The Vinita Weekly Chieftain. (Vinita, Indian Terr.), Vol. 22, No. 27, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 3, 1904 Page: 1 of 8
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VINITA. INDIAN TERRITORY THURSDAY 'ARCH 3 1904.
NO. 27
i
1 To Tahlequah republican convention: Don't omit statehood. plank from resolutions
VlNITA
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8
THE DELAWARE
CHEROKEE CASE
All Phases of tho Subject Are
-Seemingly Covered.
EXHAUSTIVE SUMMARY
Poir.ts Involved Manner Dis
posed of and Authority for
Same All Set Forth
in Elaborate
Detail. J
The opinion in its entirety of
the United States supreme court
in the case of the Delawares
against the Cherokee nation on
appeal from the court of claims
was received this morning. It is
1 pamphlet of thirteen pages and
embraces copious extracts from
the treaty of 1800 tho Cherokee-
!)sla ware agreement of 1807 the
Curtis bill of 1898. Cherokee
igreeraent of 1902 Cherokee con
stitution arid alo the court's
jpinlon In Journeyeake ts. Cher-
ilceo nation for part of the Strip i
unds.
After reciting the controversy
tehgth coupled with tho agree-
aentj upon which baseddho court
iys :
'It is the claim In behalf of the
ii Iv-vercs that if not trthnte ;!lv
T"eat in fee one M on-
! ' "V permanent In its character'
1
rinu!.-tb! by descents te
i-children and kin of the regis- i longing to the cation which ex-J agent for the Delaware Is lutro-r-d
Delaware or nt b ast it was I preawly limits the convey nrtee of j duced on tho subject of the fram-
holding hich nhnuld endure so
jiig as the Deli wares and thHr
esoendants continued to exist as
tribe.
The character of title is then
iken up and the cent tni ha-
izes the Indian idea of "for his
se and occupancy" Instead of
a fee givlag It judicial function
urther that the laud of the
Jierokces ami hence ihe Dt la-
ares ore held as a nation and
it us Individuals "belonged to
iem as a political body and no!
. t.i.. t ... . ....
us muiviuuai uieniutrs. in
n trut fuuds.cafC the court had
iid of individual Cherokees:
lie had a right to u-e parcels of
p lands thus held by the ixition
bject t su.h ru!' Vs its govern-
! K
vcriil deciri 'i were i I'cd to
jow that the ide.i of individual
le on which the D d i wire case
rgely ri td was icrnrrrct.
Considering tho 1817 contract:
A'e are here dealing with the ex.-
nl of the title conveyed
id the qu' xtl-m h what did tho
jrrnkee convey to the Dola-
- . 4 t
tin u uuaiju lis uic
rotations 'for occupancy we
d other terms inconolstent with
c grant of a perpetual etate.
he lands which are for occupan-
of the Delaware (100 for
ch Individual) are described as
herokee lands' nud a provision
ide which secures 100 acres to
jelude their improvements to
Ich registered Delaware in case
j allotment. If the full title was
'ended to be transferred to the
' lawares either as a tribe or In-
JSdually this stipulation tose-
! re the rights of the Delawares
I ihe contingency named was'en-
jely superfluous. Further.the con-
' :t rends "nor fchalt the own-
hip and occupancy of said
ids by any Delaware so regis-
; ed be Interfered with in any
toner whatsoever without hi
' 'ttcnt but thall be ubj ct to
same condition and re-
ictlon a ire by the laws ( i
- Cherokee uation Imposed up-
the native citizen thereof.
"-ir-i. that nothing herein
i confer the right "o alienate
y or dispose of any such
Innd except in accordance with
the constitution and laws of eald
Cherokee nation. "
"These stipulations wholly In-
consistent with the full title of
the Delawarcs to the hvnds In
question jn-jst bo rend in tho light
of tho constitution and laws of
tho Cherokee nation as to the
holding of land by Cherokee citi-
zens. The provisions of the Cherokee
constitution nnd the statutes
passed In pursuanc thereof are
considered. ''Fromthein It Is ap-
parent that lands to be held upon
the same terms as the Cherckces
hold thlr l.nds cannot be alien-
ated by those who occupy and
hold tham but the ownership is
lodged in the Cherokee nation.
Tho Individual has no right to
alienate or lease tho laud. The
nation grants and restricts the
right of occupancy. The title to
the lands i vested In the govern-
ment! to be held and controlled id
such wise as to promote the gen-
eral welfare. Under the restric-
tions and conditions the Dela-
ware s held the lauds set apart for
their occupancy. In the laws of
the Cherokee nation we find that
tho use of the terms 'for use and
occupancy' was not an unfamiliar
form of expression in describing
the character and limitation upv. l
the right of prlit. ownership.
Thus in the act rel. ing to public
dttnain and reserving tracts of
land one mile square al ong rail-
road at stations and
providing
for the sale of town lots it Is pro
vided that the purchaser shall nc
qulr
no other rights than those of;
. ; 1
use BijcJ occupancy. Jt the lands wno remained la Kansas were en-
lii question were granted In per-1 titled to their share in tho Dela-
n'ustv to tne Delaware wo nave
tho awarding of nn t6tate of this
character carved out of lands ico-
ogiiUt'd ' the -xc'cr meet n can-
'tluuinir to be Cherokee lands be-1
Us land to its own citizens for use I
and occupancy ouly. Again If it j the question rm asked If as final-
was intended tfi provide forthejly signed it contained th w ishes
children ir heirs of the first j of both sides. Mo answered "no
taker the registered Delaware- (
we shall expect to tlud som
words in the ngreetnent compe-
tent for that purpose conecding
that the technical terms of the
common law to create an estate In
fee need not have been used. As
to the c hildren of tho registered
Delaware wc find this provision :
'and the children hereafter born
of such Delaware so Incorporated
Into tS Cherokee nation shall in
I all rehpect bo regarded as native
Chirokees." This provision is
utterly Inconsistent with the grant
of an rstate in the lands to sur
tcred l i l.tware. .Such children
ar. to have the rights of native
j Ch' rckecs and no more. Their
! parents weredncorporated into the
jChfrokef nation with rcrtaln
speclfl. right; the child i' i were
to stand upon an pqur.V with
their adopted brethren oi Chero-
kee blood.
The Importance of the Issue
now distinctly jnado :w to the title
to these land has led us to give
reuewed examination to the ques-
tion of the extent and character
of the Interest conveyed to the
Delawares In the lands In con-
troversy. In. the Journeyeake opinion
jjustlce Brewer ld no abso
lute title to these homes was
granted. The laws of the
CheroKee Nation provided tor the
appropriation by the tevcral
Cherokees of ni for personal
occupation an I that this purchase
by theDeliwares was with the
view of securing t ih Individual
Delawares th? like homes; that
the lands thus purehnsed and paid
for still remained a part of th
Cherokee reservation. Au as a
further cons! deration for the pny
ment of this sum for the purehs-e
of homes the Delawsre wre
guarantee 1 not
tnirelv the eii-
llnued occupancy thereof hut si
so that In ce of a uhequent sl-
lotmeut lu severiity of iht entire
bidy of lands amonit the mem-
bers of the Cherokee Nation they
should receive a n aggregate
amount equal to that which they
had purchased and such a distri-
bution as would secure to them
the homes upon which they had
settled together with their Im-
provements. So that If when the
allotment was made there was for
any reason not land enough to se-
cure to each member of the Cher-
okees 100 acre9 the Delawarcs
were to have at least that amount
and the deflcleucy would have to
bo borne by the native Cherokees
pro rata. In other words there
was no purchas? of a distinct
body of lands as la the case of
the settlement of other tribes as
tribes within the limits of the
Cherokee reservation. The Indi-
vidual Delawarcs took their homes
in and remaining in the Cheroke?
reservation and as lands to be
considered in any subsequent al-
lotment in severalty among the
members of the Cherokee Nation.
AH this was in the line of the ex-
pressed thought of a consolida-
tion of these Delawares with and
the absorption of them into the
Cherokee Nation as Individual
members thereof. If It be said
that all of the Delaware trustfunds
were not turned Into the national
fund it will be remembered that
there was no impropriety In the
reservation of a part thereof In or-
der to enable the Delawares to
make such Improvements as they
might desire on the tracts that
they selected for homes and also
tint there was no certainty that
ail the members of the Delaware
tribe would elect to remove to the
Cherokee couutry and that thosn
. .....
waro na'.ionai lunas.
Tho Intent of the 1807 agree-
ment U attack? I by the Dela-
watc-s and a part cf the testimony
of John 0. Pratt at that time
ing of the agreement. In its course
trie Delaware were not satisfied
but signed beeau it was tho best
they could do; they wanted to
own the lsod outright."
This contention was In a" way
disposed of by the statement that
theVourt could perceive no room
for departure from the familiar
rule of the law protecting written
agreements from the uncertain-
ties of parol testimony 30 years
afterward.
Regarding the money consider-
Ilea paid by the Delawares Justice
Brewer said lu the
Journeyeake
case that toa much weight should
not be given to the fct that the
Del'iwares were to pay for their
homes at 81 an acre for by thit
purchase they acquired no tide in
fee simple but an inter-
est like that of native Chnkcf
limited to a more
accupn'.'y of
the tracts set apirt for hottH's
with the right to free use l corn-
moo of the unoccupied portion of
the reserve and the right to share
In any future a!lVtn nt.
We conclude then that thf reg-
istered Delawares aeqjired in
ther-e lands only th right of oc-
cupancy during life with a right
upen allotment of the lands 1 1
not less than 100 acres tcgetiVr
with their improvements and th
children and descendants of suh
Delawares took only the '
other citizens of the Cherokee N
tlon as the same are regulated by
Its laws.
The bill further seeks t; exclude
from the allotment of Cherokee
lands and funds certain cUher.A
alleged to have been Illegally ad-
mitted to citizenship thereby
wrongfully dim I iihlng the inreii
of the Delawares In the common
property.
Answering this vntentl on th
; court fUote s the Cheroke u contl
. 1 A I .
tution deflulng who were cuut i:s
. ...
when the Delaware-cam. in: Al.
tuetiTe born Cher ke. f-ll In -
dl.tns and whites legnliy adojoed
freedmen etc. aud their dtferod-
'
Ilsvlog tsken ptrt in 'he gov-
eminent as they found It the
court at. some length and for
many other reasons holds the
Delaware proposition to be un-
tenable and It la disposed of in
the negative. "We are author-
ized by the enabling act to de-
termine the contractual rights of
tho Delawares In national lands
and funds not to overhaul the
political and administrative ac-
tion of tho Cherokee nation." (In
one clause the Delaware attor-
neys set up that persons had been
Illegally admitted to citizenship.)
Quoting section 23 of the Chero-
kee agreement of .1002 providing
for this suit and tho Delaware
segregation matter the court
says: -
"These acts contemplate a judg-
ment of the court which thall de-
termine the rights of the Dela-
wares and Cherokees In the lands
and funds of the Cherokee Nation
in such wlso na to enable a divi-
sion to be made conformable to
the rights of the parties as judi-
cially determined. TheCourt of
Claims rendered a decree dismiss-
ing the bill. Whilst agreeing
with the conclusions reached In
that court as to tho rights of the
Delawares we thluk.the bill was
broad enough In Its allegations
and prayer for relief to require a
definite settlement of the rights in
controversy. Instead of dismiss-
ing the bill we think a decree
should have been entered finding
the registered Delawarcs entitled
to participate equally with Chero-
Kee citizens of Cheronee blood in
tho allotment of lands of the Cher-
okee Nation with the addition
that If there Is not enough land to
allot each citizen of the nation 100
acreM. then the registered Dela-
wares shall be tiven thit quanti
fy ttu;eth"r wah their improve
ments. In nil other respect the
Cherokei citizen" whether of
Delaware o r Cherokee blood
should bi given tqual rights in
the Imda nnl fur. Is of the Chero-
kee Nation Tne decre dismiss-
ing the bill is so modified as to
conform to the tcrmi jut s'ated;
ud modified it is affirmed."
A GOOD THING FOP VINITA
Mill
and Elvatar Company to
tnbli.h War Hoot.
The I'ea Si Head Mill and Kievator
Co. of Co!Teyllle Ks. and Tul-a I.
T. nil! commence jmtti.ig up a large
ware 1khi- on the Frl-soo right-of-way
at this place in a few etiys. The in-
tention is to carrv a large stock of the
mill priKlucts and run a regular ex-
cii.'ince buitief.sexch;uige floiir.uieal
'uU - 10 n' fartucr r.r their grain.
i. i. ji.ui wi.i its in ciitie oi ti.e
11 rin's biisiiH'M as general ugmt and
munajjcr.
Wiiile we are without a mill t!;e ev
talilWiinent tf lids enterprise in our
city i-i doiibly avi'ptHble and Mr.II ill.
wlii-.e eotit iutiotiH iin"'i tunity and
repre-entat ions have lead up to it i-
'i"-ringoi nonnaii measure oi com-
iiu'ul.itlori.
KILLED BY LEMON EXTRACT.
Several Death Rcx-entlr Reported
Trent ThU Caa.
l inori extract which for more than
a quarter of & century hm ivvfonnwl
tlie eixty throughout the cut Ire Indian
count ry ef ati Intoxicant seems iow
to have l-eenme viclexis Sunday there
Is reirtcd to have lieen tlirie deaths
from its cans; at Stiilwell and eine or
ltthllii.Nnrti v.ii-t fcl.L t'l.rt il...l
' are Terry Freeman a yon'ng man S.
i Ureeiisnii a restaurant man and
'1. r i.uthrle a carpenter.
K ATT TOL'RIST TICKETS.
Ol'arlaa Chaap Ratita to Many Im"
ortaat Polat.
wtNTrtt Tofttrsr Tie term
On silo daily until April 3) to Ki-
pasf and return tit f:is.:fci; ehiheston
l.'Mi.: san Antonio f.'i.l.'); return
limit Mav .list Itedactioti to other
points In Texai r.iul New Mexico.
t Al.lKil!M4 Tot I-. 1ST
' ..it" IMV .-Irtc II is in 11 IS fU N.sie
. .
ihiily until April Jut h to I. rhoe-
! a.u a cVllfo.r.U
i )Killt f.o o'. w;T th ket. IU-
tlHvii f.u.-s to all points in Mexico and
! Arizona.
j Al I'aul is here fr-'ni I South Nfc Ahs-
ter.
PLANS TO MAKE
VINITA GREATER
An Encouraging Indication of
Better Feeling.
DRILL FOR OIL OR GAS
Our People Ready to Join in
Any Enterprise Looking
to the Advancement
of the Town's Best
Interests.
A favorable oin has manifested it-
wlf in Vinita U'lng not hlng less than
a dispos'tion on the part of some of
her leading citizens to take hold and
do something.
Now it does not matter so much in
what direction effort Is put forth so
something is done. Having an awful
ly gtxid town and lielng aware of the
fact our people haveUtn content
heretofore to set around watch the
busings barometer and as occasion
warranted and sometimes when it
did notchalk up the price of their
property.
liut of late the discovery lias le-n
made that something cSnu is m-e-essary.
Othertowtisapii-ar to 1; swit-inount-el
and lave hit a Lou Dillon pate.
The inspiration is catching.and as a
consequence as staled thi're Is a eiiv
position now apparent ta tlo Miii'iy
tiling.
Within the pa-it day or two seetaS
of our prominent property lio!iSei
liave fxpre'.ised a wll!iii;ietoet:ga;te
in any nerpi !- th;.t prendn-s to
make lor Vinita's good. The' need of
addit lotial !aiinaU is fully ttppreei-
atel and also t lie itee'd for manufac-
turing enterprises.
liut what is Jiist tr.e.v oivupying t! e
attention eif nnr.t of the southwestern
towns Is natural eil or gas. The le-
iief now pievaiU that we are in the
oil or nas U-k and the scheme is to
sink a well not !-.s tltanZ.ysi ft-t in
deptli if iieii-s-viiy. for a t horoi'.gh t est .
Maelihieiy nm here is ample In
capacitt to drill l-'mn fett ami very
soon a dmi of sutt'.eient welglit and
strength to continue to the greater
depth will! procured. The eh.taiis
orgatiialion. ete.hae ii"t Uen
jrfectel but one and jssiliiy two
out (it are moehig in the direction in-
dicated. The town's enthusiasm is greater
than-txhibite I in a long time and any
legitimate project ca.rulatel to Letter
a goit town will find in Vinita. peo-
ple of means wiiimtr r e.nviot s to
take hold of it. and ehtTerent from
dayspast.it matter net who simii
take ti e; initial ivi?.
GOT BROKE ID
THEN SOBER
The Osage Agent Is Five Weeks
Getting an hlerview.
Another effort was made Saturday
to get an sage deleg'atlon Into tlie
presence cf the president and secre-
tary and this time with suece'ss.
Agent Mischner went to asidngtoii
1 t - ail
uicuuuu iumu; a ijuiiH eu wmshj ;
he. htewl no chance. Strategy finally
v as resohe l upini and by 'blowing
iJun liigheau and his nssendates
nv.wecMBgo .or u purrmse ami a.r nit biM.er t!.atis to their
lias Wen rsitetit In his efforts litki frl(U whrt uiiling!v came
a long as there was enough money in (otrA .ir ail and Kvmpathy.
(against the valentine counter of the!TkUUk Coli f thm T.a..-
jMg department stores (and most! BaptUt Diviaa.
everything else that comes high) the .
agent tlnally got the bunch broke and j " . Jarn-ll J. ! of I a. las. pro-
then an audience a quickly arranged l the Lajtisi church Sunday
lfore they could send home fr p5aM-d t- term "New
i r Tl..f f.i. hi nt.l .rl 1 .01
I will tie provided Lv the Indian 0nice:'' !' V brother but were not
which lias liimr since fou.id it He - cs
'tary to have a fund on hind to help!
stranded Indians out of the town.
All KlaJ of fctork
NeesH a spring-t Ivae r..e hclue.
Tl
li-st is; Ameiic ui M ic.it d Shn k
Fe-od. Sold and warr;i!itl iy W I.
()ioE liig tlaliiu I. T. w.M
Thn.-sare gvttlof g; I again-the
stf-tt f.-.klrs a'-ecoring.
LOOKING FOR A FORCER.
Therir.t Natiouul "Toockod"
for a
Small Sum.
liilly Sims left for Lisrhtnliur and
Clear creeks Sat unlay to l(K)k for a
negro named Ward. A few days ago
Ward presented a check on a (.'o.'Tev-
ville bank signed by n man named
Whit mi re on which lie drew liiiout
1T at. tlie First National Ixink in thU
city. Whitmire was known to ix; good
for the amount called for but the
Cotfeyul'u bank held tlie check up as
a forgery.
One tldng which at first caused a
U-iief In the man Udng all riht was
the fact that he paid iw on a note
but this may have been part of the
"btiiic" lit: was running. The fellow
is believed to live near the mouth of
Clear creek.
COUNTRY CLUB MOVEMENT.
Several Propotala Contidereel by tho
Projeotera.
At lle meeting held Thursday night
to consider the subject of organi.lnga
Country club several pniposlt ions were
discussed. Ljle rr who had lieen
active In tlie matter had made a trip
to Wyandotte and discovered an ad-
mirable iwat Ion on Grand river but
theise present at the preliminary meet-
ing did not feel warranted in cutting
out quite si) tanre a imttern.
A nut lier plan was tlie erection of a
house out on the prairie selecting a
spot w he re a swimming xml e-ould
made at slight eieu.se by utilizing a
prairie branch for the purpose.
Alhird and what was considered
the most feasible proposition was tli.'
erect ion f a club housn elown (";.bi:i
at tl.e sulphur .sprm;'--wheie tl- e'o-
ilar c.iifs are upon the we-t side. A
! party will ej down hi a few ei;is ta
j " P out the land" and tfnid r tlie
fidivct in dt-tnii
t ' fl.'l f.-jtl ty ! (.: o the KT tl-sli-j
imr pi.'e-t-s ill this eoiu.trj and i; an
ti l' .li smt IOsii n.1 a day its the weHKk.
jThe intent lorj is to t .-. t a rt'sMce iub
? hou.s? at some favorable place where
'the ne niU rs can k:t away from toun
for a d:iy and sj -n 1 Ji lueotiiforl
WILLIAM TYGAR DEAD.
Wa at Nowata in thtt Capacity of
Conrt Bail! !f.
Ieoeasd was born and raised in Vi-
nita. lie was a Cherokee Indian and
t he sen of one ef Vimta's old t set-
tlers. Mr. Tygar was it graduate! of
Carlisle l'enns Ivania high school
having rweived highest class lionorsj.
'iVrMHue lime after graduation he
taught in the national sc!hkK: fcrthe
past t wo years lie has Wen it h J udge
(Jill's court baviiig gone l every
court town in the Northern dbtricj.
lievas a man who always saw LU
duty and diit it evoo tiegicct itig sell
; to ac otliers. During ids connt'e-
jtioti with the com; he was one cf
. Jude liill's merst fuithful and e-llcient
;(1 eieers. He v.as ever iLttiful and
watchful in the j crferiuance td bis
tak and alwas re-ady r.il w i'..i' t
. d-i watever ! wiseanl up n to do.
wasa man (leveled to his f ii-iHy.
(lie haves a wife and UiLy daughter
;il-e seven! Lrotln-rs and sisters to
1 mourn the loss. Dveasel eo'.tracied
I pneumonia while at Now o i U
leapucity e f liailiiT in Judgetiili'scourt.
He was only sick a few el.i.'s. His
w lie and Ixihy and i :nii. sister
I were with hi.m In l is iat Lours. The
i reinaltw werei liitcriwl In ihe cemetery
at this pi ice.
Card oi Thaaka.
Ti e family an 1 relative of William
J. Tygar. decease! wish to extend
PUNISHMENT ETERNAL
Vieflof H(
These ies tnav n"
- H1 au '' looor oU fashion. 1 ort oo-
ii!
X f i.f.i!h.-f w!i4i Lei o-e ed ma
ci ihI sii.-d hi'li. ki t lu jrf.H't work-
ing order ail the time. Th doctor's
Coii'-hisloiH were tli:'t piUiishioetit for
the wicked is eternal. lie LM i
d'-s-nen-d thai the Libie iseouiinitted
as to w Let tier or is..t tin-re l a literal
I 1 .it- I s'i . i I n i i.. i :.i ii v . ;
his w hile to waste auv grjt ami t ht s f
tin e r-t ft ;-:'-.
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The Vinita Weekly Chieftain. (Vinita, Indian Terr.), Vol. 22, No. 27, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 3, 1904, newspaper, March 3, 1904; Vinita, Indian Territory. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc772697/m1/1/: accessed March 28, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.