
in regard to the Territory. For the purpose of answering these inquiries, in a meas­nre,
this article was prepared and published in an edition of the Muskogee Phoe­nix.
HISTORICAL.
Up to the early part of this century the history of the eountry now known as
the Indian Territory is obseure and unimportant. It was a part and parcel of the
wild west, the habitat of the buffalo, antelope, deer, bear and other wild game ana
animals. Occasional bands of roving Osages, Pawnees and Plains Indians came to
it to hunt and fish, and French and American hunters and trappers sometimes passed
through and over it. It is quite possible that the Spaniard, Cabeza de Baca and his
companions, the ill-fated Narvaez expedition to Florida, who were finally ship­wrecked
and cast upon the Texas coast in 1588, eame within the Territory, and if
so, they were the first ~white men ever within its borders. It is very probable, al­most
certain, that Coronado, with his exploring expedition from New Mexico, tra­versed
the noble forests and grass-covered plains of the Indian Territory as early as
1541 in search of the fabulous city of Quivira. This is conjectural history, but it is
certain that in 1808 Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States, and the first
expansionist, bought from Napoleon Bonaparte, first Consul of the Republic of
France, this Territory as a part of the Jjouisiana Purchase. In 1806 he sent Lieut.
Zebulon Pike of the United States Army with a detachment of twenty-two soldiers
to explore and locate Red River, from its source to its mouth, as the generally con­sidered
boundary between the United Stales and the Spanish possessions in North
America. But the Spanish claimed the Arkansas river, and were on the outlook
to guard their frontier. Lieut. Melgares of the Spanish army was dispatched from
Santa Fe, New Mexico, with a troop of 100 dragoons and 500 militia to intercept
Pike and drive him back. Melgares, with his army, followed Red River down from
its source on the Staked Plains to where Denison, 'l'exas, is now located, and failing
to find the Americans turned to the north, and unquestionably marched across the
Indian Territory to the Pawnee country, now the state of Kansas. Pike continued
his journey to the Rocky Mountains on the west, unmolested, and discovered the fa­mous
peak which has ever since borne his name.
But the real history of the Indian 'rerritory began when the civilized Indians
migrated hither from the southern states. Fort Gibson was established about 1828,
then on the extreme frontier of the United States, as a protection to the Indians and
an advance guard against the Spanish aggressions on the south and west. The fa­mous
Sam Houston of Tennessee and Texas resided there for awhile, and still the
more famous vVashington Irving in 1882 made his trip from that post to the west-
NOTABLE ~IEN OF JNDIAN TERRITORY.
ern plains, which he has so graphically described in his" Tour of the Prairies." The
first prairie he ever saw is where Wagoner is now situated. The "Bee Hunter" ex­ploit
was in the Choska bottomR, on the Arkansas river, and the adventure of "Ring­ing
the \Vild Horses" occurred on the north bank of the Canadian river about
]]orth of where Purcell iR now situated. Fort Gibson was the most famous of west­ern
frontier posts. At one time or another nearly all the officers of the old regular
army who rORe to fame in the civil war on one side or the other were stationed there.
Zachariah 'J'aylor waR there, and the ruins of the old log house where his famous
son-in-law, ,Jefferson Davis, lived is still pointed out. \Volf hunting along the
streamR between Fort Gibson and Tahlequah was an enjoyable pastime for the young
officers of the post in early days. Those early times wcre the days of romance and
adventure, HR well as of hardRhip and endurance.
ORIGINAL POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT.
The Indian Territory was on the extreme western frontier of the United States
at that time, but it was destined to be occupied and settled much sooner than any
other portion of the country west of the :lHississippi river. The hardy American
frontiersmen who in the early part of this century were pushing acrOSR the Alle­gheny
l\IountainR to Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi,
elearing the lands and opening theRe new territories to settlement, and fitting them
to become future states, were not to be the pioneers of this country. It was set apart
for the Indians, to be settled and occupied by them as a home forever, "as long as
thc grass grows and water runs." The white settlers were rapidly intruding upon
t he Indian country in the southern states eaRt of the Mississippi, and difficulties
and conflicts between the races were engendered by this contact. It soon became
manifest that they could not dwell together in peace and harmony, but the Indians
would be overwhelmed, swallowed up and lost as tribes in the ever increasing tide
of white immigration to those states. It was evident that in order to preserve their
rig'hts and tribal organizations the Indians must be removrd and isolated from the
white settlements. '1'he United States then concluded to try a gigantic experiment.
It formulated the plan to remove the CherokeeR, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws and
Seminoles bodily, as tribes, from their old homes east of the Mississippi river and
transplant them in this new territory, where it was anticipated they would take
root and flonrish, forever free from white intrusion. 'l'his Territory was the "ul-tima
thule" of the United States, its most extreme western possession available for
settlement. It was thought that it would be many deeades before the whites WOLlq
cncroach npon the Territory or come in serious contact with its borders; and that in
the far distant future, by the time the white settlements had reached it, the Indians
wonld be so far advanced in the arts of civilization, the ways of peace and the
NOTABLE MEN OF INDIAN TERRITORY. 37
science of government that they would be ampJy able to take care of themselves,
and the 'l'erritory could then be erected into a great and homogeneous Indian state
of the American Union.
The declared policy and plan was to reserve the Indian Territory for the In­dians,
and when this determination was settled the government went to work to
cary it out vigorously and in good faith. The Western, or Old Settler Cherokees,
came first, about 1810, of their own volition, and settled in western Arkansas and
the eastern border of the present Cherokee Nation. Between 1830 and 1840, by
much persuasion, treaties, conferences, pow-wows, some trouble and bad blood,
grievous hardshIps and a show of military force under General Scott, the remaining
Cherokees and the other four civilized tribes were removed from their country east
of the MissisRippi and safely domiciled in the Indian 'l'erritory.
For fifty years the government tried by every means to enforce and carry out
the policy above outlined. It Rought to make it effective by the mORt Rtringent leg­islation
and regulations of the Interior Department. Only certain classes of white
people, such as preachers, teachers, agents of the government and attaches of the
army, were allowed in the Territory. All others were excluded and had no rights
here, except by permit of the Indians. A white man, a free born citizen of the
United States, coming here, had but few privileges, and what he did enjoy were sim­ply
by sufferance. He could not legally own or occupy land, or raise stock, or own
houses. lIe was subject to be ejected at any time on complaint made to the author­ities,
and heavy penalties were pronounced against him if he returned to the Terri­tory.
He could not vote or hold office, or sit on juries, or participate in politics or
conventions. By coming here he simply expatriated himself, and renounced for the
time his birthright and his freedom, and the government said that must be so, be­cause
he was ont of his proper place and had no business to be here. He only had
the right to live, breathe and labor, if he behaved himself, and that for no longer
than a year at a time, by written permission. 'l'rade and intercourse with the In­dians
were regulated by law and were confined to bonded traders. Everything -vyas
done which could be done to fence the whites out, but unforeseen conditions and un­anticipated
circumstances have simply broken down the barriers and rendered the
good purpORes of the government nugatory. The rising tide of western immigra­tion
filled Arkansas to the brim, swept over the plains of Kansas and Texas, occupied
the great northwest, the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific slope. Small streams of
white population began to percolate through the barriers surrounding the Indian
Territory; they grew rapidly in size and force until the dams were about down and
the flood gates opened. The government had recognized the inevitable and had
yielded to uncontrollable circumstances. It cannot do the impossible and create and
2
il8 i'iOTABLE MEX OF INDIAN TERRITORY.
preserve a vacuum forever. Necessity has forced the adoption of a new purpose
and policy which will be more fully explained hereafter.
LAND AND LAND TITLES.
'rhere is no government land in the Indian Territory. The Indians were the
owners of all of it; that is, the United States granted and patented the land to the
various tribes or nations of Indians, and the fee simple title to the land (barring a
reversion to the United States in case the Indians become extinct), was vested in the
different nations of Indians for the use of their citizens. 'rhus, for instance, the
Cherokee Nation, as a nation and municipal corporation, was the owner of the legal
title to all the lands of the Cherokee Nation. The use of this land by the individ­nal
Indian citizen has heretofore been regulated and controlled by the various In­dian
governments, and has generally been on the plan to allow an Indian citizen to
take up any unoccupied land and have the use of all he could fence and cultivate by
himself or tenants. 'rhe land thus taken up and marked as his he had the right to
occupy and possess and use all of his life; and all the right he had in the land de­scended
to his heirs. He had the right to sell and dispose of it to any other citizen
of the same nation as himself. But if he abandoned it for a certain length of time
it was considered as vacant and liable to be taken up by any other citizen. The right
of an individual Indian to sell or lease the land he occupied to a citizen of the
United States had been heretofore prohibited by the laws of Congress; but in spite
of prohibitory legislation a system of renting had grown up and prevailed all over
the Territory. Under the Indian laws an individual Indian citizen was allowed to
employ a white man as a laborer by taking out a permit for him for a stipulated fee
paid to the !Indian treasury. 'l'he permit gave the white man the right to reside in
the country with his family and work for the Indian for a year. He cultivated the
Indian's lands and paid him with a share of the crop. This permissive system, at
first sparingly exercised, grew to great proportions, after Texas, Kansas and the
northwest territories became settled up, and year by year white people steadily
came to the Indian Teritory and engaged in farming Indian lands on these short
rent terms. Leases could not be legally made and enforced in the courts, but still,
simply on the good faith of the parties, leases for terms of years were made and ex­ecuted,
and many are now in process of execution. A white man would agree with
an Indian to clear, break and put in culti vation a certain tract of land, provided he
was allowed to have the entire produce from it for five or ten years, as the case
might be, the Indian to have possession of the land and improvements at the end of
the period. 'l'here was no law to enforce such a contract, but they were usually car­ried
out in letter and spirit, and by this means the white man, as actual tenant to the
Indian, put into cultivation thommnds of acres of valuable and productive lands in
NOTABLE l\IEN O~' INDIAN TERRITORY. 39
the 'l'erritory, and the white population h'ls become largely the most numerous
throughout the Territory.
This system of land tenure proved vicious in many ways. It enabled the enter­prising
and forehanded Indian citizen to use more than his share of the lands, and
to take up and occupy by means of white tJnants large tracts and many farms of the
best agricultural lands. Great bodies of grass lands were likewise enclosed with
wire fence, and by one subterfuge or another filled annually with 'l'exas cattle. This
was good for the few, but it was an unequal use of common property, and failed to
benefit the mass of Indian citizens. It also discouraged good farming and good hus­bandry.
The renter had no interest in the land. The improvements he made were
of the most temporary nature, and the land was tilled in the manner best calculated
to get the most out of it for the present. The worst features of all, however, was the
introduction into the Territory of a quarter of million of white people, deprived of
all school privileges for their children except the poor device of an occasional
neighborhood subscription school. The Indian nations had school funds and schools
for their own children, but white children had no right to attend the Indian schools
thus provided, and out upon the prairies and along the river bottoms in the country
districts were thousands of white children dwelling in small, temporary, paintless,
buard houses, growing up in a state of nature, without schools or any opportunity
to acquire the rudiments of education. Of course in the towns of any size this great
want was supplied, in a measure, by schools established by various religious denomi­nations.
Thus, unless this condition could be speedily remedied, the Indian Terri­tory
would become in a short time a breeding ground for barbarians right in the cen­ter
of the United States, and Indian civilization be obliterated by association rather
than being advanced.
THE NEW PLAN AND CURTIS BILL.
The new policy of the United States in dealing with the Indians of the five civ­ilized
tribes was foreshadowed by the legislation of the past ten years, and events
have moved rapidly since that time. Several acts of Congress have resulted in the
practical abolishment of the tribal courts and the adoption of a complete code of
laws, civil and criminal, for the 'ferritory, and which are made applicable to all
clm;ses of inhabitants, white, red and black. The Territory has been divided into
four judicial districts, judges are appointed by the President of the United States
for terms of four years to enforce these laws in the several districts. Each judge
is authorized to appoint a certain number of United States commissioners for his
district, who exercise like powers as justices of the peace in Arkansas; and also ap­points
constables for each of the commissioners' courts. An appellate court has
been created to hear and determine appeals from the trial courts. The President
also appoints a marshal and attorney for each district, and the judges appoint
40 :-;OTAllLE MEN OF INDIAN TERRITORY.
their own clerks. 'rhese courts have complete civil and criminal jurisdiction over
all persons in the Territory. Thus, for some purposes, a territorial government,
applicable to all alike, is in successful operation in the Indian Territory. It is un­like
other and regular territorial governments, in that it has no governor, territorial
legislature or· county organizations; but the President of the United States stands
in the place of a governor in many respects, and the judges of the several districts
are given some of the powers of an executive. Congress makes the laws for the
Territory, instead of a local legislature, and the United States maI'shals and their
deputies perform all the duties which devolve upon sheriffs in the counties of states
or other territories. It is a most virile and potential government; the laws are
complete in all respects and are enforced with great vigor and even-handed justice.
Life is as safe, and liberty and property rights are as secure as in any part of the
United States. The a bolltion of the tribal courts, and the conferring of full juris­diction
in all matters upon the United States courts, was effected by the Curtis
bill, adopted as a law of Congress on the 2nd day of June, 1898. This bill has not
only revolutionized the government of the '1'erritory, but it resulted in the speedy
allotment of all the tribal lands among the Indians in severalty. This work is being
completed by a commissioner, who is the successor to the Commission to the Five
Civilized Tribes.
'1'his commission was created by act of Congress twelve years ago, and was sent
to the Territory for the purpose of bringing order out of chaos, recasting the politi­cal
conditions found to exist here, and moulding the whole social and political fabric
into a form suited to the changed policy of the government.
'rhe task which they had in hand was Herculean in nature, and what would
have been thirty years ago a very simple matter became a tangled web of conflict­ing
interests and rights which, year by year, increased in intricacy and confusion. It
is a Gordian knot which can hardly now be untied, but it will have to be severed as
Alexander cut the Gordian knot of old. 'rhe commission worked patiently and per­severingly
against many discouragements, and a great work has been accomplished.
An arduous and trying preliminary work was accomplished in the determination
and settlement of the intruder question, or the rights of claimants to citizenship.
It was a source of much bitter feeling, some criticism of the commission, a great
disappointment to very many and a real hardship to some claimants. It is true
many were called and few chosen. Yet it is much the best for all concerned that a
final determination has been reached and every man knows where he stands. If he
cannot do one thing he can do another, and the opportunities are great in the Indian
'1'erritory. It was necessary to be done in order to make complete rolls of citizens
of the various tribes preparatory to the greater work of the allotment of land in
severalty.
The commission sought diligently and earnestly during its existence to make
;XOTABLE :\lE~ OF INDIAN TERRITORY. 41
treaties ~\Yith the various tribes whereby allotment of land could be agreed upon,
and thereby vest in the allottee at once full title in fee simple to his share of the
common lands. 'l'reaties with all the nations have been approved, and all citizens
will now be given their lands absolutely in fee simple.
OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE.
The outlook for the future of the 'l'erritory is br·ight. It will be settled up rap­idly
and with a good class of people, because good people will come where they
have a right to be, and not include snch a lar~e element of that class of people which
comes and occupies a country without a rig·ht. Of course it will be difficult for all
to realize the full extent of the revolution. Even officials will insist for a time on
e>nforcing ancient restrictions and retroactive methods, not understanding that they
are blocking the wheels of real progress, but such things will inevitably yield to the
inevitable. and retard but little a steady advancement. Those who think this new
order of things will be hUl,tful to the Indian are mistaken; it is the old order
which is harmful. The Indian of the five civilized tribes is an American in all re­spects.
He has been associated with them all his life. He has been bred in their
company and educated in their schools; his manner of thinking is the same; he has
imbibed their spirits from his youth up, and all he needs is a chance to be a full­fledged
American citizen. It may take a few years to work it all out, but the sooner
the better. The Indians will at fil'st own all the lands. After allotment a portion
of it is for sale, and the most of it for rent. Both will bring money and population.
It may be expected that every quarter section available for farming or pastnre will
soon be occupied and put to profitable use. Good farm houses and improvements
will dot the landscape, the towns will grow in wealth and population; an era of
lasting prosperity will set in, and the Indian will reap the lion's share of it. He will
he the landlord and the white man the tenant, and he will have dollars where he now
has cents. He will live among a growing and advancing population, surrounded by
schools and churches, educated by association and example. Civilization will be
about him and permeate him. "\Vith equal rights before the law for all he will no
longer be a ward of the government, but will be a man among men in spirit and in
truth. lIe will not be sending delegatiom; to Washington begging for annuities,
but he will stand upon his own resources, his property rights and landed estates, the
peer of the best and a living witness to the glory of his country.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
In the present political condition local government by the people is very limited.
Congress makes the laws and the courts execute them. It will be only when a full­fledged
state is created that the voice of the people will become potential in making
the laws that govern them. Now we take what Congress gives us. It is rather an
42 NOTABLE ~JEN OF INDIAN TERRITORY.
anomalous condition for a United States c:tizen who takes delight in exercising the
right of suffrage to be thus shorn of his sovereignty and be placed upon the level
of a F'ilipino, but it cannot be avoided. I t is a part of the situation: but a short
time, the rapid march of events and appropriate legislation may be confidently re­lied
upon to speedily correct it.
The incorporated towns, however, have the right to regulate all town affairs
by ordinance, create public schools and provide for taxation for their maintenance.
This gives a little vent to the true born American penchant for voting; and if he
cannot vote for Congressman or President he at least has a right to expreRR a choice
by his ballot for mayor and town councilmen.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.
'1'he Indian Territory proper includes the lands belonging to the five civilized
tribes of Indians-the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole Nations,
and the lands pertaining to the Quapaw Agency in the northeast. The Osage Na­tion
is not a part of the Indian Territory, as is generally erroneously supposed by
some, but belongs to Oklahoma on the west.
It is a heautiful territory of wonderful resources, with a salubrious climate
and a great variety of soil and productions. It has mountains and prairies, valleys
and woodlands. The southern boundary is the Red River of Texas, and many fine
streams of water flow through it, generally from the west to the east. The bottom
lands of these rivers are generally extensive, usually covered with a heavy growth
of timber, and the soil is extremely rich and productive when put in cultivation.
The uplands comprise every variety of country, from timbered mountains to grass­covered
prairies. The eastern part of the Cherokee Nation, east of the Grand
river, appears to be an extension of the Ozark Mountains pushed across the Arkan­sas
border, rough and ragged in places, but on top stretching out generally in roll­ing,
timbered plateaus, with a good strong soil as a basis to support the abundant,
vegetation. In this section sparkling s-prings of pure water abound, and the valley
c.ourses are of great fertility. The north and west part of the Cherokee Nation, west
of the Grand river is high, rolling prairie, with belts of timber along the streams,
'1'he soil is good, and as it is underlaid with limestone it is particularly well adapt­ed
to raising wheat. That portion of the Nation has a large white population.
The Chickasaw Nation is well timbered and has much fine tillable land, particll­larly
in the eastern portion, with more prairie between the streams in the west. A
range of low mountains known as the Arbuckle Mountains occupy the center of the
Nation, and through which the ,Vashita river cuts its way in a picturesque and fer­tile
valley. The amount of good land possessed by the Chickasaws, and the small­ness
of the tribe to occnpy it have been the inducement for the immigration of a
NOTAHLE MEN OF INDIAN TERRITORY. 43
large white population into this Nation, particularly from the adjoining state of
Texas.
The general elevation of the country can be better understood from the follow­ing
table, taken mostly from points along the line of the Missonri, Kansas & 'l'exas
Railroad. which runs centrally through the Territory:
Feet a bove sea level:
Adair_ ________________________________________________ 636
Fort Arbuckle ____________________________1000
Atoka ___________________________ 556
Blue Jacket _ ______________._ 779
705
530
623
587
718
Caddo___ __________ __ _____ _
Caney ____________________ _
Catoosa
Checotah
Chelsea ______ ______ __
Choutea u ____________________________ _
Claremore
Durant
Eufaula
Fort Gibson
____________ 624
__ 606
639
617
Honey Springs________________________ ________ _
510
568
Lilietta __
McAlester
Muskogee
South Canadian ___ ___ __ __
Vinita
___ 592
___ 684
500
White Oaks _ _____________ ___ _
657
698
792
TIMBER.
The timber of the Territory is generally of the hard wood varieties-oak,
hickory, pecan, walnut, elm, ash, hackberry, maple, etc. In the eastern part of the
Choctaw Nation are considerable bodies of pine timber suitable for commercial pur­poses.
Also in the eastern part of the Cherokee Nation scattering pine timber and
cedar are found among the mountain ridges and breaks. A large amount of wal­nut
timber has existed in the Territory, but much of it has been culled and sold in
spite of the laws against this traffic. The Bois d 'Arc is indigenous to the Territory
and grows prolifically and to a large size in the southern part of the Choctaw Nation.
The pecan is also native in the Territory and grows abundantly. Large crops of
pecan nuts are gathered annually by the inhabitants. The public land surveys,
recently completed, show that the timber of the Territory is much more extensive
44 NOTABLE MEN OF INDlAN TERRITORY.
and valuable than has generally been supposed. Wild fruits abound in all parts
of the Territory-wild plums, wild grapes and berries of all varieties.
COAL AND MINERAL.
Until recently there have been no geological surveys of the Territory, and in
consequence anything like exact statistics in reference to the minerals existing
are not at this time obtainable. Likewise the restrictions heretofore placed upon the
ownership of land and the right to acquire title to and work mineral deposits have
operated against prospecting for mineral and the development of it when found.
Xevertheless, the natural mineral wealth of the Territory is known to be very
great.
The coal measures of the Indian Territory are known to cover about 1,200
square miles. Large areas of the northern and western part of the Choctaw Na­tion
are underlaid with thick beds of coal. 'l'hese coal fields extend north through
the eastern part of the Creek Kation, not in such thick veins, however, as exist
III the south. No systematic development or work has been done for the purpose
of supplying the markets outside of the Territory" excepting in the Choctaw Na­tion,
where large mines have been opened and operated at many points. The
Choctaw Coal and Railway Company's railroad, extending westward from Howe
through Wister Junction and South McAlester, runs through a coal mining re­gion,
and mines are operated at nearly all the towns along the road. On the
road are the coal mines at Howe, Hartshorne, Alderson and Krebs. On the Mis­souri,
Kansas & 'rexas Railroad running north and south, and spurs of that road,
are Savannah, Atoka, Lehigh and Coalgate. These mines supply coal to the local
railroads, and also to the Gould system and other railroads in Texas. 'rhe coal
beds worked are from four to five feet in thickness. The coal is bituminous and
of very fine quality. It is said to be the best gas and coke coal west of Pitts­burg.
Analysis of coking coal from McAlester:
'Vater ...
Volatile matter
Fixed carbon
Ash
Analysis of coal from Atoka:
Water
Volatile matter ."
Pixed carbon ..
Ash
............. 2.10
......29.71
........... 62.67
5.52
4.61
39.16
........................... 45.74
. ..................... 10.49
These mmes are worked by companies which have secured leases on them for
°a term of years from the Choctaw Nation. A large number of miners are employed.
KOTABLE ~IEN OF INDIAN TERRITORY. 45
In the Creek and Cherokee Nations but little has been done in the way of min­ing
coal or opening mines. Farmers work some banks to supply themselves with
coal during the winter, and haul some to town in wagons to sell. A good quality
of coal has been found and worked on a small scale on all sides of Muskogee.
Also beds have been opened and worked to supply the demands in various parts
of the Cherokee Nation. 'l'he Indian Territory has enough good coal to supply
itself and surounding states with good coal for many ages to come.
OTHER MINERALS.
The Territory is known to be rich in mineral resources, but except as to coal,
nothing has ever been done in the way of development on any extended scale, and
but little real prospecting. Lead ores are found in variom: parts of the Territory,
particularly in the Cherokee and Creek Nations; silver ores are known to exist, and
gold has been found in several places in the Cherokee Nation, likewise in the Arbuckle
mountains in the Chickasaw Nation. 'fhe writer of this article has seen some very fine
placer gold ore taken from veins, which was vouched for by the owners as coming
from certain parts of the Cherokee Nation. It is hardly to be expected, however,
that the precious metals will be found in sufficient quantities to pay for mining, but
there is no doubt that there is plenty of zinc, and large deposits of excellent zinc
ore discovered in the Creek and Cherokee Nations. Sufficient prospecting for this
mineral has already been done to demonstrate that it exists in abundance, and will
eventually prove a great and valuable resource of the Territory. Vast beds of an ex­cellent
quality of marble have been located along the Salisaw creek in the Cherokee
Xation. It is a beautiful stone, solid and fine grained and susceptible of a very high
polish. Granite and limestone are found in various parts of the Territory, and good
building stone exists everywhere. Enough is known of the minerals of the Territory
to justify the conclusion that the future development of the 'l'erritory will not be
wholly confined to agriculture and stock raising, but that the minerals will prove
a great and wonderful source of wealth.
AREA.
'fhe area of the land owned by the several tribes in the Indian Territory, IS
as follows:
'fribes
Cherokees
Chickasaws.
Choctaws ........... .
Creeks
Seminoles
Ql'llpaw Agency
Square Miles
..... ................. 7,861
7,262.
. ............................. 10,450
4,750.75
586
331.41
46 NOTABLE MEN O~' I"DJA" TERRITORY.
There are no statistics by which the value of the property, real or personal,
III the 'l'erritory can be determined or even estimated. The Indian governments
have heretofore been supported by interest on trust funds and no property has
ever been assessed in the Territory for taxation or other purposes.
'l'he trust funds owned by the several tribes, in the United States Treasury,
are the proceeds of tribal lands heretofore sold to the government. Annual in­terest
is paid upon these funds by the government as follows:
'I'ribes Amt. of principal Amt. of Int.
Cherokee ... ....... $2,625,842.37 $137,469.33
Chickasaw ..... 1,308,695.65 68,404.95
Choctaw 549,594.74 32,344.73
Creek --_ .... _----... ----_._-- 2,000,000.00 100,000.00
Seminole 1,500,00.00 75,000.00
-------~
Total ............ $7,984,132.76 $413,219.01
In addition to the income from this source the several tribes also collect fees
from licensed traders and taxes for permits.
THE CLIMATE.
The climate of the Indian Territory is temperate and salubrious, correspond­ing
closely to that of Virginia and Kentucky. As a rule winters are mild and
pleasant; the summers are long, and while the sun shines with considerable
warmth during the day, the nights are always cool and refreshing, owing in a
measure to a breeze from the gulf. The prevailing winds are from the south dur­ing
the summer months, and they are usually pleasant and are but very rarely
of that dry character known as "hot winds," which afflict western Texas and
Kansas and wither and destroy vegetation. The rainfall is seasonable and abund­ant
and the country is no more subject to droughts than Missouri, Iowa and Illi­nois,
and it is even doubtful if there are as many failures of crops as in those
states.
The Territory lies midway between the extremes of the north and south, east
and west, and which fortunate situation insures it a most temperate and delight­ful
climate. 'Vhile it does not have the over-abundant rainfall of Louisiana and
Arkansas it escapes the arid climate of the farther west. The temperature in
winter is occasionally influenced by the contiguous territory on the northwest, that
vast extent of plain stretching, without interruption, through Kansas and Nebraska,
seemingly boundless and endless, to Wyoming and the Dakotas. Once in a while
in the winter season a great blizzard, starting from the distant northwest, will sweep
down across the plains and reach to the Territory, but in a greatly modified form,
usually broken of its force and shorn of its intensity. The tail end of the
" norther" only reaches here.
NOTABLE ME" OF INDIAN TERRITORY. 47
STOCK RAISING.
'L'he 'l'erritory is exceedingly well adapted for raising stock of all kinds. 1'he
long summers, mild and short winters, luxuriant grass on the prairies and glades
and the abundant mast of the forests are all favorable to this industry. Cattle,
sheep and hogs all grow thriftily and multiply rapidly.
COTTON.
Cotton is a leading crop in the Territory. It is of good qua.lity and the yield
per acre is above the average of most of the states. It is not cultivated to any
great extent in the north part of the Cherokee Nation, but from the Creek Na­tion
south to Red river it is grown extensively, and eVel'Y town and center of
trade has one or more cotton gins to gin the cotton raised by the neighboring
farmers. It is picked and usually hauled to the gin in a loose state in wagon
beds with sideboards and sold by weight as seed cotton. The picking commences
in September and lasts until December, Or even later some years, thus affording
employment to a large number of people for several months in the year. In recent
years the price of cotton has only bee:l a little above its cost of production, and
while it may not be of great profit to the producer, nevertheless, it is a valuable
crop to the community where grown. It is cash in hand at the gin, and affords
living wages to the farmer and his employees and the gin hands. 1'he value
per acre of the crop to the community is the value of the lint cotton produced,
plus the value of the seed. Thus if a thousand acres of land in a neighborhood
produces a bale of lint cotton per acre which sells at $50 per bale, that community
is enriched to the extent of $50,000, and in addition, the value of the seed, which
is no inconsiderable amount. No other crop affords so much profitable employment
or pays so much to the acre of ground, a nd that is why it is raised in such large
quantity, in spite of the fact that the cost of raising and the price realized so
nearly balance. It is a source of employment at reasonable cash wages.
CORN AND WHEAT.
Corn is an important crop of the Territory, and on the bottom lands the
yield is prolific. Much of the upland likewise constitutes good corn ground and
produces abundantly. The Territory is not so exclusively a corn country as Iowa
and Nebraska, but owing to the diversity of crops here, cotton growing and cat­tle
raising, the home demand for corn is good and the average price realized is
much better than in the northwestern shtes.
Wheat also yields well and the uplands in many parts of the Territory seem
well adapted to its growth. ']'he rich limestone lands in the western and north-
48 XOTA TILE xlEN OF INDIAN TERRITORY.
ern part of the Cherokee Nation make it a fine wheat growing section, as good as
can be found in the west.
Oats, rye, buckwheat, barley, sugar cane, Kaffir corn and millet are raised
and yield aR well as in the adjoining stateR. Alfalfa has been tried and has been re­ported
to be a successful crop. All the common vegetables known to Kansas and Ar­kansas
grow prolifically. The sweet potatoes grown are of particularly fine quality
and flavor. l\f elons of all kinds and of fine quality are raised without much trouble.
Peanuts can also be successfully grown.
FRUITS, FLOWERS AND SINGING BIRDS.
The Indian Territory is a wonderfully fine fruit eountry. The dimate, the
soil and the sunshine all conspire to its prolific production. Apples, peaches, plums,
grapes and every variety of fruit known to the temperate zone thrive here and
attain to great perfection. In recent ye'lrs attention has been directed to this in­dustry
and many large young orchards of choice varieties of nursery stock have
heen planted. The older orchards of common kinds have produced such good re­snlts
that much may be expected from well selected trees. Ijike all new countries,
thcre are some local, adverse conditions whieh ha ve to be studied by trial and
overcome by experience.
Small fruits and berries, wild and tame, grow in rich profusion. The culti­vation
of strawberries is becoming an important and successful industry. In the
vicinity of Salisaw. on the Arkansas river bottom, large fields of strawberries are
cultivated and thousandR of dollarR' worth of the luscious fruit are Rhipped to
northern marketR every spring.
'1'hiR is a land of flowerR. '1'he plain and the woodland, hill and vale are cov­ered
with them from March to October, and their variety and beauty is astonishing
to one who will take the trouble to obs"rve them closely. '1'here are many hand­some
flowering' trees and Rhrnbs growing naturally in the woodR. The redbud~
and its buds are crimson red~puts forth its blossoms early, and it is soon fol­lowed
by the milk white hawthorn, the thiekly flowering wild plum and the frag­rant
~wild crabapple. '1'he locust and catalpa, half domestic and half wild, follow
elosely and fill the woodland with the fragrance of their blossoms. But the prairie
flowers are a wonder. From early spring to late fall, in every variety of color,
form and fashion, they bloom continually. The first spring blossoms of delicate
white and pink give place in summer to those of stronger growth, the petals of
which are more deeply dyed in red and brown, blue, violet and carnation by the
virile rays of the summer sun. These in turn are supplanted by the gorgeous
yellovv and deeper red and brown of early autumn, the leaders of which, the
g'oldenrod and Run flower. covering the hill and running up the shoulders of the
hills, billow into golden waves before the passing breeze like a yellow sea. The
XOT ABLE ,[EN OF INDIAN TERRITORY. 49
wavmg grass bedecked by flowers and flaunting plumes and backed by the dark
green and abundant foliage of the bordering woodland, make a picture to delight
the eye of any person, be he or she savage or civilized.
But sight and smell are not the only senses pleased by an Indian Territory
landscape. Hearing is equally as well gratified, and the ear is greeted with en­joyable
sounds. The woods and groves are filled with feathered songsters which
render the mornings glorious with inspiring music from a thous~nd throats.
"Hark, hark, the lark to Heaven's gate sings."
'['he lark is here and while his merits are recognized, and his aspiring flights
to the blue vault above are admired, he is not our chief song bird. We have many.
The prairie chickens drum and crow in the early spring morning; the quail long
before harvest, is heard whistling his favorite song, "Bob "White, is your wheat
most ripe;" the mocking bird, the red bird, the cat bird and a host of kinds of
lesser note making the "welkin ring with their songs of rejoicing. The mocking
bird is the principal chief, the head and front of all the tribe. He is a handsome
and graceful fellow, alert and vivacious. He will perch upon a tree, the comb of
a building or a high pole and seemingly filled with restless energy and the
ecstacy of living, he will every once in a while spring upward a few feet with
partly outstretched wings, turn a series of somersaults, flip-flaps and graceful
curves and re-light upon his perch, all thetime pouring forth a volume of trills,
quavers alld bird songs, wondrous to hear and unmatched" "by any other bird on
earth. He reproduces every note of music ever made by any warbler of the wood­land.
The red bird is 1ikewise a well appreciated songster and he is, withal, a
beauty. He frequents the deep foliage of heavy forests and his red coat glints
brightly in the sunlight as he pursues his rapid flight from tree to tree.
FISH AND GAME.
The streams of the 'rerritory abound in fine fish. '['he chief varieties are
perch, bass, trout and catfish. The last named variety grow to immense size in the
larger rivers. An effort, attended by considerable success, has been made by the
government to stock the streams with fine food fishes from the hatchery at Neosho,
jVlissouri. This purpose is encouraged by the protection which the courts give the
fish by a vigorous enforcement of the law against their needless and wanton de­struction.
Heretofore it has been an ancient and time honored custom with the
Indians to have great fish fries at certain seasons of the year. At these festivals,
in order to obtain the fish in the quantities desired to feed the multitude they
poison the streams with buckeye, coffee bean, poke root or other deleterious vege­table,
pounded up and put into the stream in large quantities, thereby killing an im­mense
number of fish, many more than can possibly be consumed at one time. The
poison does not affect the fish as food, but it destroys all that come within the
50 NOTABLE MEN OF INDIAN TERRITORY.
influence of the poisoned water, big and little, young and old. 'rhen in more recent
years it has become a practice to explode dynamite or giant powder in the water
in order to kill the fish. Judge John R. 'rhomas called attention to this wanton
method of killing fish at a term of the United States Court at Tahlequah several
years ago, and vigorously instructed the grand jury to indict every person found
poisoning or dynamiting the streams. This new policy was viewed with amaze­ment
by some for a time as being again st usage, but its advantages were soon
understood, and as the attention of the grand jury has been called to it at every
term of court since, this destructive manner of killing fish has about become ob­solete
and a thing of the past. Thus we may be assured that hereafter an abund­ance
of the choicest food fishes will always exist in our numerous rivers, and that
the sport of angling, made classic by Is aac Walton, will ever be a source of rec­reation
and profit to the people of Indian Territory.
In regard to the so-called poisoning 0 f streams, it is due to the old timers, who
contend for the custom, to claim that the effect is not nearly so destructive as is
usually represented. The area of the water impregnated by the vegetable is lim­ited,
and the influence only lasts a couple of hours. 'rhe fish are not really pois­oned,
but only stupefied, the larger ones reviving if allowed to remain in the water.
'l'hey do not revive, however, after dynamite is used.
In times past the Territory has been a great country for game, large and small,
but in the past ten years the larger kin::l.s have been so vigorously hunted and
killed that they are becoming scarce. Many years past the buffalo was common,
but now the oldest inhabitant can hardly recollect him. The antelope disappeared
a long time ago, and the deer are becoming few in number, but still some are
found in the isolated sections of the Territory. A few black bear exist, but not
many. Wild turkeys are rather numerous in the mountainous regions, but there
is yet an abundance of quail, squirrel and rabbits. The prairie chickens once so
numerous, can now be found only in small and scattering coveys. Some general
legislation is badly needed to protect the wild game. The Indian Nations all have
some regulations on the subject applicable to their own citizens, and the Indian
Intercourse laws have heretofore afforded considerable protection, but in the present
demoralized condition of local governme at the wild game is likely to fare badly.
A stringent and effective game law wi 11 be one of the first necessary acts of It
state legislature, when organized.
Under the treaties now in force with the five tribes, it is possible to purchase
land from allottees in the five nations who are adopted, inter-married or Freed­men
citizens, and in the Creek Nation under certain rules and regulations pre­scribed
by the Interior Department, land can be purchased of allottees who are
of Indian blood. In addition to the land thus thrown on the market, citizens of
NOTABLE MEN OF INDIAN TERRITORY. 51
a 11 the tribes, can, by making a proper showing, have their restrictions removed
and sell all of their allotment excepting the homestead. The result of all this has
been that a large per cent of the best land in the Territory has been sold to thrifty
farmers, and the development of the past year exceeds that of any five preceding
years.
Oil and natural gas has been disco vered in paying quantities in the Chero­kee
and Creek Nations, and this business is now one of the leading industries of
the 'l'erritory. Substantial towns and cities have sprung into existence, the largest
being Muskogee, with a population of 20,000, having paved streets, electric car
lines, water and sewer systems, and all the ear marks of a city. It is doubtful if
such a general era of prosperity prevails anywhere in the United States, as in the
Indian Territory and with statehood wnich must come within a short time, a
tide of emigration will set in which will i lcrease the population from the present
estimated figure of 750,000 to more than a million people within the next two
years.
That this volume may have a permanent place in the library is the hope of the
publisher, who, confident that the gentlemen named herein will largely dominate
the new state, submits it as a contribution to the literature of this 'l'erritory.