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M. L.
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
bthJ
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 01793 9874
■ i
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H. R O'BEIRNE.
* *
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN -
OF THE
INDIAN TERRITORY
WITH INTERESTING
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
I.
ChOCTAWS^nd ChICKASAWS:!'-'
With a Bkief History of Each Tribe : Its Laws, Customs,
Superstitions and Religious Beliefs.
By H. F. O'BEIRNE.
PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED
with over two hundred portraits and full-page engravings.
CHICAGO :
AMERICAN PUBLISHERS' ASSOCIATION.
18 9 1.
-*
Entered according' to Act of Congress, in the year 1891, by the
AMERICAN PUBLISHERS' ASSOCIATION,
In the OflSce of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
4. . '. *
* iB
PREFACE.
The Publication of Leaders and Leading Men of the Indian
Territoky is tlie result of a universal demand throughout the
States for a more thorough and accurate knowledge of the Five
Civilized Tribes. 1378314
The aim of the compiler, however, is not merely to intro-
duce to the reading public the Leading Men of the Indian Territory,
their laws and customs, etc., but to perpetuate for all time the
memories of the most illustrious among the great American abor-
igines. To have permitted the ancient inhabitants of our republic
to pass into oblivion, in these days of literary enterprise, would
reflect discredit upon the philanthropy of the present generation,
more especially now that the tribal governments are threatened
with approaching dissolution.
"En passent" let us hope that this work, seeing that it sets
forth the self-reliance and legislative independence of each distinc-
tive government, as well as the rapid progress in business and ag-
riculture, will serve as a strong protest against any undue action
on the part of the United States to deprive these people of a coun-
try which they purchased and paid for, and which is theirs by
treaty as long as "grass grows and water runs." The compiler
of this work, who has lived many years among the Indian people,
and is familiar with their lives and mode of living, has prefixed to
the numerous biographies a brief historic sketch of each Nation,
with a criticism of their laws, customs and superstitions.
The present book, which is but the first volume of a work
which will be given to the world in three volumes, treats only of
^ — — qi
Ij, fi<
i _ I'KKI ACE.
the Chocta\v.s and Chickasaws. Its biographical pages will be
found to contain glimpses of all the leading men, with a few iso-
lated exceptions, who from timidity, or prejudice, have refused to
become identified with their more ambitious brethren. It will be
observed that a few sketches contained herein are those of resi-
dent white men who have in some manner become identified with
the institutions and industries of the country.
The compiler of Leaders and Leading Men of the Indian
Territory is under obligation to the many contributors, but
especially to a few of the older members of the tribes, who have
kindly volunteered their services on several occasions.
H. F. O'Beirne.
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»rt
INDEX.
Alberson, Wm., Clioctiiw and Chickasaw, - 37
Ainsworth, Napoleon B., Choctaw^ - 106
Aiusworth, W. H., 61
Adams, Georg-3 W., 267
Allen, T. J., M. D. - - - . - - - 53
Byington, HeniT, Choctaw. - - - 158
Bassett, William, Clioctaw - - - 39
Bohannon, Edward A., Choctaw, - 4i
Bouton, Madison, Choctaw, - - - 49
Boyd, Judge Robert L., Chickasaw, - 276
Burris, Judg-e Gabriel, Choctaw - - 90
Bourland, Judge Reuben, Chickasaw, - 273
Bond, John, Choctaw, - - - - 193
Burton, R. D., Choctaw and Creek, - - 85
Beeler, George R., Chickasaw, - - 235
Brown, Wiley Franklin, Chickasaw, - 283
Baker, Mr. and Mrs. H. F., Chickasaws, 235
Burris, Rev. Colbert E., Chickasaw, - 246
Brown, Milton, Chickasaw, - - 21"
Byrd, Gov. Wm. L., Chickasaw, - - 256
Burks, Mr. and Mrs. Dr. W. S.. Chicks., 244
Burney, Edward Sehon, Chickasaw, - 231
Burks, John William, Chickasaw, - 301
Brown, Hon. Josiah, Chickasaw, - - 252
Bohannon, David, Choctaw, - - 149
Bryant, Josiah H., Choctaw, . - - 185
Bond, Judge Geo. MefHin, Choctaw, - 86
Bell, T. D., Choctaw, 108
Butler, Rev. W. L., 59
Baker, Everett P., .... . - 265
Bacon, W. H., - -• - - - - 264
Blossom. D. C, 81
Betts, C E., Choctaw and Cliickasaw, 263
Bilbo, Charles A., Choctaw, - - - 40
Cheadle, Elias Rector, Choctaw, - - 148
Choate, G. W., Choctaw, - - - 201
Cheadle, James Stewart, Choctaw, - 152
Carries, Ellis H., Choctaw. - - - 133
Campbell, Chas. B., Chickasaw, - - 233
Collins, Charles, Chickasaw, - - - 279
Collins, Daniel, Chickasaw, - - - 241
Cooper, Wm. W., M. D., Chickasaw, - 245
Colbert, Frank, Chickasaw - - - 246
Colbert, Humphrey, Chickasaw, ■ - 250
Cochran, William L., Chickasaw, - - 211
Chase, Abel Dustin, Chickasaw, - - 216
Colbert, Hon. Holmes, Chickasaw, - 296
Campbell, C. L., Chickasaw, • - - 286
Collins, Edward, Chickasaw, - - - 315
Chigley, Hon. Nelson, Chickasaw, - - 274
Carter, Judge B. W., Chickasaw, - - 249
Crutchfield, Lewis, Cherokee, - - - 67
Campbell, H. A., Choctaw, - - - 45
Cobb, J. McKinney, Choctaw, - - - 155
Camp, Joseph Bradford, Choctaw, - 4J
Crowder, Robert, ------ lOii
Coleman, Richard B,, Choctaw, - - 69
Colbert, James Allen, Chickasaw, - - 270
Clark, V/m. Ashbury, - - - - 105
Clarke. W. T., --.-.- 131
Cobi>. John A„ 189
Coniior, S. A., M. D., 136
Collins, Tom, 127
Doyle, Edmund A., - - - - - 73
Dwight, Simon T., Choctaw, - - - 131
Dulin, Janjos, Chickasaw, . - - - 243
Dillard, Cenj .Cliickasaw and Choctaw, 74
Durant, Morgan., Choctaw, - - - 42
Dunn, Alfred A.,, Choctaw, - - - 34
Durant, Rev. Dickson, Choctaw, - - 33
Davis, Arthur W., Choctaw, - - - 35
Durant, W. A., Choctaw, - - - 61
Dunn, W. M., Choctaw, . - - - 87
Doyle, J. D., Choctaw. - . - - 68
Davis, Rev. William M., - . - - 54
Davison, James, ----- 260
Durant, Judge Alexander, - - - 172
Eastman, Charles Edward, Chickasaw, 248
Easton, J. H., Chickasaw. - - - - 317
Erwin, Columbus C, Choctaw, - - 173
Everidge, Joe W., Choctaw, - - - 120
Ellis, Jackson W., Cherokee, - - 56
Folsom, Alfred W., Choctaw, - - - 130
Farr, John Gist, Choctaw, - - - 174
Folsom, Albert P., Choctaw, - - - 157
®-
*
11 INOKX.
Fr:izicr, Cjinipboll, ('lioctaw, - - 9-t
FolsKiii, K. K., Choctuw, - . . (j^
Fi-:i7.ifr, Loriiig' '.V., . - - . . 205
l-ianklin. Hon. Joseph M., Cliiek;i?!iw.- 310
FoUntii, Allivil KiiHTson, CliDCtaw, - - 122
Fiilsom, JiTi-y, Clioctnw, - - - 120
FishiT, Marlin, Cliuclaw, - - - - 124
Fox. Williiiin, Chickasaw, - - - '£U
FishiT, Francis Joseph, Chickasaw. - 242
Fronian, Perry. Cliickasiiw, - - - 279
Frazicr, Newton Galloway, Cliickasaw,- 215
Franklin. Juiljre J. H., Cliickasaw, - 29-4
Friiizell. John. Choctaw. - - - - 48
Fisher. I). ()., Choctaw and Chickasaw,- ,56
Folsoin, Don Juan. Clioctaw, - - - 71
Folsoin, Judgre J. C, Choclaw, - - 70
Farrinjrton, C. B., 58
Fo.v. Frank M., 302
Franklin. E. Q., Chickasaw, - - - 244
Gardner, .Tosiah, Choctaw, - - - 6"
Garland, Joseph, Choctaw, - - - 1C4
Garland, William G., Choctaw, - - 201
Garland, Michael C, Choctaw, - - 168
Gooding', J. Franklin, Chickasaw, - - 238
GtKlfrey. J. H., Chickiisaw, - - - 251
Guy, Governor \V. M., Chickasaw, - - 22(i
Garvin, Samuel J., Choctaw, - - - 44
Gardner. James W'., Choctaw, - - - 93
Gardner, Judjre Green W , - - - 141
Gardner, M'illi.am. Choctaw, - - - 124
Garland, Daniel L., Choctaw.- - - t)5
Goodiny, C. E., 318
Gardner, Judjre Jefferson, Clioctaw, - 174
Guy, James Harris, Chickasaw, - - 213
Hotema. Solomon E., Choctaw, - - 135
Haynes. Dr. W. F., . - - - 7(j
Hi'nr.v, Amos, Clioctaw, - . . j(i7
Harkins, La Fayette C, Choclaw, - - 206
Homer, Davis A., Choctaw, - - - i,")4
Harris, Henry C, Choclaw, - - - 103
Hampton, Benjamin, Clioctaw, - - 195
Heald, Charles Hobart, Chickasaw, - 233
Hull. Willialii. Chickasaw, - - - 314
Hunting and Fishing-, - - - - 209
Harris, Tiplon Shirley, Chickasaw, - 299
Harris, James M.. Chickasaw, - - - 313
Harkins. Giles W.. Chickasaw, - - 275
Harkins, Col. G. W., Chickasaw, - - 254
Hampton. Julius C.. Choctaw, - - 51
Hodg-es. John M.. Chochiw, - - - 27
Ho<lg^e, D. W., Choctaw. - - - - 132
Hodjfes, Joseph J.. Choctaw, - - - 78
Harrlsson. John M., Choclaw, - - 12<,)
Harkins. .\lonzo J.. Choctaw, - - - 137
Howell, 'riiom.-is 1'., Choclaw, - - 150
Howell, John T., Choctaw, - - - 101
Hampton, Hon. W. W., Choctaw, - 161
Harrisson, \Vm. H., Choctaw.
Hester, G. B., tfhoctaw,-
Henegan, J. T. & Co., -
Hancock, C. A.,
Haas, Julius, - - - -
In»olubbe, Peter, Clioctaw, -
Indian Citizen, The . - - -
Important Towns and Business Points,
J.imes. Booker, Chickasaw.
James, Walton, Chickasaw, -
Jackman, H. T., - - - - -
Johnson, Montford P., Chickasaw,
Jones, Willie W., Choctaw,
Jeter, Joshua Billings, Chocta\\-. -
•Tackson, Jacob, Choctaw,
Jones, Cornelius, Choctaw, - - -
Jeniiiiios, Reagan Webster, Chickasaw-.
Jones, Wallace, Choctaw, ...
James, Julius, Choctaw, - - -
James, Judge Silas, Choctaw,
James, McKee, Choctaw, . - -
Johnston, Judge Thomas B..
Jones, Wilson N., Choctaw,
Kingsbury, Cyrus H., Choctaw, -
Kennej', John Henry, Chickasaw, -
Keel, Hon. Lewis, - - - . .
Kemp, Simon, Chickasaw, - - -
Kemp, William M. M., Chickasaw.
Keener, Kev. James Lisbon,
Keel, Hon. Hogan, Chickasaw.
Kimberlin, W. G., Chickasaw-, -
Lowrey, T. M., Choctaw,
Lewis, Simon E., Choctaw,
JiOwrance, AVillis BuT'ges, Chickasaw,
La Flore, Captain Charles, Choctaw, -
Lloyd, Hev. W.J. B., - - -
Lankford, Dr. J. S., - - -
Lankford, J. D., - - .
liindsay, Joseph D.,
Laney, W. H.. •> Cliicknsa-»v Enterprise,'
Leeper, William Perry, Chickasaw,
Mizc, H. M ,
Myers, J. F., Chickasaw,-
Myers, Mrs. Eula. Chickasaw,
McBride. Hiram Leon, Choctaw.
Milton, Davis Newton, Choctaw, -
McPrayer, John E., Choctaw, -
McKinney, Rev. William H., Choclaw,
McKinney, Alex., Chick, and Cheiokee,
McCurtaln, Jackson F , Choctaw, -
McCurtain, Mrs. Jack, Choctaw,
82
30
258
74
34
155
166
305
220
125
284
130
182
207
150
284
45
44
110
113
264
295
277
236
222
199
278
234
198
- 309
88
- 57
55
- 53
196
' 255
- 214
237
307
46
1*5
188
190
290
140
145
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INDEX.
Maurer, Charles J., Choctaw, - - 38
McClure, Hon. Tecumseh A., Chickasaw, 308
Murray, Dr. H. F., Chickasaw, - - 298
McKinney, Benjamin F., Choctaw, - 146
Muncrief, Samuel, Choctaw, - - 116
Martin, Captain Walker, Choctaw, - - 100
Manning-, Thomas Jefferson, Choctaw, 41
Maxfleld, Charles M., 266
Meadows, F. C, 184
Murrow, Rev. J. S., 204
McBride, William, 262
Myers, M. F., 47
Montague, Mickleborough S., . - 60
McCurtain, ex-Chief Edmond, Choctaw, 178
Mosely, Hon. Palmer S., - - - ■ 216
Miller, H. T., " Territorial Topics," - - 259
Mashburn, J. H., Chickasaw, - - 231
Mead, Sanford Miner, Chickasaw, - - 247
Nale, Joseph S., Choctaw, ...
Nuttall, A. H.,
Norman, W. A., ------
Noble, William, - - - - .
Nelson, Col. Coleman Enoch, Choctaw,
Nail, Joel H., Choctaw, - . -
Oakes, Lem. W., Choctaw,
Oakes, Thomas E., Choctaw,
Officer, Rev. R. W., -
Oakes, Samuel L., Choctaw,
157
266
259
69
169
40
184
142
187
206
Paul, Hon. Samuel, Chickasaw, - - 282
Phillips, Thomas J., Chickasaw, - ■ 272
Parker, J. Wesley, Chickasaw, - - 291
Price, WilUam N., Chickasaw, - - - 306
Perry, Calvin C, Choctaw, - - - 117
Pate, Georg-e A., Choctaw, - - - 161
Perkins, Henry, Choctaw, - - - 153
Poyner, Dr. William, 265
Phillips. Felix R., 289
Purcell Register, ------ 257
Quick, Edward, Chickasaw, -
Roebuck, David, Choctaw, - - - 118
Rennie, Mr. and Mrs. Alex., Chickasaw, 293
Rennie, John, ------ ;300
Rogers, Walter Scott, - - - - 165
Ream, Robert L., Chickasaw, - - - 242
Rodgers, B. F., Choctaw, - - - 97
Rowley, H. B., Choctaw, - - - - 151
Robinson, McKee F,, Choctaw, - - 139
g ___„„.. _■ .,- ^ ..^^-z
Robinson, Rev. Calvin, Choctaw,
Riley, Joseph H., Chickasaw,
Settell, Fritz, Choctaw, - - .
Shaffer, F. E., - - . - - .
Sawyers, William M., -
Standley, Captain J. S., Choctaw,
Stewart, James W., Choctaw, -
Stead, Dr. J. M., Cherokee,
Scrapie, Charles A., Choctaw, •
Smizer, Butler S„ Choctaw, - - -
Secor, William H., Jr„ Choctaw,
Stovall, Hon. James M., - - - .
Smith, Rev. Franklin B., -
Smith, Jourdan Anderson, - - -
Surrell, A. M.,
Surrell, John R., . - - . .
Saddler, Joseph, Chickasaw, -
Shannon, William Thomas, Chickasaw,
Shelton, Dr. A. W., Chickasaw,
Skeen, Cicero A., Chickasaw,
Second Choctaw Regiment Sketch,
Stewart, Charles P., Choc, and Chick.,
Smallwood, Mrs. Annie, Choctaw, -
Stark, Dr. Tollis H., Choctaw,
Stewart, Samuel F., Choctaw,
Sacra, Richard C, Choctaw, ,
Smallwood, B. F., Choctaw, - - .
Smallwood. Richard, Choctaw,
Stewart, Wiley, Choctaw, - . -
Thompson, Alexander, Choctaw, -
Toole, Alfred, Choctaw, . - - -
Turner, Mazeppa, Chickasaw, -
Telle, AUinton, Choctaw, - - .
Thomas, Oliver, Choctaw, - - -
Tennent, Dr. Lewis C, Choctaw, -
Turnbull, John P., Choctaw, .
Thompson, Joseph B., Choctaw, -
Thompson, Thomas Benj., Chickasaw,
Turnbull, Edmond, Chickasaw, -
Tally, William, Chickasaw,
Truax, George Henry, Chickasaw,
Turnbull, T. B., Choctaw,
Twin City Topics, - - - . -
Vinson, Charles Stewart, Choctaw,
Vail, J. W., Choctaw,
Watkins, Jonathan J., Choctaw,
Winston, Hon. Charles K., Choctaw,
Walker, Isham, Choctaw, -
Waite, Frederick T., Chickasaw, -
Walker, Henry T., ... - -
107
236
126
84
73
93
99
66
115
117
72
267
54
260
202
225
230
232
219
280
127
48
43
47
44
43
50
42
109
83
98
312
89
65
58
183
162
285
285
231
311
48
142
170
102
194
2ft3
186
218
273
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IV INDKX.
Wilson. Newton G., Cliifkitsaw, - - 344
Wrlglit. cx-Gov. Allen, Choeiiiw, - ai
Wurd. Chiirk's. Clioctiiw, - - - i:}8
Ward. Henry P.. Clux-taw, - - - 114
Wilson, Dr. George J., - - - - 261
Williunis. W. G.. 84
Woods, Rev. Bonjamin J,, Choctaw, - 180
Ward, Robert J., Choctaw, - - - 181
Wilson, John D.. Choctaw, - - - 179
Walker, Tandy C,. Chick, and Choc. - 316
Wallace, S. W. Chickasaw, - - - 233
Worley, J. C, Chickasaw, - - - - 273
Wilson, Joseph B., Chickasaw, - - 278
Waite, Amos R., Chickasaw, - - - 281
Webb, John M., Chickasaw, - - - 219
Walner, John H„ Chickasaw, - - - 278
Wrig-ht. Isaac Strickland, Chickasaw, 283
Ward, William G., Choctaw, - - - 38
Ward, J. L., Choctaw, . - - - 147
Yarborough. George A., Chickasaw, - 305
York, William C, Cherokee, - - - 75
i
Old Council House at Na-na-wya.
•i*-
-hc
THE CHOCTAWS.
Up to tlie present date the world
is without a history of this an-
cient people. Indeed so little is
known of their habits, customs
and mode of government that the
brief imperfect sketch, such as
we are forced to confine ourselves
to, will be a matter of no small
interest to many who are totally
ignorant on the subject. How-
ever, be it understood that the
compiler of this work waives all
pretense of historic research be-
yond the limitation of such knowl-
edge as he was enabled to gain
from contact with the oldest and
most intelligent members of the
tribe. Such knowledge, however,
is very limited, as few who are
now living can detail any events
prior to the treaty of 1830. Pro-
fessor Cushman, of Greenville,
Texas, whose father lived among
the Choctaws in the old state, has
been for the past six years en-
gaged in writing a voluminous
history of the tribe, the comple-
tion of which is being looked for-
ward to with universal interest.
During the presidency of Mr.
Jackson we find the Choctaws oc-
cupying a considerable tract of
country in Mississippi and living
under the government of a king
who usually inherited the royal
office.
Prior to the revolutionary war
several kings were appointed by
the British, and still further back
the French were instrumental in
choosing the crowned head.
Next in order came the chiefs,
each " iksa," or clan, having
one principal and subordinate
chiefs. The captains and war-
riors ranked next, being domin-
ant over the tillers of the soil,
etc., etc. The principal "iksas"
or clans were the Hyah-pah-tuk-
kalo (twin lakes), Okalla-fal-lah-
ya (longpeople), Okalla-hun-nah-
lay (six towns), Chickasaw-hay
(Chickasaws),Koon-chas, and the
Imok-lu-sha.
These clans lived apart from
each other and never married out-
side their own '.'iksa," it being
a very serious breach of the law
and punishable until 1830, when
the act was happily repealed.
*
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18
LKADKUS AND LKADIN'G INIEV
*-
Of the above-named clans that of
the ilyah-pah-tuk-kalo was pre-
dominant, its people being the
most powerful and enlightened
in the arts of war and peace.
The royal house, or the house of
kings, was of the Hyah-pah-tuk-
kalo. It was called the " Ilattak-
i-hollatah" (Beloved of the Peo-
ple), and no Choctaw, save of
the royal blood, was permitted to
sit upon the throne. Of this
house was Moshola-tub-by, son of '
the last king and grand uncle to
David and Israel Folsora, whose
children are well and widely
known in the Choctaw nation at
present. The relationship ex-
isting between this family and
ex-President Cleveland's wife was
established in 1886 by the late
Judge Rufus Folsom, senator
from Toboksy county.
The extreme in every respect
of the Hyah-pah-tuk-kalos were
the Okalla, Hun-nah-lays, or Six
Towns, who were of a lower caste,
a people without ambition, edu-
cation or the nobler traits which
marked the royal "iksa," Of
them it is avowed that they made
use of carrion or the carcasses of
dead fish and animals. This was
of conrse in an early day, before
religion and education had placed
them on a footing with the other
clans. In the year 1820 a
small body of these people who
dwelt on the banks of Hyah-wah-
nah, orJrVinding Waters, arose
in arms and assassinated a white
trader. Their brethren, who had
been always friendly to the
whites, were so enraged at this
act that they proceeded to punish
the lawless Hyah-wah-nahs. But
the latter, fearing the result of
their crime, left the country en
masse and went to Louisiana; af-
terward wandering from place to
place in Texas and New Mexico
until 1840, when they stole a
march into the Choctaw Nation,
settling on the borders of what is
now called " Ilyah-wah-nah prai-
rie," within twelve miles north-
east of Atoka. From some cause
orotherthey did notlong remain
in possession of their beautiful
location, one which was admira-
bly adapted for an aboriginal set-
tlement, the hills being full of
game and the waters of the
mountain creek well stocked with
fish. It is believed by some that
they were driven from the coun-
try by their brethren and com-
pose that little band now re-
siding in southeastern Texas.
The ruins of their houses, which
were built chiefly of rock, may
be seen at the present day on
the borders of the creek which
bears their name.
-*
>h-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
'>h
19
•?<-
Like other aboriginal races,
the Choctaws believed in the
Great Spirit before the advent of
the early missionaries. But in-
stead of obstinately setting their
faces against the truth, as the ma-
jority of tribes have done, these
people, with characteristic eager-
ness for knowledge, flocked to-
gether to listen to the word of
God from the lips of Kingsberry,
Byington and other dissemina-
tors of Christian doctrine. While
the Choctaws embraced Christian-
ity with apparent readiness, yet
they by no means considered
themselves under obligation to
forsake their ancient rites, cus-
toms and superstition^, and it
was not until 1834 or thereabouts,
when stringent laws were enacted,
that they forsook the horrible
practice of burning to death or
otherwise torturing and killing
persons accused of witchcraft.
This custom, however, has been
completely abandoned amongthe
Choctaws for twenty years. The
Chickasaws, however, resorted to
it as recently as seven years ago,
when several unfortunates under-
went martyrdom.
The Medicine man, or conjur-
ing doctor, has also become un-
popular through the enactment of
a law passed in 1837, forbidding
him to receive fees in the shape
of horses, hogs, guns or 'cattle,
should the patients die under their
care. But should they succeed
in raising the sick, they are en-
titled to any remuneration offered
them. Education and the pres-
ence of modern medical science
has ruined the demand for the
conjuring doctor, who is now al-
most a personage of the past.
REMOVAL FROM MISSISSIPPI.
Soon after consenting to the
allotment of their lands in Miss-
issippi and the adoption of the
United States laws, the Choctaw
people became aware of their true
position. Abrief experience was
sufficient to prove to them the im-
possibility of becoming amenable
to the situation. Thus it came
about that they, with one voice,
petitioned the United States to
remove them to a new country
and once more endow them with
the rights of self-government.
This brought about the treaty of
Dancing Kabbit Creek, which re-
sulted in their selling their lands
east of the Mississippi and pur-
chasing the tract now occupied by
them and the Cliickasaws. It
was agreed that the proceeds of
the sale was to be placed in the
treasury and paid within a cer-
tain time with interest at five per
cent up to date of payment. But
-*
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
tlir paviiK'iit was deferred for
halfact'iitury; the interest, which
wouUl have swelled the original
sum to many millions, was only
allowed for two years and the
princijial cut down so that the en-
tire sum (»nly an)<)Uiited to about
slJ)41,S0r) when divided. The
•treaty was followed by a univer-
sal preparation for the new land,
many of the very old as well as
the very young sharing in the
toilsome jounicy.
We shall not dwell u])on the
hardships undergone by these pa-
tient people, not a few of whom
perished in their pilgrimage. The
greater number "sojourned in
Eagle, Towsen, Bok-tuk-kalo and
other eastern counties. Among
these was Nathaniel Folsom, the
father of twenty-four children,
who, stricken with the palsy, died
and was buried on Mountain
Fork. October. 1833, in the same
grave with his sister, Mrs. Kobin-
son, mother of Kev. Calvin Rob-
inson.of Caddo, who passed away
just three days before her brother.
So disastrous were the efl'ects of
this march that a number of the
emigrants who had come to pros-
pect for future settlements return-
ed at once to Mississippi, believ-
ing the new country to be sickly
in the extreme.
It was not until lS4()or '45
that the Choctaws had all arrived
and setted themselves ])erman-
ently in their new dominion. At
this period and for many years
after we find the most important
centers of trade at Doaksville
and Boggy Dei)ot. The latter
point (which is now abandoned
with the exception of Governor
Wright's old residence) was vis-
ited by whites and Indians from
a distance of two hundred miles,
who came to trade with the mer-
chants, who in their turn were
supplied from Jefferson, Texas,
and New Orleans, La.
^Wonderful has been the change
^in the condition of this country
and its inhabitants within the
past fifty years. This we have
no hesitation in attributing to
the great advantages derived from
self-government. A comparison
between the Indians who remain-
ed in the old states, subservient
to the American laws and the
members of the five civilized
tribes, will do much toward il-
lustrating the extraordinary in-
fluence that self-government
exerts over a proud but conquer-
ed race.
GOVERNMENT, LAWS AND EDUCA-
TION.
The Choctaws have an excel-
lent code of laws and wise law-
S
>B-
OF THE INDIAK TERRITORY.
21
-*
•it-
makers, but unfortunately do not
always elect the best material to
till the executive chair. Men of
brilliancy and great individuality
are rarely popular as candidates
for this office. The Ohoctaws
prefer a man whom they can rule
to one who can rule them, and
they usually attain their desire in
this respect. The principal chief
or governor is elected for a term
of two years. Next in point of
importance come the district
chiefs, of which there are four, one
for each of the following named
districts: Pushmataha, Hotub-
bee, Mosholatubbee and Apuck-
shanubbee. Each of those dis-
tricts is divided into counties pre-
sided over by county judges,
while there are sheriffs and other
inferior officers, all of whom are
elected by public ballot. The ju-
dicial power of the Nation is
vested in one supreme court be-
sides the circuit and county
courts. The supreme court is
composed of three district judges,
one of whom is styled chief jus-
tice. These courts are carried on
with the same degree of formali-
ty that is observed in the United
States. The legal code which is
kept, or meant to be kept, in
subjection to the treaty, is quite
volutninous, increasing at every
council of the legislative body.
The legislature meets early in
October of each year and con-
tinues for a period of from five
to seven weeks, the members of
both houses receiving five dollars
per day. The meeting is held at
Tus-ka-homa, Wade county, where
a handsome and costly capitol
was erected some six or seven
years ago. The senate is com-
posed of four senators from each
district, elected for a term of two
years, while the members of the
house of representatives are elect-
ed by the voters in each county
in ratio of one representative to
every one thousand citizens. In
order to be a member of either
of these bodies it is necessary to
be possessed of Indian blood,
notwithstanding a treaty provis-
ion to the contrary. The business
of the legislature is usually trans-
acted in the native tongue and
interpreted into English. The
principal chief is armed with a
veto which is all-powerful unless
a majority of two-thirds be used
to defeat him. As a seat in the
legislature is one of the highest
honors that can be conferred upon
a citizen, the competition during
elections is brisk and exciting.
Many of .the Ohoctaws are gifted
with oratorical powers to a very
great extent, their important
measures frequently calling forth
-*
*-
-*
l.EADKIiS AND I.KADIXO MEX
eloquent reasoning and sound
logic. At the annual council
meeting eoniinittees are appoint*
ed to examine into the accounts
of the i>ast year and make a])-
}>ropriations for the next. The
royalties, annually turned in by
the National Agent, Permit and
other collectors amount to about
s2.50,0(M> per annum, so that af-
ter having defrayed the expenses
of government and made the
usual appropriations for school-
ing of children in the States,
there is usually a large credit
balance in the treasury. The
home education is also very lib-
eral. Besides the neighborhood
schools, scattered here and there
over the length and breadth of
the land, there are four acade-
mies or institutes, namely: Arm-
strong Academy (the manual
labor school), Spencer Academy,
Wheelock Academy and New
Hope Academy. These insti-
tutes are kept u]) by the govern-
ment at a large expense and un-
der the guidance of qualiiied
teachers in every branch of learn-
ing. A school superintendent is
elected whose duty it is to look
after educational interests.
The (Mioctaw youths as a rule
are diligent pu]>ils and ac
quire knowledge rajiidly from
a teacher to whom thev have be-
come attached, but should their
instructor render himself ob-
noxious, no fear of personal chas-
tisement will coerce them into
obedience. The majority of pu-
pils learn with great rapidity and
have very retentive memories.
The natural ambition of the race
is never better illustrated than in
the young man on his return from
a few years' schooling in the
States. He is completely meta-
morphosed. His tastes are aspir-
ing; his manner courteous as a
Frenchman, and his dress fastid-
ious, sometimes even to the verge
of folly.
The young girls advance very
rapidly under favorable circum-
stances, and many become excel-
lent musicians, artists, linquists
and ready conversationalists.
Their beauty and accomplish-
ments cause them to be much
sought after by United States
citizens sojourning in the coun-
try. In accordance with the
treaty and constitution, any white
man who marries a Choctaw
agreeable to provisions of the
law is entitled to all the rights
and privileges of a citizen by
blood. Within the past few years
the marriage license has been
raised from twenty-five dollars to
one hundred dollars, but the pay-
ment of the license is frequently
-*
>b'
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
23
-*
evaded by a trip to Texas or over
the border, which is a very good
temporary subterfuge, as a wom-
an still preserves her national
rights whether her husband be
legally married to her or not.
AREA, POPULATION, NATURAL FEA-
TURES, PRODUCTS.
The Choctaw Nation covers
an area of 10,450 square miles
and an acreage of 6,688,000. It
is therefore the largest of the
Five Nations. Its population be-
fore the census of 1890 including
freed men and adopted citizens
was estimated at eighteen thou-
sand. If we include the white
population settled within its
borders, it would almost double
these figures. Of this great tract
of land scarcely one-third is fitted
for agricultural purposes, espec-
ially in the eastern counties where
the surface is broken by moun-
tain chains whose long and rath-
er narrow valleys are not always
the most fertile. The prairie land
of Blue county is exceptionally
good, while the bottom lands on
the South Canadian are highly
productive, yielding enormous
crops of corn, cotton, etc. Kich
tracts of land are also to be found
here and there adjacent to the
waters of Red River, Blue and
the various branches of Boggy
*-
Creek. The country throughout
is splendidly watered and well
adapted to stock raising. But
the chief wealth of the Choctaw
Nation is and will henceforth be
dependent upon the apparently
inexhaustible coal beds, which
are now being developed with
great rapidity. The income ac-
cruing to the citizens from this
source, together with the annual
royalty collected by the national
government, is immense. The
coal region extends over a wide
strip of country running north
from Denison to the waters of the
South Canadian, a distance of
over one hundred miles, the out-
croppings being visible through-
out the entire region. Besides
coal the Choctaw Nation is un-
doubtedly rich in copper, lead
and silver, though no very im-
portant discoveries have yet come
to light. Since the establishment
of railroads timber has been a
great source of revenue to the
Nation, a large quantity of which
is cut down and shipped annu-
ally. Walnut, bois d'arc and the
various growths of pine and oak,
reach perfection in the high and
low lands; for here is a country
whose natural aspect varies from
the ruggedness of the Rockies to
the low lands of Florida, rich in
tropical vegetation.
't'
•i^
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24
LEADEKS AND LEADING MEX
The natural scenery of the
Choctaw Nation, especially in the
eastern ]>ortioii, is not surpassed
l»y aiiythini^ in the southwest,
this side of the Sierra Madre
Mountains. Its diversity of land-
scape is remarkable, exhibiting
a rare panorama within the lim-
its of a day's travel. East of the
Kiametia range the country is
very sparsely settled and few hab-
itations are to be met with in the
Sans Bois, Sugar Loaf and Pusli-
ma-lin Mountains. In these re-
gions bear, panther, mountain
lion, and other wild animals are
to be met with; while deer, tur-
key and smaller game are plenti-
ful.
Regarding the Indian people,
it is worthy of observation that
the full-bloods never erect their
dwellings beside a public high-
way, nor within proximity to each
other, but rather seek an isolated
spot at the foot of some hill and
close to water. Here they culti-
vate a small patch of corn and
raise their hogs, upon which food
they chiefly subsist. Here we re-
fer only to the small minority or
unenlightened portion of the pop-
ulation, for the vast majority of
the Ohoctaws are equal in point
of intelligence — more inde])end-
ent and better housed and fed
than the jieasantry of European
countries. Of the educated citi-
zens of this Nation, be it said,
that in proportion to the oppor-
tunities they have received, in
the same ratio are they equal to
the Anglo-American race, intel-
lectually, morally and often
financially, for many of them ex-
hibit strong traits of acquisitive-
ness and economy. Physically,
however, the Choctawsare far in-
ferior to their pale brethren,
many passing away every year
from the ravages of pulmonary
diseases, which are very common,
especially among the half-breeds.
The prevalence of consumption
may be accounted for by the an-
cient custom of intermarriage
with their own kindred or clan.
PROGRESS-EECENT HISTORIC FACTS.
An interim of fifty years from
the emigration of the Choctaws
to the present time, during which
the race enjoyed the grand priv-
ilege of self-government, miss-
ionary influence and the example
of many good and industrious
white men who married amongst
them, and behold the marvelous
change! The bow and arrow is
exchanged for the plow; the spear
head for the pen, a weapon which
many of the Choctaws can nse
with singular ease and grace.
The "Tonfulla" patch, too, has
-*
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY,
25
*
become a three-hundred-acre field
more or less, for some of the
farms in the Choctaw and Chick-
asaw Nations cover 5,000 acres.
Add to this the large pastures
stocked with Durham, Hereford,
Polled Angus and Gallowaj im-
ported cattle, and you have an
illustration of the modern Choc-
taw farm. Can as much be said
for the progress of any race un-
der God's blue heaven during the
brief period of fifty years ? And
yet withal this, there are law-
makers in the United States who
publicly avow that the Indian
Domain of the five tribes is a
waste uncultivated tract. How
will the following strike the ear
of the New England farmer. In
1888 the town of Ardmore, Chick-
asaw Nation, was established.
In the fall and winter of 1889
and 1890, 17,000 bales of cotton
were purchased and shipped from
that point. Facts of this nature
are proof positive that the Choc-
taw and Chickasaw Nations are
pushing rapidly to the front in
commerce. Coalmining has also
greatly increased within the past
twelve months, the Coal Gate
mines being added to the old
established shafts at McAlester
and Lehigh.
Some four years ago a move-
ment was set on foot by Hon.
Green McCurtain and others to
take the coal from the individual
citizens and turn the proceeds
into the national fund. The de-
fense was championed and fierce-
ly contested by John M. Hodges,
member for Atoka county, backed
by Governor B. F. Smallwood,
Simon Hotema and others, and
the movement defeated. But
revolution pervaded the atmos-
phere of that council from the
commencement to the end,
and Governor McKinney was
forced to veto a bill (introduced
at the instigation of a Presbyter-
ian divine) forbidding the Roman
Catholics the right to establish
a mission in the Choctaw Nation.
To the irrepressible member for
Atoka county is due the credit of
having caused the defeat of
this unconstitutional and unjust
measure.
Having drifted into history we
cannot do less than make honor-
able mention of the greatest chief
of modern Choctaw history, Jack
M'Curtain, who was the most prac-
tical and progressive of all their
executive ofiicers. His example
did much toward bringing about
the prosperity now enjoyed by
his people. His supporters form-
ed themselves into a party after
his death, and the McCurtain
combination has elected its candi-
-*
*-
26
l.EADERS AND LEADING MEX
date every term till 1888, when
B. F. Smaliwood, a man of great
popularity, and the leader of the
opposite party, was called to the
executive chair. In 1890, how-
ever, when the same contest was
repeated,Wilson Jones was elect-
ed. Mr. Jones has been national
treasurer for several years, and
is one of the richest men in the
Choctaw Nation.
The most important event of
the past twelve months was the
appropriation and payment of the
"Net Proceeds Claim," the dis-
tribution of which threw a large
sum of money into general circu-
lation.
*-
->i»
3c(icl ^
*-
-•i«
LANGUAGE AND EARLY HISTORY.
*-
LANGUAGE.
The Choctaw and Chickasaw
languages are almost synono-
mous, the construction the same,
a few words only differing in sig-
nification. The vocabulary is
very limited. Some French words
have crept in their dictionary
from early contact with the
French hunters and traders of
Mississippi. The late Gov. Al-
len Wright, though a progressive
man, did much to perpetuate the
mother tongue by the publication
of a lexicon and school books,
and the translation of sacred
works into the Choctaw. Some
of the words are peculiarly soft
and pleasing to the ear. At
their revival meetings the Choc-
taws chaunt their hymns in the
native dialect. Their method of
singing is peculiar, and not a few
of their airs are original, possess-
ing a weirdness which sets the
old Irish minor completely in the
shade. But the aboriginal lan-
guage is fast dying out, and is
only taught in a few of the re-
mote neighborhood schools.
EARLY INTER-MARRIAGE.
Inter-makkiage between white
settlers and the Choctaws and
Chickasaws must have com-
menced at a very early day if
we are to judge from the number
of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon names
that figure in the vocabulary of
'^Leaders and Leading Men."
By observation the reader will
learn that the Celtic or Irish
blood predominates among the
Mixed race. Harris, McCurtain,
Harrisons, Howell, McKinney,
Harkins, and a host of others
are Irish. The Scotch and En-
glish follow ; while wc have,
strange to say, few French names
among the citizens, although the
latter race greatly associated
themselves with the Choctaws
-^
*-
-*
LANGUAGE AND EARLY HLSTORY,
in Mississippi at an early date.
It is difficult to account for this
unless we attribute it to the fact
that the French are not by nature
a marrying people.
THE BALURSHA OR BELOXI
CLAN.
The above-named people, adopt-
ed by the Choctaw Council in
October, 1858, are believed to
have been originally members of
the Choctaw family who, leaving
Mississippi at an early date, wan-
dered into the southwest in search
of better hupting grounds. Under
the leadership of their adventur-
ous chief, '"Tox-i-tubbee," they
roamed at large through Texas
and Mexico, picking up words
from various dialects of the plain
Indians and grafting them on
the Choctaw language. Finding
it impossible to maintain their
hunting grounds, and subject to
the treatment of hostiles at the
hands of the Texas pioneers, the
little band moved to the Choctaw
Nation, and are now located east
of Kiowa, in the Keel settlement
— Charlie Keel being one of
their leadine; men.
♦i--
*
*-
-*
BIOGRAPHICAL.
JOHN M. HODGES.
[OHOCTAW.]
This popular legislator was born
in Sugar Loaf county, Choctaw
Nation, in 1850, the son of Joseph
Hodges, a white man, and Ce-
belle Wall, of the Koonchas and
Iraoklusba's. In 1868, in his
eighteenth year, he was elected
county judge of Bok-tuk-kallo
county, and two years afterward
filling the unexpired term of cir-
cuit judge. This was followed
by his appointment as revenue
collector and succeeded by that
of circuit clerk. In 1882 hecred-
itably filled an unexpired terra
in the Council, and in 1883 was
elected inspector of revenues.
Before the lapse of two years he
was elected to the House, and
re elected four years in succes-
sion. In 1888 he went to the
Senate with a large majority, and
the following year was chief cora-
missioner of the Net Proceeds
Claim, nearly one million of
money passing through his hands
during the distribution. In 1890
he was once more elected mem-
ber of the Lower House. On the
adoption of the freedmen in
1885, the subject of this sketch
was one of the commissioners.
Since the age of seventeen years
(when he became postmaster
in Bok-tuk-kallo county) John
Hodges has never been out of
ofiice. His decisions, when coun-
ty judge, at the age of eighteen
years, indicated his extraordinary
force of character. As a law-
maker he has no superiors, and
as a statesman few equals among
his brethren. Aggressive in the
extreme, blunt in manner, and
uncompromising in all things,
John is not without his enemies.
But his friends are sufficiently
numerous to send him to any of-
fice which he desires. Within
the past few years he has pur-
chased a great deal of property,
and added much to the appear-
ance of Atoka by building a row
of attractive residences, his own
private mansion being the hand-
somest dwelling in the Choctaw
Nation. He owns a large mer-
cantile house in Atoka besides a
*-
-*
John M. Hodges.
*-
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
27
hotel, and has part interest in
other business establishments
elsewhere. His coal property is
also very valuable. In short,
John M. Hodges is one of the
richest, most influential, talented
and progressive citizens in his
country. His wife, who was a
Miss McKinney, is attractive and
hospitable. She entertains fre-
quently, and then always in the
handsomest manner, a party at
the Hodges house being invar-
iably looked forward to with an
unusual degree of pleasure.
*-
CAPTAIN G. B. HESTER.
[CHOCTAW.]
No MERCHANT in the Indian Ter-
ritory is more highly respected,
nor has a better business record
than Captain G. B. Hester, who
was known as a trader in the old
quarters at Boggy as far back as
the year 1858. He was born in
1831, in Granville county, JST.C,
andcame to Tishomingo in 1855.
From thence he moved to Caddo,
where he clerked for a few years
for Major Harlan, after which
he settled down in Boggy. At
the commencement of the war he
was appointed quartermaster and
commissary in the First Choctaw
Regiment, and served in most of
the principal engagements. In
1865 he w^as chosen cotton agent
for the Creek Indians, who were
at that time squatting in the
Chickasaw Nation, and in a state
of almost utter destitution, having
but little to eat and nothing to
wear. In this capacity Captain
Hester acquitted himself honor-
ably, displaying the tact and rare
business qualifications for which
he has since become remarkable.
In 1866 the subject of this
sketch entered business with J.
P. Kingsberry, and this gentle-
man dying the year following,
Hester shouldered the responsi-
bility of the firm, with the wife of
deceased as a silent partner. The
partnership continued for nine
years, and dissolved in 1876,
when Captain Hester purchased
the entire business. He now
carries from fifteen to seventeen
thousand dollars worth of goods,
and purchases on an average
five hundred bales of cotton annu-
ally, which he buys in the seed,
and gins at his own establishment.
Mr. Hester married a Miss
Lizzie Fulton, of Tunnel Hill,
Georgia, a lady in the truest
sense of the term. His eldest
daughter, Fannie, the wife of
Edward Perry, Esq., of Denison,
Texas, died in November, 1885.
The second daughter, "Daisy,"
married Robert L. Owen, ex-In-
dian agent, on Dec. 20, 1889.
-*
-*
28
OF THE INDIAN TEURITORY,
AVILSOX X. JONES.
PRINCIPAL CHIEF f)F CHOCTAW NATION.
The present principal chief of
tlie Choctaws was born in Mis-
sissippi in 1831, and is the young-
est son of xsathaniel Jones, who
*-
WILSON N. .JONES.
emigrated to the Choctaw Nation
in 1833.
Nathaniel was annuity captain,
and afterward served as a mem-
ber of the legislature at the early
councils, w^ien the council house
was situated at Nana Wya.
The subject of our sketch be-
longs to the Ok-la-fa-lay-a clan.
In 1849 he commenced farming
without any capital whatever.
Ilis results were very limited for
the first few years, but he soon
began accumulating enough to
secure a fair start. He succeed-
ed so far as to be in a position
to open a mercantile establish-
ment on a capital of five hundred
dollars. In 1866 or 186T he
took a Kansas man named Jim
Myers as partner, who contrib-
uted three or four hundred dol-
lars to the stock. After four
years of hard labor they succeeded
in accumulating money enough
to purchase a thousand head of
cattle. Myers drove the cattle
to market and disposed of them
in Kansas, probably at Fort
Scott, but forgot to return and
divide the proceeds with his part-
ner. Tlie consequence was that
Wilson Jones lost his labor of
four years, a sum amounting to
at least five thousand dollars.
But Mr. Wilson went bravely to
work again, aud collecting what
debts were due to the house and
three hundred dollars' worth of
cattle, turned in by Mr. W. W.
Hampton, satisfied his creditors
and saved the business, enabling
him to purchase a fresh stock of
goods. There being little money
among the Clioctaws at the time,
Mr. Jones was obliged to take
stock in payment for his sales;
but he had a fine range and per-
mitted his cattle to accumulate
year by year. When the rail-
road was located he opened a
*-
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
29
*-
store at Shawnee, fifteen miles
from Caddo, where he continued
in business thirteen or fourteen
years with great success, increas-
ing his stock, until at the present
time he is the largest cattle
owner in the Indian Territory.
At one time he loaned B. J.
Hampton and L. A. Morris five
thousand dollars to start in busi-
ness at Caddo. They used his
name in purchasing their goods,
and failing in business, Wilson
Jones was held accountable for
the amount, nothing being left
to liquidate the debts (says Mr.
Jones) but a few remnants. He
also says that he has had to pay
as much as twenty thousand dol-
lars to satisfy the demands of
the St. Louis merchants for simi-
lar debts as the Hampton-Morris.
Of late Mr. Jones devotes his
whole attention to stock-raising.
In 1884 Wilson Jones was
elected district trustee, and in
1887 treasurer, which office he
held until 1890, when he was
elected principal chief of the
Choctaw Nation. He was first
married to Col. Pickins' daugh-
ter, by whom he had two chil-
dren, both of whom are dead.
In 1855 he married Louisa La
Flore, by whom he has had four
children, all of whom are dead.
William, the last surviving mem-
ber of his family, was waylaid
and shot in 1889. His mother
died a long time before. In
1876 Mr. Jones married Isabell
Heaston, daughter of Col. Heas-
ton, of Bennett county, Arkan-
sas, by whom he had two chil-
dren, both of whom are dead.
Mr. Jones has about seventeen
thousand six hundred acres of
land under fence, five hundred
and fifty of which are under cul-
tivation, the rest in pasture. He
also owns five thousand head of
cattle, three thousand of which
are beef stock. Besides this he
has seventy-five head of horses.
His brand is W. J. He has also
an interest in coal claims, cotton
gin and half ownership in a large
mercantile establishment with W.
H. Ainsw^orth, of Caddo.
Without education. Governor
Jones is a man of extraordinary
intelligence, unflagging energy
and tenacity of purpose. He is
a wonderful financier, when we
consider that he is wholly desti-
tute of book learning. Had he
had the opportunities of educa-
tion now offered to his people,
there is no knowing what he
might have achieved. He is a
man of great popularity, and will
undoubtedly give full satisfaction
to his supporters in the discharge
of his responsible duties.
•K-
-^
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
31
EX-GOV. ALLEN WRIGHT.
[CHOCTAW.]
This remarkable and rarely gift-
ed aborigine was born in Novem-
ber, 1826, close to the site of
the present city of Jackson, Mis-
sissippi. Others avow that he
first saw light on the left bank
of the Tak-nnk-i river in the same
•i<-
EX-GOV. ALLEN WRIGHT.
state. Little is known concern-
ing the history of his parentage,
save that his mother, a full-blood
of the Hyah-pah-tuk-kalo"iksa,"
died the year previous to the
emigration of 1833. Of the sub-
ject of this sketch, whatever may
be said, it is quite evident that he
was a full-blood — an aborigine
of rare intellectual qualities and
inspired with an energy of pur-
pose which almost amounted to
an inspiration.
There is a tradition to the ef-
fect that young Allen emigrated
with his father, brothers and sis-
ters to the Choctaw Nation in
1833, but avoided the compan-
ionship of the tribe and traveled
by themselves in a small group,
arriving at Luk-fata, Bok-tuk-kalo
county, in March, 1834, in very
great distress. However this may
be, we know that the subject of
this sketch at the age of ten years,
with extraordinary eagerness,
commenced learning to read
English from a teacher named
Joseph Dukes, residing near
where Skelton Depot now stands.
After the death of his father he
was taken in hand by Cyrus
Kingsberry , a missionary from the
old state, and in 1841 entered
Spencer Academy. His progress
was extraordinary, and in 1848
he and four others were selected
to go to college in the States. He
chose Delaware College, and the
following year went to Prince-
ton until 1850, when he entered
Union College, Schenectedy, N.
Y., and graduated in two years
(1852). After this he went to
the Union Theological Seminary
in New York City, and graduated
in divinity, returning to the
Choctaw Nation, where he was
*b-
32
-^
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
iininediatelj placed in charge of
Armstrong Academy. Allen
Wriglit was licensed to preach
the gospel in 1S46. and ten
years afterward was ordained by
the Indian Presbytery. In 1856
he was drawn into politics and
elected member of Council. Dur-
ing the ten years which followed
he was called to many important
offices, and when absent as a del-
egate to Washington in 1866,
was made principal chief without
his knowledge. In 1868 he was
re-elected against a very strong
combination. It was during this
time that a plan was formed to
cripple the political influence of
Allen Wright by accusing him
and the delegates of misappro-
priating national funds. Their
scheme was successful so far
that when Allen was again
brought out for Governor in 1876
he was easily defeated. This
was the last office which he
sought to gratify the wishes of
his people, nor did he act in be-
half of the Choctaws since the
administration of Jack McCur-
tain. On that occasion he went
to Washington in company with
Capt. Stanley to defend the ac-
tion of the general council
against self-appointed delegates,
and to prosecute the claim against
the M. K. & T. railroad. Ex-
«
Governor Wright after this time
devoted much of his leisure to
literature. He was the best Choc-
taw scholar of his Nation, and
gave to the world a dictionary of
the language and a set of school
books. Besides this he translated
several volumes of the Choctaw
and Chickasaw laws, as well as
reproducing a portion of the
scriptures and the popular hymns
in the Native language. He was
married in February, 1857, ^o
Harriett Newell Mitchell, a mis-
sionary lady from Dayton, Ohio,
of great refinement and amiabil-
ity, who has since, as well as be-
fore her marriage, devoted the
greater part of her time to mis-
sionary labor. He had eight chil-
dren: Liffey, Frank, Allen, Mary,
Annie, Kate, Clare and Alfred.
Ex-Governor Wright was taken
sick late in November, 1885, and
died of pneumonia on May 2.
His de.ath w^as looked upon as a
natioutil calamity, and his people
on losing him felt that they had
indeed and unquestionably lost
the most useful member of their
Nation, He was pre-eminently
the scholar of his tribe and ver-
satile in the highest degree.
While he invariably sought the
society of the learned and refined,
he was equally at home with the
most illiterate of his tribe.
-^
^-
OF THE INDIAN TERIIITOKY.
33
-•5
^-
REV. DICKSON DURANT.
[CHOCTAW.]
Dickson Dueant was the son of
Fisher Durant, a full -blood
Choctaw. He was born in 1838
in Mississippi, near the Big
Black river, or Lonesa-chita, and
emigrated with his parents in
1842, stopping in Boktukkalo
county at Skelton Depot, where
he lived for years. In 1849 he
settled at Carriage Point, in
the Chickasaw Nation. At four-
teen years of age, when visiting
a camp meeting presided over
by a missionary named Silas
Kingsbury (afterward adopted
by the tribe), he became a con-
vert to the Christian religion
through the interpretation of the
fourteenth verse, third chapter
of John. The interpreter, Jona-
than Dwight, so impressed upon
the youth the significance of this
verse that he determined to learn
English in order to penetrate the
mystery of Christ. With this in
view, he left his people and trav-
eled through the States, working
at one farm and then another
until, at the end of three years,
he could speak and read the
English language correctly, be-
sides having a general knowledge
of the Scriptures. On his return
to his people he married Kate
Harney, an orphan girl, and with
nothing but an ax and a camping
outfit, commenced his career by
opening a small farm near Car-
riage Point, which he soon sold
out, moving to Melon Creek,
where he remained three years.
From this point he moved to
Fisher''s Prairie, Jacks Fork
county, till the war commenced,
when he came to Durant, where
he resides at the present time.
For seventeen years Mr. Durant
was an ordained preacher in the
Presbyterian church, but left it
in 1885 and joined the Congre-
gationalists. During the twenty-
two years of his mission he has
never received a cent for his la-
bors, but devotes the profits of
his farm to traveling among
those who need the word of God.
In 1889 he went to Southeastern
Texas to preach to the Alabama
Indians, and in July, 1890, re-
turned on the same mission by
invitation of the tribe. He has
been superintendent of Sunday
schools for twenty-seven years.
When the war broke out Mr.
Durant entered the Choctaw
brigade under Colonel Walker,
and was in action at Leutonia,
both battles of Cabin Creek, and
the fight at Camden, Arkansas.
In the former engagement he
was wounded by a shell in the
left side, the effect of which
-*
34
-^
LEADKUS AND LEADING MEN
causes him to limp and disables
him for heavy physical labor.
He has six children — Melvina,
John Wesley, Mattie, Fannie,
Mollie and Rosey, by his first
wife. His son, now twenty years
of age, has returned from the
Arkansas College, Batesville,
where he received a sound busi-
ness and classical education, and
is a young man of much promise.
The Rev. Dickson Durant is
now fiftj'-two years of age and
in sound health.
PETER INTOLUBBE
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born 1852; was the son of Peter
Intolubbe, captain of the Choc-
taw Light Horse, a full-blood In-
dian, his wife being half white.
Young Peter was educated at the
Israel Folsom neighborhood
school in Blue county. During
his father's life, who was in those
days considered wealthy, the
young man was overseer of the
stock farm; marrying at the early
age of nineteen Evelyn McGee,
daughter of Sam McGee, of Ben-
nington. His wife died in 1881
after having had five children,
all of whom died but Colbert,
aged eleven years. In 1883 he
married Savanna Shaw, from
whom he was divorced two years
afterward. In 1872 Intolubbe
was appointed deputy sheriff of
Blue county. At the expiration
of his term he commenced farm-
ing, and has at this time a farm
of two hundred acres, one hun-
dred and sixty of which is plant-
ed in corn and cotton, and rented
to three white families. He is
at date of this writing a candi-
date for the office of district
chief, against five competitors.
*-
ALFRED A. DUNN, M. D
[CHOCTAW.]
One of the most promising young
professional men in the Indian
Territory is Alfred A. Dunn, son
of the late William N. Dunn, M.
D., Atoka. He was born in 1801
in Choctaw county, Alabama,
and was educated in Meridian,
Miss., graduating in medicine
at the University of Louisville,
Ky., in March, 1887. The sub-
ject of this sketch is a descend-
ant of theHyapah-tuk-kallo clan,
his mother's name being Yates,
while his grandmother was Mil-
lie Nail, belonging to one of the
most renowned families among
the Choctaws. Having graduated.
Doctor Dunn spent a short time
in Atoka, after which he moved
to Thackerville; and finally, in
1888, made his home in the beau-
tiful and rapidly growing town
*
1378311
ti--
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
-*
35
of Purcell, where in partnership
with Dr. Steade he is conducting
an extensive practice and a well
stocked drug store. Dr. Dunn
has also several farms, containing
one thousand live hundred acres
in cultivation, which is worked
by fifteen renters. His mother,
younger brother and one sister
are still residing in Atoka, I. T.
*-
ARTHUR W. DAVIS.
Arthur W. Davis, a white man,
is the son of Arthur Davis, of
Christian county, Ky. He set-
tled in the Choctaw Nation, at
South Canadian, in 1872, his
brothers, Mathew, John R. and
Levi, having accompanied him.
In 1874 he married Manda Leiv-
sey, daughter of M. T. Leivsey,.
of Mountain View, State county,
Arkansas, by whom he had four
children, three boys and one girl.
He went to school at Greenville,
Texas, and in Howard county,
Mo., and at the outbreak of the
war joined the Nineteenth Ar-
kansas infantry ; was at the bat-
tle of Elkhorn, and was taken
prisoner in 1862 at the Arkan-
saw Post and carried to Camp
Douglas, Illinois, and was ex-
changed at Peterborough, Va. ;
went to Richmond, Va., and took
charge of Battery No. 11 for
some time; after which he joined
Bragg's army, in Middle Tennes-
see, at Wartrace ; in the battle
of Chicamauga was wounded in
the breast and arm October 21,
1863; was at the battles of Mis-
sionary Kidge and Ringgold Gap ;
was under Gen. Joe E. Johnston
in his retreat to the sea when
pursued by General Sherman ;
was in the battle of Atlanta, in
186-1, where the South made its
final stand. In this engagement
he was shot through the right
arm, from the eiFects of which he
has lost the use of his hand.
Retiring from service in 1864, he
went to Rockwall, Texas, where
he and his brothers owned a
Spanish claim ot 3,400 acres.
For many years Mr. Davis
clerked for his brother, John R.
Davis, who had the tie contract
in the Choctaw Nation and was
a general merchant at Durant.
He also farmed for his brother
Mathew, a citizen of the Choc-
taw Nation by marriage, for
whom he cultivated four hundred
acres of land, and who has six
hundred acres under fence. At
the present time Mr. Arthur W.
Davis has charge of Mr. Hiram
McBride's general mercantile
store at Durant. He is a soci-
able, kindly disposed gentleman,
and has many friends.
-*
*-
3(5
LKADEKS AND LEADING MEN
DAVID OSRORN FISHER.
[CHOCTAW AND CHICKASAW.]
OsBOKN Fisher was born in Au-
gust, 1850 ; is the son of Joseph
Fisher, a Kentuckian, and Mar-
tha Hayes, a Choctaw of the
Oka-la-fal-laya clan. He first
saw the light on Pearl river, Mis-
sissippi, and came to Fort Tow-
*-
DAVID OSBOEN FISHER.
sen, Choctaw Nation, in 1832.
For three years he went to school
at the old Choctaw Academy un-
der the supervision of Richard
M. Johnson. In 1837 he moved
to Fort Washita and entered the
employment of Gooding, who
kept a trading post and general
supply store. After four years'
service at that point, he moved
to Bok-tuk-kal-lo county, where
he was employed in assisting
Dan Saftrons, who had a con-
tract to feed a recently arrived
emigration of* Choctaws. Five
years afterward he moved to
Panola county, on Red river, and
opened a large farm. At the
age of twenty-three he married
Elizabeth Kemp, sister of Judge
Ben Kemp, by whom he had six
children, all of whom are dead
but Joseph, aged twenty-five
years. At the youthful age of
twenty-one Osborn Fisher was
elected County Judge of Bok-
tuk-kal-lo county, and soon after-
ward served as representative of
Kiamiclii county at the Choctaw
Council. During the war he was
quartermaster of the Choctaw
and Chickasaw regiment under
Colonel Tandy Walker; after
which, in 1865, he moved to Se-
bastian county, Arkansas, where
he opened a farm, cotton gin,
etc. Three years afterward he
was burned out and moved to
Perryville, and from there to
Briar Creek, Pickins county,
where he went into the stock
business, and then moving from
that point to Atoka, Choctaw
Nation. Here he represented
Atoka county in the legislature,
and in 1873 made his debut in
Chickasaw politics by represent
-*
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
37
*
iiig Pickins county at the Na-
tional Legislature.
We should have previously
stated that Mr. Fisher was a
member of both tribes, having
been adopted by the Chickasaws
through an act of the legislature
passed during the vear. In the
latter part of 18T4 he was com-
missioned, in company with Col.
Lem Reynolds, as a delegate to
Washington, which office fre-
quently devolved upon him dur-
ing the years which followed.
In 1877, while the subject of
this sketch was living at Atoka,
he was again called to represent
Pickins county at the Chickasaw
National Council, and two years
afterward moved to the capital,
at Tishomingo, disposing of his
live stock to Commissioner D.
N. Robb, of Atoka, and the toll
bridge to J. J. McAlester. Hav-
ing moved to the capital, Mr.
Fisher purchased the mercantile
business of Byrd & Bro., in
which branch he has continued.
During the administration of
Gov. Jonas Wolf he was appoint-
ed National Interpreter, and Na-
tional Treasurer in the Byrd ad-
ministration of 1888, which office
he was forced to resign owing to
an overpress of business. Mr.
Fisher has six hundred acres un-
der cultivation and gives em-
ployment to at least thirteen fam-
ilies. He married Mattie Mc-
Sweeney in 1868, by whom he
has three daughters — Mary, Ag-
nes and Blanche, the eldest being
fourteen years of age.
WILLIAM ALBERSON.
[CHOCTAW AND CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch is the
son of Wilson Alberson, his
mother's maiden name being
Mary Moseley, sister to Hon.
Palmer Moseley, National Su-
perintendent of the board of ed-
ucation. William was born close
to Boggy Depot, about 1860,
and was educated at the Chick-
asaw Academy by Prof. Harley,
in 1872-3-4 and '75, where he
learned to speak English with
evident ease. In 1876 he mar-
ried Lizzie Shenohey, but she
died in 1889, and in 1890 he was
wedded to Sarah Hamilton, after
which he gave his farm to the
children of his first wife, and is
at present employed erecting new
improvements. On the disfran-
chisement of the white citizens
in 1889, Alberson was appointed
to fill the unexpired term of
Thomas Chapman in the House
of Representatives. He is now a
member of the Chickasaw Mili-
tia— Tishomingo Company under
Captain Wilson Jimmy.
-*
->b
38
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
*-
WILLIAM G.WARD.
[CHOCTAW.]
Born November, 1847, iu Panola
county, I. T., north of Old War-
ren, Texas; is the son of Joseph
Ward, a citizen of Newberry,
and Elizabeth Thompson, daugh-
ter to Giles Thompson, of Boggy
Depot, I. T. Moving to Spring-
town, Farker county, Texas, in
his youth, he remained there
eleven years, where he received
education at the public school.
In 1865 he moved to Thompson's
Cow pen (as it was then called) in
Blue county, where he lived until
1868, moving the same year to
''Limestone Gap,-' where he
married Eliza, daughter of Caleb
McDaniell Beck, a Cherokee.
During the war, while in Parker
county, Mr. Ward joined the
County Militia, at eighteen years
of age, scouting all along the
border until the close of the war.
In 1870, and the two following
years, he was employed tending
his father's stock, after which he
moved to his present property,
five miles from Caddo, where he
has six liundred and forty acres
in pasture and two hundred in
cultivation. In 1889 he was
elected representative for Blue
county, and is now a candidate
for re-election. In 1886 he joined
the Wheel, and the second year
became Territorial treasurer, and
president of the subordinate
Wheel of Blue county in 1890.
Has eight children — four boys
and four girls; the oldest being
named Timothy, now twenty-one
years of age.
CHARLES J. MAURER.
[CHOCTAW.]
Among the earliest white settlers
in the Choctaw Nation were
Charles J. Maurer and his father,
both of whom were native born
Alsatians from the Rhine dis-
trict. Charlie was but four years
old in 1850 when he arrived in
Red River county, I. T., settling
close to Pine Creek church, north
of Clarksville. His father pur-
sued his trade of wagon making
at Doaksville, and in 1860 moved
his shop to Boggy, at that
period the most important trad-
ing post in the Indian Territory,
being the center of commerce
for the native and white settlers
living within two hundred miles
west, and the same distance
north and south. Young Mau-
rer when only sixteen years of
age assisted in J. P. Kingsberry's
mercantile house, and in 1868
became a citizen through his
marriage with Mary Freeney,
-^
^-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
-39
-*
sister to Claj Freeney, of Blue
county, an extensive stockman.
By this union Mr. Maurer has
two children — Leonidas, aged
sixteen years, and Cecil, thirteen.
After an experience of some
years in the establishment of G.
B. Hester in 1884, he opened
business in his own name at
Boggy, and has ever since
been steadily accumulating. He
has three farms containing over
one thousand acres under fence,
three hundred and fifty of which
are in cultivation. Besides this
he is the owner of some 700
head of cattle and other stock.
Mr. Maurer has never interfered
in political or public matters, and
is much respected by the Indian
people.
*-
WILLIAM BASSETT.
[CHOCTAW.]
Born in St. John's, Canada,
in 186-i, educated in the city of
New York, William remained at
the home of his parents until
1882, when he emigrated to
Atoka, Indian Territory, where
his uncle, O. Hebert, a wealthy
business man, resided. The sub-
ject of this sketch was soon em-
ployed by his relative as clerk in
his mercantile house, where he
made rapid progress in acquiring
a knowledge of the business. In
1885, after the death of his
uncle, he married his cousin,
Louisiana E. Hebert, who is one-
sixteenth Choctaw, being a niece
to Mrs. E. A. Flack, who repre-
sented one of the most ancient
families of the tribe. Mrs. Flack
died last June at the age of
nearly eighty. Her nieces, neph-
ews and other relatives were al-
most numberless throughout the
Nation, so that her death was
deeply regretted.
In 1885 Will Bassett accepted
the position of chief clerk in the
business house of Messrs. Robb
& Blossom, and continues so in
the same house till the present
day. He is also owner of four
hundred acres of good farming
land as well as five hundred head
of cattle. He is a young man
of great steadiness and sterling
social qualities. His family con-
sists of two children, Clare and
Mamie, aged two and four years,
respectively. On the election of
Henry Ward to the oflice of
County Judge, Mr. Bassett was
appointed clerk of the County
Court.
Mr. Bassett has become very
popular, and has a host of friends
and acquaintances in the city of
Atoka.
-*
40
LKADKRS AND LEADING 3IEX
CIIAS. A. HII.BO.
[CHOCTAW.]
Born in Leake county, Missis-
sippi, in 1857; son of William
Bilbo. Charles was educated at
King's College, Bristol, Tennes-
see, and came to Caddo, Choc-
taw Nation, in 1885 ; after which
he entered the mercantile estab-
*
OHAS. A. BILBO.
lishment of W. H. Ainsworth
for two years. In 1890 he
opened a drug store and confec-
tionery business in Caddo, where
he is also proprietor of a livery
stable. lie is also owner of
three farms of 250 acres, besides
a pasture containing 2,000 acres,
which he rented out at the rate
of four dollars per head per an-
num until the passage of an act
forbidding the introduction of
alien's cattle into the Nation.
Mr. Bilbo married Miss Ella Mc-
Coy, daughter of Dr. McCoy, of
Caddo, in 1890. He is highly
connected, being a nephew of
Mrs. Flack, of Atoka, one of the
oldest citizens of the Indian Ter-
ritory.
JOEL H. NAIL.
[ CHOCTAW.]
One of the prosperous stockmen
of the Choctaw Nation, was born
in 1850, being the son of Jona-
than Nail, who came to Doaks-
ville in 1833. Joel went to col-
lege at Lebanon, Tennessee,
where in 1860 he fell in love
with Nettie Merrett, daughter of
William Merrett, and married
her. Mr. Nail, after several
changes of fortune, finally set-
tled on his present estate in Blue
county, in 1882, where he has
four hundred acres under culti-
vation, three thousand head of
stock, and three thousand acres
of pasture, besides building prop-
erty in Caddo and the Nails Ho-
tel, of. which he is at present the
proprietor. He is also an enthu-
siastic lover of racing, and has
always kept the best race stock
in the district.
->i*
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY,
41
-*
*-
EDWARD A.BOHANNON.
[CHOCTAW.]
Born in Blue county, March,
1863. The subject of this sketch
was the son of Edward Bohan-
non, who emigrated from Mis-
sissippi in 1852. The young
man and his two brothers, David
and Leonidas, were left under
their mother's charge at an early
age, and until 1885 assisted her
on the family homestead. Ed-
ward made the most of the limit-
ed education he was enabled to
receive at Durant, but was for
several years incapable of active
exertion through the effects of
three bullet wounds which he re-
ceived on Christmas night, 1884,
at the hands of a man named
Callaghan. The shots were fired
while young Bohannon was ob-
serving the dancers, and the pis-
tol was so close to him that each
shot burned his clothing. The
severity of his wounds obliged
him to adopt the business of book
agent and fur trader until 1889,
when he was appointed a member
of the U. S. Indian Police. Be-
sides this, Edward Bohannon
holds the appointment of special
peace officer for the town of
Caddo, for which he receives an
income from the citizens. Since
he has become a guardian of the
public welfare it is notable that
the town has enjoyed absolute
freedom from lawlessness and
rowdyism.
THOS. J. MANNING, M.D.
[CHOCTAW.]
Thomas Jefferson Manning was
born in Walker county, Georgia,
in 1832 ; graduated at Nashville,
Tenn.; commenced the practice
of his profession at Doaksville,
Choctaw Nation, in 1856, while
General Cooper was Indian agent.
After that he moved to Boggy
Depot, where he practiced for a
short time till his marriage to
Matilda La Flore, daughter of
Forbes La Flore ; after which he
abandoned his profession for that
of farming and stock raising.
In these pursuits Dr. Manning
has been quite prosperous, hav-
ing acquired one thousand head
of cattle, four hundred head of
stock and a farm of five hundred
acres under cultivation, employ-
ing annually thirty hands. In
the second year of the war he
joined Sim Folsom's battalion
in the capacity of stafi" surgeon ;
served at Newtonia, and soon
after retired from the service.
Mr. Manning has six children —
Angle, Forbes, Tommie, Charlie,
Cornelia and Arthur, the oldest
being twenty-two and the young-
est eight years old.
-*
-*
4:^
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
RICHARD SMALLWOOl).
[CHOCTAW.]
Born in ISG-i at Doaksville,
Choctaw Kation, Indian Terri-
tory ; attended the neighborhood
school until 1872, when he went
to the American College, at
Paris, Texas, where he remained
for one year; then the following
RICHARD SMALLWOOD.
year to the Jesuit College, Osage
Mission, Kansas. In 1875 he
commenced clerking for John A.
Dillon, a merchant of Atoka, re-
maining with him for three years;
after which time he opened in
the butcher business in the same
place and remained at it for sev-
eral years. In 1888 he married
Miss Rose Cooke, of Denison,
only daughter of N. L. Cooke,
of Louisville, Ky. Mrs. Small-
wood is an accomplished and
entertaining lady and an excel-
lent musician. Richard was ap-
pointed by his uncle, Governor
Smallwood, in 1888, as National
Coal Weigher for the Southwest-
ern Coal Improvement Company,
which position he still holds.
Mr. Smallwood is a young man
of considerable ability, and is
popular among his people. He
is the last of the Smallwoods, one
of his brothers having been killed
and the other died from small-
pox in Mexico while Auditor for
the Santa Fee Railroad Co.
MORGAN DURANT.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born at Bennington in 1872, be-
ing the son of the late Joseph
Durant and Sophia J. Covender,
who is part Chickasaw and part
Choctaw. Morgan's father died
in March, 1883, having come
from Mississippi at an early age.
The Widow Durant has six chil-
dren, Morgan being the second
son. He went to school at Ben-
nington for seven years, and is
now preparing to complete his
education at Lexington, Ky. The
family homestead contains sev-
eral hundred acres under culti-
vation, which is chiellv rented out.
-*
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY,
43
-*
*-
MRS. ANNIE SMALLWOOD.
[CHOCTAW.]
Born in 1833 in De Sota county,
Mississippi. This lady is the
daughter of a white man named
Moore, her mother being a full-
blood Choctaw. At an early age
she left the old state and settled
in Kiamichi county. While
young she married John Small-
wood, a man of much political
prominence in his Nation, hav-
ing been member of the Council
for many years. John Small-
wood was a brother to ex-Chief
Smallwood, who was chief ad-
ministrator from 1888 until 1890.
By this union Mrs. Smallwood
had four children — Ben, Susan,
John and Dick. Ben and John
are both dead, while Dick, the
youngest son, is National coal
weigher at Coalgate, Susan has
been married for many years to
John A. Dillon, of Atoka, with
whom the subject of this sketch
has resided for sixteen years past.
Mrs. Smallwood is possessed of
property in the city as well as a
small stock of cattle. Although
in her fifty-seventh year, she is
still full of life and energy,
devoting much of her time toiler
little grandchildren, to whom she
is greatly attached. Few of Mrs.
Smallwood's neighbors have not
received proofs of her benevo-
lence and kindly nature in times
of trouble and sickness. She is
highly connected both on her
father and mother's side; her
nephew, William Byrd, being
Governor of the Chickasaw Na-
tion, while her brother-in-law is
ex-Principal Chief of Choctaws.
RICHARD C. SACRA.
[CHOCTAW.]
Richard was born in Sedalia in
1857, and educated in Sherman,
Texas. He married Cleming
Davis, daughter of Dr. Davis, of
Doaksville, at Davison, in 1875,
and in this manner procured his
right in the Territory. When
settling down on Glass Creek
he took a stock of)cattle with him
to the country, which he has
since disposed of, investing in
thoroughbred English Herefords,
of which he has at least five hun-
dred head. They were purchased
in Louisville, Ky. About eight
months ago Mr. Sacra left his
home farm to come to Purcell
for the benefit of his children's
education, and during that time
he has been running a large liv-
ery business, which he sold out
about August 8, 1890. Mr. Sa-
cra now has some 2,400 acres
enclosed, and gives labor to about
forty hands. He has five children
-*
-*
44
LKADEUs AM) LKADING MEX
SAMUEL J. GARVIX.
[ CHOCTAW.]
Samuel was born in Kentucky
in IS-ii; emigrated to Fort Ar-
buska, Chickasaw Nation, in
1866, and commenced tlie busi-
ness of stock raising, which he
has pursued ever since. In 1873
Mr. Garvin moved to Little
AVashita near the Comanche line,
and held his large herd in the
neighborhood of these Indians,
who, however, were peacefully
disposed except on one occa-
sion in 1874, when he was
obliged to move his family and
send them east, owing to an out-
break among the wild tribes. In
1884 the subject of this sketch
came to Whitehead, and in 1889
purchased James Renne's inter-
est in the mercantile business in
that town — shortly afterward
opening branch houses at Beef
Creek and Feola. Besides this
he has two thousand acres of
land under cultivation and forty-
five renters. Recently he has
been disposing of his large herd
of cattle, but has still twenty-five
hundred head bearing his well-
known brand. In 1869 Mr.
Garvin married Susan, diuighter
of Mr. Muncrief, and thus be-
came a citizen of the country.
His residence at Wliitebead is
one of the handsomest in that
part of the Territory.
SAMUEL F.STEWART.
[CHOCTAW.]
Mr. Stewart was born January
6, 1869, at Mount Yernon, Blue
county. He is the eldest son of
Wiley Stewart, of Caddo. Sam-
uel was sent to Spencer Academy
in 1884, where he remained to
complete his education until
1887. In 1889 he married Bet-
tie, daughter of Wade Hampton,
since which period he has de-
voted his attention to farming.
He is now a candidate for Rang-
er of Blue county.
*-
JULIUS JAMES.
[CHOCTAW.]
Mr. James was born in 1863; is
the son of A. W. James, of Blue
county, his mother being Mary
A. Folsom, daughter of Daniel
Folsom. Julius spent three years
at Spencer Academy, where he
received his education. After
returning from thence he devoted
himself to farming and opened
two farms in Blue county, from
both of which he is now receiv-
ing income. Mr. James is first
cousin of Judge Julius Folsom,
of Atoka, and is otherwise highly
connected in the country. He
comes of the H3'ah-pah-tuk-kalos.
-*
*-
*
OF THE ]NDIAX TERRITORY.
45
H. A. Cx\MPBELL.
[CHOOTAW.]
Mr. Campbell is a son of John
Campbell, of Philadelphia, Pa.,
and was born in 1843 in the
same city. When twenty-five
years of age (in 1868) he com-
menced freighting from Leaven-
worth to Fort Cobb. At this
time the Indians of the plains
were hostile, and Hugh had
many escapes. In one instance
he was pursued a distance of
sixty miles by some thirty or
forty Comanches, but succeeded
in gaining shelter at Elm Springs
before his pursuers reached him.
In 1873 he settled in Paul's Val-
ley and married Julia Gardner,
niece of Zack Gardner, by whom
he has six children — Kate, Jen-
nie, Johnnie, Rebecca, Mary
and Anita, the oldest aged fif-
teen years.
In 1889 Mr. Campbell entered
Mr. Garvin's mercantile estab-
lishment, but has devoted most
of his time to farming, and has
five hundred acres under cultiva-
tion, which is all rented out.
WALLACE JONES.
[CHOCTAW. ]
The subject of this sketch is the
son of the late Solomon Jones
and nephew of Wilson Jones,
treasurer of the Choctaw Nation.
Wallace was born at Shawnee-
toM'n, Red River county, in 1838,
and came of the Oka-la-fal-lay-a
clan. In 1858 he married Eliza
Kincaid, daughter of Andy Kin-
caid, on whose place he now re-
sides. He has one son and two
daughters — Jane, aged twenty-
eight years; Ida, aged thirteen,
and Henry, aged fifteen years.
During the early portion of the
war Wallace Jones was in Col.
Sim Folsom's command, since
which time he has lived a peace-
ful and Christian life.
-*
i>-
4fi
LKADEKS AND LEADING MEN
IlIRAM LKON MCBRIDE.
[CHOCTAW.]
BoKN ill Prairie e<»imty. Ark., in
1858. He received private tui-
tion at his home nntil 1860 and
came to Atoka, Indian Territory,
in 187(1, wliere he attended pri-
vate school tauglit by Prof. O.
C. Hall, of tliat place. He con-
*-
irAMILTON LEON M BEIDE.
tinned under his tuition for about
four years, taking a situation as
clerk in 1874 with D. M. Jones,
a merchant at McAlester. He
worked for Mr. Jones two years
when he was employed by J. J.
McAllester, of the same place.
He remained in McAllester's em-
ploy for three years, till he
sohl his interest in the business.
Hiram then made an engagement
with C. C. Rooks, a merchant
of Stonewall, Chickasaw Nation,
where he clerked until the spring
of 1883, when he returned to
Atoka, and with his brother Will
and Joseph Lindsey purchased
the building and stock of goods
of A. B. Cass, an extensive mer-
chant in that place. They re-
stocked tliis house and for sev-
eral years did an extensive busi-
ness over the entire Nation, Ato-
ka at that time being the trade
center of a large scope of coun-
try. In 1885 they purchased the
interest of Mr. Lindsey, and in
1887 sold the building to Lank-
ford Bros, and moved their stock
to Lehigh, forming a partnership
with John M. Hodges & Bros,
merchants of that place, and four
months later sold their interest
to J. J. McAllester. Then with J.
J. McAllester, D. N. Eobb, G.
G. Pvandell and Will McBride,
he formed a stock company
known as the Choctaw Mercantile
Co., chartered under the law of
Missouri, which company ap-
pointed Hiram McBride general
manager. The house now car-
ries one of the largest stock of
goods in the Territory. In 1884
Mr. McBride married Miss Kate
Moore, daughter of Dr. Moore
and niece of Mrs. Robb, of Ato-
1^-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
47
-*
kaof the Hyah-pali-tukkalo clan.
She died shortly after their mar-
riage. In 1886 he married Miss
Leviza Colbert, of Colbert Sta-
tion, Choctaw Nation, a charm-
ing and highly cultured young
lady, and second daughter of
James Colbert. They have had
two children, one of whom is liv-
ing, Hattie, aged eighteen months.
Mr. McBride is considered one
of the most competent merchants
in the Territory, as a buyer and
salesman having few equals. He
is possessed of untiring energy,
perseverance and is very popular
with all classes, and is respected
by his employes. Besides his
mercantile interests he has an
interest in the South Western
Coal Improvement Co., also an
interest in those operated by J.
Gould in Lehigh. He has a four-
hundred-acre farm, one hundred
of which is planted in orchard,
and another unimproved farm of
two hundred acres. Hiram is
second son of John McBride,
of North Carolina, of Scotch de-
scent. His mother was a Davis,
sister of J. D. Davis, one of the
oldest families of this country.
*-
TOLLIS H. STARK, M.D.
[CHOCTAW.]
This gentleman was born in Au-
gust, 1833, at Woodville, Miss. In
1870 he commenced the practice
of medicine at Fort Smith, Ar-
kansas ; after which he removed
to Bennington, where he now re-
sides, receiving a good practice
and living upon a farm well sit-
uated, and in point of agriculture
complete in every detail. In
1873 he married Miss B. M.
Hall, daughter of John Hall,
through which alliance he became
a citizen of the Choctaw Nation.
Dr. Stark is a Knight of the
Palm and Shell.
M. F. MYERS.
The above-named merchant, who
was located for seven years in
the Arbuckle Mountains and
moved in October, 1889, to
Washita Station, established his
present business with a stock of
over four thousand dollars' worth
of miscellaneous goods. His
chief business man, Mr. J. L.
Butt, is the son of James Butt,
of Henderson county. He was
born in September, 1866, and
went to school at Pine Grove,
his education being completed
at Tennessee Colony, Anderson
county, Texas. The early por-
tion of his life was spent in farm-
ing with his father and brothers;
after which he moved to the
Chickasaw Nation and entered
the mercantile business.
-*
-*
48
l.EADEKS AND LKADINO MEX
JOHN FRINZELL.
[CHOCTAW.]
Mr. FRiNZKLLwas born in Bava-
ria, Germany, in 1842 ; came to
Atoka, Indian Territory, in 1870,
where he opened the first black-
smith and wagon factory in the
county. In 1874 he married
Amelia Smallwood, daughter of
ex-Governor Smallwood, and by
this union he has four children,
one of whom, John Francis, aged
fourteen, survives. Mr. Frin-
zell being an excellent mechanic,
has built up a large trade for
himself, and is a sober, industri-
ous citizen and highly respected
by everybody. He owns two
farms close to Atoka, containing
150 acres under cultivation, and
a small stock of cattle.
^-
T. B. TURNBULL.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this brief sketch
is the son of Brashear TurnbuU,
and was born at Mount Pleas-
ant, Blue county, in November,
1851. He was educated at Arm-
strong, and in 1879 married Ad-
elina Dwight; after which he
was elected County Ranger, and
held that office till 1885, when
he was called to the House of
Representatives, occupying the
seat during two terms. In 1889
and 1890 Mr. Turn bull served as
school trustee of the Pushma-ta-
ha district, for which office he is
at present a candidate. His
mother, Jericho Perkins (sister
of the late Judge David Perkins),
is still living, and is now over
seventy years of age. He has
four children — Elizabeth, Timo-
thy, Walter and Charlie, the old-
est being nine years of age.
CHARLES F.STEWART.
[CHOCTAW AND CHICKASAW.]
This gentleman was born in
1854, being the eldest son of
Wiley Stewart, of Caddo, Choc-
taw Nation. In 1878 he mar-
ried Josephine, daughter of the
late Captain J. D. Harris,
national Superintendent of educa-
tion for the Chickasaws. In 1885
Charles was appointed a member
of the Indian police, in 1887 con-
stable of Pontotoc county, and
the following year deputy U. S.
Marshal, all of which appoint-
ments he threw up in 1890 and
commenced farming. He is now
living at Wynne Wood, close to
which town he has some two-
hundred and sixty acres under
cultivation. Besides two step-
children, Mr, Stewart has four by
his present wife, Wiley, Frank,
and Earl, the oldest ten and the
youngest four years of age.
^
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
49
*
•fr-
JOSEPH BRADFORD CAMP.
[CHOCTAW.]
Mr. Camp was born in October,
1839, in Campbell county, Geor-
gia, and educated at Claybourne
Parish, Louisiana. In 1858 he
came to the Choctaw Nation and
remained with Jonathan Nail,
for whom he worked, for over a
year and a half. Thence he re-
moved to Boggy Depot, where
in 1859 he married Martha Flint,
a native school teacher. In 1861
he joined the First Choctaw reg-
iment, under Col. Tandy Walker,
changed into Col. Bob Taylor's
Texas regiment, and soon after-
ward left the service. In 1863
his wife died, and in 1866 he
moved to the Washita, locating
close to the Rock Crossing, where
he remained six years. In 1873
he came to his present home,
where he is comfortably situated,
having seven hundred acres of
fine land under cultivation, be-
sides five hundred head of mares,
mules and horses, and five hun-
dred head of stock cattle. In
1867 he was married to Mary
Howell, sister of Dr. Howell, by
whom he has four children — Jos-
eph, Rose, Ella and Alice, the
eldest being nineteen years of
age. Mr. Camp is a good sports-
man and a very fine shot.
MADISON BOUTON.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Roxburgh, New York,
in January, 1839. In 1870 he
came to the Choctaw Nation,
and two years afterward married
Christina Folsom, daughter of
the late Israel Folsom, by which
he became a citizen of the Na-
tion. Mr. Bouton was engaged
in stock raising and farming un-
til his death, which happened on
September 18, 1885. At five
o'clock on the fatal evening,
while the deceased was making a
contract with one of his renters
on the streets of Caddo, Willie
Jones, son of the present Treas-
urer of the Choctaw Nation, step-
ped up to him and shot him
twice, once in the heart and once
in the back. No direct cause
has ever been traceable to the
origin of the trouble between
Jones and Bouton, as they were
apparently on friendly terms.
The deceased had three children
— W. J. Bouton, aged fifteen
years, Nellie, fourteen, and An-
nie, eleven years. In 1888 Mrs.
Bouton married Mr. H. Bates,
a popular and highly respected
gentlemen of Caddo. They have
a handsome residence and enter-
tain with hospitality.
-*
50
LKADICUS AND LEADING MEN
B. F.SMxVLLWOOD.
[CHOCTAW.]
PUINCIPAL CHIEF OF THE CHOCTAW NATION.
Benjamin F. Smallwood was
born about the year 1829 in the
State of Mississip]>i, and emi-
grated with tlie mass of his peo-
ple to tlie Choctaw Nation. His
first scliooling was received at
Shawnectown, on Red River, af-
*
B. F. SMALLWOOD.
ter which he went to Spencer
Academy for some time. On
leaving this institute he devoted
several years to farming on his
father's place, in Kiamichi coun-
ty, and in 1847 commenced cat-
tle-raising and agriculture for
himself. In 1840 he married
Miss Annie Burney, a Chicka-
saw of the house of Ima-te-po,
by whom he had seven children,
two of whom are living — Amelia
and Lorinda. In 1862 Ben
Smallwood opened a mercantile
business in Kiamichi county, but
moved to Atoka in the following
year, where he continues in the
stock and farming business, be-
ing located about ten miles from
Atoka and four miles from Le-
high. (A portrait of his pictur-
esque residence will be found in
this volume.) Since the age of
eighteen years Ben has been
holding office among his people,
commencing as Ranger of Kia-
michi county and graduating up-
ward to Chief Executive. From
1847 until 1887, excepting the
years of the war, he has held the
office of representative, being
four times speaker of the House.
For many years he has figured
as the leader of a strong party,
but was defeated by small major-
ities until the year 1888, when
he out-voted Wilson N. Jones
and was inaugurated Principal
Chief of his Nation. In 1890
the same contest took place; but
Governor Smallwood had grown
weary of official responsibilities
and made no effi^rt whatever to
secure his re-election. The con-
sequence was that his vote fell
considerably below the previous
term, while Wilson Jones, who
-^
i\
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
51
*
*-
had worked with energy through-
out, polled a much larger vote
than before. It is therefore as-
sumed that the latter will take
his seat, although this will not
be rendered certain until the
meeting of the Council in Octo-
ber next. Governor Smallwood
was a captain during the war in
the Second Choctaw regiment
and experienced a good deal of
service. He is a man of fine
physical exterior ; his face is
handsome and indicates force of
character, while his chest is broad
and his limbs strongly built,
and in height he is a little above
the average. He is an excellent
statesman and legislator, but
prefers a quiet home life, with an
occasional hunting trip in com-
pany with Governor Throckmor-
ton, of Texas, to hunting votes
for the coming election. No
man, however, loves his people,
or is more truly patriotic, than
Mr. Smallwood. Such has ever
been his reputation, and such it
is likely to remain. His prop-
erty consists of a farm of five
hundred acres, beautifully lo-
cated, and containing four min-
eral springs — one of iron, an-
other carrying sulphur, and so
on. These springs undoubtedly
possess valuable curative proper-
ties. He has also a large herd
of improved stock. He is a de-
scendant of the Okla-falaya clan.
JULIUS C. HAMPTON.
[CHOCTAW.]
Son of Nicholas H. Hampton, of
Blue county, was born near Tal-
lihena in the Choctaw Nation, in
1859, where his father resided
until 1865, when at the close of
the war he moved fifteen miles
east of Caddo, bringing with him
his slaves, which were not yet
set free. In 1885 the subject of
this sketch married Jennie Dav-
enport, and after her death,
four years later, wedded Peggy
Downing, daughter of Ned Down-
ing, a Cherokee refugee. In
1879 he was appointed circuit
clerk under Judge Loring Fol-
som, and clerk of the House of
Representatives in 1885 and
1886. In 1889 was clerk of the
Net Proceeds Commission, of
which Dr. E. Poe Harris was
secretary. Some years previous-
ly Mr. Hampton was employed
by Allinton Telle, supervisor of
census to take the census of the
Senatorial district. He is now
devoting his attention to cattle
and farming. Of the latter he
has three hundred acres of land
under cultivation and ernploys
nine work-hands. He has one
son, Walter, aged two years
-*
-*
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
T. J. ALLEN, M. D.
This' most popular and able re-
presentative of the medical pro-
fession was born in Washington
county, Arkansas, in 1831), and
attended college at Boonsbor-
ough until 1858, after which he
studied in Yan Buren, Arkansas,
for two years under Dr. Dibbell.
T. J. ALLEN, M. D.
In 1860 he attended lectures at
Jefferson College, where he was
appointed surgeon in the Confed-
erate service under General
McCullough, with whom he re-
mained until the death of the
gallant officer. "When General
T. Herman took command in the
latter part of 1862, Dr. Allen be-
came medical purveyor for the
first army corps, until the end of
1863, when he was sent to the hos-
pital as assistant surgeon. Dur-
ing the events which followed in
quick succession Dr. Allen was
ever up.and doing. His first ex-
perience in the Indian Territory
was when sent thither to report
to General Gano, after which he
was ordered to Louisiana, and
soon after to Mansfield fight — to
Paris, Texas. A history of his
adventures during a four years'
campaign would occupy a large
volume. In 1866 Dr. Allen
moved to Boggy Depot, Indian
Territory, and afterward to Sher-
man, Texas, where he held of-
fice as alderman for two years,
and was appointed by Governor
Cooke as Cattle Inspector for
Northern Texas. In 1882 he
settled in Lehigh, moving to his
present home at Coalgate in
1890. During this time he has
been company physician and
surgeon for nearly nine years.
He was married in 1868 to Miss
Helen S. Gatewood, of Sherman,
by whom he has four children,
Arthur, Minnie, James and
Juanita. His wife dying in 1886,
he married Miss Eugene Lank-
ford, of Belton, Tex., sister of Dr.
Lankford; of Atoka, in 1888. Dr.
Allen is one of the oldest resi-
-*
*-
*
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
53
dent non-citizen physicians in the
Indian Territory, and has a very
extensive practice. His skill has
secured for him a reputation
difficult to acquire. Besides his
value as a medical man, his sterl-
ing worth as a friend and genial
companion has raised him high
in the estimation of all men, his
greatest fault being that of open
hearted and free-handed gener-
osity. The doctor has witnessed
all the principal battles fought
in the Trans-Mississippi depart-
ment, and proudly carries the
scars of three engagements.
*-
J.D. LANKFORD.
This gentleman was born in Pon-
totoc county, Mississippi, in 1861;
is the son of N. A. Lankford, an
extensive farmer and very popu-
lar in his county. The young
man having completed his edu-
cation, in 1880 moved to Cam-
eron, Texas, where he sold goods
for one year. Soon afterward he
went to Lehigh, Indian Territory,
where he remained twelve
months. His next move was to
Atoka. Here he entered busi-
ness in partnership with his
brother, Dr. J. S. Lankford, and
in 1887 started a branch house
at Lehigh, selling out in two
years afterward to Messrs. Cobb
and Hillard. Since that time he
purchased his brother's half in-
terest in the Atoka establish-
ment, which is one of the largest
drug houses in the Indian Terri-
tory. In 1886 Mr. Lankford
J. D. LANKFORD.
married Miss Emmaetta Sullivan,
of Atoka, one of the most attrac-
tive young ladies in the city.
The subject of this sketch is a
young business man of excep-
tional ability and great promise,
and has, in an unusually short
time, made for himself a reputa-
tion which is quite enviable. His
friends are numerous throughout
the Indian Territory.
-*
54
LKADERS AND LEADING MEN
REV. WILLIAM M. DAVIS.
Tnisgentlemau was born in Giles
county, Tennessee, in 1837. At
the breaking out of the war
William entered Gen, Yan Dorn's
army (confederate service), en-
listing in Captain Dan Jones'
company, the regiment being
then under the command of Col.
King, and later in charge of
Col. Johnson. After the confed-
erates had evacuated Corinth,
Gen. Van Dorn, regardless of
the bloodshed, rushed Col. John-
son and his men back into the
fortified town. Captain Jones'
company being at the front. The
slaughter was dreadful, only
seven men surviving of one hun-
dred which constituted Jones'
company. Johnson was killed
with the flower of his regiment.
Tan Dorn suffered for this blood-
thirsty attack as well as for other
bad actions of his life; being
shot by a man whose domestic
peace ho had ruined — a little be-
fore the termination of the war.
Mr. Davis, after years of hard
service in defence of his dear
southern home, began preaching
in 1867, and soon afterward
married Melissa J. Diggs, daugh-
ter of Rev. Wm. Diggs, of
Henry county, Tennessee, who
was once a noted revivalist. By
this union Mr. Davis had six
children: Cooper, aged twenty-
two years; Martha Ellen, Min-
nie Eva, Julia Edna, Selina
Eunice and William Elbert. In
1875 he was sent to Stringtown,
Choctaw Nation, by the Metho-
dist Mission Board, and has re-
sided there thirteen years. In
1888 he moved with his family
to Atoka, where he has since
made his home. Rev. Mr. Davis
has worked untiringly among the
Indian people for many years,
and Heaven has crowned his ef-
forts with success. He has a
very high opinion of the Choc-
taw people, " the warmth and
devotion with which these people
worship," says Mr. Davis, " is a
contrast to the luke-warmness
displayed by too many of their
pale brethren." The Meth-
odist religion has the largest
membership in the Indian Terri-
tory, there being fully sixty
white and Indian preachers.
*-
REV. FRANKLIN B. SMITH.
This gentleman was born near
Albany, New York; graduated
at the Classical Seminary, of
Paw Paw, Illinois, where he had
remained four years, till 1874.
It was then Franklin commenced
his career as a teacher, and after
over three years' experience, in
1878, he married Miss Sophia
-*
>B-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY
55
-fb
Fodd, of Freedom, Illinois. Here
he taught at the Institute and
devoted some of his time to farm-
ing from 1878untill88tl:. When
about to leave that part of the
state he was requested to assume
management of the Institute,
but preferred working in the pub-
lic schools. Professor Smith was
principal at Naperville, Walnut
and the high school at Macomb,
Illinois, remaining one year at
eacli place, and finally settled in
Atoka in 1887, where better in-
ducements were offered. Since
then he has been in charge of the
Atoka Baptist Academy.
The scholastic list of this acad-
emy when Professor Smith took
charge in 1887 was one hundred
and five; this year it has increased
to one hundred and seventy-four.
Such progress can only be at-
tributed to the reputation ac-
quired by the principal, who is,
besides being an excellent teach-
er in ordinary branches, a man
of superior education and culture.
He is a devoted student of met-
aphysics, and has written some
poems of much merit. Mr.
Smith having been a divinity stu-
dent, soon after his arrival in
Atoka began assisting Rector
Murrow, of the Baptist church,
and has since given much of his
time to church business. He is
*-
kind, charitable and very gentle
in his treatment of his pupils,
who are much attached to him,
and thus learn more rapidly.
DR. J. S. LANKFORD.
Dr. Lankford was born in 1858;
graduated in medicine at the Un-
iversity of Louisville in 1880.
Dr. Lankford located, for a short
time at Sulphur Springs, Texas,
after which he came to Atoka,
Indian Territory, in 1882, where
he shortly married Miss Belle
Gatewood, of Sherman, daughter
of Col. James M. Gatewood, of
Missouri, a statesman of much
prominence. By this union he
has had six children, five of whom
are living. Their names are:
Lettie, Earle, Eugenie F., Anna
L., and Esther B. Dr. Lankford
ranks among the first physicians
of the Indian Territory, and has
a large practice. He is vice-
president of the Medical Asso-
ciation of the Territory, and Lo-
cal Surgeon of the M. K. & T.
R. R, besides being medical ref-
eree for the Mutual and Equita-
ble Life Insurance Companies.
Dr. Lankford's charity in bestow-
ing medical attendance on poor
and homeless people is the best
illustration we can give of his
true character. He has been a
prominent mason for many years.
■ lie
-^
LEADEUS AND LEADING MEN
JACKSON W. ELLIS.
[CHEROKEE,]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Sweet Town, Cherokee
Nation, in 1859. In youth he
attended the public schools, and
as early as sixteen years of age
went to work on a farm. Jack-
son was the only son of the late
JACKSON W. ELLIS.
Edward Ellis, who with his broth-
er Samuel, was killed at Fort
Gibson during the war while
correlling the horses of their com-
pany. At the age of twenty-one
Jackson was appointed deputy
sheriff of Tahlequah district, also
sherifi" of commissioners' court;
and later, in 1872, deputy war-
den of the National Penitentiary,
and in the same year commis-
sioner of the quarantine district.
In 1876 he went into the drug
business until 1878, when he
clerked for the two years follow-
ins: in a mercantile house. In
1885 he was appointed deputy
United States Marshal for West-
ern District of Arkansas, and the
same year was appointed on the
Indian police- force. He had not
been employed in this capacity
over six weeks when in self-de-
fense he shot down Bud Trainer
on the streets of Tahlequah.
Jackson then moved to Fort Gib-
son, where he was appointed city
marshal. Here lie shot and
killed Dick Yan, who resisted
arrest. Dick was the murderer
of Captain Sixkiller of the In-
dian police, and a noted desper-
ado. From thence he went to
Atoka, where he was appointed
otticerofthe peace. During his
four years here he shot and ar-
rested Daniel Fields, an escaped
convict. Soon afterward he shot
and killed Harry Finn, a desper-
ado who had killed his father in
Missouri, and was following the
business of a whisky peddler.
This was followed by the shoot-
ing and capture of Charley Car-
ter, a desperado and murderer,
whom the officer was tracing for
•i^-
•i*
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
57
*
fearless, determined man and a
line specimen of his race.
*-
some time. Jackson Ellis also
shot and captured Watson and
Whitrock, both whisky venders
and desperate men. In all these
instances Officer Ellis never out-
stepped the bounds of duty; such
is the public verdict, and all law-
abiding citizens feel themselves
indebted to this fearless officer
for clearing the country of so
many " terrors to society."
In 1890 Jackson W. Ellis, in
partnership with D. J. Folsom,
commenced the practice of law
in Atoka, but the former was
soon afterward appointed consta-
ble for bhe second division United
States court at South McAlester,
under Judge Shackleford, which
office he is now holding. The
subject of this sketch married
Miss Beatrice Becklehymer by
whom he had two children, neith-
of whom survived, their mother
following them to the grave in
1883. In 1885 he married Miss
Cordelia C. Smith, daughter of
N. J. Smith, of Cherokee, prin-
cipal chief of the eastern band of
Cherokees. Mrs. Ellis is a young
woman of great personal attrac-
tiveness, highly educated and pos-
sessing talents which in the so-
cial scale place her on a footing
with the most accomplished of
her sex. Jackson Ellis is fully
six feet five inches in height, a
REV. W. J. B. LLOYD.
This well-known and deservedly
popular member of the Presby-
terian Missionary Band was born
in South Carolina in 1843, and
came to the Indian Territory in
1870. His first trip extended
from Double Springs, Chicka-
saw Nation, to the mouth of
Kiamichi, in the Choctaw coun-
try. In 1883 he moved to Arm-
strong, where he organized the
present National Academy, the
building being erected under his
personal supervision. He also
opened an extensive farm and
instructed his pupils in the art of
agriculture. The National Coun-
cil, however, in the fall of 1889,
without any notification, ordered
Mr. Lloyd to resign and obliged
him to give up control of the in-
stitution which he had been the
chief factor in establishing. The
people living in the Armstrong
and Bennington neighborhoods
will not, however, permit Mr.
Lloyd to resign his pastoral du-
ties in the neighborhood, so that
he is still in the county. His
church has increased in member-
ship from twenty-five to one hun-
dred and twenty-five.
-*
*-
-*
58
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
DR. LEWIS C. TENNENT.
[CHOCTAW.]
This gentleman was born in
Edgefield Disti'ict, South Caro-
lina, November 8, 1847. In
1851 he moved with his parents
to Marietta, Cobb county, Geor-
gia ; remained three years at the
Georgia Military Institute, and
joined the Confederate service,
remaining with his regiment un-
til the end of the war.
Graduating in 1869 at At-
lanta Medical College, he com-
menced the practice of medicine
at North Fork Town, in the
Creek Nation, where he re-
mained three years. He mar-
ried Miss Emma H. McDuflf,
daughter of A. J. McDuff, a
Choctaw, and grand-niece to ex-
Chief Greenwood La Flore, of
Mississippi. In the fall of 1874
Dr. Tennent moved to his farm
in South Canadian, where he
continued his practice. In 1872
he moved to the Creek capital,
and afterward to McAlester in
1882, where he opened up in the
drug business ; after which he
entered the general mercantile
trade, continuing in it until 1887,
when he sold out his interest.
and has since devoted himself
exclusively to medicine. In 1886
he was appointed president of
the Choctaw Medical Board.
Dr. Tennent has been the
father of eleven children, only
four of whom are living — Carrie
E., Gilbert L., William J. K. and
Robert.
Dr. Tennent is a physician of
considerable note, a man of
many talents, and possessing a
sound education. He is a de-
scendant of Rev. Wm. Tennent,
of Log College, which was after-
ward merged into Princeton Col-
lege, New Jersey. He owns an
improved farm, thirteen houses
and lots in McAlester, besides a
small herd of cattle.
C. B. FARRINGTON.
The subject of this sketch (who
is a non-citizen) was born at
Beaver Dams, Wisconsin, and is
a son of Eben F. Farrington, a
native of Massachusetts. He
was educated at Hardin College,
Mexico, Mo., and went to Deca-
tur, Texas, in 1873, where he
became a member of Captain
Stephen's Wise County Rangers
in the following year ; w^as in
several skirmishes with the Co-
manches, among others the cele-
brated light in Loring's Yalley.
After retiring from the service he
entered the business house of
Charlie Moore, where he re-
mained for two years. In 1879
he opened business in Audubon,
*-
-^
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY,
59
•i^-
Wise county, but closed out in
18S3, aiTiving in Caddo the fol-
lowing year. Here he went into
business with C. A. Hancock as
clerk for the Agricultural Wheel
organization, and is now secre-
tary for the Blue County Wlieel
and agent for the C. Brand Detec-
tive and Protective Association.
JMr. Farrington married Miss
Charlotte Rogers, a native of
North Carolina, by whom he has
two children, the oldest being
six years.
REV. W. L.BUTLER.
Rev. Butler was born July,
1859, near Oxford, Mississippi.
In early youth he was sent to
the public school until eight
years of age, after which he re-
mained at home until sixteen
years old, attending school dur-
ing the winter months. In 1876
he went to Pleasant Hill Acade-
my, and later to Prof. Paul Gra-
ham's Select School, Ozark,
Ark., finishing his education (in-
cluding theology and divinity)
at the Central Collegiate Insti-
tute, Alton, Arkansas, after
which he was licensed to preach
by the quarterly conference of
the Methodist church — south
Ozark circuit. Joining the con-
ference in 1879. he was sent by
Bishop Price in the following
year to take charge of Flint
Creek Station, Cherokee Nation.
Was ordained deacon in 1881,
andelderin 1883; came to Tah-
lequah in 1882 and in 1886 re-
moved to Atoka, Choctaw Na-
tion, where he is in charge of the
Atoka and Caddo Stations, and
wheie it is to be hoped he is
permanently settled. In 1881
he married Miss Helen Daugh-
erty, niece of Charles Fargo, ex-
Senator of Sequoyah District,
Cherokee Nation, by whom he
has two children: Gracie, seven
years; and Bessie, three years.
Rev.W. L. Butler has been on
the stafi' of the Brother in Red
for over live years. This paper
is devoted to the religious and
educational interestsof the people
of the Indian Country, and Mr.
Butler has been contributing to
its excellent articles on these
subjects. Besides being a good
writer, brother Butler is an elo-
quent speaker. Among the
younger ministers of the gospel
none are more popular in this
respect, as well as for liis charity
and liberality to all men. He
is a diligent laborer and has
been secretary of the Indian Mis-
sionary Conference for some time
past. No minister that we know
has a more brilliant future than
Rev. AV. L. Butler.
H"
GO
LKADEKS AND I>EADTNG >IEX
M. S. MONTAGUE.
The subject of this sketch was
boru in St. Charles county, Mo.,
in 1S4S. and attended private
school until fourteen years of
age, when he went to Sanford
University, St. Charles county,
Mo.. leaving there at seventeen
MICKLEBOROUGH S. MONTAGUE.
years of age for Jones' Commer-
cial College. St. Louis, where he
graduated in 1866. In 1867
he went to Montana, where he
carried on a small business until
1869, when he returned to St.
Louis and was appointed cashier
of the Grafton Stone and Trans-
portation Co., which appoint-
ment he held for two years.
This office was followed bv oth-
•i<-
ers of even greater responsibil-
ity ; after which he associated
himself with Caruth & Byrnes'
Hardware Co., St. Louis, and
for eleven years traveled for that
house. In 1886 he came to Mc-
Alester Mines, and at Krebs em-
barked in the general mercantile
business with T. J. Phillips, a
leading citizen of that country,
and which business he carries on
till the present day. Messrs.
Phillips & Montague carry a
well-assorted stock of goods, rep-
resenting at least thirty thousand
dollars, and do an immense min-
ing and country trade.
Mr. Montague has been post-
master at Krebs for over two
years. He was married in 1870
in St. Louis to Miss Annie,
daughter of F. A. Kinnon,
wholesale merchant of that city.
Mrs. Montague is a lady of good
breeding, cultivation and refine-
ment, with many amiable traits
of character. She was educated
at St. Joseph's Convent, St.
Louis. The issue of their mar-
riage is three children, two of
whom are living — Miss Annie,
who graduated at Linton Wood,
St. Charles, Mo., in 1890, and
Dempsor Wishart, born in 1890.
Mr. Montague is a man of uncom-
mon business ability and is justly
esteemed for his many qualities.
-*
*-
-*
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
61
W. A. DURANT.
[CHOCTAW.]
W. A. Ddrant is the son of the
late Sylvester Durant, of Ben-
nington, Choctaw Nation, who
at the time of his death was a
member of the House of Rep-
resentatives of the National
Council. W. A. Durant was
*-
durant.
born in 1866, and his father
dying while he was yet a boy, he
was obliged to educate himself
through the result of physical
labor until the last two years of
his college career, which was
provided for by an appropria-
tion of the Choctaw school funds.
He was educated at the Arkan-
saw College, Batesville, where
he graduated in a classical course
in 1886, after four years of close
attention to his studies. On his
return he commenced the study
of law, and was soon observed
practicing in the Choctaw courts.
Later on, when D. N. Robb was
appointed United States Commis-
sioner at Atoka, Mr. Durant en-
tered into partnership with Parks
& Owenby, of Paris, and has
added much to the influence of
that well-established firm. Dur-
ing the disbursement of the "Net
Proceeds Claim" he assisted his
cousin, Hon. Alexander Durant,
ox-Suprerne Judge of the Choc-
taws; Messrs. Locke & Yail and
other lawyers, to adjust certain
claims, and by this means real-
ized a handsome sum. Mr. Du-
rant has a farm of three thousand
acres, five hundred of which is
under cultivation, so that he an-
nually employs at least fifteen
laborers. He is a most promis-
ing young man, possessing a fine
address and talents far beyond
the average, backed up by en-
ergy and industry and'a fixity of
purpose far beyond his years.
W. H. AINSWORTH.
Mr. Ainsworth was born in
1835 in Simpson county, Missis-
sippi, and is a son of David
Ainsworth, originally of Ken-
-•it
h^
-^
62
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
tucky. In 1.S52 lie came to
Skullyville, Choctaw Nation,
where his brother, J. G. Ains-
worth, had been residing for ten
years. On his arrival in the
Choctaw country, W. 11. be-
came an overseer, which busi-
ness, as well as freighting, the
young man followed till he moved
to Caddo in 1872, where eight
years afterward he conducted
an extensive mercantile busi-
ness, which has been growing
steadily until the present. In
1859 he married a Miss Hill,
daughter of G. L. Hill, of Bas-
trop county, Texas. Mr. Ains-
wortli has no famil}'. but some
years ago he adopted a little girl.
He is uncle of N. B. Ainsworth,
of McAlester, and T. D. Ains-
worth, of Skullyville, two lead-
ing citizens and office-holders of
the Choctaw Nation.
This gentleman was
*-
F. E. FOLSOM.
[CHOCTAW.]
born in
1852, the son of Israel Folsom,
of Blue county. The subject of
this sketch went to school at
Armstrong, where he received
his education, and at an early
age commenced farming and
stock raising on a small scale.
On the death of his father and
mother he was left in possession
of the old homestead which he
occupied for some time, after
which he rented it out and open-
ed a new farm on the prairie in
t!ie vicinity of Caddo, having in
F. E. FOLSOM.
all two hundred acres under cul-
tivation, six hundred and forty
acres in pasture, and a good
stock of cattle. In 1878 he
married MoUie Pitchlyn, daugh-
ter of Pushmataha Pitchlyn, by
whom he has four children, Min-
nie, Ewing, Columbus and Car-
roll, the oldest being eleven
years and the youngest three
years of age.
-*
Granny Houston.
I
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
-*
65
DANIEL L. GARLAND.
[ CHOCTAW.]
This gentleman was born in
Hood county^ Texas, in 1864;
attended public school until 1884,
and came to McAlester in the
same year, where he worked in
T. J. Phillips' mercantile house
until 1888. Determined to labor
for himself, he opened out a large
stock of drugs, which business
he pursues with success. In
1888 he married Miss Inez Toole,
youngest daughter of Alfred
Toole, a merchant of South Can-
adian. Mrs. Garland is a lady
of refinement and amiability.
The subject of this sketch is a
nephew of T. J. Phillips, one of
the leading merchants of the
Choctaw Nation. Mr. Garland
owns seven hundred acres of
farm land, the greater part of
which is in pasture, and which
he is about to stock the coming
spring. He is a young man of
excellent business capacity and
very popular. His only child,
NomaOllie Lue, is two years.
*-
OLIVER THOMAS.
[ CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in the state of Indiana in
1830, and attended the public
schooluntil 1851, when he moved
to Bonham, Texas, with his fath-
er. Oliver was educated for the
bar, and had taken out a license
for practicing law, but was oblig-
ed to discontinue it owing to his
delicate health. He worked at
the trade of blacksmith for four
years in Texas, and in 1857
moved to Blue county, Choctaw
Nation, and afterward to Lime-
stone Springs, where he married
Mrs. Anolatubby, daughter of
William Trahern, of Mississippi,
and from that time has devoted
his attention to farming and
stock raising. His wife, who died
in 1881. was a niece of Mrs.
Flack, of Atoka, of the Okla-fal-
laya clan. She had three chil-
dren,none of whom survived. In
1882 he married Miss Secon,
about one-eighth Choctaw, an
amiable young lady of good edu-
cation. By lier he has three
children, two of whom are living,
Oliver Grover and Pearl. Mr.
Thomas served one year during
the war in Col. Sim Folsom's
regiment. Captain Watkin's com-
pany. He is now very comfor-
tably situated, having a good
home, seventy-live acres under
cultivation and two hundred head
of stock cattle. He is a good
manager, a successful farmer,
and is much respected in his lo-
cality, of which he is one of the
oldest residents.
-«
66
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
.lAMKS M. STKAl), M. D.
[CHEROKEE.]
A RATHER strang-e experience
was that of James Stead, born in
Bourbon county, Kan., 1861. His
father and mother (^the former a
Clierokee by descent) had emi-
grated from Phihidel|)hia. Penn.,
*-
JAMES M. STEAD.
and were soon afterward di-
vorced, his father joining the
army at the opening of the war.
Before two years had expired
Mrs. Stead learned of her late
husband's death, and the report
spread until nobody questioned
the truth of the sad intelligence.
Mrs. Stead and her sister ac-
cordingly returned to their old
home in Philadelphia, and before
many years the young hero of
this sketch had a step-father.
In 1875, the commencement
of his fifteenth year, James be-
came restless for adventure, and
determined to go to Mexico, but
never got farther than "• Xo
Man's Land," north of the Indian
Territory, where he met with
some cattle men and became a
cowboy in a short time. During
the years which he spent in that
country he had frequently heard
of a family named Stead living
at Johnsonville in fhe Chickasaw
Nation, and often determined to
visit them for curiosity sake. In
1885, some months after the
young man's return to civilization,
and while at a ball in the city of
Cincinnati, he met with a lady
who assured him that his father
was alive and living some where
in the Indian country. This was
enough: Stead started back to
' ' No Man's Land," and choosing
the fleetest horse on the ranch,
rode to Johnsonville, and there
found his father in the midst of
a family of daughters, and sur-
rounded by peace and plenty.
They had been parted for twen-
ty-three years. After this event
the young man returned to Cin-
cinnati, and in two years after-
ward graduated in medicine, and
was married the same year (1887)
-*
*-
>b
OF THE INDIAN TEKUITORY.
to Miss Mary E. Thill, a pretty
and polishedyoiinglady of Ohio's
capital. The doctor is now lo-
cated in Purcell, where, in part-
nership with Dr. Dunn, he car-
ries o!i a large drug business,
while their professional practice
is perhaps the most extensive in
the county.
*-
LOUIS CRUTCHFIELD.
[CHEROKEE.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Yinita in 1847, his father
being white and his mother a
Cherokee. When cpiite a child
he moved with his parents close
to Dallas, Texas, from thence to
Collin county, and on the death
of his parents to Decatur, in 1866,
Soon afterward he went to
Eureka, Kansas, where he re-
mained three years, coming to
Denison, Texas,' in 1874, which
town was then in its infancy.
Soon after this he began trading
in sheep between Corpus Christi
and JSTew York. On one occa-
sion, with twelve hundred head,
he walked from Corpus Christi
to Denison, a distance of over
six hundred miles, a trip which
occupied him four weeks. After
this Mr. Crutchfield devoted his
attention for a while to the pur-
chase and shipment of horses
from Austin, Texas, to Kansas,
on which he made a profit of
eight dollars per head on picked
stock. After this he sliipped cat-
tle from Caddo, I. T., to Kansas,
where he purchased a large flock
(eleven thousand head) of sheep
and drove them to Paul's Yalley,
many of which he traded for
horses. Mr. Crutchfleld is lo-
cated on Wilson Jones' place
near Caddo, where he holds a
herd of sheep and raises corn,
millet and other crops.
JOSIAH GARDNER.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born at Wheelock in 1851. and
went to the neighborhood schools
until he was fifteen years of age,
after which he lived with his par-
ents until 1871, when he began
farming on his own responsibili-
ty. At the age of twenty-one he
married Elizabeth Beajis, part
Cherokee, who lived three years.
In 1877 (two years later) he mar-
ried Miss SallieThunley, a Choc-
taw, by whom he has no family.
Mr. Joe Gardner is a fourth son
of Jackson Gardner, of theOkla-
falaya clan. He is a lawyer by
profession, and practices in the
Choctaw courts. He is a man of
sound judgment and excellent
sense.
-*
*-
-*
(>S
l.EADEHS AND LEADING 3IEX
^-
T. M. LOWREY.
[CHOCTAW.]
This gentleman was born in Mis-
sissippi about 1842; came to
Skullyville, Choctaw Nation, in
1871, and two years afterward
moved to Sans Bois, and from
thence to Canadian. Before
leaving his native state he mar-
ried Miss Margaret McGee, by
whom he had three children, two
of whom survived, Agnes and
Lucy. His first wife dying in
1878, he married Miss C. A.
Chapman, whose father was a
Mississippian who lived among
the Indians in that state. The
issue of this marriage was seven
children, three of whom survive,
Thomas, Effie and Nevada.
After living some years in the
Chickasaw Nation, Mr. Lowrey
moved to Atoka, and from thence
to North Boggy, six miles west
of Kiowa, where he had a son-
in-law killed by the Indians.
Considering the country danger-
ous he with others removed to
Savanna, I.T., and after the great
mining explosion, purchased a
farm near Kiowa, where he now
resides. Mr. Lowrey's father
was a white man and his mother
u quadroon Choctaw related to
the families of La Flore and
Krebs. His mother still lives,
but his father died in 1876, aged
seventy-six years. Mr. Lowrey
is an energetic, industrious citi-
zen and will soon become inde-
pendent. He is a member of
the Methodist church south.
J. D. DOYLE.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Boone county, Missouri,
in December, 1839, and received
instructions at the public schools
until 1855; after which he became
a dry goods clerk for several
years. When the Pike's Peak
fever was at its height young
Doyle started for the gold fields
of Colorado and remained there
about twelve months, when he
returned to his native State and
commenced farming in Bates
county. At the outbreak of the
war he enlisted in the Missouri
State Guards, and later in the
Thirteenth Missouri Infantry,
Confederate service, where he re-
mained till the close of the war.
After two years in Texas, Mr.
Doyle came to the Choctaw Na-
tion, where he farmed and taught
school until 1875, when he mar-
ried Miss Minnie Shultz, of Ato-
ka county. He is at present in
the mercantile business for the
Co-operative Co. of Kiowa. A
member of the Methodist Church
South, and a good Christian man
*
*-
-*
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
69
*-
RICHARD B. COLEMAN.
[CHOCTAW.]
This once prominent merchant
was born in Springfield, Mo^,
August, 1846. After four years'
schooling (in June, 1861), he
joined Lowry's company at fif-
teen years of age, and remained
in it during the State Guard ser-
vice; after which he joined the
First Missouri under Capt. Rath-
bourne. Young Coleman expe-
rienced a good deal of service
and continued in the army till the
termination of the war.
In 1865 Mr. Coleman went on
the plains, and after twelve
months of "roughing it," went
to clerking in a country store in
his own native State. In 1867
he opened a furniture factory in
Denton, Texas, and in 1873 was
elected Mayor by a large major-
ity, and afterward organized their
city government. In 1878 he
was nominated by the Greenback
party for the Legislature, and
came within six votes of beating
the Democratic candidate. Judge
S. A. Ventres. In 1880 he came
to MjcAester, where he now re-
sides, and there embarked in the
mercantile business ; also invest-
ing in a stock of cattle. In the
spring of 1890 he sold his inter-
est in merchandise, and is now
devoting his time exclusively to
stock cattle. In 1869 he mar-
ried Miss Eva Withers, daughter
of Capt. Wash Withers, of Clay
county, Mo.
WILLIAM NOBLE.
Mk. Noble was born near Spring-
field, Mo., in February, 1866.
He came to South Canadian,
Choctaw Nation, in 1870, and
went to school in that town till
1882. He also received several
terms of public instruction in his
native State. Taking a position
as telegraph operator in the M.,
K. & T. office at South Cana-
dian, William devoted his energy
to business, and soon received
his reward by being appointed as
Station Agent, which office he
held for three years. Afterward
he was transferred to Savanna
and Caddo, respectively, until
1890, when he was appointed
United States Commissioner and
postmaster for South McAlester.
(These latter offices he also held
while located at South Canadian
and Caddo).
William Noble is a young man
of industry and energy and good
business qualifications, his moral
character being such as to excite
the admiration and respect of all
who know him. His father and
mother are now residing in Okla-
homa City.
-*
*-
-^
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN'
JUDGE J. C. FOLSOM.
[CHOCTAW.]
BoKN June, 1831, in the State of
Mississippi ; son of Israel Fol-
soni, of the royal "iksa," who
was one of the old delegates to
Washington and leader in the
treaty negotiation of 1855. Ju-
>i*-
JUDGE J. C. FOLSOM.
lius was educated at Glostenbury
Seminary, after which he entered
the store of A. B. Eastman, on
tlie Washita, Chickasaw Nation,
where he clerked for over a year.
Returning to his father's home,
east of the river, he employed
himself for some years looking
after the family property and
otherwise assisting his father.
In December, 1858, he married
Miss Netta Thompson, by whom
he had eight children, only two
of whom survived, Don andJu-
nia. About the year 1803 he
was representative of Blue coun-
ty. It was then that he was ap-
pointed by the council to act as
secretary for the commission
sent out to negotiate a treaty of
peace with the wild Indian tribes.
In 1886 Mr. Folsom was chosen
one of six delegates from the
Choctaw Nation to confer with
the Five Civilized Tribes as to
the advisability of selling Okla-
homa to the government. In the
same year he was elected County
Judge of Atoka county, and dur-
ing his official term strove hard
to have the laws put into execu-
tion. In this he was very suc-
cessful and evinced great execu-
tive ability as a leader and states-
man.
In March, 1888, Judge J. C.
Folsom married Hattie Cofiiand
at Cherokee, Kansas. He is the
owner of 2,040 acres of land,
1,500 of which are in cultiva-
tion. He has besides over fifty
head of cattle and a good stock
of horses. Is a member of the
Presbyterian church and pro-
gressive in politics.
*
*-
OF THE INDIAN TEllRITOKY.
•it
DON JUAN FOLSOM.
[CHOCTAW.]
Don was bom in August, 1866,
in Atoka county, Clioctaw Na-
tion ; is the son of Judge Julius
Folsom, bis mother's maiden
name being Thompson, In 1878
and '79 he was sent to the Deni-
son (Texas) Higli School ; after
which he went to Roanoke Col-
*
DON JUAN rOLSOM.
lege, Salem, Virginia, where he
remained for three years, return-
ing to Atoka in 1884. The same
year be was elected Clerk of the
House of Representatives, and
in 1885 appointed County Clerk
by Silas James, Judge of Atoka
county. During the term, before
he was in his twentieth year, he
purchased a half interest in the
"Independent," a Choctaw and
Chickasaw national organ, ed-
ited byH. F. O'Beirne. While
connected with this paper, the
young man exhibited a great
deal of talent as a writer, and
had he continued in the field of
literature, would have made a
success in that capacity. While
his father, Judge Julius Folsom,
w^as in office, Don continued to
serve as County Clerk until the
election of Governor B. F.
Smallwood to the executive chair
in 1888, when the subject of
this sketch became his private
secretary and tilled the office till
its expiration. In the meanwhile
he had been reading law for
some years, and in 1889 com-
menced practicing with success
from the first. He has recently
abandoned everything else for
his profession, and is apparently
doing a good business. He is
connected with a well-known le-
gal firm in Raris, Texas. In
1886 Mr. Folsom married Debo-
rah Brown (the daughter of J.
R. Brown, late of Atoka), who
was one of Atoka's belles at the
time of her marriage. They
have three children. Daphne,
Robb and Ethel. He was the
youngest council clerk and secre-
tary ever appointed or elected.
-*
*-
-^
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
WILLIAM II. SECOR, JR.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Fannin county, Texas,
in 1865, and came with his par-
ents to Boggy Depot, Choctaw
Xation, in the same year. His
education was received at Atoka
under the professorship of O. C.
Hall, and later at McAIester,
in Professor Ross' school. Wil-
liam was naturally devoted to
stock and entered the employ-
ment of different stockmen at
various periods. By his own en-
ergy and industry he has now ac-
quired a nice herd of his own and
devotes his attention to their ac-
cumulation. In 1889 he married
Miss Annie Brown, a Cherokee,
by whom he has one child, Re-
funa May, born June, 1890.
His father, W. H. Secor, Sr., is
a farmer in good circumstances.
H. M. MIZE.
^-
This well known hotel keeper,
who up until recently was iden-
tified in the business at South
Canadian, has lately removed to
the new and progressive town of
South McAIester, where he built
a fine hotel, which is being fitted
up in a stylish manner to suit
the tastes of the most fastidious
knights of the grip. Mr. Mize
is not a citizen of the Indian
country, but long ago made
his home in the Choctaw Nation,
where he intends to remain in
the capacity of hotel keeper, for
which he has a special aptitude,
rendering himself very popular
with his guests, whose wants he
is ever on the alert to supply.
Those visiting South McAIester
will always find him at his place
of business ready to entertain
them right royally.
EDMUND A. DOYLE.
The subject of this sketch was
born in Michigan in 1846, at-
tended public school until four-
teen, after which he went to the
state normal, where he graduated
at nineteen years of age. Re-
maining at home until 1868, Ed-
mund joined a government sur-
veying party, and worked in that
capacity through Kansas, Texas,
and the Indian Territory. In
1871 the subject of this sketch
began teaching school in Texas,
and in 1873 came to the Choc-
taw Nation and taught there for
two years. After re- visiting
Texas and teaching there until
1877, Mr. Doyle came to McAl-
-*
*
-*
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
73
ester, where he has since made
his home, devoting his energies
to educating the youth of that
town. He married Miss Sue
Jennings, daughter of G. A.
Jennings, of Illinois, the issue of
the marriage being four children,
Monita, Stella, Czarina and
Esther. Mr. Doyle is one of the
oldest masons in the country,
having held the office of grand
master of the Territory, and all
the subordinate offices, both of
the Blue lodge and the Royal
Arch Chapter. He is a lead-
ing; member of the Presbyterian
church, and is highly esteemed
and beloved by those who know
him.
WILLIAM M. SAWYERS.
This artist and pictorial delinea-
tor of the American aborigines
was born at Knoxville, Tenn.,
in 1862. When an infant he
came to Texas with his parents,
and spent seventeen years of his
early life on the frontier of that
state and the Indian Territory.
After several winters of cowboy
experience he came to Silver City,
Indian Territory, and accepted
a position in the mercantile
establishment of E, B. Johnson
& Co., w^here he remained four
years, after which he embarked
*-
in business for himself, opening
the first store on the Gulf, Col-
orado and Santa Fe R. R., where
the city of Purcell now stands.
But none of his past life has the
attraction for him that surrounds
his intercourse with the various
wild tribes of the plains, whom
he visited repeatedly with the
view of collecting a pictorial
gallery of Indian celebrities.
Mr. Sawyers has so far succeeded
that he has decidedly the best,
and in fact the only collection of
life portraits of the aborigines.
In the summer of 1890,
meeting with the compiler of
''Leaders and Leading Men of
the Indian Territory. "he entered
into an agreement to furnish por-
traits of some of the Big Indians
of the Wild West, which he ac-
complished in a brief space of
time. The result of this work
may be seen in the cuts taken
from the portraits of ''Quanab
Parker," ''Big Tree," "Wild
Horse," and other of the wild
Indians produced elsewhere in
this volume. Mr. Sawyers will
travel in the states next winter,
giving stereoptican exhibitions of
the Indian war dances, etc. His
views are very realistic, and the
exhibitions are bound to be fa-
vorably received wherever he
may go.
-*
LKADERS AND LEADING MEN
C. A. IIANXOCK.
The subject uf tliis sketch was
borii October 19, 1857, and is
the son of J. S. Hancock, now
residing- in Caddo, Blue county,
Choctaw Nation. The young
man commenced his educational
career at Columbus, Texas, after
*-
C. A. HANCOCK.
which he went to school at Bax-
ter Springs, finishing his educa-
tion at Chetopa, Kansas. Dis-
playing a strong aptitude for mer-
cantile pursuits, while yet a young
man. C. A. Hancock entered
the business house of Messrs.
Marchand and Feulon, and soon
made such progress in the trade,
and gained such extensive cus-
tom, that he undertook the man-
agement of a business in his own
name in 1883. In 1887, on the
organization of the Agricultural
Wheel in the Choctaw Nation,
Mr. Hancock was appointed sut-
tler and has ever since been do-
ing business with the members of
the organization, giving the ut-
most satisfaction in his dealings
with the citizens and farmers of
Blue county. In January, 1890,
he married Miss Julia Sims, a
popular and attractive young
lady of Caddo. Mr. J. S. Han-
cock, father of the subject of
this sketch, was born in Kick-
man county, Kentucky, in 1832,
and is now residing with his son,
whom he assists in auditing the
accounts of the establishment.
Mr. Hancock keeps a general
stock of merchandise amounting
to twenty-eight thousand dollars.
BENJAMIN DILLARD.
[CHICKASAW AND CHOCTAW.]
Benjamin was born at Carleton,
Mississippi, in 1857, being the
son of Hamp Dillard by his
wife, Elizabeth La Flore. At
three years of age he emigrated
to Doaksville with his brothers,
Hamp and George, and started
to school at Skullyville at thir-
teen years. On the third day of
his arrival, however, he fought
->i*
ii«-
Or THE liSTDIAN TERRITORY. .
-*
75
with the teacher, and to escape
his father's anger not only fled
from home, but from the neigh-
borhood, taking shelter at the
residence of his uncle, Forbes
La Flore, for whom he worked
for some years. In 1878 he
married Nancy Love, niece to
Justice Overton Love, In 1882
he composed one of a posse of
men employed by Sam Paul to
assist in guarding - a prisoner
named John Harkins, who, while
endeavoring to make his escape
received a death shot at the
hands of Paul. Paul was arrest-
ed and Ben Dillard fled from the
locality, and spent some four
years on the scout, after which
he gave himself up and was clear-
ed. The only public oflice Mr.
Dillard ever held was that of Na-
tional jailor, which appointment
he tilled during the second Over-
ton administration. He has a
farm of seventy-five acres, and
is an enthusiastic follower of the
Paul or progressive party.
*-
WILLIAM C. YORK.
[ CHEROKEE.]
William was born in Wayne
county. Mo., February, 1852.
William attended the neighbor-
hood schools until 1873, and in
the latter end of that year went
to North Texas, where he en-
gaged in the stock business. He
remained there for two years,
after which he came to Boggy
Depot, Choctaw Nation, and
commenced farming. In 1876
he married Miss Sarah Ward, a
Cherokee, and daughter of Sam
Ward, of Boggy Depot, and
cousin of Hon. H. P. Ward, of
WILLIaM C. YORK.
Kiowa. By this marriage they
had six children, Maud, Ella,
Leslie O., Mabel Lee, Willie,
Pearl and Benjamin. After his
marriage he engaged in the stock
business and farming, and is now
the owner of a nice little stock
of cattle, horses and hogs, be-
sides one hundred and fifty acres
of land under cultivation. He
has also a good coal claim.
-*
7<)
LEADEUS AND LEADING MEN'
DR. W. F. IIAYNKS.
This popular physician and busi-
ness man was born in Septem-
ber, 1848, at Cambridge, Salem
county, Missouri. He was edu-
cated at Miami University, Ox-
ford, Ohio, and became a grad-
uate of medicine at the Belle-
*-
DR. W. F. HATNES.
ville Medical Hospital College,
New York. His father, W.
Haynes, was an architect or
builder, and at that time resided
in Lafayette county, where the
young man commenced his ca-
reer as a physician; afterward
moving to Bates county, and
thence to Denison, Texas, in
1874. Practicing in the "Gate
City " for two years. Dr. Haynes
directed his attention to the In-
dian Territory, where good phys-
icians were in great demand, and
soon settled down at Stringtown,
wdiere he opened a drug store.
Two years afterward he married
Miss Hattie Garner, daughter of
J. D. Garner, a merchant of that
place. In twelve months he
purchased the mercantile firm of
A. Thompson & Co., and in 1885
! his father-in-law's interest in bus-
; in ess. In 1878 he had taken
his brother-in-law, George Gar-
ner, into partnership, but has re-
cently bought him out, and now
runs the firm in his own name.
During the years 1877, '78
'79 Dr. Haynes held the tie con-
tract for the- M., K. &T. railroad;
but owing to a pressure of busi-
ness was obliged to give it up.
In a comparatively short time he
has accumulated a very consid-
erable share of this world's
goods. He is the owner of half
an interest in the Haynes & Gar-
ner block, in Denison, his prop-
erty in that city being valued at
thirty-five thousand, not includ-
ing bank stock and investments.
His business house at Stringtown
carries about sixteen thousand
dollars' worth of goods, so that
he is in a fair way of further ac-
cumulation. Few men are bet-
ter worthy of success, for Dr
-*
*-
->B
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
Ilajnes has invested his own
means most liberally in every
public enterprise started in his
vicinity. The Stringtown school-
house was built by him solely,
while the Presbyterian church in
the same town owes its existence
mainly to liimself and his father-
in-law. For three years past he
has been an elder in the Cumber-
land Presbyterian church, and
superintendent of the Sunday-
school for thirteen years.
As a business man. Doctor
Haynes has few equals in the
Choctaw jN^ation, his energy and
force of character being remark-
able. His wife is a charming
young woman, whose amiability
has rendered her beloved by all.
JULIUS HAAS.
This gentleman was born at Wey-
erbach, Rhenish Prussia, in 1836;
went to college eight years, and
in 1853 came to New York, mov-
ing to California two years after-
ward. Here Mr. Haas tried
mining, but drifted into the mer-
cantile business, remaining in
the far west until 1860. He
next came to Jeffersonville, Tex.,
and embarked in the hide trade,
which occupied his attention for
eight or nine months in that
town. After this he made his
lieadquarters at St. Louis, and
traveled through the state buying
hides and furs until 1870. The
year previous he married Miss
Fannie Sandheimer. His next
move was to Baltimore, Mary-
land, where he remained two
years, and in 1875 came to the
Indian Territory, settling down
*-
JULIUS HAAS.
for good at Atoka, where he still
carries on his business of buying
and selling hides. By his wife
he has four children, Hugo, Al-
exander, Carrie and Gustave.
The former is serving his time in
the mercantile business. Mr.
Haas is one of the oldest inhabi-
tants of Atoka, a man of sterling
worth, whose friendship is valued
by all who enjoy it.
»i^
-^
LEADKHS AND LEADING MES
JOSEPH J. HODGES.
[CHOCTAW.]
Mr. Hodges was born in 1857
at AVheelock, Towsen county,
and went to school, first in Bok-
tuk-kalo county, and later re-
ceived instructions from Prof.
O. C. Hall in Atoka.
*-
JOSEPH J. HODGES.
Joseph went to work early in
life, associating himself with his
father in agriculture, and mar-
ried at twenty-two years of age.
He was wedded to Rose La
Flore, daughter of Henry La
Flore, of Atoka county, by which
union he has three children. In
1886 he was elected Sheriff of
Atoka county, which office he
held for two years. In 1888 he
was appointed by Governor
Smallwood as National Weigher
at No. 5 Mine, which position he
holds at the present time.
Joe is a brother of John M.
and D. W. Hodges, two among
the most prominent legislators in
the Choctaw Nation. He is very
popular among all classes of
})eople, both Choctaws and U.
S. citizens.
Although weighing little over
one hundred and thirty pounds,
Mr. Hodges is a man of extra-
ordinary strength and activity, a
blow from his right hand being
almost equal to the kick of a
mule. While farming some years
ago he entered into a contest of
skill with a laborer merely for
pastime, but unfortunately dealt
him a blow in the chest which
knocked him dead instantly.
This accident was a terrible shock
to Ml'. Hodges, who did not
know his own strength until that
tinjc.
The subject of this sketch owns
two hundred and twenty acres of
land, ninety-five of which is un-
der cultivation. He has also a
small herd of cattle and ponies
and a comfortable home near
Lehiffh.
-^
Laura, Kiowa.
-^
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
81
D. C. BLOSSOM.
The subject of this sketch was
born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
in 1850; came to Indian Terri-
tory in 1869, and established a
line of freight between Topeka,
Emporia, Newton and Wichita,
(Kan.), to Fort Sill and other
*-
D. C, BLOSSOM.
points. In 1870 and '71, freight-
er from the M. K. & T. Kailroad
to different points of the road.
In 1879 Mr. Blossom purchased
a general stock of goods in
Shawnetown, in conjunction
with S. Clay, and ran that busi-
ness until 1881, when he sold
out and moved toPaola, Kansas,
finally settling at Atoka, Choc-
taw Nation, in 1882, where he
purchased half interest in D. N.
Robb's business house, the firm
being known by the name of
Robb and Blossom. In 1887 he
purchased his partner's interest,
and is now doing an extensive
business with a stock of goods
amounting to over twenty thou-
sand dollars of general merchan-
dise.
Mr. Blossom is a superior busi-
ness man and is very popular
throughout the country. He is
an elder in the Presbyterian
church, and Superintendent of
their Sunday School. He was
married in 1879 to Miss Emma
Charles, second daughter of Joel
Charles, late of Hesperia, Kan-
sas, and now of Long Branch,
California.
Mr. Blossom has four children,
Charles, Eugene, Edith and Her-
bert. The Protective and De-
tective Association of Texas is
under the management of Mr.
Blossom in the Indian Territory.
This Association is for the pro-
tection of stock, and is largely
patronized by stock owners.
Mr. Blossom is surrounded by
a wide circle of friends and ac-
quaintances, and is very highly
esteemed.
— . li
*-
LKADEIJS AND LEADING MEN
WILLIAM II. IIARRISSOX.
I CHOCTAW.]
William was ])orn September in
the year of 1851 in Red River
county, Indian Territory, the son
of Zadock Harrisson of the Okla-
falya clan, and Elizabeth Ellis,
dauijhter of John Ellis, the well-
•I^-
WILLIAM H. HAKKISON.
known interpreter for the gov-
ernment in the State of Missis-
sippi. Ellis was a white man,
and died in the old state, having
returned to transact some busi-
ness which was left unfinished.
William went to school in 1861,
receiving much of his education
in Paris, Texas, at the school
kept by Miss Fannie Poindexter.
In 1877 he removed to Atoka,
and was there appointed to the
office of deputy sheriflf, and later
to that of Indian Police. In
1888 he ran for sheriff and was
elected by large odds. At the
termination of his office in 1890,
William Harrisson competed for
a seat in the house of representa-
tives against J. M. Hodges, Liffy
Wright, Allen Batiste, Colson
Palmer, Henry Wilson and three
others, and won by a majority
of fifty over the second candidate,
John M. Hodges.
The subject of this sketch is a
man of much popularity among
his people, and could have been
elected to higher oflices than he
has held, but for a certain lack
of self-confidence. While an of-
ficer of the law he proved himself
fearless and was in many a tough
spot, but always succeeded in
arresting his man without unnec-
essary bloodshed. In 1878 he
married Scerilda McCaslin, a
young lady from Missouri, by
whom he has three children, Ida,
Etta and Ada.
Among the many families of
note and standing in the Choc-
taw Nation, that of Mr. William
H. Harrisson holds a prominent
part, and will undoubtedly con-
tinue to do so.
-*
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
*
83
ALEXANDER THOMPSON.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Marion county, Illinois, in
1838. He lived with his parents
until thirteen years of age, and
after their death came to Boggy
Depot, Choctaw Nation, in 1853.
ALEXANDER THOMPSON.
In 1863 he engaged in the salt
business at the old salt works at
that place, which he continued
for three years. At the close of
the war Alexander commenced
farming and raising stock, and
in 1872 or '73 opened a mercan-
tile and lumber business at
Stringtown, which he sold out
seven years afterward to Dr.
Haynes, resuming his old calling,
that of* cattle raising. About
1882 he again disposed of his in-
terest in stock, and once more
engaged in merchandise, this
time at Kiowa, and in partner-
ship with W. B. Manners, whom
he bought out the year following,
soon afterward disposing of his
interest to F. E. Shaffer, who
now controls the business. Mr.
Thompson then devoted himself
wholly to stock, and has twelve
hundred head of cattle, three
hundred head of horses and nine
hundred and sixty acres of farm
land, besides a part interest in
the South Western Improvement
Coal Co. In 1863 he married
Martha Watkins, a daughter of
Theodore "Watkins, of Tennessee,
a half Chickasaw, of the Colbert
House. The issue of this mar-
riage was ten children, four of
whom are living: Richard Cobb,
John Henry, Rob Roy and Al-
exander. Alexander Thompson
is a very popular citizen, a genial,
hospitable neighbor, fond of out-
door amusements, and although
over hfty years of age, is hard to
beat in the hunting field, beinga
first class shot with a rifle. He
is an old member of the Oklaho-
ma masonic lodge.
-*
*-
84
LEADKKS AND LEADING MEN
¥. K. SHAFFER.
The above-named inerchant and
general man of business was
born in Hamilton, Butler county,
Ohio, in 1S5S. and attended pub-
lic school in his native town until
1875. when he went to clerking
in a ffrocerv store for two vears.
*-
F. E. SHAFFER.
During this time he had acquired
a thorough knowledge of tel-
egraphy, so that when he emi-
grated to Stringtown, Choctaw
Nation, in 1879, he was enabled
to take the position of agent and
operator on the M. K. & T. rail-
road. In 1880 he was appointed
postmaster, and for six years
held that ])osition in conjunction
with the railroad asrencv. In
1886 he came to Kiowa, where
he purchased the business inter-
est of Alex. Thompson, general
merchant, the largest mercantile
house in that portion of the coun-
try. In June, 1881, he married
Miss Ada Garner, third daughter
of J. D. Garner, of Stringtown.
and one of the oldest merchants
of the Indian Territory. Mrs.
Shafier is a young woman of great
personal attractions and possess-
ing many accomplishments. The
issue of this njarriage is three
children, two of whom are living,
James Samuel and Frank Alex-
ander. The subject of this sketch
carries a well-assorted stock of
about twelve thousand dollars,
and is himself a business man of
excellent judgment, full of ener-
gy and enterprise, and destined
to make a financial success. Mr.
Shaffer is a popular man where-
ever he is known.
W. G. WILLIAMS.
This popular stockman and horse
breeder was born in 1839 in Clay
county, Kentucky, and came to
the Indian Territory in August,
1860, where three years after-
ward he married Annie Eastman.
He then made his home in Paul's
Yalley until 1872, when he
moved to Silver City, and thence
in 1879 to the Caddo Reserva-
-*
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
-*
85
tion, twelve miles east of Ana-
darko, where he has ever since
resided.
Mr. Williams has some three
thousand head of cattle, besides
five hundred acres of land under
cultivation. But his specialty is
*-
W. y. WILLIAMS.
horses, of which he can boast
seven hundred head of mixed
grades, from the Indian pony to
the thoroughbred Kentuckian.
His stallions, "George" and
"Kenton," are widely known.
Since racing was forbidden by
the Indian agents, Mr. Williams
has sold a number of his trained
stock, among them the celebrated
"Tom Thumb," a half-mile
horse that has recently become
famous in New York State.
Before the war Mr. Williams
ranched in the Wichita Moun-
tains for several years, where he
had many thrilling adventures in
the chase of elk, bear and buffalo.
R. D. BURTON.
[CHOCTAW AND CREEK.]
This gentleman was born No-
vember 10, 1847, near Browns-
ville, Hinds county, Mississippi.
He enlisted in the Confederate
army in 1862, and continued in
the service until the war closed,
in 1865, when he returned to his
home and engaged in farming
until he emigrated to the Indian
Territory in 1870. Shortly af-
ter locating in Skullyville coun-
ty, Choctaw Nation, Robert Bur-
ton married Miss Mary C. Mc-
Duffy, a citizen of that Nation,
and in the fall of the same year
moved on the Canadian River
and engaged in farming until
1873. About this time he had
the misfortune to lose his wife,
who died at Boggy Depot; after
which he changed his location to
South Canadian, where he em-
barked in the mercantile busi-
ness. Some time afterward Mr.
Burton married a Creek lady,
Eliza, the daughter of Rev. John
-*
1
-*
86
LKADKKS AND LEADING MEN
Smith, a Baptist minister and
merchant, who until 18S6 liad
been railroad agent and post-
master in his town. By this
union they had six children —
Robert O., Nathaniel, Samuel L. ,
Lydia B., Abbie L., and Minnie
O. Mr. Burton is a business
man of great energy and ability,
and is very popular at home and
abroad.
*-
JUDGE GEORGE M. BOND.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Howard county, Mary-
land, in 18J:7, and attended the
public school until sixteen years
of age, when he went to work
for himself. In 1871 he moved
to Boiling Springs, Choctaw Na-
tion, where he commenced teach-
ing school, and for sixteen years
continued in that capacity. In
1876 he married Miss Narcissa
McClure, eldest child of Isaac
McClure, Senator of Sans Bois,
and afterw^ard of Blue county,
and District Trustee of Schools
of the Third District. The issue
of this marriage is Edmond Mc-
Cnrtain, Rose, Wallace, Rebecca,
B. Frank and Ida Maud. After
this marriage Mr. Bond went to
farming and stock raising, and
in 1888 was elected County
Judge for Tobuxey county, which
office he still holds. For the
past twelve months he has been
engaged as partner in the mer-
cantile firm entitled the •» Grady
Trading Company," witli other
branches at four or live different
points on the railroad.
Judge Bond is the owner of
.JUDGE BOND.
some six hundred head of cattle
and has two hundred acres of
land under good cultivation. He
also owns an interest in all the
mines that have been opened
by the Choctaw Coal and Rail-
way Company.
Tiie Judge is very popular, be-
ing kind and affable in manner
and w^ell calculated to attain
jironiinence among his people.
-^
*-
*
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
87
DR. W. M. DUNN.SR.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born near Tallahasse, Florida,
December 8, 1828, his father's
name being Bryant Dunn, a
Georgian by birth and education.
Dr. Dunn was educated for the
*-
DR. W. M. DUNN, SR.
medical profession in Augusta,
Ga., and commenced practice in
1853. Moving to Choctaw coun-
ty, Mississippi, in the following
year.
In 1857 he married Miss Selina
Yates, daughter of Allen Yates,
an extensive farmer. When the
war broke out he joined Bragg
as a sergeant,but after two years'
campaign his health gave way
and he received his discharge.
After practicing medicine for
some years in Meridian, Missis-
sippi,he moved to Atoka in 1876,
and with his family settled in
their present home. By his wife,
who is of the Hyah-pah-tuk-kalo
clan, he has had seven children,
live of whom are at present liv-
ing. The oldest (now dead) was
Mrs. P. H. Little. The next
in order was Margaret, who died
in infancy. Dr. A. E. Dunn,
of Purcell, Chickasaw Nation;
W. M. Dunn, Jr., of Atoka, Mrs.
J. R. Harris, Neosho, Missouri;
Mrs. O. E. White, of Atoka; and
Miss Lena Dunn, of Atoka, are
the surviving members of the
family.
In 1884 Dr. Dunn was forced
to retire from his arduous prac-
tice owing to an attack of Bright's
disease, which unfortunately car-
ried him off in 1886. As a phy-
sician he stood high, while his
benevolence to the poor needing
his treatment was proverbial. A
more zealous, painstaking pro-
fessional man could hardly have
been met with. His death was
universally regretted, and his
loss was felt by many in Atoka
and the surrounding neighbor-
hood.
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88
LEADERS AND LEADING JIEX
•H-
followiiig we proceeded to Fort
Smith and fought the battle of
Mazzard Prairie. While the
Kansas troops under General
Blount were guarding stock we
surrounded them, and after a
brisk fight captured part of the
Ninth and Kansas Sixth. The
loss on our side was small, that
suffered by General Gano, of
Dallas, being the most severe.
A Choctaw preacher, while ex-
horting the soldiers against rob-
bing the dead, fell with a bullet
in the brain. After this battle,
we returned to winter quarters,
and soon afterward disbanded."
The Second Choctaw Regi-
ment was under command of the
celebrated Colonel Sim Folsom,
who is still living. The most
noted Captains were Green
Thompson and Theodore Wat-
kins, while Lieutenants Emerson
Folsom and Hobart Heald are
worthy of the highest praise for
their undaunted bravery throug;h
out. Of Captain Green Thomp-
son, recently deceased, it is said
that he would leisurely leap from
his saddle in front of a battery
and light his pipe.
General Cooper said of the
Choctaws, '^They are not only
the bravest soldiers on earth, but
the most sleepless and vigilant
of guards."'
CAPT. CHARLES LA FLORE.
[CHOCTAW.]
The gallant Captain of the In-
dian Police was born near
DoaksvilJe, Towsen county, Choc-
taw Nation, in 18L1, being the
son of Forbes La Flore, leading
citizen of the Nation. Charlie
CAPTAIN CHARLES LA FLORE.
was educated at Armstrong Acad-
emy, Paris and Fort Smith, but
his schooling at the latfer place
was cut short by the breaking out
of the war. While a young man
he married Mary Angelina, a sis-
ter of ex-Governor Guy, and a
niece of the late ex Governor
Harris. She, like the other fe-
male members of her family,
was beautiful as well as accom-
-*
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERKITORY.
89
9f
*-
plished. After marriage Charlie
took a contract for supplying
meat to the refugee Cherokces,
who had sought shelter in the
Choctaw Nation during the war.
After two years spent in this man-
ner, he moved to Clear Boggy
Creek, where lie built a toll
bridge and grist mill. Five
years following he took up his
residence close to Lehigh, where
Gov. Smallwood now resides,
and in 1867 located at Lime-
stone Gap,his present picturesque
home. In 1882 he became a
member of the Indian Police
force, and soon afterward receiv-
ed the commission of deputy U.
S. Marshal. Four years later he
was made Captain of the Indian
Police, and strange to say is alive
and well after four years' service
in that most perilous position,
which few men have held over a
couple of years untildeath depriv-
ed them of their badge. Both his
predecessors in this office were
killed within one year and a half.
The subject af this sketch first
rendered himself prominent by
the killing of the notorious black
desperadoes, Dick Glass and Jim
Johnson, in company with Cap-
tain Sixkiller. They were shot
down at the first fire, while a
third of their number tried to
escape on horseback, but was
run into by La Flore and captured
after a ride of six miles. When
Captain Sixkiller was shot dead in
the public street a few years later
by JefFNicolson and Black Hoyt,
La Flore was present and in
company with Officer Keys re-
turned the fire which resulted in
Nicolson's death. The subject
of this sketch is a man of cool
courage and determination, that
nothing will deter from his duty.
He has served under Furlong as
assistant special agent on the M. ,
K. & T. R. P., a'nd is now act-
ing in the same capacity for Cap-
tain Kinney. Captain La Flore
has five daughters living, but un-
fortunately lost his only son,
"William Forbes. His daughters
are: Anne, Estelle, Chick and
Chock (twins), Daisy and Maud.
These young ladies have been
given all the advantages of edu-
cation that money could procure.
They are bright and pretty, and
develop talent for art and music.
ALLIXTOX TELLE.
Born in 1859 ; graduated at tlie
Southwestern Presbyterian Uni-
versity, Clarksville, Tenn. ; after
which he took a literary and law
course in Albany, New York.
Allinton is the second and only
surviving son of Ima-no-bubbi,
of Mississippi, and belongs to
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-*
90
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
the Chin Okla-fa-lay-a. His
mother was Kate Wright, sister
of ex-Governor Wright, of Boggy
Depot. In 1881 Allinton opened
a farm and became interpreter in
the United States Court; after
which he began the practice of
*-
ALLINTON TELLE,
law, which he continues with
great success till the present.
In 1884 he was a candidate for
District Attorney, but was de-
feated by a small majority. In
1886 he was appointed National
Secretary to fill the unexpired
term of Hon, Thompson McKin-
ney, and was elected to the same
office the year following hy a
large majority. During his offi-
cial term, which elapsed in 1889,
Secretary Telle acquitted himself
in a manner which reflects credit
on his ability and bespeaks for
him a bright future. Among
the interpreters and translators
of the Choctaw language Mr.
Telle holds the first rank. He is
also an excellent writer in the
English language, and has few
equals as a classical scholar.
His property consists of 1,200
head of cattle and 250 acres in
cultivation, six lots in the town
of Atoka, and half interest in a
block at South McAlester, Al-
linton Telle is looked upon as
the most popular young man in
his nation.
JUDGE GABRIEL BURRIS.
[CHOCTAW.]
This venerable and highly-es-
teemed Choctaw was born in
Mississippi in 1816, and was
chiefly educated by the well-
known Congressman, Dick John-
son.
Gabriel moved with his par-
ents to the Choctaw Nation dur-
ing the general emigration, and
for some years assisted them on
the farm. At the age of twenty-
one he married Miss Iny-a-tubbe,
niece of Captains Tom and Dick
Hayes, both leading Choctaws of
their time. The issue of this
marriage was six children, only
-*
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
91
-*
two of whom survive, Isaac and
Phoebe, now Mrs. Calvin Perry,
of Atoka.
At the first Council ever held
by the Choctaws in their present
Nation Gabriel Burris was elect-
ed Representative of his county,
which position he maintained for
*
JUDGE BURKIS.
two sessions. In 1849 he was
again called forth to represent
his people at the Boggy Depot
Council. In 1861 he was ap-
pointed Supreme Judge of the
Third Judiciary of the Choctaw
Nation, which office he held with
honor for seven years. The last
public appointment filled by him
was that of Senator for Toboxy
(Coal) county, in 1882.
Being by nature a man of
great modesty, he invariably
shunned political prominence,
and all offices of public trust, in
every instance being forced to
serve his country at the call of
his people, which was done at a
great sacrifice to his own retiring
disposition. As Supreme Judge
his verdicts and rulings met with
the highest approval, while his
amiable character rendered him
not only esteemed, but much be-
loved by his people, as well as
the United States citizens so-
journing in the country.
Judge Burris owns a farm of
one hundred and fifty acres un-
der cuUivation, besides a small
herd of cattle and hogs. Within
the last five years he has been
afflicted with growing cataracts
on both eyes, which have recent-
ly rendered him almost blind,
but being now ripe for operation,
it is to be hoped he will regain
his sight before the dawn of an-
other year.
Esteemed and beloved by all
who know him, Judge Burris re
sides at his country home, some
five miles from Coalgate, a cele-
brated mining town in the Choc-
taw Nation. Not far from his
house is a rich coal bed, from
which he or his son Isaac will
pr(^bably derive rich returns
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*-
->b
92
LEADKUS AND LEADING ME\
CAPTAIN J.S.STAXDLEY.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born ill Carroll county. Missis-
sippi, March, 1841, and attend-
ed private schools until 1857,
when he went to a Kentucky Mil-
itary Institute. In 18G0 he left
*-
CAPTAIN J. S. STANDLEY.
the Institute and commenced the
study of law, which he continued
until the outbreak of the civil
war. Young Standley joined the
Eleventh Mississippi Infantry
under the command of Colonel
Moore, being elected first lieu-
tenant of the company, of which
lie afterward became Captain.
When peace was restored, Cap-
tain Standley returned to his
home and commenced the prac-
tice of law. In 1873 he emi-
grated to South Canadian, In-
dian Territory, and soon estab-
lished his right in the Choctaw
Nation. In 1880 he was ap-
pointed National agent, which
othce he held for two years. He
was again appointed in 18 82, and
resigned in the following year.
In 1888 he was once more called
upon to fill the same office, but
was forced to resign before the
expiration of his term owing to
an important mission to Wash-
ington, undertaken by him in
company with the Chickasaw
delegates, with the object of ne-
gotiating for the sale of the west-
ern lands. Captain Standley was
eminently successful in this un-
dertaking, as he also was four
years previous (in 1881), in se-
curing the adoption of the freed-
men, and the approval of the
United States authorities on his
action. Captain Standley mar-
ried Miss Alice Posey, daughter
of Humphrey Marshall Posey, of
Claiborn county, Mississippi, in
June, 1863. The issue of this
marriage was ten children, five
of whom are living: Norma,
James S., Eva, Claude and
Leon a. After his wife's death
he married Mrs. L. C. Harrisson,
*
>B-
OF THE INDIAN TEKHITORY.
93
daughter of Thos. W. Edwards,
of Leesburgh, Ya., a prominent
lawyer and member of the legis-
hiture. The subject of this sketch
is owner of some five hundred
acres of land under cultivation,
and six coal claims, three of
which are being at present de-
veloped. He is also part editor
and proprietor of the Indian Cit-
izen, published at Atoka, Choc-
taw Nation. Captain Standley
has a large law practice in the
Choctaw as well as the United
States courts. He is an elder in
the Christian church, of which
he has been a member for twen-
ty-five years, and is much resjDCct-
ed at home and abroad.
JAMES W. GARDNER.
[CHOCTAW.]
This gentleman was born in Blue
county, Choctaw Nation, in
18i9. Owing to the death of
his father while James was quite
a child, the youth never received
the benefit of a school education,
being obliged to remain at home
and look after the wants of his
widowed mother. In 1870 he
married Wm. Lawson's widow,
whose maiden name was Emily
Corn well, daughter ot William
Cornwell, of Morgan county,
Kentucky. Mrs. Gardner's moth-
er was an Alexander, a Chero-
kee by blood.
Mr. Gardner has a farm of
four hundred acres close to
Wynne Wood, besides some thir-
teen hundred head of cattle. He
is also the owner of nearly one-
half the town site of Wynne
J. W. GARDNER.
Wood and some five or six resi-
dences.
Though deprived of a school
education, William Gardner is a
smart and successful man of bus-
iness, while his wife is a woman
of excellent sense and piety.
They have four children — Zacha-
riah, Benjamin, Emiline and
James Dolphus, the oldest being
seventeen and the youngest seven
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94
LEADEKS AND LEADING 3IEN
CAMPBELL FRAZIER.
[CHOCTAW.]
This gentleman was born in Tow-
sen county, September 15. 1839,
and attended the neighborhood
school from 1849 to 1852; after
which he was placed at Spencer
Academy for six years.
When the war broke out in
*-
1860 Campbell joined the Con-
federate array, and continued in
the service until the close, dur-
ing which time he served as or-
derly sergeant and captain of
militia. After the war he was
appointed county clerk of Cedar
county, and in 1868 was elected
clerk of the lower house. In
1872 he was appointed district
clerk, which office he held until
1880, when he resigned and
moved to Sugar Loaf county,
where he was appointed a mem-
ber of the Choctaw light horse.
In 1881 he was appointed circuit
judge of the Apuckshannubbee
district, and in 1883 became rep-
resentative of Cedar county. In
1885 he was elected clerk of the
house of representatives, and
filled the same office in 1888.
In 1890 he was elected district
attorney, which office he holds
at present. In 1860 he married
Eliza Hayes, grand daughter of
Tom Hayes, of Cedar county,
who died two years afterward.
In 1865 he was united to his de-
ceased wife's cousin, Mrs. Eliz-
abeth Hayes. By this union he
has one surviving son, named
Frank. On the death of his sec-
ond wife he married Miss Sallie
Williams in 1872.
Campbell Frazier is the young-
est son of Han is Frazier, who
died in 1844, and was a well
known man in his day.
The subject of our sketch has
forty-eight acres under cultiva-
tion, a small herd of cattle, one
hundred and fifty head of hogs,
and three undeveloped coal
claims. He is a man of good
education and sound sense, and
is also an able lawyer.
-*
Quanah Parker.
^-
OF llIE INDIAX TKKKITOUY.
97
-*
B. F. RODGERS.
[CHOCTAW.]
This gentleman was born in 1852.
His father, William Rodgers,
moved to the Cherokee Nation
about that time and devoted him-
self to agriculture. At an early
age he was sent to a neishbor-
B. F. RODGERS.
hood school till 1862, when he
moved with his father to Jacks
Fork county, Choctaw Nation.
At the age of twenty-one years
young Rodgers married Mrs. M.
M. Flint, widow of J. C. Flint.
Her maiden name was Passons,
her mother being Sophia Krebs,
the daughter of a distinguished
Choctaw family. By this union
B. F. Rodgers has three children
— William Franklin, Mary Isa-
belle and Isaac La Fayette. He
has also a step-daughter, Sophia
A. Flint.
Mr. Rodgers has identified
himself with this country for a
great number of years, and in
such a favorable light that he is
liked and respected by all good
men. He is a prominent mem-
ber of the Baptist church, having
held the office of deacon since
1885 and local trustee of the
Baptist Academy for two years.
He has a good farm of three
hundred and fifty acres, with
some eighty acres under culti-
vation. Also one hundred head
of cattle and twenty horses. His
residence, within two and a half
miles of Atoka, situated mid-
ways on the Bald Knob, is one
of the most picturesque spots in
the county, while the valley be-
low is fertile and well watered.
Mr. Rodgers' father was a sur-
veyor and mechanic, a man of
excellent business ability and
well educated. He died in 1877
near Atoka.
The death of Mr. Rodgers was
very deeply lamented by his re-
lations and his numerous admir-
ers.
*-
■*
98
LEADKKS AND LEADING MEN
CYRUS H. KINGSBURY.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Kiamichi county, Choc-
taw Nation, in May, 1859, he
being the second and only sur-
viving son of J. P. Kingsbury
and grandson of Kev. C. Kings-
bury and Kev. E. Hotchkiss.
These eminent missionaries were
the first who sowed the seeds of
Christianity among the Choc-
taws, emigrating with them from
the State of Mississippi.
Through the adoption of his
grandfather Kingsbury, the sub-
ject of this sketch has always
been looked upon as entitled to
the rights and privileges of a
Choctaw citizen. He was edu-
cated at Westminster College,
Fulton, Missouri, and in 1871
engaged in the stock business,
holding his cattle with those of
his sister Lucy, now Mrs. Little-
page, within a short distance of
Atoka. Being struck, however,
by the Oklahoma fever in 1889,
he incautiously moved his herd
to the promised land, where he
was unfortunate enough to lose
all but three hundred head of
improved cattle, which will throw
him back many years. He has,
however, a good farm of one
hundred and forty acres under
cultivation and a pasture one
mile square, besides eighty head
of stock horses.
There is no young man in the
Choctaw Nation more honorable
or more gentlemanly in his daily
acts and business than Cyrus
Kingsbury. He has a multitude
of friends, but not an enemy.
ALFRED TOOLE.
[CHOCTAW.]
Mk. Toole was born in Febru-
ary, 1818, in Wayne county, Mis-
sissippi, and commenced busi-
ness at Marion, Mississippi, at
the age of twenty-three, continu-
ing in the mercantile trade for
eight years, during which time
he was continually brought into
contact with the Choctaw people
of the old State. His next move
was to Choctaw county, Ala-
bama, where he also engaged in
farming as well as merchandise.
Here he married Miss Belinda
Y^ates, of the celebrated Kale
family of the Choctaw Nation,
then residing in Alabama. At
that time this young lady was a
student of the Amiens Mission,
of Mississippi, an institution es-
tablished for the education of
Indian girls.
Mrs. Toole is of the Okla-fal-
^-
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
99
-*
ya clan, and was born in Febru-
ary, 1822.
In 1853 Mr. Toole opened a
boot and shoe business in con-
nection with his tannery, which
was located on the Toinbigbee
River, Choctaw county, Ala-
bama. About seventeen years
afterward he left the State for
Arkansas, and in 1878 moved to
South Canadian, in the Choctaw
Nation, Indian Territory, where
he now resides. He has been
engaged since then in the mer-
cantile business, farming and
stock-raising, the latter now call-
ing for his especial attention.
The subject of our sketch has
been a Mason for forty-five
years, during which time he has
filled all the oflices, being now a
member of South Canadian
Lodge, No. 22, Choctaw Nation.
Mr. Toole has seven children,
two boys and five girls — John
O., Joseph Y., Mary, Octavio,
Viola, Orilla and Inez.
*
JAMES W. STEWART.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in York, York county,
Pennsylvania, forty years ago, of
what are considered respectable
parentage. His father was a
man of considerable intelligence,
having been a surveyor, scriv-
ener, and for a number of years
clerk of the circuit court of York
county. Pa. James began his
education at the York County
Academy and finished it at La-
fayette College, Easton, Pa.;
after which he studied law for
three years in Chicago, 111., and
was then admitted to the bar;
but the first thing at which he
made any money of any account
was teaching school, and it
seemed the surest and most sys-
tematic way for obtaining that
great desideratum, so Mr. Stew-
art naturally drifted to school
teaching as a profession. He
taught school in six States, be-
sides having taught ten years for
the Choctaws and Chickasaws in
the Indian Territory. He held
the position of County Clerk in
Sobucksy county, Choctaw Na-
tion, and at present is filling the
position of National Weigher at
Alderson, Sobucksy county, in
the same Nation.
About ten years ago Mr. Stew-
art married the daughter of Mr.
Wiley Stewart, of Caddo, Choc-
taw Nation, while teaching a
National school at that place.
His wife's name before marriage
was Esther Stewart, who says
that marrying didn't change her
name, and that she is glad
of it.
-*
1(H)
1>EADEUS AND LEADING MEX
CAPT. WALKKR MARTIN.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in 1825, the son of John
H. Martin, of Jefferson county,
Kentucky. Coming first to Wis-
consin he emigrated in 1850 to
California, where with a train of
4
^
1
.^ ^^; -
!
■1
. '}% • ijmg^^l^^.]
*-
CAPTAIN WALKEK MARTIN.
two hundred wagons he crossed
the phiins. After a sojourn of
three years he returned by New
York, via tlie Isthmus of Pana-
ma, arriving in 1853 back to his
native place. Growing discon-
tented with home he soon put
out for the Choctaw Nation, and
establishing himself five miles
north of Atoka, opened a
store which he controlled for
two years. In 1855 Mr. Martin
traveled over the state of Texas
with some Kentucky horses and
raked in many a goodly pile of
"filthy lucre.''
In 1861 he joined General
Pierce's army, in Yan Buren's
Frontier Guards; was at the bat-
tles of Wilson Creek and Pea
Ridge. Later on he raised a
company with Jonathan Nail,
the latter being Captain and Mr.
Martin first lieutenant, attaching
themselves to the Chickasaw Ba-
tallion, under Col. Lem Pey-
nolds. After a while Jonath^in
was appointed major, while the
subject of this sketch became
Captain of the company. Just
after the surrender in 1865, Ma-
jor Phillips, with two thousand
two hundred Federal Cavalry
from Fort Gibson, came as far as
Stonewall, where he was attack-
ed by Chief Jumper, Captains
Booker James and Walker Mar-
tin, their united bands not ex-
ceeding one hundred and fifty
men. It was a bold attack, the
little bunch of Indian soldiers
being obliged to retreat with the
loss of twenty-nine men. In
1855 Mr. Martin married Ade-
laine Folsom, niece of old Chief
George Harkins, by whom he
had two chihlren, both of whom
-*
OF THE INDIAN TERIilTOKY.
101
*
died. After the death of his
first wife he married Elizabeth,
daughter of Lieutenant Groves,
of Fort Towsen, bj whom he has
one son named Zeno, aged twen-
ty-one years. After farming
some years in Pickins county,
Mr. Martin settled near Atoka in
1884, where he now resides.
*-
JOHN T. HOWELL.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born at Plymouth, Tom Bigby
River, Mississippi, in 1838, being
a descendant of the town or clan
Hyah-pa-tuk-kola. In 1840 he
was brought to Eagle Town, Choc-
taw Nation, and educated at
Spenser Academy, his education
being completed at Daingerfield,
Titus county, Texas. He mar-
ried, in 1872, Jane Colbert,
daughter of Joe Colbert, cousin
of the present Frank Colbert, of
Colbert Station. Mr. Howell
came to Washita in 1865, and
spent several years buffalo hunt-
ing, but in 1866 the Comanches
and Kiowas became troublesome
and robbed him of fifty head of
horses, a few years afterward
carrying ofi" thirty-eight. On
these occasions the young man,
with some of his neighbors, pur-
sued the plain Indians, and many
fights ensued, but he has never
yet been able to recover his
stolen stock, or indemnification
for the same. Mr. Howell erected
the first gin and grist mill on the
Washita, and has recently built
a second gin, so that he gins
JOHN T. HOWELL.
three thousand bales per year.
His farm, which comprises nine
hundred acres of first class land,
nearly always turns out one bale
of cotton to the acre. He pays*
permits for twenty-five renters.
About one year ago he disposed
of his cattle, and now keeps not
over five hundred head. He has
three children: Albert, aged sev-
enteen years; May and Brunette.
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102
l.EADEllS AND LEADING MEN
J. W. VAIL.
[CHOCTAW,]
This gentleman was born in
Jackson county, Alabama, in
1837, being the son of D. W.
Vail, a leading professor of lit-
erature and languages, who spent
his life teaching. His son James'
J. W. VAIL.
education, however, was con-
fined to public schools, after
which, in 1866, he commenced
farming in the eastern part of
Arkansas. In 1869 he moved to
the Choctaw Nation and engaged
in the mercantile business with
Jack McCurtain, afterward prin-
cipal Chief of the Nation, and
the greatest among the Choctaw
administrators.
After twelve months Mr. Vail
went into business on his own
responsibility close to Tuskaho-
ma, the capital, and there re-
mained for four years, closing
out in 1875. From thence he
moved to Atoka county and com-
menced stock raising, and im-
proving a large place now owned
by J. D. Davis.
J. W. Vail married Miss
Frances Folsom in 1871. This
lady is the daughter of Colman
Folsom, of some prominence
in his conntry. By his wife he
has six children living: Mattie
A., James T., Willie A., Charles
E., Maud K and Junia. Mr.
Vail is a highly respected mem-
ber of the Baptist church; a man
of great industry and persever-
ance, who by his energy has
made himself a competence that
in a few years will render him
independent.
His fifteen-acre orchard con-
tains the finest quality of fruit in
the Nation. His farm is under
first class cultivation, as are also
his stock, sixty head of which are
graded. Mr, VaiFs home is
beautifully situated within one
mile of Atoka.
Mr. Vail is a very industrious
man, and is well and favorably
known throughout the Nation.
*-
-*
p
AtoKa Academy, Choctaw Nation.
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERUITORY.
105
-*
WM. A. CLARK, M.D.
The subject of this sketch is the
son of Rev. Moses Clark, of
Caddo, Choctaw Nation, who
previous to his removal to this
country resided in Gilmer, Geor-
gia, where William Ashbury was
born. The young man was ed-
WM. ASHBURY CLARK, M. D.
ucated at Stanford, Kentucky,
and afterward taught school in
Lincoln county for two years.
In 1873 he commenced reading
medicine in Duncan county,
Missouri, and after finishing his
studies moved to the neighbor-
hood of Armstrong Academy,
Choctaw Nation, 1878, where he
resided till the fall of 1881,
when he moved to Durant, in the
same Nation. After a few years'
practice at that point Dr. Clark
returned to the Academy, where
he remained till 1885, finally
settling down to his professional
career in Dnrant, where he now
resides. In 1879 he married
Selina Mowdy, daughter of Jas.
Mowdy, of Nashoba county,
Mississippi, by whom he had four
children, two of whom are living
— Nancy Leither, eight years
old, and Asberry Bates, five
years.
Dr. Clark is the oldest prac-
ticing physician in Blue county,
and speaks highly of the treat-
ment which he has received at
the hands of the Choctaw peo-
ple, whom he has found scrupu-
lously honest in their dealings.
Dr. Clark, in company with
Dr. Starks, was present at the
hanging of Silas Peters in 1881
(the only Choctaw ever hung in
his own country), the crime be-
ing horse theft on second convic-
tion. This is the only ofiense
punishable by the gallows, and
is looked upon as a more de-
grading crime than murder in the
first degree.
Dr. Clark has opened a large
lumber business in Durant, where
he is to be found when not ac-
tively engaged in his professional
duties.
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106
LKADERS AND LEADING MEN
NAPOLEON B. AINSWORTH.
[CHOCTAW.]
This leading citizen was born in
1S56 at Skullyville in the Choc-
taw Nation, and attended neigh-
borhood school until he was fif-
teen years of age, when he en-
tered Roanoke College, Salem,
NAPOLEON B. AINSWORTH.
Virginia, and graduated after
four years, in June, 1880, secur-
ing in the same year the orator's
medal. He went from there to
the University of Virginia, and
attended the law school for six
months, and returning home
that season, was appointed drafts-
man for the Council by Governor
Jack McCurtain. At the termin-
ation of the council he was ap-
pointed National weigher at Mc-
Alester, which office he resigned
after three years in order to de-
vote more time to his law prac-
tice. On the death of National
Auditor La Flore, N. B. Ains-
worth was appointed to fill his
unexpired term. In 1887 he was
elected to fill the same office,
which he held for two years.
Mr. Ainsworth is a member
of the bar in the United States
Courts of the Indian Territory.
He has gained a wide reputation
both at home and abroad as an
able and fluent advocate. N.
B. Ainsworth, with one or two
exceptions (and one of these in
his own brother) is considered
the most thoroughly educated
man in the Choctaw Nation, his
knowledge being varied and very
thorough in many important
branches of learning. Mr. Ains-
worth married Miss Emily K.
Thompson in Roanoke, Vir-
ginia, in 1883, the issue of this
marriage being three children:
Ben, Pushmataha, Helena and
Agnes. He is owner of a large
farm of four hundred acres, and
owns a third interest in the 7X
ranch with Green and Edmond
McCurtain, also half interest in
the X — ranch with John Simp-
son, also an interest in the mines
*-
-*
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITOKY.
107
operated by the Osage Mining
Company. The subject of this
sketch is a third son of J. G.
Ainsworth, deceased, a man
highly respected during his life
time, who, however, was not a
politician, devoting himself to
farming and stock raising at his
home in SkuUyville, Choctaw
Nation.
REV. CALVIN ROBINSON.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in December, 1827, and is
the son of Amzi Robinson, of
North Carolina, and Emily Fol-
som, of the Hyah-pah-tuk-kalo
clan. He was the first infant
ever baptized in the Christian
religion in the Territory, and that
at the hands of old Silas Kings-
bury, the Presbyterian Mission-
ary. Calvin first came to the
Choctaw Nation in 1831, his
mother dying at Mountain Fork
three days previous to Nathaniel
Folsom, both of whom were
buried in the same spot.
Mr. Robinson was married in
June, 1848, to Sophia James, by
whom he had ten children, all of
whom died except McKee, F.
and Corina. After the death of
his first wife he married in 1880
Mary Patterson, a Texas lady, by
whom he has a son by the name
of Christo Chrisman.
Calvin was ordained in the
Cumberland Presbyterian church
in 1876, after having held the
ofiices of Ranger and Deputy
*-
CALVIN ROBINSON.
Sheriff' for two years. His cler-
ical appointments are at present
at Tulla-hi-kia and Hash-ok-wa,
for which duties he receives the
moderate stipend of three hun-
dred dollars per annum.
Rev. Robinson is a thorough
Christian, kind, hospitable and
tolerant, and looks young and
cheerful at sixty-three years.
Ids
LEADKKS AND LEADING MEN
T. D. BKLL.
[CHOCTAW.]
In 1868, at the aire of ten years,
vt)nnff Bell moved from the state
of Missouri to Texas with his fath-
er and mother. In the old state
he had had a few years' instruc-
tion in the public school, but re-
T. D. BELL.
ceived little education in Texas,
for he left his home at fourteen
years and came to Blue county,
in the Choctaw Nation, where
he went to work in various capa-
cities with the confidence of a
middle-aged man. We find him
railroading at sixteen close to
Kiowa, wiiere he now resides.
•!•-
In 1881 he M'as o-iven char«:e
of Lehigh engine Xo, 3, and the
following year went to Kansas,
returning in January, 1883.
Soon afterward he married the
eldest daughter of the late Joseph
Ward, of Limestone Gap, and
widow of Walton Kelly. Mrs.
Bell is a sister of Hon. Henry
Ward, county judge of Atoka
county, and is a descendant from
one of the most ancient families
in the Choctaw Kation. The
issue of this marriage is: Hattie,
Gordon, and T. D.; while Mrs.
Bell, by her first husband, has
five children living: Joseph
James, William W., Leona, and
Henry and John (twins). In
1883 Mr. Bell met with a simple
accident, which unfortunately
resulted in the loss of his hand.
A slight cut w4th a pocket knife
between the thumb and first fin-
ger caused inflammation, which
necessitated amputation above
the wrist. Notwithstanding this
inconvenience, Mr. Bell is a suc-
cessful farmer, and has improved
two farms besides his home place.
He is an extensive sorghum man-
ufacturer. A few years ago he
turned out twenty-five thousand
gallons of molasses on fifteen
acres of ground, clearing forty-
five dollars per aci-e on his cane
crop.
-*
*-
OF THE INDIAN T^TtRlTORY.
109
-^
I
The subject of this sketch is a
member of the Methodist church,
while his wife is a very devoted
adherent of the Baptist faith, and
a lady of excellent sense and
highly respected throughout the
country.
WILEY STEWART,
[CHOCTAW.]
This gentleman was born in Ray
county, East Tennessee, in 1824.
Son of James Stewart, who set-
tled in Lamar county, Texas, in
1850, and died in 1862. Wiley
married IS^ancy Folsom, daugh-
ter of Samuel Folsom, in the
year 1847, and settled down
close to Armstrong Academy,
where they lived for five years
on the present Wilburn Hampton
place. Mrr Stewart's wife is of
royal blood, being grand-daugh-
ter to Nathaniel Folsom, and
Peter Fitchlyn, of theHyah-pah-
tuk-kalo clan.
In 1859 the subject of this
sketch ran a tan yard east of
Boggy Creek, and after two
years settled on what is now
called the old Stewart place near
Armstrong, where he resided
thirteen years. In 1870 he moved
to Mount Vernon, from thence
to Caddo, back to Armstrong,
and finally settled on his present
estate near Caddo, in 1885. In
1863 Mr. Stewart entered the
Choctaw Militia in Jack Folsom's
company (McCurtain regiment),
until the end of the war, when
WILEY STEWART.
the Militia « surrendered at Fort
Smith.
Mr. and Mrs. Wiley Stewart
have had eleven children, six of
whom are living: Emma Cooper,
Nancy Stewart, Lulu Walner,
Charlie, Samuel F., and Henry.
Charlie is an ofiicer in the Indian
Police and is residing at present
in Wynne Wood.
'-J*-
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-*
110
I.KADEHS AND LP^ADING >IEN
JUDGE SILAS JAMES.
[ CHOCTAW.]
Silas was born on the route be-
tween his father's old home in
Mississippi and Skiilljvil-le coun-
ty, Choctaw Nation, in the year
1S41. After spending some
years in that county he moved to
JUDGE SILAS JAMES.
Gaines, where he remained until
1864, moving for a short time to
the Chickasaw Nation. In the
year following he joined the
first Choctaw regiment, enlisting
in Captain Nail's company. Af-
ter the death of the latter and the
a]>pointment of Captain William
Pitchlyn, Mr. James was appoint-
ed third and second lieutenant
^-
successively. Afterward, when
Strickland took charge of the
company he was promoted to
the rank of first lieutenant, which
office he held until the conclusion
of the war.
In 1866 he married Mrs. Aaron
Frazier, widow of Aaron Frazier,
a Chickasaw, by whom he had
six children, only one of whom
is now living, Daniel, aged nine
years. In 1877 Silas James was
appointed county clerk, and two
years afterward was elected coun-
ty judge of Atoka county. He
was re-elected in 1881 and again
in 1883. The people of Atoka
not being thoroughly satisfied
during his absence from the judi-
cial bench, again elected him in
1SS5 and 1888. He is now own-
er of a farm of one hundred
acres, and two hundred and fifty
head of stock cattle. Judge Silas
James is one of the most highly
respected citizens in the Nation,
being loved by all classes, rich
and poor alike. He is kind and
charitable to his fellow men, and
possesses a heart in proportion
to his size, which, when reduced
to figures means six feet two and
one-half inches in height, two
hundred and ten pounds in weight
and stature straight as an arrow,
and character equally upright
-*
White Horse, Chief of the Otoes
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
113
*
MCKEE JAMES.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Gaines county, Choctaw
Nation, in 1850. His first school-
ing was received at a neighbor-
hood school, after which he en-
tered the Colbert Institute, Chick-
*-
m'kEE JAMES.
asaw Nation. On leaving Col-
lege McKee went to live with
his grand aunt, Mrs. Frazier, and
remained in charge of her stock
until about 1878, when he mar-
ried Miss Perkins, a sister of
Henry Perkins, the issue of this
marriage being seven children
— Edward W., Mary Anne, El-
sie A., Benjamin D., Josiah F.,
Jessie H. and John Robinson,
the oldest being twelve years of
age.
McKee spent the earlier years
of his life farming and raising
cattle on shares. In 1884 he
was elected Representative of
Atoka county, and in the follow-
ing year Commissioner for Reg-
istration of the Freedraen. In
1886 he was again returned to
the House, where he became
popular as a member. He has
a farm of one hundred and fifty
acres and a small herd of cattle,
besides some fifty head of ponies
and five hundred head of hogs.
Besides this he owns a one-third
interest in the Coalgate mines,
he being the original discoverer
and claimant of that famous bed
of coal. At the present time he
is Weigher for the Nation, as
well as National Timber Con-
tractor.
McKee is still a young man
and gifted with remarkafble in-
telligence and social qualities,
which render him beloved by all
who know him. Like his brother,
Judge Silas James, he has a kind
and charitable disposition, with-
out the least tendency to quarrel
even in the face of provocation,
and it may be said of McKee, as
well as of his brother, that he is
without a living enemy, while
his friends are past reckoning.
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114
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
HENRY P. WARD.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born ill March, 1850, at Spring-
town. Parker county, Texas, be-
ing the fourth son of Joseph
Ward, of Patterson, New Jer-
sey, a coach-maker by trade,
who emigrated to the Indian Ter-
ritory in 1845, and married a
Miss Thompson of Doaksville,
a member of the Wall and Fol-
som families.
Henry Ward's father moved to
Texas in 1855, and did not re-
turn until the close of the war,
ten years afterward. During his
*-
HENRY P. WARD.
stay in that State he was ap-
pointed Captain of the Texas
Rangers, and for four yeais
guarded the frontier settlements.
MRS. WARD.
In 1865 he moved to Blue coun-
ty, Choctaw Nation, and in five
years afterward to Atoka county,
settling close to Limestone Gap,
where he died in the fall of 1872.
Henry received most of his
education at home, and reanained
in charge of his mother's affairs
after his father's death until his
marriage in the summer of 1875,
to Miss Mary Dysart, second
daughter of James A. Dysart, of
Springfield, Mo. Miss Dysart
was a young lady of many vir-
tues, and as a wife aiid mother
is of the kind to be loved and re-
spected.
*S
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
115
*
*-
In the neighborhood of Lime-
stone Gap Henrj commenced
agriculture, and in 1882 pur-
chased an additional farm west
of Kiowa, where he now resides,
surrounded by all the home com-
forts obtainable through years
of energetic industry. He has
some two hundred and fifty acres
under cultivation, two hundred
and seventy-five head of cattle,
as well as one-fourth interest in
a large coal claim.
The first important oftice held
by Mr. Ward was that of Repre-
sentative of Atoka county in
1888. In 1889 he was appoint-
ed by Governor Smallwood to
fill an unexpired term in the Sen-
ate for the same county, and
gave the greatest satisfaction on
both occasions, which was proved
by the large majority by which
he was elected to the office of
County Judge in August, 1890,
and which otiice he now holds.
In 1885 he joined the Methodist
church South, and in 1889 was
chosen superintendent of Sun-
day schools at Little Boggy.
He is a most devoted Christian
at home and abroad, on week
days as well us on the Sabbath,
and is very justly esteemed and
beloved by all who know him.
Out of ten children born to the
family but six have survived —
Ella M., Ethel M., Leo Oliver,
Louisa E., William David and
Eddie.
Mrs. Ward is a citizen of the
Cherokee Nation, thougli she has
never endeavored to establish
her claims.
CHARLES A.SEMPLE.
[CHOCTAW.]
This gentleman was born in Au-
gust, 1849, and is the son of
C. A. SEMPLE.
Allen W. Semple,of Steuben ville,
Ohio. He came to the Indian
Territory in 1860, and married
Minnie Pitchlyn, grand-daughter
of Hon. Peter Pitchlyn, in IS 79.
Mr. Semple first settled at
Spring Bluff, Kiamichi coun-
ty, and later moved to Blue
-*
116
*
LEADEKS AND LEADING MEN'
county, where he commenced the
milling business, including a corn
mill, saw mill and cotton gin.
Besides this he has a consider-
able body of land under cultiva-
tion and several hundred head of
stock cattle. At his home, close
to Caddo, he has a large yard set
apart for fattening and finishing
cattle for shipment. He has
five children — Frank P., aged
ten years; W. F., Eettie, Julia
and Charles.
*-
SAM MUNCRIEF.
[CHOCTAW.]
This gentleman was born at Fort
Smith, Arkansas, in 1851, his
father and mother being both
Choctaws. When a child'his par-
ents moved from the old State
and settled at Fort Arbuckle,
while Sam was sent early to
school at the Chickasaw Male
Academy, Tishomingo. Until
his marriage in 1871 he spent
the time looking after his father's
stock, but soon embarked in his
own interest in the vicinity of
Fred, west of Purcell, where he
has seven hundred head and a
farm of eighteen hundred acres
under cultivation. His first wife,
Margaret Hall, dying in 1883,
he married John Stowe's widow,
Josephine Moss, who unfortu-
nately died in 1889, leaving him
in charge of a family of four
children — Mary Jane, Walter
Lee, Georgia and Sammy, the
oldest of whom is sixteen years.
Mr. Muncrief has had much
experience with the wild Indians
SAM MUNCRIEF.
while residing at Fort Arbuckle,
and lost many a hoof through
the agency of these midnight
marauders. He remembers his
father and a party of his friends
pursuing and killing nine of their
number, three of whom fell to
the share of Muncrief, Sr., who
riding upon them with a double-
barrel shotgun loaded with buck-
shot, made sure of his game.
Mr. Muncrief has an extensive
claim to be adjusted by the In-
dian Depredation Committee.
-«
ti<-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY,
Hi
-1^
BUTLER S. SMIZER.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
bora in 1862 in Oldham county,
Kentucky, and educated in the
same county. He commenced
teaching public school in Daviess
county, where he remained three
^'^/^
years. Being very ambitious, as
well as industrious, he spent the
greater part of his leisure hours
studying law, till he came to
Atoka in 1885, where he took
charge of the Baptist Academy
for three years, and proved him-
self an exceptionallj' good teach-
er. Moving from Atoka, be
taught the McAlester school one
k
session, but returned to Atoka
immediately afterward, and in
partnership with his father-in-
law, Captain J. S. Standley, pur-
chased the "Independent," a
weekly paper established by H.
F. O'Beirne, changing its name
to that of the "Indian Citizen,"
which he is editing at the pres-
ent time. In 1886 he married
Norma Standley, a young lady
of more than ordinary accom-
plishments, by whom he has two
children, Norma and Stermon.
Recently Mr. Smizer has com-
menced the practice of law, at
which profession he will no doubt
make a mark, being an eloquent
speaker and a young man of un-
tiring application. He has a
farm of one hundred acres under
cultivation within a few miles of
Atoka, wliich is at present in the
hands of renters.
CALVIN C. PERRY.
[CHOCTAW.]
This gentleman was born in 1835
at Shawnee-town, Choctaw Na-
tion, and educated at Old Spen-
cer Academy. He is a descend-
ant of the Okla-fa-lay-a clan. In
his early days he went to farm-
ing and stock-raising, and has
adopted the same mode of life
till the present day. He mar-
-m
•J*-
-*
118
LKADEKS AND LEADING MEN
rled a daughter of Judge Gabriel
Burris, of Kiamichi county, by
whom he has six children — So-
phie, Simmie, Eli, Benjamin,
Bill and Calvin. His eldest
daughter is married to William
CALVIN C. PERRY.
Paxton, son of the great Presby-
terian divine of Springfield, Mo.
Mr. Perry ran for Represen-
tative in the Push-ma-la-ta dis-
trict in 1883 and 1884 against
McKee James and J. M. Hodges,
and was defeated by Governor
La Flore for National Treasurer
in 1879. In 1888 he was ap-
pointed a Commissioner of Reg-
istration for the registration of
the freedmen. During the war
he served for one year in General
Cooper's command, and fought
in the battle of Byrd Creek.
Mr. Perry is a member of the
Progressive party, and has about
one thousand acres of land and
nearly one thousand head of cat-
tle. He is now residing in Ato-
ka, where he has a very pretty
residence.
DAVID ROEBUCK.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch is the
second son of William Roebuck,
of Mississippi, of English de-
scent, who held many important
positions among his people.
David was born in November,
181:1:, and attended the neigh-
borhood school until seventeen
years of age, after which he en-
listed in the Choctaw command
of the Confederate army; Cap-
tain Jerry Wade's company, of
Colonel Sim Folsom's regiment.
He left the army in 1865 and
immediately afterward married
Malina Austin, a sister of Mrs.
Jack McCurtain, and in the same
3'ear commenced farming and
stock raising, which occupation
he still continues. In 1868 he
was elected recording secretary
of the National Senate, and in
1873 journalist for the Senate.
Both of these offices were held
-*
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OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY,
*
119
Mr. Roebuck for eighteen
by
years. In 1889 he was elected re-
presentative for his county.
Having engaged in the prac-
tice of law in 1872, the subject
of this sketch gave considerable
attention to the practice of his
profession during the years that
elapsed until the present time.
Mrs. Roebuck, like her sister,
received a liberal education,
which she utilized by teaching
at the neighborhood schools in
*
DAVID ROEBUCK.
Kiamichi county, Goodland, Cool
Spring and Long Creek. She is
an amiable lady, refined and hos-
pital, and extremely popular.
Mr. and Mrs. Roebuck have
seven children living: Mary Jane,
Ephraim, Edward, Ruda, David,
William and Josephus. Their
property consists of eight hun-
MRS. ROEBUCK.
dred acres of land, two hundred
and fifty acres under cultivation,
and the rest in pasture and or-
chard; besides three hundred
head of cattle, and interest in six
coal claims. He also keeps a
hotel at the Capital, which he
runs during Council, the rest of
the year he resides at Goodland.
Mr. Roebuck is a man of fine
physical appearance, and an ex-
cellent speaker (though not high-
ly educated) and a generous,
whole-souled neighbor, greatly
liked by all his acquaintances.
-•i<
•J-
IJO
I.KADKKS ANI> I.K.U)IN(J MEN
JERRY FULSOM.
[CHOCTAW.]
This geiitk'iDaii was born in Sans
Bois county in 1852, and attend-
ed neighborhood schools until
1870. In the same year he was
appointed circuit clerk, which
office he held for two years. In
JERRY rULSOM.
18S-1 he married Miss Nancy
Riddle, daughter of Jerry Rid-
dle, at one time a member of
the Council. The issue of this
marriage was two children, Jack-
son L. and Lizzie. Their mother
dying in May, 18S7, Mr. Fulsom,
three years afterward, married
his late wife's sister, by whom
lie had a son named Peter. In
1S89 he married his third wife.
Miss Ella Jones, daughter of
Forbes Jones, of Gaines county.
In 1878 he was elected sheriff
and held the office for two years,
alter which he became prosecut-
ing attorney for one year. He
was elected member of the lower
House in 1883, and in the same
year district scliool trustee, hold-
ing these offices for two years.
In 1889 he was elected county
judge, and the following year
was called upon to represent
Sans Bois county in the JS^ational
Senate. Mr. Fulsom has seven
hundred acres of land in pasture
and under cultivation, three hun-
dred head of stock and two hun-
dred head of hogs, and a sub-
stantial and comfortable home.
He is a man of good education,
and wdll, no doubt, make an
able Senator.
Jerry Fulsom is the youngest
son of the late ex-Chief Peter
Fulsom, one of the most distin-
guished and popular men of bis
time, who died in 188J: after a
life of active labor for his coun-
try.
JOE W. EVERIDGE.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Kiamichi county in June,
1853, and attended the neigli-
^
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*-
-*
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
121
borhood schools until seventeen
years of age. He is the son of
Hon. Joel Everidge, Supreme
Judge of the Choctaw Nation,
and a man of rare ability and in-
fluence among his people. The
young man engaged in business
*-
JOE W. EVERIDGE.
for himself in 1878, and was soon
appointed Captain of the Na-
tional Light Horse, which office
he held for four years. In 1882
he was elected Sheriff of Kiami-
chi county, and later became a
member of the Indian Police
force. In 18 Si he was elected a
member of the House of Repre-
sentatives, and in 1885 was ap-
pointed a member of the Senate
by Governor Edward McCurtain.
The same year he was appointed
District Collector for the Third
district, was re-appointed in
1886, and held the office for two
years. In 1871 he married Miss
Susan Ervvin, daughter of Calvin
Erwin, of Doaksville, Towsen
county. By this marriage he
has six children — Willie, Emma,
Joseph, Ella, Robert and Mary.
Mr. Everidge has a farm of
six hundred and forty acres, a
part of which is under cultiva-
tion. He also owns about one
hundred head of stock cattle.
Few men are as popular with
the masses as Joe Everidge.
Like his father, he is tall of stat-
ure and powerfully built, fair
complexioned and intelligent-
looking. He is descended from
the Hyah-pah-tuk-kalo clan and
about one-ei2;hth Choctaw.
SIMON T. DWIGHT.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in September, 1865, at
Pigeon Roost, Jackson county,
and attended the neighborhood
schools till eleven years of age,
after which he went to Spencer
Academy for over six years,
graduating with honors at Cen-
ter College, Danville, Kentuckv,
-*
-fb
122
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
in 1887, after four years of
study.
Ill 1888 yuung Dwight Avas
appointed Journalist of the
House, and the following year
was elected Representative. In
1890 he w-as re-elected to the
SIMON riMOTHV DWIGHT.
same office, which he is now fill-
ing in a very creditable manner.
Simon is the eldest son of
Timothy Dwiglit, a prominent
citizen of Jackson county, who
(lied in 1885. Since that time
his son has been looking after
the home property.
Mr. Dwight belongs to the
clan of Ok-la-fa-lay-a through his
mother, who was a Miss Wa-
kaya. In November, 1889, he
married Miss Janey Hunter, of
Bennington, daughter of Bennie
Hunter, one of the largest stock-
men in the Xation.
Simon is a young man of re-
markable intelligence, and pos-
sesses an enviable education and
an address that is bright and con-
genial. We predict that before
many years have passed away
he will become one of the lead-
ing men among his people.
>i*
ALFRED EMERSON FOLSOM.
[ CHOCTAW.]
Emerson is the second son of the
late Israel Folsom, one of the
great men of his Nation. He
was born in August, 184-1, and
educated at the Bromlet school,
Paris, Texas, Armstrong Acad-
emy, Choctaw Nation, and Cane
Hill College. Arkansas. While
at the latter institution his ardent
spirit was aroused on hearing of
the outbreak of the war, and in
May, 1801, he joined Bohan-
non's company, remaining with
the State troops until the fall of
that year. Six months later we
find him in the Second Choctaw
regiment under his uncle. Col.
Sampson Folsom. On the reor-
ganization of this company, Em
*
*-
*
OF THE INDIAN TEKllITOKY.
123
erson was appointed Second
Lieutenant, in the meantime re-
fusing the command of a com-
pany of artillery. Throughout
the war he displayed remarkable
courage and love of adventure.
In 1865, on the restoration of
of peace, he became clerk to In-
*-
dian Agent Egbert Smith, and
later drifted into the mercantile
business, which he followed five
years. In 1876 he married
Margaret Campbell; after which
he devoted himself exclusively
to stock-raising. By his mar-
riage lie had three children —
Ida, Alfred and Nellie. In 1885,
when a company was organized
under the command of James
Harris Guy to capture the Lee
gang of desperadoes, the subject
of our sketch volunteered. The
leader and five of the party en-
tered the enclosure which sur-
rounded the robbers' stronghold,
w4iile the remainder of the com-
pany i-emained at a safe distance.
A volley from the besieged un-
horsed the five men, instantly
killing Guy and three of his men,
while Folsom was untouched, his
horse being shot instead. Drop-
ping on one knee, he coolly emp-
tied the magazine of liis Win-
chester tlirough the windows of
the robbers' quarters, exposed
the while to a sharp lire from
within. Strange to say, he es-
escaped untouched. Governor
Harris, uncle of Lieutenant Guy,
commented in the highest terms
on the daring bravery of this
act, while the press of the Indian
Territory was loud in praise of
Emerson Folsom.
Mr. Folsom lost his wife in
1886, and two years later mar-
ried an accomplished and refined
young lady, Ollie Pate, a Missis-
si ppian by birth and education,
whose father a few years ago
had moved to Atoka.
Mr. Folsom is greatly admired
for his many good and noble
qualities.
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124
LEADERS AND LEADING JIEX
WILLIAM GARDNER.
[CHOCTAW.]
This gentleman was born in
1830, on the Tom Bigby Riv-
er, Mississippi, his father be-
ing Jeremiah Gardner and his
mother Clarissa La Flore, both
descended from the Okala-hun-
MKS. WM. GARDNER.
na-lay. William came from the
old state to Towsen county with
his parents in 1833, and went to
school at Wheelock, New Hope
and Newark. In 1850 he mar-
ried Mary Wilson. After he had
been to work forE. B. Tims, the
sutler at Doaksville, he opened a
mercantile business for himself
at Hamilton, Blue county, and
later moved to the Forks of
Boggy. In 1858 he was appoint-
ed treasurer and county clerk,
and has tilled that position off
and on for thirty-two years until
the present time.
In 1861, at the breaking out
of the M^ar, he joined the Militia
(Reason Jones' company), but
being needed by the people of
his neighborhood he was forced
to remain at home. At the con-
clusion, of the war Mr. Gardner
put up a store at Armstrong
Academy, but soon moved to
his present home at Bennington.
He has had three children: Rob-
ert C., aged thirty-two years;
Clara, aged thirty-four;and Sallie,
twenty-five. His little grandson,
W. A., the eldest son of Robert
C, is residing with his grand
parents.
MARTIX FISHER.
[CHOUTAW.]
Among the early settlers in Jacks
Fork county was Martin Fisher,
who was born in Adams county,
Pennsylvania, in the month of
September, 1840. When five
years of age he moved with his
parents to Montgomery county,
Maryland, where he attended a
neighborhood school until four-
teen years of age. Afterward
he went to Mount St. Marv's
fb-
-*
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
125
-•i^
*-
College, Emmetsburg, finishing
liis education at Caul vert Col-
lege, New Windsor, and St.
John's College, Frederick, Mary-
land. At the age of twenty he
joined the Sixth Virginia cav-
alry, in which regiment he re-
mained till the close of the war.
Though severely wounded at the
battle of Brandy Station, on the
Rappahannock, yet he stood
bravely to his colors. He was
also in both battles of Manasses
and throughout the campaigns
of the Valley till the day of his
capture, April 1, 1865.
After some years' experience
in the mercantile and other busi-
ness in the States, Mr. Fisher
settled in the Choctaw Nation in
1873 at Atoka, where he was
employed as a clerk for two
years. In 1878 he opened a
store in the mountainous region
of Jacks Fork county, and contin-
ued in that business till 1886,
when he engaged in farming and
stock-raising. Five years previ-
ously he had become a citizen of
the Nation by intermarriage, but
has no family. He owns a good
farm, under excellent cultiva-
tion, and a nice herd of cattle
and horses.
Mr. Fisher is an industrious
man, and is well and favorably
known throughout the Nation,
H. T. JACKMAN.
This popular meichant was born
in Holmes county, Ohio, in 1842,
beiing the son of Henry Jack-
man, of the same county and
State. He was educated at
Mount Union, Ohio, and while
there, in 1862, enlisted in Com-
H. T. JACKMAN.
pany G, Eighty-sixth Ohio, un-
der the command of General
Kelly. This company was called
out with others for six months'
service and joined in the cam-
paign in Western Virginia, so
that young Jackraan, though
only eight months carrying the
musket, was in two hard-fought
battles — the battle of Buchawow,
against Imboden's Confederate
-^
126
LEADERS AND LEADING >IEN
cavalry, and the battle of Bev-
erley. After his return from
service he farmed in Illinois and
Missouri, spending two years in
each State; after which he came
to Stringtovvn, Choctaw Nation,
in 1871, and there engaged in
the lumber and mercantile busi-
ness. In 18S5 he moved his
stock to Tuskahoma, then in the
wilds of the mountain region
bordering the Kiamiehi River.
There he contracted for and com-
pleted the capitol building in six
months at a cost of twenty-three
thousand five hundred dollars to
the Choctaw Nation. (An illus-
tration of this handsome build-
ing will be seen elsewhere).
Mr. Jackman has an interest
in three or four lumber mills.
and is still doing a large mer-
cantile business. He is also the
President of the German Bank
at Fort Smith, with an author-
ized capital of two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars. He was
married in 1870 to Miss Minerva
Thompson, niece of Giles Thomp-
son, of Boggy Depot, by whom
he has two sons, Parker, twenty-
oneyearsof age, and Albert, six.
*-
FRITZ SETTELL.
[CHOCTAW.]
Mr. Settell was born in Han-
over, Germany, in 1863, and
moved with his parents to Mc-
Alester in 1867. He is a son of
Ed. Settell, who has been in the
stock, mercantile and hotel busi-
ness in McAlester since 1870.
In 1872 he went to school at St.
Francis' Institute, Osage Mis-
sion, Kansas, where he remamed
till his marriage in 1879 to Mul-
vany Pitchlyn. He has three
children — Edward, AVilliam and
Eose Myrtle.
Fritz is the owner of three
mercantile stores, which carry a
stock of about $35,000, 480
acres of farm under cultivation,
300 head of stock cattle, 500
head of hogs and an undivided
interest in 63 coal claims.
-*
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LEADEUS AND LEADING MEN
127
SKETCH OF SECOND CHOC-
TAW REGIMENT.
Tom Collins, an old citizen of
the Chickasaw Nation, who was
born in Caldwell county, Ken-
tucky, and came to the Indian
Territory in 1857, has the fol-
lowing to say concerning the
*-
TOM COLLINS.
Second Choctaw Regiment, of
which he became a member at
the breaking out of the war. We
publish his account w^ord for
word :
"I enlisted in Company A,
Captain Theodore Watkins, un-
der command of Colonel Sim
Folsom, early in April, 1SG3, at
Black Jack Point, near Atoka,
the headquarters at that time be-
ing at Camp Waitey, some ten
miles distant. One hundred and
two of us left the camp in June
and proceeded to Brazil, where
we met with the Kansas troops
under General Cloud, and had a
fight with them, driving them
back in fifteen minutes. After
this we followed General Steele
to Fort Smith, but finding the
fort garrisoned, retreated back to-
ward Camp Waitey. At Gaines'
Creek we had a fight with the
Iowa troops, and while retreat-
ing the Federals pursued us and
captured or killed Hamilton's
company D, composed of sixty-
eight men, bringing up the rear.
Neither Captain nor men were
ev^er afterward heard of. We
retreated on to Perryville, and
meeting the Federals at night,
had a lively brush, drove them
back, and proceeded to Camp
Waitey, where we remained till
September 1. Hearing that Col.
Stan Waitey had captured a
steamboat on the Arkansaw
River, and that the negro in-
fantry from Fort Smith were ad-
vancing to '•'cut him off"," we
marched to the mouth of the
Sans Bois, on the South Cana-
dian, and meeting with the blue-
coat freedmen, drove them back
to quarters and retreated to Fort
-•H
*-
12S
-ib
OF THE INDIAX TEUKITOKY.
Johnson, on the Canadiiin lliver.
A few days afterward we were
apprised of the advance of a body
of P'ederal cavah-y. At night
we crossed the Canadian nine
hundred strong and surrounded
a body of four liundred blue
coats, who turned out to be
Quantrell and his band, but
which fact we did not discover
until after he had formed to fight
us the following morning. The
great guerilla and his men re-
turned with us to camp, where
we remained for two weeks,
when we went into winter quar-
ters till November 1 close to
Alex. McKinney's place, near
Stringtown. The April follow-
ing we renewed the campaign;
entered the suburbs of Fort
Smith; defeated the Union sol-
diers at "Nigger Hill," and
burned the entire commissary.
Here we made a bad move, for
although the Federal soldiers
fled, we beat a retreat when we
might have captured the town
without difficulty. After this act
General Maxey was put in com-
mand, and we proceeded to
Camden, Arkansas, where we
met the Sixth and Ninth Kansas
and some negro regiments. The
fight commenced early in the
morning ; we broke their lines,
and a terrible hand-to-hand
^
struggle was engaged in, cover-
ing fully three miles of ground.
One negro regiment was com-
pletely decimated, only one es-
caping to tell the tale. Old John,
afterward in the employment of
Henry La Flore. A Choctaw
boy named Willie Folsom alone
slew eight negroes. Two hun-
dred and thirty white prisoners
were captured by the command.
No engagement of any conse-
quence took place until the fol-
lowing June, when the Choctaw
regiments, after leaving winter
quarters, proceeded to Cabin
Creek and attacked a large train
of wagons and the escort, cap-
turing an abundance of supplies,
fifteen hundred head of mules,
sixty wagons, clothing, etc., etc.
Some fifty Federals were killed
in the fight. Thence we moved
to the Canadian and camped till
the fall, when we moved upon
Elkhorn and attacked the Fed-
erals under General Blount.
But here we met with an unfor-
tunate repulse, for our powder
was bad and we failed to do any
execution, though almost in per-
sonal contact with the enemy.
Colonel Bass, of Texas, lost sixty
of his men, and many of the com-
mand were drowned or killed
while crossing the stream in
rapid retreat. In the October
-*
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
129
-^
JOHNM. HARRISSON.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
boi'ii near Nelson, Kianiichi
county, in 1858. His father's
name was Zadock Harrisson,
while his mother was a Miss
Ellis, daughter of Ellis, the great
^
JOHN M. HARRISSON.
white interpreter, who transact-
ed business between the United
States government and the Choc-
taw people before and during
their removal from Mississippi.
Ellis married a daughter of
Mosho-la-tubbe, the most distin-
guished and powerful man among
his people. Thus the Harrisson
family are descended from the
ancient ^'iksa" of the kings.
John was educated at Spencer
Academy and Paris, Texas, after
which he embarked in the stock
business close to Caddo, and
was then in very good circum-
stances. In 1878 he moved to
Atoka; was appointed deputy
sheriff in 1886, and National
coal weigher in 1888, which of-
fice he still retains. His princi-
pal business, however, is that of
buying and selling stock at which
he is very successful.
In 1882 he married Bettie
Walton, daughter of Murray
Walton, a Texan. By this union
he has two girls, Martha and
Cora. John Harrisson is a hand-
some looking, intelligent man,
and should have been more
prominent in this country, and in
fact would have been so, had
he not risked his fortune with
Governor Smallwood during the
number of years that that party
was kept in the shade. His fidel-
ity to the cause throughout has
gained for him the reputation of
being a man of great stability.
Mr. Harrisson has a farm of six-
ty acres at Lehigh, and some
fine imported horses.
Mr. Harrisson has great busi-
ability, and he is a man of ac-
knowledged integrity and ster-
ling worth.
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*-
*
130
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
WILL IK \V. JONES.
[ CHOCTAW.]
The hite ^Villie AV. Jones was
born in isc.o at Little River,
where his father, W. N. Jones,
National Treasurer, at that time
resided. He was educated at
Booneville, Bolivar and Sprin^^-
*-
field, Missouri, liaving received
a thorough cour.se in English and
the classics. On his return from
college he commenced to look
after his father's immense herds
of cattle, and in 1887 married
Emilia, daughter of James Mc-
Cauley, of Atoka. In 1885 he
became merged into an unfortu-
nate quarrel, which resulted in
his taking the life of M.Bouton.
On January 20, 1888, this
prosperous young man, heir to
tlie largest property in the Indian
Territory, was in his turn called
upon to pay the life penalty at the
liands of a party of men whom
he had always looked upon as
his friends. His bodj' was found
upon the sands of Red River the
morning after his death. It is
rumored that the quarrel, if not
brought on, was aggravated by
the demon of whisky.
W. W. Jones leaves a wife
and one son, Wilson Nathan,
aged three years, who will prob-
ably fall heir to the immense
herds and pastures of his grand-
father.
ALFRED W. FOLSOM.
[UHOCTAW.]
The subject of the following
sketch was born in January,
181:0, and is the son of Samuel
Folsom, of Bok-tuk-kalo, Choc-
taw Nation. He was educated at
Armstrong Academy, and at the
age of twenty-one joined the
Chickasaw Batallion under Col.
Lem Reynolds, afterward becom-
ing First Lieutenant in the Choc-
taw regiment under the com-
mand of Col. Sim Folsom. Dur-
ing a campaign of nearly four
years Mr, Folsom experienced
active service at the battles of
-*
yb-
-fb
OF THE INDIAN TERKITOKY.
131
Bird Creek, Cabin Creek, Cam-
den and Mazzard Prairie. In
1864 he married Miss Piney
A. W. FOLSOM.
Colbert, daugliter of Robert Col-
bert, and after the war com-
menced farming and stock-rais-
ing in Blue coun^ty, close to
Shawnee; after which he moved
to Bennington, where he lives.
During the administration of
Edmond McCurtain Mr. Folsoni
was elected as Representative of
his county in the lower house.
*-
W. T. CLARKE.
This gentleman was born in No-
vember, 1845, in Morgan coun-
ty, Missouri, and is the son of
A. M. Clarke. He came to the
Choctaw Nation in 1880, where
at Caney Switch he acted as sec-
tion foreman until 1885, when
he opened a general mercantile
business at Durant. He was
married to Mollie Davis, daugh-
ter of W. B. Davis, of Tennessee,
by whom he has four children —
W. F., Mamie, Thos. Horatio
and Lowrey, the oldest being
eight years of age and the young-
est eighteen months.
Mr. Clarke was educated at
Tipton, Missouri. The early por-
tion of his life was spent in farm-
ing and shipping cattle, and at
present he is making money in
the mercantile business, to which
W. T. CLARKE.
he is admirably adapted. He is
a gentleman of good address and
deservedly popular.
-^
*-
182
1>KAUKKS AND LEADING MEN
1). W. IIODGE.
[ CHOCTAW.]
This gentleman was born in Tow-
sen county, Choctaw Nation, in
1859, the son of Joseph Hodge,
a white man, and Cebelle Wall,
a Choctaw of the Koonchas and
Imok-lu-shas. In 186Shewent
*-
to school at Wheelock and left
there in 1874, after which he as-
sisted his father until 1879, when
he embarked in the cattle busi-
ness in Atoka county (first on a
small scale) and afterward in-
creasing until he sold outin 1884,
and purchased half interest in his
brother's mercantile business at
Lehigh.
In 1888 "Maje,"as he was
popularly called, tested his pop-
ularity by running for the office
of representative of his county
against five competitors. His
majority was immense; so also
was it when he ran for his second
term in the House, both times on
the Smallwood ticket.
In 1890 "Maje" tried the
Senate — this time on the Jones
ticket — his chief opponent, Mar-
tin Charleston, an old Senator
running under the Smallwood
colors. Here he was again vic-
torious, contrary to the expecta-
tions of the large majority. Mr.
Hodge was the youngest repre-
sentative and Senator at the time
of his election that ever filled
these positions in the Indian Ter-
ritory. His popularity is extra-
ordinary, and it is safe to pro-
phesy that before a very distant
date he will occupy the highest
position in his country. But this
popularity is not only confined
to his own Nation and national-
ity, but reaches every point
where he is known in or outside
the Indian Country.
The business success achieved
by D. W. Hodge in a few years
is rn undoubted proof of his
executive ability. In 1879 he
married Alice, daughter of Clay
Harkins, of Atoka, by whom he
has three children: David, aged
-*
OF THE INDIAN TERRITOUY.
133
*
nine years; Claudge, seven years;
and John, two years.
A few years ago Mr. Hodge
disunited with his brother in bus-
iness, and is now running two
stores, one at Lehigh and the
other in partnership with McAl-
ester at Coalgate.
ELLIS H. CARNES.
[CHOCTAW.]
One of the rising young men of
the Nation is Ellis Carnes. He
ELLIS H. CAKNES.
was born in April, 1856, in Jacks
Fork county, and is the son of
Harris Carnes, at one time a
leading man among the people,
but now incapacitated through
blindness for the past eight
years. Ellis was educated at the
neighborhood school, andin 1875
was appointed county clerk,
which office beheld for four years.
About that time he married Miss
Eliza Anolatubbee, by whom he
has one living child named Car-
rie.
In 1880 he was appointed act-
ing sheriff of the county for one
year, and in 1884 became county
judge to fill the unexpired term
of A. O. Brown, who retired
from office. In the same year
he was commissioned as one of
the National Light Horse, which
position he held for two years.
He was afterward re-appointed
by Chief McKinney for one year.
In 1887 he filled an unexpired
term in the National Senalte.
On March 5, 1883, Ellis mar-
ried Lizzie Billy, sister of Judge
Isaac Billy, of Jacks Fork county.
By this marriage he has three
living children: Julius Y., Mol-
sey, and Minnie May.
Mr. Carnes owns a farm of
fifty acres of good land, and a
small herd of cattle and hogs.
He is a young man of great en-
ergy and progressive in his views,
and is not only popular with his
own people, but with many white
men, whom he has from time to
time entertained at his mountain
home.
-*
-*
LKADEUS AND LEADING MEN
135
DAVIS NEWTON MILTON.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Eagle county in 1837,
and was educated at Armstrong
Academy. His first oflice was
that of deputy sheriff, after which
he joined the Confederate army
D. N. MILTON.
at the outbreak of tlie war and
served until the close. lu 186J:
he married Miss Celie, a Choc-
taw, by whom he has had no
family. In 1867 he was appoint-
ed circuit clerk until 1878, when
he became deputy sheriff of Tow-
sen county. In 1886 he was
elected county judge and re-
elected in 1888. In 1890 he was
called to the senate, in which ca-
pacity he now serves his country.
He belongs to the Hyah-pah-
tuk-kalo clan, and is a member
of the Methodist church; a good,
charitable christian, and highly
esteemed by his people.
Mr. Milton has a good home
and eighty acres under cultiva-
tion.
*-
SOLOMON E. HOTEMA.
[CHOCTAW.]
This well known citizen and sen-
ator was born in 1854 near
Grant, in the Choctaw Nation.
He was first sent to a neighbor-
hood school, and later on to
Spencer Academy, his education
being completed at Roanoke
College, Salem, Virginia.
While yet a youth Solomon
clerked in the mercantile estab-
lishment of Wilson N. Jones,
now principal chief. In 1881 he
was elected county clerk of Kia-
michi county, and was county
judge in 1884, '85 and '86. In
1887 he was elected to the house
of representatives and re-elected
in 1888 and 1889. In 1890 he
was called to the senate, which
office he now holds. In 1889 he
engaged in the mercantile busi-
ness at Grant, C. N., where he
has a good trade. In April,
1883, he married Nancy Cole-
man, daughter of John Coleman,
-<^
•i^-
136
-«
OF THE INDIAN TKIIKITOUY.
a Choctaw, by whom he has
three children, one of whom is
living, named Cornelia, born in
1887.
Mr. Hotema has a small farm
and a herd of one hundred head
of cattle and two hundred hogs.
The subject of our sketch be-
longs to the Ok-la-han-nali clan,
and is a full-blood. He has had
a fine education, classical as well
as English, and is one of the
best speakers in the Choctaw leg-
islature. He is also a man of
excellent moral character, a mem-
ber of the Presbyterian church,
and a kind, good neighbor.
^-
S. A. COXXOR.M.D.
Dr. Connor was born in Kosci-
usko county, Mississippi, in 1858;
graduated at the Louisville Med-
ical College in February, 1881,
and commenced the practice of
medicine in his own county. In
1883 he moved to Texas, where
he remained but a short time,
coming to Savanna, Choctaw
Nation, and in six months after-
ward was appointed surgeon and
physician for the Atoka Coal
Mining Co. He occupied this
position most successfully until
1887, when the great mining ex-
plosion broke up the camp and
forced the company to fields fur-
ther south. Taking up the same
position at Lehigh, Dr. Connor
is now enjoying a large practice
and has gained the confidence of
all classes, professionally and
otherwise. In 1886 he married
Lelia Smith, of Sherman, Texas,
but unfortunately lost his wife
before he was married a year.
Dr. Connor is the fifth son of
S. A. CONNOR, M. D,
Dr. B. J. Connor, who was an
extensive practitioner before the
war, but who has recently de-
voted his attention to stock-rais-
ing and agricultui-e.
The subject of this sketch is a
gentleman of refinement, of
good, sound sense, and warmly
devoted to his profession, which
he rightly judges to be the noblest
of all callings.
-*
^-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
137
-*
ALONZO J. HARRINS.
[CHOCTAW.]
This gentleman was born in I860
in Atoka county, Choctaw Na-
tion. He went to the neighbor-
hood school, after which he as-
sisted his father, Henry Chiy
Harkins, of Atoka county, in the
*-
A. J. HAKKINS.
stock and fanning business. He
continued thus employed until
1882, when he married Mrs. J.
Harkins, widow of Col. D. F.
Harkins, of Atoka county, who
was a Choctaw delegate to Wash-
ington, besides holding from
time to time many of the princi-
pal offices in the Nation. By his
marriage he has two children.
one of whom is living. La Fay-
ette, aged six years.
After his marriage Alonzo
started stock-raising and farm-
ing, and took a clerkship with
John D. Hardin, a merchant of
Atoka, and later with A. B. Cass,
of the same town. Since then
he has served in the McBride
Bros, mercantile house for sev-
eral years. In 1887 he pur-
chased the Atoka mill and gin,
then owned by McBride Bros.,
and at the request of the people
of Atoka substituted a new out-
fit of the most improved machin-
ery. This business he ran for
one season, selling out to John
M. Hodges & Co. at the close of
the year. In 1889 he went in as
a partner in the general mer-
chandise business with D. W.
Hodges, of Colgate, Choctaw
Xation, but being appointed Na-
tional Agent to fill the unex-
pired term of Captain Standley,
he sold his interest to his partner
in the same year and returned to
Atoka, when he went again to
work for John M. Hodges as a
clerk. In 1889 he was elected
a member of the Choctaw Coun-
cil. He is a descendant of the
Oka-la-fay-a clan and a young-
man of superior business capac-
ity; is reliable, steady and highly
respected among all classes. He
-*
fb-
188
LEADEUS AND LEADING MEN
owns a jtrottv residence in Atoka,
three good farms of one hundred
and sixty acres under cultivation,
one hundred head of stock cat-
tle, two hundred and twenty
acres in city property, and a coal
claim of considerable value.
CHARLES WARD.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born close to Red River, Choc-
^-
CHARLES WARD.
taw Nation, in 1849, and moved
to Texas with his parents, re-
turning with them at the close of
tlie war. Education being diffi-
cult to procure in those days of
strife, Charles had little oppor-
tunity afi'orded him in that re-
spect, most of his learning being
acquired beneath the parental
roof. In 1870 he opened a farm
and built a home close to Kio-
wa, and soon acquired a small
stock of cattle. In 187-1: he mar-
ried Mary Elizabeth Summers,
of Missouri, by whom he has five
children living — Charles Oliver,
Benjamin F., Mary Elizabeth,
Vv^illiam Giles and Aaron. In
1889 he held the office of Dep-
uty County Clerk, and in 1890
was appointed Deputy Sheriff of
Tobocksy county.
Mr. Ward is an elder of the
Christian church, and has been
Sunday school superintendent for
many years. "He has served as
a member of the petit jury of
the Moshallatubby district, as
also on the grand jury (United
States Courts, Second Division )
at South McAlester in the fall of
1890. Some years ago, seeing
the necessity of a school and
church house in his neighbor-
hood, he took the responsibility
upon himself, and with the aid
of J. S. Doyle erected the build-
ing. The school has since been
conducted under good manage-
ment, Mr. AVard being the local
trustee. Since that time a par-
sonage has been built, and the
neighborhood is now in a thriv-
ing condition.
*
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
139
Mr. Ward left his old home at
one time and settled close to
Caddo, in Blue county, but not
liking the neighborhood, he soon
after returned to Tobocksy coun-
ty, and settled within eight miles
of his old place. He has about
one hundred and twenty-five
acres under cultivation, one hun-
dred head of cattle, one hundred
and fifty head of hogs, twenty
head of stock horses, and a small
herd of sheep.
Charles is a brother of Judge
Henry Ward, of Atoka county,
and like Henry, is highly es-
teemed for his warm, generous
and charitable nature, as well as
for his strict honesty of purpose
and truly Christian bearing. Of
these young men, as well as
others of the family, it is said
that a profane word has never
yet soiled their lips.
*-
MCREE F. ROBINSON.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch is a
son of Bev. Calvin Bobinson, of
Blue county; was born in 1S56,
and married Lorena Daney, the
daughter of Watson Daney. He
was educated at Old Spencer, in
Cedar county, which school he
attended for four years. After
marrying he opened a farm and
took charge of stock, moving
one year ago to his present resi-
dence and renting out the old
place. In 1887 he was attacked
by a spinal disorder, which was
mistaken by his physician for
M KEE F. ROBINSON.
consumption, and for which he
found no relief until he met a
traveling physician named Dr.
Harteman, who has since treated
him with great success.
Mr. Bobinson has four chil-
dren— Coleman D., Carrie L.,
Nannie and Ella, the oldest be-
ing seven and the youngest one.
He believes in progressive ac-
tion and is a Bresbyterian in his
belief.
*
-fif
14(1
LKADEKS AND I.EADIXG MEN
JACKSON F, MCCURTAIN.
[CHOCTAW.]
The chief among all chiefs of the
Choctaws, Jackson F. McCur-
tain, was born in Mississippi,
March 4, 1830. In 1833 he
moved with his parents to the
Choctaw Nation . This illustrious
JACKSON F. M CURTAIN.
man received but a scanty educa-
tion, having spent but two years
at Spencer Academy. In 1859
he was elected representative of
his county, and in 1861, at the
outbreak of the war, w^as chosen
Captain of the first Choctaw reg-
iment, under General Cooper.
His valorous behavior throughout
the early campaigns w^as reward-
ed by promotion to the rank of
lieutenant colonel of the second
Choctaw batallion, and in this
capacity he exhibited many of
the qualities which mark his
military genius. At the end of
the war he immediately took a
prominent position in National
politics, being elected to the Sen-
ate in 18(36. w^hich office he held
until the death of Chief Garvin
in 1880. Being President of tlie
Senate at the time he became
principal chief to fill the unex-
pired term. At the next general
election McCurtain carried the
country by an overwhelming
majority, and two years after
ward became his own successor,
thus serving two terms, and near-
ly half of a third term, in suc-
cession. Had not the hand of
death deprived the nation of the
influence of this wise and pro-
gressive administrator it is very
probable that to-day he would
have been principal chief, No
man has since been found as well
fitted to govern the Choctaw
people.
What Cyrus Harris was to the
Chickasaws, Jack McCurtain was
to the Choctaws. But the latter
was stronger, more aggressive,
and more magnetic. He died
at Tuskahoma in 1885, leaving
one child by his first wife, Maria
Reillv, and six by his second
-*
^-
*
OF THE INDIAN TEKKITORY,
141
wife, Jane Austin, a sketch of
whose life will be found in this
volume. Mr. McCurtain's first
child is the present Mrs. Lewis
Garvin, the others are Cornelia,
Ligia Ann, Allen Cornelius,
Lucinda Frances, Ida Norah,
and Lizzie Dunlap.
Inscribed on the monument of
the departed chief are the fol-
lowing lines,
IN MEMORIAM.
An liouest man here lies at rest
As e'er God with his image blest;
The fi'iend of mau, the friend of truth;
The friend of age, the guide of youth.
Few liearts like his with virtue wurmed,
Fewliearts with linowledge so informed;
If there's another world, he lives in bliss; —
If there is not he made the best of this.
*-
JUDGE G. W. GARDNER.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in January, 18-14, at Little
River, being the son of Jeremiah
Gardner, who came to the Indian
Teriitory in 1833, and was a de-
scendant of the Oka-la-hun-na-li.
Green attended school at Arm-
sti'ong until 1861, when he joined
Captain Reason Jones' company
under Colonel Sim Folsom. In
1864 he married Harriet James,
and afterward Arabella, daugh-
ter of Daniel Folsom. In 1870
he was appointed Clerk of the
Supreme Court, and in 1872
Clei-k of Blue county, which office
he held until 1877, when he was
appointed County Judge to fill
the unexpired term of S. Gardner.
In August, 1878, he was elected
to the same oflice, which he oc-
JUUGE G. W. GARDNER.
cupied until 1886, when he was
appointed Clerk of the Citizen-
ship Committee, and one year
after Recording Secretary of the
House. In 1888 he was re-elect-
ed Judge of his own county,
which oflice he still retains, but
is now in the field as a candidate
for Representative of Blue.
Judge Green has eight chil-
dren— Edward, Daniel, Mary,
Robert, Willie, Donnie, Bessie
and Jessie, the oldest aged nine-
teen and the youngest three.
'*
*-
142
*
OK THE INDIAN TEKItlTOKY
THOMAS K. OAKKS.
[CHOCTAW.]
TiiK subject of this sketch was
boni at Goodwater, C. N.,
in 184(3, where he also received
his education. In 18G9, one
year after leaving School, he
nuirried Miss Emily Duncan,
daughter of Rev. H. A. Duncan,
of Tahlequah, Cherokee Nation.
His first wife dying in child-birth
Mr. Oakes married Miss Mar-
garet Ervin, in IS 71, in Towsen
county, by whom he has five
children. Mrs. Oakes is a sis-
ter of Columbus C. Ervin, of
Doaksville, a'very popularjcitizen.
The first public ofiice held by
Thog. E. Oakes was that of su-
preme clerk, which he filled for
six years. In 1882 he was elect-
ed county judge, occupying the
bench until his election to the
House of Representatives in
1884. In 1885 he became coun-
ty judge and served two years.
In 1888 he was appointed dis-
trict collector of the third dis-
trict, a position he now holds.
Thomas E. became a member
of the Masonic order in 1883 —
Doaksville lodge No. 2, and was
made worshipful master in 1885.
He is the owner of two farms
containing three hundred and
fifty acres under cultivation, and
a small herd of cattle.
•i<-
TIIK TWIN CITY TOPICS.
A si'icv little seven-column folio
weekly made its appearance in
McAlester, Choctaw Nation, in
the latter end of 1889 under the
title of the Twin City Topics,
bearing at its masthead the name
of H. E. Thomas.
The Twin City Topics unre-
servedly espoused the cause of
the present administration, al-
though its editor ignores pfirty
feeling, and devotes himself
exclusively to the Choctaw peo-
ple at large. In November,
1890, Mr. Thomas was enabled
to enlarge his paper to a six
column quarto, which places the
publication on a footing with the
largest weekly in the Indian
Territory. The circulation of
the Twin City Topics has rapidly
increased since the council meet-
ing of 1890, and its value as an
advertising organ is unquestion-
able. H. E. Thomas embarked
in journalism in Denisou, Texas,
in 1879, where he established
the Herald-Times, which news-
paper he conducted for two years.
Some time afterward he started
the Siftings at Fort Worth, edit-
ing its columns until 1887, when
he sold out to the Southwestern
Publishing Co. After three years
in the real estate business he es-
tablished the Twin City Topics.
-*
Cora Caruth, Wichita.
*-
OK THK INDIAN 'lERRITOKY.
145
-*
MRS. JACK MCCURTAIN.
[CHOUTAW.]
As A model of her sex, Mrs.
McCurtain ranks quite as high as
her ilhistrioiis husband. She was
born in August, 1842, at Doaks-
ville, Choctaw Nation, the eldest
daughter of Louis Austin, a full-
MES. JACK m'cUKTAIN.
blood Choctaw of extraordinary
mechanical genius, who, without
any education, erected thrashing
machines, mills, gins, wagons,
etc., all of which he utilized,
when his home was far away
from the borders of civilization.
Austin also built a small tannery,
made leather, and during leisure
hours manufactured shoes forthe
members of his family. No In-
dian has before or since develop-
ed mechanical genius to such an
extent. Mrs. McCurtain^'s mother
was a Miss Mollie Webster, one-
quarter white, but lacking in edu-
cation. Yet these good parents
furnished their children with edu-
cations to fit them for any calling
in life. The subject of this sketch
went to school for eight years.
She spent five years at Wheelock
National Academy and three at
Edgeworth's* Seminary, Pitts-
burgh, Pennsylvania, where she
graduated. In 1S61 she return-
ed to Doaksville and soon enter-
ed upon the career of a teacher,
in which she was eminently suc-
cessful. Some of the prominent
young law-makers of to-day re-
member with pleasure their early
instructions at Miss Austin's
school. In 1865 this lad}^ mar-
ried Hon. Jack McCurtain, the
issue of their marriage being five
children, whose names will be
found in the life sketch of their
illustrious father. Upon tlie
death of the great chief his wife
had a splendid monument erect-
ed to his memory, which cost
overfour hundred dollars. Mrs.
McCurtain is a lady of the intel
lectual type, refined and of deli-
cate sensibilities. She is gentle,
tender-hearted and charitable.
*-
-*
*-
146
LEADERS AND LEADING MEX
RKNJAMIX V. Mt'KIXNKY.
[CHOCTAW AND CHICKASAW.]
This gentleman was born near
Atoka. Choctaw jS^ation, in Sep-
tember, 1807, and is the son of
the hite Alexander McKinney (a
Cherokee adopted by the Choc-
taws on his emigration from Mis-
sissippi with that tribe).
Ben was sent to the Aiken In-
stitute, Paris, and afterward to
the Osage Mission, which he left
in November, 1883, and in the
following month married Mar-
garet Pursley, daughter of Joshua
Pursley, of McAlester. The
B. F. M KINNEY.
bride and bridegroom were aged
respectively sixteen and thirteen
years t)f aged when united in
wedlock, being about the young-
est couple ever married in the
MRS. M KINNEY.
Choctaw Nation. Immediately
afterward Ben went to work in
dead earnest and opened a farm
on Twelve-mile Prairie, three
miles from Blue, and which now
contains nine hundred acres of
and in a condition for planting
next year. Besides this he has
a pasture of six hundred and
forty acres and some three hun-
dred head of good stock, all of
wdiich he has acquired through
energy and enterprise and the
richness of the lands, which have
yielded a large rental at the
hands of a thrifty tenantry. His
*
*-
OF THE IXDIAN TERKITORY.
147
*
children, Clara Louisa and Ben
Alexander, are two and a half
_^and one year old, respectively.
Mr. McKinney has never rnn
for an office of any kind, nor is
he likely to sacrifice his peaceful
and prosperous career by em-
barking in politics. He is, how-
ever, a member of the Progres-
sive party and will continue to
vote the straight ticket.
*-
J. L. WARD.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Weatherford, Parker
county, Texas, in 1861, being
the son of Joseph Ward, of New
Jersey, who served as a Captain
in the Union army during the
war. The subject of this sketch
moved with his family to the In-
dian Territory when quite a child,
and was educated at a public
school until 1870, after which he
received private tuition for fully
ten years.
In 1880 he commenced stock
raising, and three years after-
ward married Lettie Simmons, an
English girl, whom he met with
in Atoka county. By this mar-
riage he has four children living:
Colman James, Lucy Elizabeth,
David Robb, and Joseph Henry.
In 1890 Mr. Ward was appoint-
ed on the Indian Police. He
has one hundred and fifty acres
of good farm land, one hundred
and thirty of which is under cul-
tivation, besides two hundred
head of stock cattle. He is
a brother of Judge Henry Ward,
late Senator of the second dis-
trict, while his second brother,
William, has recently been elect-
ed as representative of the third
district of the Choctaw Nation.
Joseph Ward is a young man
of excellent business qualifica-
tions, is energetic, ambitious,
and persevering. These traits are
sufficient to suggest great possi-
bilities for his future career.
-*
148
LKADKItS AND LEADING MEN
p:lias rector ciikadlk.
[ CHOCTAW.]
The subject of tliis sketch was
born in Gaines County, Choctaw
Nation, in 1S59, and attended
the neighborhood school until
the age of twenty-one years. He
is the third son of the late James
Steward Cheadle, wlio was Coun-
ty Judge of Coal county, Choc-
taw Nation, and District Judge
of the Chickasaw Nation for one
term.
Rector married Mary Harkins
in 1889. She is a daughter of
Col. G. W. Harkins, of Chicka-
E. R. CHEADLE.
*-
saw fame. Mrs. Cheadle, a
beautiful and accomplished young
ladv, died in less than half a
year after her marriao;e. *
>IKS. CHEADLE.
Mr. Cheadle was admitted to
the bar in 1890, and being a
very brilliant young man, has
undoubtedly a bright career be-
fore him. He is an old Mason
for so young a man, and has
held the office o^ Secretary of
South Canadian Lodge, No. 22,
for quite a length of time. He
owns one thousand and fifty
acres of farm land, four hundred
and fifty acres of which are
under cultivation; also four hun-
dred head of stock cattle, seven-
ty-five head of horses and mules,
and two hundred head of hogs.
Besides these he holds one-third
-*
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
149
-*
interest in four rich coal claims
on the M., K. & T. Kailroad.
On his mother^s side Mr. Chea-
dle belongs to the Oka-la-fa-lay-a
clan, while his father was a
Chickasaw of the house of Cush-
ke-re.
When only eight years of age
the late Mrs. Cheadle went to
Bloomfield Academy. At the
expiration of her school career
in 1885, at the age of sixteen,
she was appointed music teacher
by the superintendent at that
institution, and three years after-
ward held the same position in
the Chickasaw Male Academy,
until she married Elias Rector
Cheadle, of South Canadian.
She was remarkable not only for
her amiable disposition and re-
finement of manner, but for her
many natural talents. She was
an excellent musician and an
artist with both pencil and brush.
She died May 26, 1889, four
months after her marriage.
*-
DAVID BOHANNON.
[CHOCTAW.]
David was born in Blue county
in 1860, the son of Ed. Bohan-
non. His mother's name was
Lucy A. Robinson, of the Hyah-
pah-tuk-kalo. After preparatory
education in a neighborhood
school, David went to Spencer
Academy in 1872, where he re-
mained for two years. His father
dying while he was a boy, he
lived with his mother and work-
ed for some years on a cattle
ranch.
In 1887 he was appointed dep-
uty sheriff and the following year
was placed on the Indian Police.
On the establishment of the
Paris Federal court, he was ap-
pointed deputy United States
Marshal under R. B. Regan. In
1888 he ran against Levi Gar-
land for sheriff of Blue county,
and missed it by only seven votes.
Mr. Bohannon owns nine hun-
dred acres of good land, two
-*
fi^
-*
1.50
LEADKliS AND LEADING MEN
liu!i(lrc'(l and tweiity-live of which
is lunler cultivation, lie has also
11 small stock of cattle. In 1885
he married Miss Sarah Atkinson,
a yoiihiii; hidy from Mississippi,
bv whom he has had but one
child, which died shortly after
birth. J\lr. Bohannon is one of
the best otticers in the Territory,
and is respected and liked by
all who know him.
THOS. P. HOWELL, M.D.
[ CHOCTAW.]
This gentleman was born at Ea-
gletown, L, T., in 1849, and
THOS. r. HOWELL, M. D.
is the son of Calvin H. Howell,
of Mississippi, of the Hyali-pah-
tuk-kalo clan. He was educated
at Cumberland L^iiiversity, Leb-
anon, Tennessee, and graduated
in medicine at the Maryland
University, Baltimore, in 1872.
In 1873 he came to Atoka, Choc-
taw Nation, and entered into
partnership with Dr. I. AV. Fol-
som; after which he moved to
Paul's Valley, Chickasaw Na-
tion, and after twelve months'
practice made his home at Wash-
ita, near old Fort Arbuckle. In
1875 he married Lizzie J., the
daughter of Thomas Grant.
Dr. Howell holds two thou-
sand five hundred head of cattle
and has eight hundred acres under
cultivation, so that he gives em-
ployment to some twenty men.
Besides this he has a lucrative
professional practice. He is at
present a candidate for the honor
of representing Pickins county in
the Choctaw Legislature on the
Progressive ticket. He is de-
servedly one of the most popular
men in the Chickasaw Nation.
CORNELIUS JONES.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Kiamichi county in 1835,
and attended the neighborhood
school for two years. He en-
gaged in farming and stock-rais-
ing for himself while yet a young
*-
-*
>h-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
151
<i<-
raan till the breaking out of the
war, when he joined General
Cooper's command. In 1860 he
married Miss M. Battise, by
whom he had one boy named
Sydney, who died in 1875. His
wife lived but three years after
their union. In 1856 he mar-
ried Miss W. Hayes, daughter of
Jack Hayes, a Choctaw, who
died without issue in 1871.
Mr. Jones married his third wife
in 1874, Miss Nancy Pickens,
daughter of Hon. Ben Pickens,
an influential man among the
Choctaws, having held some of
the principal offices in the Na-
tion. The issue of this marriage
is two livi-ng children, Caroline
and Josiah. His wife dying in
1876, Mr. Jones was united in
marriage to Miss S. La Flore,
daughter of Adam La Flore, in
1887.
Cornelius was appointed Cap-
tain of the Choctaw Light Horse
in 1884, and held the position
two years. In 1887 he was elect-
Sergeant-at-Arms for both houses
of the Legislature, and the fol-
lowing year represented Blue
county in the lower house.
Mr. Jones is the owner of two
hundred head of stock cattle,
seventy-five head of horses, one
hundred and fifty head of hogs,
and a good home, with one hun-
dred and fifty acres under culti-
vation. He belongs to the
Kooncha clan, and is popular
and very highly respected by his
people.
H. B. ROWLEY.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Sturgis, Michigan, in
:. ■^■J^'^Si^'ST^v^"?':^'^^^^*^
H. B. ROWLEV.
1859, and attended public school
until 1877. Shortly after this
he acquired the art of telegraphy,
and was employed by different
railroad companies for fourteen
or fifteen years, during which
time he held some responsible po-
sitions. In 1890 he was appoint-
ed cashier for the Choctaw Coal
-•H
152
LEAUEKS AND LEADING 3IEN
and liiiilroad Co. In 188-i he
married Czarina Ward, sister of
Henry Ward, Representative for
Atoka county, a young lady of
remarkable refinement and pleas-
ing disposition, who unfortu-
nately died within two years af-
ter their marriage, leaving one
child. Harry G., who is five years
old.
Mr. Rowley has one hundred
and seventy acres of farm land
and one hundred and fifty head
of stock cattle. He is a young
man of great energy and ambi-
tion, and is favorably looked
upon by the whole community.
He has one of the finest rock
residences in the country, which
was completed in 1886 by his
uncle, H. O. Tuttle, of Sturgis,
while on a visit to his nephew at
Kiowa, Indian Territory.
•3?-
JAMES S. CHEADLE.
[ CHOCTAW.]
This gentleman was born July 7,
1830 in Mississippi, and moved
to the Choctaw Nation with the
Chickasaws in 1836. In 1852
he married Susan Riddle, the
daughter of Capt. John Riddle.
Captain Riddle was very influen-
tial and stood high with his peo-
ple. James S. Cheadle was the
father of six children, three boys
and three girls, namely: Sophro-
nia E., Douglas C, Amos, Al-
media, Elias Rector and Susan
Cheadle. Rector is the only sur-
vivor of his fathers family.
James Cheadle was Circuit
Judge of the Chickasaw Nation
one term and was County Judge
JAMES STEWARD CHEADLE.
of Tobocksy, Choctaw Nation,
for several terms. He was also
appointed a commissioner on the
part of the Choctaws to meet and
treat with the Chickasaws on cer-
tain occasions of great import-
ance.
The subject of this sketch is
highly respected by his people,
and especially noted for his fair
and liberal dealings with all he
came in contact; therefore he
-*
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
153
-*
had many friends. The greater
part of his life was devoted to
stock-raising and farming. He
died October 1, 1876, sincerely
and deservedly regretted.
HENRY PERKINS.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Blue county in Decem-
ber, 1841, being the oldest sou
of Judge David Perkins, of the
Hyah-pah-tuk-kalo clan, and his
mother being of the Lucas fam-
*-
HENRY PERKINS.
ily. While quite young he was
a member of the Light Horse,
and in 1852 was appointed
County Judge of Blue county,
being re-elected to the same office
in 1886. Li 1874 he was a
Representative at the Council.
David Perkins was a dfevoted
Christian, a member of the old
school Presbyterians, and an
elder in that church at the time
of his death in 1886.
Henry Perkins was educated
at a neighborhood school, and
did not learn to speak English
until he came in contact with his
renters and farm hands. He
married Mary Fry, a Choctaw,
by whom he had no children.
After her death he was united in
matrimony to Emily Hampton,
the issue of their marriage being
two children, Alice and Edia.
On the death of his second wife
he married a Miss Ramsey, by
whom he has no family.
Mr. Perkins joined Sim Fol-
som's regiment in 1862, and was
orderly sergeant of Company J
during the latter part of the war.
In 1865 he commenced farming
and stock-raising. In 1867 he
was appointed Judge of Elec-
tion, which office he still holds.
He also held the office of Deputy
Sherifl'for seven years and Coun-
ty Clerk for three terms. He is
a man of excellent sense, honest
and good-natured, and is well
thought of throughout the entire
count rv.
Hi
^
154
LEADKKS AND LEADING HEN'
-^
DAVIS A. HOMER.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this was born at
Goodlaiid. Choctaw jS'atioii, in
1862. and attended neighborhood
school for three 3'ears. In 1872
he was phiced at Spencer
Academy and there remained
DAVIS A. HOMER.
seven years, completing his edu-
cation in 1879. Davis niider-
went an examination before the
Choctaw National school board
and engaged teaching in the pub-
lic schools for a period of four
years at different places. In
1883 he commenced the studv of
law, and in the following year
began practicing in the Choctaw
courts, and some years later be-
came a licensed practitioner in
the United States courts. His
first National office was that of
county ranger, to which he was
appointed in 1882. In 1885 he
became county clerk, and in 1887
was elected district attorney and
re-elected in 1890.
Davis Homer is the son of
Aaron Homer, deceased, who at
the time of his death, in 1884,
was member of the general coun-
cil. He was a full-blood Choc-
taw, belonging to the Okla-fa-
lay-a clan. His mother was
about one-quarter white. Davis
niarried Miss Selina Hayes in
1883, by whom he has three
children: Mary, Dorah and
Aaron. He is the owner of two
hundred and twentv acres of land
under fence, one hundred and
thirty of which is under cultiva-
tion, the remainder in pasture.
He has also one hundred and
fifty head of cattle and five un-
developed coal dims. Davis
Homer is a cheerful, intelligent
go ahead young man, with plenty
of pluck and ambition, and with-
out doubt is among the best of
the young lawyers now forging
to the front.
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^-
-f^
OV THK INDIAN 'J'ERRITOKY.
loo
J. MCRINNEY COBB.
[CHOCTAW.]
Tins gentleman was born near
Doaksville in 1846, being a son
of James Cobb, His education
was completed at Spencer Acad-
emy. In 1871 he married Jane
Chiglej, sister of Hon. Xelsoii
^
J. m'kINNEY COBB.
Cbigley. Owing to an unfortu-
nate affair, which ended fatally
for an acquaintance of his, Mr.
Cobb left the Choctaw Xation in
1870 and settled on the Washita
near Dougherty, where he now
resides. The event referred to
was the death of Jobe Wilson,
after a "-ball pi a \'," eight miles
west of Boggy Depot, on the
night of June 2, 1877, Mr. Cobb
being obliged to shoot him in
self-defense. The case was tried
by Justice Vinson at the Push-
ma-ta-ha court grounds in Au-
gust, 1886, and dismissed.
Mr. Cobb served actively in
the Choctaw brigade throughout
the war. In 1869 he was elect-
ed Sheriff of Kiamichi county,
Choctaw Nation, and in the fol-
lowing year, on his removal to
the Chickasaw country, he was
elected a member of the House
of Representatives, which office
he held three years. In 1889
be became Permit Collector, and
still holds that position.
THE INDIAX CITIZEN.
Published at Atoka, Choctaw
Nation, Indian Territory, by J,
S, Standley & B. S. Smiser. The
style of this firm is "Indian
Citizen Pub, Co,," successor to
the Atoka Independent and the
Lehigh News,
The first issue of the Indian
Citizen was circulated March 2,
1 889, It now has over one thou-
sand circulation, a well-fitted
office for any kind of work in
the printing line, and its circula-
tion is rapidly increasing. It
has just finished the publication
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-•i«
156
LiSADERS AND LEADIXG >IEX
of tlie Revised Laws of the
Chickasaw Nation, both in the
English and the native language,
the former consisting of 350
pages and the latter 400.
Its location is central in the
Choctaw Nation, and is destined
to continue one of the leading
journals of the Nation.
ROBERT CROWDER.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Mississippi in 1842, and
•it-
emigrated with the Choctaws to
this country, settling with his
parents in Kiamichi county. At
the age of twenty-one he mar-
ried Louisa, eldest daughter of
William Pitchlyn, delegate to
Washington. The issue of this
marriage was one girl, named
Alice, born in 18SG. Robert
married his present wife at Skul-
iyville county, where he lived for
two years. Moving back to
Kiamichi county he commenced
stock raising, and was appointed
deputy sheriff, which office he
retained for two years.
In 1874, on the death of Wil-
liam Riddles, in Gaines county,
he adopted his two orphan chil-
dren, Peter and Almitia.
He has a farm of five hundred
acres, one hundred of which is
under cultivation. Besides this
he is the owner of three hun-
dred head of cattle, thirty head
of horses and four hundred head
of hogs. He also owns three
good coal claims, and will have
the Choctaw R. R. Company
passing through his place in a
few months. Mr. Crowder is a
sensible, industrious citizen, and
has made himself a substantial
and comfortable home at Gar-
rets Bluff. During the late war
he served under Capt. Sim Fol-
som, second Choctaw regiment,
for two years.
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OF THE INDIAN TERKITORY.
157
-^
JOSEPH S. NALE.
[CHOCTAW.]
Mr. Nale was born in Gaines
county, Choctaw Nation, in 1858,
and attended a neighborhood
school until 1878, when he went
to stock raising and farming.
He is the eldest son of Ben Nale
J. S. NALE.
and Margaret Riddle, both Choc-
taws of the clan of Ok-la-fa-lay-a.
He was appointed on tlie Indian
Police in June, 1885, and in
August, 1886, as Sheriff of To-
bocksj county, and again in 1800.
In 1885 he married Miss Vicey
Smith, a Choctaw. The issue of
this marriage was one child, born
October, 1889, named Sephronia.
Joseph S. Kale is a cousin of
Joel Nale, an extensive stock-
man, and is considered one of
the best officers that ever filled
an office in his county. He is
diligent, straightforward and re-
liable, and is very popular with
citizens and non-citizens. He is
the possessor of a good farm of
one hundred and fifteen acres,
all of which is under cultivation;
one hundred head of stock cat-
tle, thirty head of horses and po-
nies, and one hundred and fifty
head of hogs.
ALBERT P. FOLSOM.
[CHOCTAW.]
This gentleman was born in
Skullyville county in December,
1866, and attended the neigh-
borhood school till fifteen years
of age, completing his education
at Booneville, Missouri, in 1885.
He then went to live with his
guardian. Turner Daniels, one
year (his father having died in
1873 and his mother in 1876).
In July, 1887, he was united in
marriage to Susan K. Brashiers,
fourth daughter of Judge Turner
Brashiers, a man of considerable
note. The issue of this marriage
is Cladius Conrad, born Febru-
ary 8, 1890.
In 1888 Mr. Folsom was elect-
ed Representative of Skullyville
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158
LEADERS AND LEADING 2HEN
comity, and re-elected in 1880
and 1890. He is about the
youngest man wlio has ever be-
come a member of the Choctaw
Council, and still continues the
junior member of the House.
He is, however, by no means be-
hind his brother membeis, evinc-
ing more than ordinary talent.
The very fact of his election
three times in succession is evi-
dence of his ability as a legisla-
tor. He has also a good com-
mercial education, a pleasing
address, and is popular every-
where. His father was the son of
Col. David Folsom, at one time
First Chief of the Choctaws and
a member of the Hyah-pah-tuk-
kalo clan.
The subject of our sketch has
a nice farm, a small herd of cat-
tle and hogs, and some excellent
horses. He is comfortably situ-
ated, and will no doubt event-
ually become a leading man.
HENRY BYINGTON.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born January 7, 1851; son of
Cyrus Byington, of Blue county,
and grandson of Nitakeche, chief
of the Kooncba clan of Choc-
taws. Henry was educated at
Armstrong Academy and La-
donia, Texas, after which he
clerked for Wilson Jones at
Caddo, for five years. In 1883,
under Judge L. S. W. Folsom,
he was appointed clerk of the
circuit court, since which he has
been deputy county clerk under
HENKY BYINGTON.
Judge Green Gardner. Mr. By-
ington has recently taken out
license to practice law in the
courts of the Choctaw Nation.
He is now farming and has three
hundred and twenty acres under
fence. His wife's maiden name
wasLorenaMosely, by whom he
has two sons, Cyrus, aged eigh-
teen; and Richard, four years.
In his possession are a large sil-
ver medal and a sword stick pre-
sented to his grandfather, Nita-
keche, by Andrew Jackson.
Ko-mul-tali, Kiowa.
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
161
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HON. W. W.HAMPTON.
[CHOCTAW.]
The president of the Choctaw
Senate was born in Mississippi,
January, 1841, and emigrated in
1849 to Bok-tuk-kalo county,
Choctaw Nation, with his father,
Nicholas Hampton. In 1862
*-
HON. W. W. HAMPTON.
William joined the second Choc-
taw regiment, under Col. Samson
Folsom, and remained in the
service until 1865. The follow-
ing year he moved to Bennington
and married Susan, daughter of
Adam La Flore. His first ofiico
was that of county clerk in 1860,
which office he again held at the
termination of the war. In 1
and '69 he was appointed clerk
of the circuit court under Judge
Loring S. Fulsom, He was
elected sergeant-at-arms for both
houses at the council of 1867.
In 1871 journalist for the Senate,
and in 1873 and '74 he served
two terms as representative of
Blue county in the lower House.
In 1875 he was commissioned as
a member of the committee on
the court of claims. In 1884 he
was appointed clerk of the su-
preme court, and at the expira-
tion of that term he became pros-
ecuting attorney for the Pushma-
taha district. In 1886 he was
elected to the upper House, and
two years afterward became pres-
ident of the Senate, which office
he still occupies.
Mr. Hampton has two children :
John, aged eighteen years-; and
Elizabeth, married to Solomon
Mackay, He owns a large farm
and ranch, his private house
being one of the handsomest in
Blue county.
GEORGE A. PATE.
[CHOCTAW.]
Mr. Pate w'as born in Carroll
county, Mississippi, in February,
1854; was educated at Somerville
Institute, Noxabee county, Mis-
sissippi, and in 1874 married
Miss Maggie A. McMath. He
i"-
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IG:
l.KADKKS AND LEADING ISIEN
has one child as the issue of that
marriage. His wife died in 1884.
He was married again, in 1885,
to a daughter of J. L. C. Pate,
by whom he has tliree children.
He was quite a prominent poli-
tician in the State of Mississippi,
G. A. PATE.
and resigned the office of County
Judge w^hen he left there. In
1885 he moved to the Choctaw
Nation, where he was adopted
by the Choctaw Council in the
same year. He has been a farm-
er and stock-raiser since living
in the Choctaw Nation till the
spring of 1890, when he com-
menced the practice of law in
Atoka with Mr. A. Telle, under
the firm name of Telle & Pate.
He is a young man of great
promise, a deacon in the Chris-
tian church at Atoka, and very
popular.
JOSEPH B. THOMPSON.
[CHOCTAW.]
This gentleman was born in Ce-
dar county, December, 1861, ed-
ucated at Spencer Academy, C.
N. ,and Mount Harmon Institute,
Northfield, completing his edu-
cation at Roanoke College, Sa-
lem, Virginia, where he remain-
ed until 1886. Joseph com-
menced his career by school
teaching, and was appointed
county clerk of Cedar county in
1889. The year following he
was elected representative to the
lower House.
The subject ot this sketch mar-
ried Miss Betsey Ann Tims, part
Choctaw, by whom he has one
child, Alexander, born in March,
1890. Mr. Thompson is the son
of Key. John Thompson, who
has been a Presbyterian minister
for the past twenty years in Ce-
dar county. Joseph is a young
man of great ambition, and is
one of the youngest members of
the legislature. He has a small
farm of twenty acres under culti-
vation and a comfortable home.
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OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
163
-^.
HENRY C. HARRIS.
[CHOCTAW.]
This subject of this sketch was
born in Eagle county, Choctaw
Nation, July 14, 1837, and edu-
cated at a private school until
1856, after which he went to
Armstrong Academy, one of the
*-
HENRY C. HARRIS.
national institutions. At the out-
break of the war he joined the
Confederate army, where he
served three years as a regular
soldier and courier in the quar-
termaster's department. Receiv-
ing his discharge owing to ill-
health, he returned to Red River
county and engaged in farming
and raising stock. On January
1, 1863, he married Maggie Lee,
daughter of William Lee, of Ar-
kansas. By this union he has
five living children — James W.,
Walter C, Bent S. , Laura B.
and JMattie J.
In 1868 Mr. Harris was elect-
ed representative of his county,
and served creditably for six
years. In 1880 he was appoint-
ed by Gov. Jack McCurtain as
district collector, which position
he filled for four years. He was
re-appointed in 188-1, during
Edmond McCurtain's adminis-
tration, and in 1886 received the
appointment of lumber inspector
and collector. In 1888 he was
chosen as supreme judge to fill
the unexpired term of A. R. Du-
rant, and in 1889 was appointed
district school trustee in place of
Thos. Barington, whose term was
unexpired. In November of the
same year he was chosen dele-
gate to negotiate with the United
States commissioners for the sale
of the lease lands west of ninety-
eight; and in December of the
same year was appointed dele-
gate to Washington with the
same object, which office he still
holds.
Mr. Harris has a comfortable
home at Harris' Ferry, on Red
River, where he owns four hun-
dred acres of rich land under
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164
LEADERS AXD LEADING MEN
cultivation, one hundred and
fifty head of stock cattle, thirty
head of horses, and four hundred
head of hogs. He also owns a
grist mill, saw mill and cotton
gin, and a coal claim on the
'Frisco railroad, which is now
being developed.
Henry Harris is about one-
sixteenth Choctaw, a nephew of
the illustrious old chief, Peter
P. Pitchlyn, and a man of much
influence and greatly respected
by all classes of people. He is
thoroughly practical in his views
and honorable in his business
transactions.
Mr. Harris is one of the oldest
Masons in the Choctaw Nation.
JOSEPH GARLAND,
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Towsen county in 1836,
and was placed at a neighbor-
hood school until 1848, after
which he went to IsTorwalk Acad-
emy, where he remained until
1852.
The first office held by Joseph
Garland was that of sheriff, to
which he was elected in 1856,
^und held until the breaking out
of the year. In 1859 he married
Miss M. Harrisson, daughter of
William Harrisson, a Choctaw,
by whom he had eight children,
four of whom are living — Lo-
rena, William G. , Joe R. N. and
Frank. In 1860 he joined the
Confederate army under Gen-
eral Cooper in the capacity of
sergeant of his company, and in
JOSEPH GARLAND.
1865 was elected captain. In
1866 he became county judge,
and held the office till his resig-
nation in 1868, when he moved
to his present home in Sans Bois
county. On arriving there he
was immediately appointed coun-
ty judge to fill an unexpired
term, and re-elected in 1870.
In 18T2 he represented his coun-
ty in the lower house, and was
also appointed a delegate to Ok-
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OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
165
-*
mulgee to a general convention
consisting of representatives of
the five civilized tribes and the
wild tribes located west of nine-
ty-eight. In 1876 he was elect-
ed supreme judge of the Choctaw
Nation, which position he still
holds, and has been held by him
longer than any other man.
Mr. Garland is the owner of a
fine farm of land of over three
hundred acres under cultivation,
one hundred head of cattle, and
fifty horses. Upon his personal
character and his standing in the
country there is no need of com-
ment. Enough that he has served
as supreme judge for fourteen
years, during which time he has
been held in admiration and re-
spect by all classes. He is a
learned man, not only in legal
lore, but possesses a vast fund of
knowledge on various topics.
Judge Garland is an old Mason.
*-
WALTER SCOTT ROGERS.
The subject of this sketch was
born in the Cherokee Nation,
in 1861, and moved to Jacks
Fork county, C. N., in 1865.
Walter went to a neighborhood
school until he was eleven years
of age, after which he lived with
his father, Jolm Penn Rogers, a
Georgian Cherokee, until 1880,
when he started business on his
own account. The death of his
father in the same year placed
him on his own resources, but he
soon afterward married Sarah
Hogue, daughter of Rev. R. J.
Hogue, one of the oldest mission-
aries in the land. The issue of
this marriage was Walter Penn,
and John Hogue, aged two and
three years. Mr. Rogers has a
comfortable home, and controls
five hundred head of stock cattle.
He is an energetic, reliable and
business like young man, who is
highly esteemed and respected
in his neighborhood.
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^
KK)
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LKADKUS AND LEADING MKN
*-
IMPORTANT TOWNS AND
BUSINESS POINTS.
Up till 1887 there were few
towns of any note in eitlier the
Choctaw or Ciiickasaw Nations.
Tliose situated on the M. , K. &
T. liailroad were the most im-
portant, Atoka and Caddo being
the trading points for a hirge
scope of country east and west.
Citizens residing in the Chicka-
asaw Nation frequently traveled
from forty to sixty miles to pur-
chase goods at these towns. The
completion of the Gulf, Colorado
and Santa Fe Railroad from
Gainesville, Texas, north to the
Canadian River has wrought a
wondrous change. Thousands
availed themselves of the oppor-
tunity to gain a footing in the
Indian country ; towns sprung
up as if by magic, and in two
years the Chickasaw people were
on a commercial footing with
their Choctaw neighbors.
Ardmore, some forty miles
north of Gainesville, in less than
two years after its establishment
shipped seventeen thousand bales
of cotton to the Northern mar-
kets. It has a population of
about two thousand, good busi-
ness houses and handsome dwell-
ings. It is also the seat of the
United States Federal Court.
Purcell, the northern gateway
to the Chickasaw Nation, is
beautifully situated on the banks
of the Canadian River. Though
not quite as populous, nor lo-
cated as well for the cotton trade
as Ardmore, yet its prospects are
equally bright, and many believe
with good cause that it will
eventually become a great busi-
ness center. It is the finest site
for a city in the Indian Terri-
tory, and remarkably healthy.
Paul's Valley, also on the
Santa Fe Railroad, is situated
right in the heart of the beauti-
ful and fertile valley of the
Washita. It is a flourishing lit-
tle town, as is also Wynne Wood,
whose enterprising merchants
are competing for their share of
the trade.
Prior to the advent of the Gulf,
Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad
Tishomingo and Stonewall were
the chief trading points in the
Chickasaw Nation. Neither of
these places could boast of over
forty or fifty residents, except
the former during council term,
it being the seat of the national
government. Tishomingo, how-
ever, is a pretty little place, sit-
uated on the Pennington, one of
the many picturesque mountain
streams that adorn the south-
western portion of the Indian
Territory.
-*
*-
*
OF THE INDIAN TEUIIITORY.
167
The immense and still increas-
ing mercantile trade of the Choc-
taw Nation is largely due to the
almost inexhaustible coal fields,
which are being rapidly devel-
oped since the advent of the
Choctaw Coal and Railway Co.
The town of South McAlester is
at present the chief point on this
road. It is located at its junc-
tion with the M., K. and T. Rail-
road, three miles south of the old
town. South McAlester, though
recently established, was made
the* seat of the United States
Federal Court in 1890, and bids
fair to be a good business point.
As a social and educational
center, Atoka, on the M., K. and
T. Railroad, takes first rank.
This town has four large church
edifices, Baptist and Presbyte-
rian academies, and many hand-
some dwellings. Owing to its
advantages in this respect, as
well as to its superior class of in-
habitants, Atoka is invariably
sought after by those desirous of
making permanent homes in the
Choctaw Nation.
In point of popuhition McAl-
ester and its mining camps have
the advantage and lead the list
with three thousand five hundred
people or thereabouts, the ma-
jority of these being miners and
their families. This town con-
s-
tains some fine mercantile estab-
lishments and is an excellent
business point. The McAlester
coal has a great and widespread
reputation.
Lehigh, a brisk mining town,
situated eight miles northwest of
Atoka, is scarcely inferior to
McAlester in population, while
its mercantile establishments and
business enterprise is in every
respect equal.
The coal recently mined at
Coalgate, six miles from Lehigh,
by the Denison and Washita
Railroad, is by many considered
superior to the best McAlester
samples.
Caddo is pleasantly situated in
a fine farming neighborhood
some thirty miles north of Deni-
son, on the M., K„ and T. Rail-
road. It is the largest of the ag-
I'icultural towns,' and ships a
quantity of cotton to the North-
ern markets. Its population is
between six and seven hundred,
while its business houses and ho-
tel accommodations are not in-
ferior to any of its sister towns.
South Canadian, the most
northern point in the Nation,
commands a large trade from
one of the richest farming dis-
tricts in the Indian Territory.
The valley of the South Cana-
dian is unsurpassed for the
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168
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
growth of corn, cotton and small
grain, while the farms in that
portion of the country are usu-
ally larger than those further
south. There are four mercan-
tile establishments in this little
town, conducted by enterprising
business men.
Tuskahoma is situated on the
St. Louis and San Francisco
Railroad. As a business point it
is of little importance further
than the fact that it is the seat of
government and contains the na-
tional capitol, a very solid and
handsome structure. This build-
ing is located in a beautiful val-
ley, surrounded by lofty moun-
tains, and is two miles from the
Tuskahoma depot.
On the same railroad are four
small towns of some importance
— Goodland, Antlers, Grant and
Tallihena.
*-
MICHAEL C. GARLAND,
[ CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in December, 1865, at
Wheelock, Towsen county, and
is the son of C. Garland and
nephew of Hon. Joseph Gar-
land, supreme judge of the Choc-
taw Nation. Isaac, Peter, Mau-
rice and Joel Garland, citizens
of high repute in the Nation, are
also uncles of the subject of our
sketch. His mother's maiden
name was Sallie La Flore, of the
Ok-la-fa-lay-a clan.
Michael was educated at Spen-
cer Academy, and after leaving
school engaged in breeding cat-
tle for others. In 1887 he moved
to Blue county, where he mar-
ried Louisa McCauley, sister-in-
law of the late Willie Jones and
daughter of James McCauley, a
citizen by marriage, and greatly
respected by all who know him.
For three years he has ridden as
a deputy marshal's posse, but
has recently settled down to a
home life, having rented the
farm which was improved by the
late Willie Jones, son of the
present governor of the Choctaw
Nation. He has some forty
acres under cultivation and a
small herd of cattle and hogs.
At the council meeting of 1890
Mr. Garland was appointed na-
tional coal weigher at the McAl-
ester mines, a very profitable
office, and for which he appears
well adapted. He is a smart,
gentlemanly young man, of good
address, and refined in appear-
ance.
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OF THE INDIAlSr TERRITOKY,
169
«
COL. COLEMAN E. NELSON.
[CHOCTAW.]
Few men are as well and as fa-
vorably known in the Choctaw
Nation as Col. Coleman Enoch
Nelson. This gentleman was
born in Mississippi in 1831, and
emigrated with his parents two
*B-
COL, NELSON.
years later. He was placed at
Spencer Academy in 181:1:, and
left there in 1816. Though en-
gaged in the mercantile business
in 1860, he gave it up to join the
army, and organized Company
G of the First Choctaw Batallion,
of which he was appointed cap-
tain. Owing to ill-health, how-
ever, he received his discharge
in 1862. In 1864 he was ap-
pointed commissary for the refu-
gees by Gov. P. P. Pitchlyn,
which office he held till the con-
clusion of the war.
Colonel Nelson first became a
member of the council in 1857,
and was re-elected continually
till 1869, in which year he first
held the responsible office of
national attorney, serving in that
capacity till 1877, when he was
elected national treasurer. After
six years' experience in national
finance, he was again called upon
to occupy the office of national
attorney, and served two years.
In 1888 he retired from politics
and declined to accept any fur-
ther public preferment. But on
the death of Joe P. Folsom (his
successor) he agreed to fill the
unexpired term, and is at present
attorney general. In 1850 he
married Miss Rhoda Underwood,
daughter of Kaney Underwood,
a Chickasaw, well known in his
country. The issue of this mar-
riage was eight children, five of
whom are living — Gabriel, Al-
fred, Sukie, Pachel and Isaac.
Of these three are married and
reside in the county.
Col. Nelson owns a thousand
and fifty-two acres of land, four
hundred and twelve of which are
under cultivation; and four hun-
dred and fifty head of cattle, be-
->B
->b
170
LKADERS AND LEADING MEN
sides two good lionie places and
an interest in the Lehigh coal
mines. In 1880 he again en-
gaged in the mercantile business
with Ills son-in-law, C. S. Vinson,
of Xelson, which business they
are still carrying on.
Mr. Nelson was licensed to
^-
MRS. NELSON.
preach t!ie gospel in 1868, and
in 1873 was ordained a deacon,
and 1889 an elder of the Meth-
odist church south. In 1883 he
built a church close to Antlers,
known by the name of ' ' Nelson's
Chapel," which cost him twelve
hundred dollars.
The subject of our sketch is
one-fourth white. On his moth-
er's side he belongs to the Koon-
cha and on his fathei-'s to the
Ok-la-fa-lay a clan. He is well
educated, and as a lawyer has
few equals among his race. The
number of high offices which he
has occupied since the beginning
of his political career serve to
show the repute in which he is
held by his people. Almost
every office has been his save
that of principal chief, and it is
but reasonable to suppose that
before many years his services
will be rewarded by the greatest
gift that can be bestowed at the
hands of the people.
Mrs. Nelson is a full-blooded
Chickasaw, a member of the
Methodist church South, a kind-
hearted and charitable lady, and
a loving mother.
Colonel Nelson's home place
is at present at Antlers.
CHARLE S. VINSON.
[CHOUTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Blue county in 1813, and
educated at Spencer and Arm-
strong academies. At the out-
break of the war in 1861 he volun-
teered in the First Choctaw and
Chickasaw regiments, serving for
one year. In 1862 his father,
Hiram Vinson, a Georgia gen-
tleman, died, and his son took
->B
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERIIITOKY.
171
-*
charge of the business of the farm
and ranch. In 18G8 he married
Miss Rochelle Battise, who died
in 1872 without an j family. His
next wife was Sophie McKinney,
by whom he had three children,
one of whom, Eliza Vinson, is
living. His second wife dying
in 1882, he then married Kachel
Nelson, by w^hom he has a girl.
Mr. Vinson was elected dis-
trict attorney in 1874, and held
the office for five years. In 1879
he was elected national attorney,
and continued in this office for
four years. In 1883 he became
a member of the lower house,
*-
CUAULES STEWART VINSON.
and in 1885 was appointed cir-
cuit judge of the third district.
In 1888 he was re-elected, and
is still holding this responsible
position.
MRS. R. VINSON.
At the present time Mr. Vin-
son is in partnership with his
father-in-law, Colonel Nelson,
engaged in the mercantile busi-
ness at the Nelson postoffice.
He also owns one hundred and
forty acres of farming land un-
der cultivation and a comfortable
homestead. Since 1879 he has
been a member of the Methodist
church, and is now a local
preacher. He became a member
of the Masonic order in 188'i.
Mr. Vinson is a man of great
force of character and ability,
and is one of the best authorities
on legal points in his Nation.
-*
-^
LEADERS AND LEADING I>IEN
JUDGE ALKX. DURAXT.
[CHOCTAW.]
This gentleman was born Janu-
ary 21, 1839, in Tvler county,
Mississippi, and moved to this
country in 1845, attending the
neighborhood school until sixteen
years of age. At nineteen he
JUDGE DTTRANT.
was appointed secretary of the
second judicial district court till
the war broke out, when he was
appointed lieutenant of his com-
pany. After the restoration of
peace he applied himself to law,
and took out a license to practice
in 1867. Two years afterward
he taught a neighborhood school,
and the same season was elected
to the house of representatives,
where he served two years, ris-
ing to the dignity of speaker of
the house. In 1873 he became
Journalist of the senate, and in
1875 was elected national secre-
tary for two years. During this
term, in company with another
delegate, he represented the
Choctaw Nation at the grand
council held at Okmulgee, Creek
Nation. In 1876 he became at-
torney general for two years,
and in 1878 supreme judge to
fill the unexpired term of Joel
Hudson. His fitness for this
important office caused his elec-
tion in 1885, and he occupied
the judicial bench for one term;
after which he filled a vacant
seat in the senate. In 1886, in
company with Col. Nelson and
Capt. Standley, he was delegated
to confer with the Chickasaws in
regard to the royalties. In 1889
he was appointed United States
interpreter for the Paris court
and deputy clerk for the Federal
court. These offices being very
remunerative, Mr. Durant spends
a great deal of his time in that
city. He married Sallie Roberts,
daughter of Push Roberts, a
Choctaw, and a man well known
among his people.
Although Alex. Durant de-
votes much time to his extensive
•3E<-
-lit
i^-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
173
*-
legal practice, yet lie is a very
large planter, and has fifteen
hundred acres under fence, four
hundred of which is under culti-
vation. He has also a fine herd
of horses and a number of cattle,
besides a saw and grist mill.
He is a stockholder in the City
National bank and the Paris
Manufacturing Co., of Paris,
Texas.
Judge Alex. Dnrant is one of
the first lawyers in his country,
a man of varied information and
more than ordinary talent. He
has no family.
COLUMBUS C. ERWIN.
[ CHOCTAW.]
This gentleman was born in De-
cember, 1848, near Doaksville,
Choctaw Nation. He is the sec-
ond son of C. D. Erwin, a farm-
er and stock-raiser, the oldest
surviving white citizen married
in the Choctaw Nation,
The subject of our sketch went
to a neighborhood school for
four years, and afterward served
a year and a half in the Confed-
erate army. In 1865 he was en-
gaged in driving cattle, and con-
tinued this business until 1870,
when he married MissM. Hayes,
daughter of Hickman Hayes, by
whom he had two children, Vi-
ola and Serian. His wife dying
in 1885, he married a Miss Ever-
idge, daughter of Chief Justice
Everidge, the issue of this mar-
riage being Joseph, Myrtle and
Zirack Proctor.
In 1875 Mr. Erwin was elect-
ed to the lower house, which
oflice he held three terms. In
1888 he was called to the senate,
and served a term of two years.
Mr. Erwin has a comfortable
home of fifty acres of land under
cultivation and fifty head of stock
cattle. He is a man of great
natural intelligence, energetic
and honorable in his dealings,
and is very popular among his
people. He also belongs to Odd
Fellows Lodge, No. 1, of Caddo.
*-
174
T.EADEUS AND LKADING MEN'
JOHN GISTFARR.
[CHOCTAW. ]
This gentleman was born in Un-
ion District, South Carolina, in
1S47, the son of Thos. G. Farr,
a planter residing in the same
state. John received his educa-
tion in Woifert School, South
*-
JOHN GIST FARR.
Carolina, and Hickory Plains,
Arkansas. He came to the Choc-
taw Nation in 1875, and engaged
in the himber trade on Red River,
close to the Harris Fei-ry, from
which point he shipped walnut
to New Orleans for two years.
In 1877 he was united in mar-
riage to Annie E. Harris, a
daughter of Henry Harris, a
prominent citizen in his county.
By tliis union he has three chil-
dren, Thos. A., George C, and
Elizabeth I. Mr. Farr spent
eight years or over in active duty
in the capacity of Deputy United
States Marshal, and his record at
headquarters is second to none
in the Indian Territory.
In 1886 he was appointed
district collector for the second
district of the Choctaw Nation,
and held the position for two
years. In the spring of 1889 he
opened a law office at his present
home in Antlers. Choctaw Nation.
He has tv\'o branch offices, one
at Paris, Texas, under the title of
Farr & Herd, and the other at
McAlester, styled Wilson & Farr.
Mr. Farr owns two farms of two
hundred and fifty acres under
cultivation, a small herd of cattle
and a half interest in one coal
claim on the Frisco railroad,
which is now being developed,
besides several not yet opened.
He is an active and enterprising
man with plenty of push and am-
bition, and a speculative turn of
mind. He is well and favorably
known throughout the Territory
and northern Texas.
JUDGE JEFF. GARDNER.
[ CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born near Wheel oek, Choctaw
-^
Big Tree, Kiowa.
^-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
177
*
J^ation, in Jnlj, IStttt. He is
the eldest son of Noll Gardner,
at one time interpreter for the
missionaries. In 1855 he was
sent to Norfolk school, Towsen
county, and the following j'ear
went to Spencer Academy, where
he remained two years. In 1862
*-
JUDGE GARDNER.
he married Lucy James, who
lived but a short time. The is-
sue of this marriage was one
child, named Eliza. In 1864 he
married Lucy Christy, daugh-
ter of James Christy, by whom
he had four children — John,
Willie, Emma and Scott.
Mr. Gardner engaged in farm-
ing and stock-raising in 1862,
and in 1864 was appointed coun-
ty clerk, and the following year
district clerk. In 1873 he was
called to represent Eagle and
Norshoba (Wolf) counties in the
senate, and in 1881: was elected
national treasuTcr, which office
he held for four years to the
complete satisfaction of all par-
ties. In 1888 he became su-
preme judge of the Second dis-
trict, which office he still
holds.
In 1878 Mr. Gardner engaged
in the mercantile business at Ea-
gle Town, and becanne United
States postmaster at the same
time. His second wife dying,
he married Julia Christy, who is
still living. His property con-
sists of three hundred acres of
land under cultivation, a small
herd of cattle, and a substantial
and comfortable home. He is
perhaps the most popular man in
the Choctaw Nation, and is un-
doubtedly a gentleman of the
highest principle, conscientious
almost to a fault.
On several occasions he has
been solicited to become a can-
didate for principal chief, but his
modesty kept him in the back
ground. There is still time, how-
ever, and we shall rejoice to see
him wear the executive title be-
fore his days are numbered.
-*
178
LEADICKS AND LEADING MEN
KDMOXl) M^'CURTAIX.
[CHOCTAW. ]
EoMOND, the Successor in office
and the younger brother of the
hite iUustrions Jack McCnrtain,
was born July 29, 1842, in Su-
g:ar Loaf county, and attended
neicrhborhood schools until he
<h-
EX-CHIEF EDMOND m'cURTAIN.
was seventeen years of age. At
the outbreak of the war he en-
listed in General Cooper's army
and served throughout the entire
campaign. In 1866 he was elect-
ed county judge of Sans Bois
county, and four years later be-
came district trustee, which post
he held for five years. At the
expiration of his term he w^as ap-
pointed superintendent of the
pubHc schools of the Nation, and
in 1884 was elected governor
over his people, which office he
held for two years. Governor
McCurtain was a wise, progres-
sive and popular chief executive.
In 1887 the country was al-
most over-run with criminals
from the States, and Mr. Mc-
Curtain, in order to assist in pre-
serving the peace, accepted the
office of United States Marshal,
hich he holds until this day.
In 1862 the subject of this
sketch married Susan King, by
whom he has three children: Po-
lina, Kittie and Jennie. After
his first wife's death he was unit-
ed to Harriett Austin, who only
lived tw^o years and some months,
bearing him two children, only
one of whom survived, named
George.
His third marriage, owing to
some circumstance or other, was
not as felicitous as the previous
ones, so that a separation soon
follow^ed.
He is at present married to
Clarissa La Flore, daughter of
Isaac La Flore, and has a com-
fortable and hospitable home at
Sans Bois, whose doors are ever
open, not alone to friends and
acquaintances, but to the poor
and weary wayfarer, whose home
(if he has any) may be a thou
*
>b-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
179
-*
sand miles away. The host of
this mansion has a heart in pro-
portion to the size of his feody
(which is saying a great deal),
and within his doors all men are
alike.
Gov. McCurtain has three
hundred acres of land under cul-
tivation, five hundred head of
stock, and an interest in the Simp-
son mine, now in operation.
He is also one-third owner in the
7X ranch with his brother Green
and "Dime" Ainsworth. True
to the old clannish instincts in-
herited from his Scottish fore-
fathers, Edmond McCurtain is
a strong devotee to party. In
private life he is good-tempered,
convivial and generous to a fault,
which qualities render him ex-
ceedingly popular among his
people.
^-
JOHN D. WILSON.
[OHOCTAW.]
Me. Wilson was born in Feb-
ruary, 1864, and went to a neigh-
borhood school for ten years;
thence to the Chickasaw Male
Academy at Tishomingo, where
he remained three years, and
completed his education at Spen-
cer Academy, Choctaw Nation.
In 1882 John engaged in farm-
ing and stock-raising, and two
years afterward established a
business house near Doaksville.
In July, 1890, he was appointed
United States census enumerator
for the district, and at the meet-
ing of the legislature in October
of the same year was elected
secretary of the lower house.
The subject of our sketch is
JOHN D. WILSON.
the second son of the well-known
Towsen county judge, John Wil-
son, who has held many impor-
tant offices. His mother was a
James, and he is a nephew of
the late George James, a popu-
lar Chickasaw citizen.
John D. is still residing with
his parents, and devotes much
of his time to the stock business.
He owns four hundred and sev-
-*
*-
180
-*
LEADEUS AND LEADING MEN
entj' head of chiefly graded stock
cattle, two hundred and fifty
liead of stock horses, and four
hundred and thirty acres of land
under fence. He is one-fourth
Ciioctaw, of gentlemanly bearing
and address, and is intelligent
and well educated.
Mr. Wilson is very popular,
and has no doubt a bright future
before him.
REV. B. J, WOODS.
[CHOCTAW.]
This gentleman was born in Kia-
michi Valley, Choctaw Nation,
March 20, 1841, and attended
school for twelve years. After
his education was completed he
engaged in the stock and farm-
ing business. In 1863 he mar-
ried the daughter of Rev. Joseph
Dukes, council member for many
terms. Mrs, Josephine Woods is
three-quarters Choctaw. She has
had fifteen children, but four of
whom survive, namely: Stephen,
Simon H. , Gilbert W. and Har-
riet J., the oldest being twenty
years of age.
At the breaking out of the war
Ben Woods was appointed lieu-
tenant in Col. S. Folsom's rem-
ment of General Cooj)er's army.
In this regiment he remained un-
til the surrender. In 1867 he
was appointed deputy sheriff of
Wade county, and in 1887 was
called to serve his county in the
legislature, which he did in a
creditable manner for five years.
In 1883 he was ordained a min-
ister of the Presbyterian church,
and since then has devoted much
of his time to the welfare of his
-*■?■ > Ik ^-<- i t'^ * — ' — '~^«i
})anfeli. He is a taithtul and de-
vout christian, a pains-taking
worker, and a charitable neigh-
bor. The good that he has done
in the neighborhood of his
church and Sabbath school, near
Talihena, is visible on all sides.
He was the fourth son of Horace
Woods, a citizen of the United
States until his intermarriao;e.
>^'
-qf
*-
I
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
181
-*
ROBERT J. WARD.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born at Oak Lodge in July, 1850,
and attended the neighborhood
schools nntil 1861. At the ter-
mination of the war, however,
Kobert went back to school and
•i-
R. J. WARD.
remained there until 1868. In
1875 he commenced clerking for
Tibbett & Parks, general mer-
chants of Oak Lodge, and con-
tinued in that capacity for seven
years. In the meantime he mar-
ried Ida Barker in 1876. Miss
Barker is a Cherokee and sister
of W. H. Barker, of Muskogee,
speaker of the Cherokee lower
house. By this union he has
eight children, six of whom are
living — Sarah E., Susan E.,
Cora J., Robert J., Ada B. and
Irene C.
Mr. Ward's first national office
was that of sheriff of SkuUyville
county, which was followed by
that of membership in the Choc-
taw Light Horse, Doth of w^hich
offices he resigned, being unable,
owing to his other duties, to fill
them. From 1875 to 1882, how-
ever, he found leisure time to
execute the duties of county
and circuit clerk. In 1882 he
was again elected sheriff of his
own county, but resigned in
1886 to take upon himself the
responsibilities of national agent,
which office he held until 1888,
when he was called upon by his
people to represent the First dis-
trict in the national senate. He
was re-elected in 1890, and now
ranks among the ablest of the
law-makers.
In 1889, in company with
Messrs. Standley and Harris,
Mr. Ward was appointed as a
delegate to confer with the Cher-
okee commissioners at Talequah
in regard to the sale of lands
west of the ninety-eighth meri-
dian, and in December of that
year was appointed as delegate
to Washington on the same
errand.
-*
182
*
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
liobei't is a son of the late
Jeremiali AVard, 'wlio held many
offices, from light horse to cir-
cuit judge.
Mr. Ward belongs to the Ok-
la-fa-lay-a clan. He is a man of
good address, gentlfemaulv in
appearance, if not positively
handsome, and bears a good rep-
utation as to integrity, while he
is liberal and very good-natured,
which latter qualities render him
decidedly popular. He is the
owner of a farm of three hun-
dred acres of land under good
cultivation, a small herd of cat-
tle, and two coal claims, one of
which is in operation.
JOSHUA BILLINGS JETER.
[CHOCTA'W.]
This gentleman was born at We-
tumka, Alabama, in August,
1852, and was educated at Cen-
tral Institute, Alabama, and
Shilo Academy, near Paris, Tex.
He came to Kiamichi county,
Choctaw Nation, in 1872, and
there commenced teaching public
school, which profession he fol-
lowed until 1884. In that year
he was elected district trustee of
the Third district, and held the
office for two years. In 188G,
when Thompson McKinney was
a candidate for principal chief,
J. B. Jeter was elected to the
senate from Kiamichi county.
Pie was the second white citizc^n
who had ever been elected to the
Chc^ctaw legislature; but no soon-
er had he taken his seat amoner
the law-makers than they forced
him to retire, appointing John
Martin, from the same county,
^-
J. B. JETEK.
in his place. Mr. Jeter had
voted the wrong ticket that year.
Two years later he might have
taken his seat without a majority
op])Osition.
The subject of this sketch ol)-
tained his citizenship through
marriage with Sarah E. Oakes,
second daughter of J. W. Oakes.
The issue of their marriage is six
children — Gertrude E., Harriet
-•H
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERllITORY,
183
-*
S., James T., Francis B., Wil-
liam W. and Bonnie B.
Mr. Jeter owns one hundred
acres in farm, fifty head of cat-
tle, one hundred and fifty hogs,
and an interest in three undevel-
oped coal claims. He is a young
man of excellent education, in-
telligent, bright, and of good
moral character, a Mason and a
member of the iPresbyterian
church. He was appointed coal
weigher for the Nation on the
Choctaw Coal and Railway Co.
»f-
JOHN P. TURNBULL.
[CHOCTAW.]
This well-known and highly re-
spected citizen was born in Mis-
sissippi in July, 1833, and moved
to this country with the Choc-
taws. He was educated at a
neighborhood school until 1845,
and finished at the Presbyterian
and Baptist missionary acade-
mies— Spencer and Armstrong.
In 1852 he engaged in the stock
business and farming, and in
1857 married his cousin, Judith
Turnbull. The issue of this
marriage was five children, two
of whom are living — Eliza Ann
and Minerva. His wife died
February •!, 1868, after which he
married Harriet Willard, daugh-
ter of S. M. Willard, quarter-
master of the United States army.
On the breaking out of the re-
bellion Mr. Turnbull served for
twelve months. In 1868 he was
elected national secretary, which
office he held for six years, being
re-elected twice. In 1875 he
became supreme judge of his dis-
'?
1
' H
Pl^^^ftw''-
. .^1
J. p. TUENBULL.
trict, and served two terms. In
1883 he was elected a member
of the house, and in 1881: super-
intendent of the public schools, '
which office he still holds. In
1877 he was ordained a minister
of the Presbyterian church. He
is a most energetic minister and
a devout christian, liberal, char-
itable and loved by all men.
Mr. Turnbull has not been out
of office since 1868.
-*
184
-^
LEADERS AND LEADING ^lEN
F.C. MEADOWS
This gentleman is the son of J.
M. J\J endows, of Carrollton, Ga.
F. C. was born in 1852, and was
educated at Carrollton Masonic
Institute. In 1879 he married
Emma B., daughter of Major
John M. Richardson, of Dainger-
^-
F. C. MEADOWS.
field, Morris Co., Texas, the cere-
mony taking place at Sulphur
Springs, Hopkins county. By
this union were six children,
namely: Clara, Eugenie, Clegg,
Hugh and Louise, the oldest be-
ing ten years and the youngest
one year and a half. Mr. Mead-
ows has had five brothers, one of
them, Joseph Courtney, came to
the Nation and died in 1884.
The subject of this sketch -em
barked in the drug business in
Caddo in 1877, and in 1880 was
appointed postmaster at that
place, which, until 1887, was the
largest distributing point in the
Nation. He is a missionary
Baptist and a good christian.
LEM W. OAKES.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Kiamichi county, Choc-
taw Nation, in 1857, being the
fifth son of Thomas W. Oakes,
of North Carolina, who came to
this Nation in 1837, and married
a sister ot Chief Justice Ever-
idge. Mr. Oakes (senior) built
the first house ever erected in tlie
Choctaw Nation, and now the
property of Thomas Ainsworth,
at Oak Lodge. Unfortunately
the old gentleman has been blind
for the past seven years. The
subject of this sketch, L. W.
Oakes, received about two years'
education at Springfield, Mo.
In 1879 he engaged in farming
and married Lucy Smith, daugh-
ter of Henry Smith, living close
to Paris. By this marriage they
have six children: Bessie. Lillie,
Clarence, Frank, Mattie and No-
la, the eldest being ten years of
age. In 1883 he was appointed
third district collector, and held
the office for three vears. In
->i<
*-
-*
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
185
1888 he was elected member of
the Senate.
Mr. Oakes has a comfortable
home, two hundred acres of land
mider fence, one hundred of
which is under cultivation, be-
sides a small herd of cattle and
two hundred head of hogs. This
gentleman is pleasant and con-
genial and very popular wherever
he is known. He has been a
member of the Masonic order
since 1884, and an Odd Fellow
since 1882.
*-
JOSIAH H. BRYANT.
[CHOCTAW.]
Mr. Bkyant was born near Du
rant in 1854, and is the son of
Jesse Bryant, of Blue county.
He went to school at Bonham,
Texas, till 1873, during which
time he worked to pay his own
tuition. His labors were, how-
ever, rewarded in after years by
the national government, for he
has never been out of office since
his education was completed, be-
ing appointed a deputy sheriff
after his return from Bonham.
In 1874 he was elected sheriff,
which position he held six years.
He was representative under
Jack McCurtain's administration
in 1880, but retired from the
house when the 'Frisco Railroad
Charter bill became a subject of
unpleasant discussion in the leg-
islature. In 1881 he was re-
elected to the shrievalty, which
he held one term, till elected dis-
trict trustee by the council in
1884. In 1886, during Small-
wood's administration, Mr. Bry-
J. H. BRYANT.
ant again entered the house,
where he was elected speaker of
the representative body, an office
never before bestowed upon so
young a man. In this capacity
he surprised the expectations of
his warmest friends. In 1889,
on the death of Levi Garland,
he was appointed by Gov. Small-
wood to fill the unexpired term
of the late sheriff of Blue county.
He is now a candidate for the
*
•i<-
186
LEADKUS AND LEADING 3IEN
sGDate against W. W. Hampton,
a man of great popularity.
Mr. Bryant married a daugh-
ter of John Lawson in 1874. He
is comfortably situated, having
four hundred acres of farm land
and eight hundred of pasture.
•i^
ISHAM WALKER.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Towsen county, in June,
1840, and was educated at Spen-
cer and Armstrong Academies,
completing his schooling in 1856.
Desirous of learning a trade,
Ishani engaged in the mill-
wright's craft, binding himself
to a tradesman in the Choctaw
Nation, with whom he moved to
Texas and remained twelve
months. In two years Isham
learned the millwright business.
At the breaking out of the war
he served in a Texas regiment for
twelve months, and then pro-
cured a transfer to Col. Sim Fol-
som's Choctaw regiment, in
which he served until the close
of the war in the capacity of
Captain, having received promo-
tion in 1862. In 1868 he mar-
ried Christina McGee, who died
without issue in 1869. Twelve
months afterward he was wedded
to Delilah Brown, daughter of
Phil Brown, a Choctaw. She
died soon afterward in childbirth.
In 1874 he was again married,
this time to Eliza Boston, a Cher-
okee, who died in three years.
In the same year he was united
to his present wife, Phalena
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IS HAM WALKER.
Foster, a Choctaw, by whom he
has one surviving child, Daniel
Webster.
Isham Walker has filled the
following offices: Ranger in
1869; district attorney in 1870
(for four years); in 1875 mem-
ber of the House; journalist
in 1882; Senator in 1888; Nat-
ional auditor in 1889, which of-
fice he holds at the present time.
Mr. Walker was appointed by
the governor (in company with
-*
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
187
*
J. M. Hodges and Peter Noel)
as commissioner for the pay-
ment of the Choctaw Net Pro-
ceeds Claim. In 1883 he en-
gaged in preaching for the Meth-
odist church, and acted as inter-
preter for Parson Keath at the
Doaksville circuit in the Indian
Missouri Conference.
Isham Walker is the son of
Sentinona, a full-blood Choctaw
of the Okla-ha-nali clan, who held
some prominent otiices in his
day. The subject of this sketch
has ninety-five acres of good land
under cultivation and fifty head
of stock cattle. He is a smart bus-
iness man, and has been always
very influential among his people.
He is also well educated and
fitted to cope with anybody in
financial and political affairs.
His residence is at Kullyinla,
Red River county, C. N.
*-
REV. R. W. OFFICER.
The subject of this sketch was
born in Murray county, Georgia,
in 1845. Young Robert, while
a boy of fifteen years of age, left
school and joined Gen. Yaughn's
army in the capacity of sergeant.
In eighteen months afterward he
was captured at Yicksburgh,
Mississippi, placed on parole and
exchanged in three months. Be-
fore long he joined Gen. John
H. Morgan as scout and carrier
on his staff and remained with
him until the death of the dash-
ing leader at Greenville, Tenn.
Still young Officer continued
in the capacity of scout until the
REV. R. W. OFFICER.
close of the war, when he enter-
ed school at London, Tennessee,
and finished his education at
Oak Hill Seminary. Afterward
he became a Baptist preacher for
six years, and finally joined the
Christian church, preached as an
evangelist through Tennessee,
Mississippi and Alabama for
nearly three years; from thence
was called successively to Louis-
burgh, Tenn., and Gainesville,
Texas: and remained two vears
*
188
-•!•
I.KAUKIIS AND LKADIXO MEN'
at tlie latter ]>laeo. After a resi-
idence of four years at Paris, Tex.,
he opened a mission in the Choc-
taw Nation. With this in view he
moved to Atoka, Indian Territory,
and in a marvelously short space
of time established over fifty
churches in the Territorv.
Many avow that he has done as
much in ten years by himself as
other denominations have done
in twenty years. Besides his
mission work he has secured
homes and educated about thirty-
four orphan Indian children.
Mr. Officer married Miss Lota
Yenable, of Winchester, Tenn.,
daughter of Col. W. E. Venable,
minister to South America during
the Buchanan administration.
By his wife he had two boys, one
of whom survives, named Leon.
This gentleman owns farming
property in Arkansas and Col-
orado, besides a tract which con-
tains much undeveloped mineral.
His city property in Atoka is
worth twelve thousand dollars.
Kev. E. \V. Officer is a large-
hearted, whole souled, fearless
man, with a wide guage mind,
a sound brain and a benevolence
larffc as all combined.
^
JOHN E. MCRRAYER.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Mississippi in December.
1857, and attended a neighbor-
hood school until he was eighteen
years old, after which he went to
the Charleston high school, Ar-
kansas, and remained there until
1877. He then resolved to come
to the Indian Territory, and do-
ing so, settled near Fort Smith,
on the borders of the Choctaw
Xation. In 1882 he drove a
herd of cattle to the Fan Handle,
in Texas, and returned the fol-
lowing year. In October, 1883,
he engaged in the mercantile
business at Tamaha, and contin-
ued in it until 1897. In Sep-
tember, 1836, he married Vir-
ginia Harrisson, the daughter of
Judge Harrisson, and soon after-
ward drifted into the cattle bus-
iness, wJiich he now follows.
By his marriage he has one son,
named Roma Sanford.
In 1888 Mr. McBrayer was
appointed circuit clerk of the
First judicial district, and in 1890
was re-appointed to the same
office. He has one hundred and
fifty acres of land under cultiva-
tion and one hundred and fifty
head of cattle. He is a young
man of good address, well edu-
cated, possessing a good general
business knowledge, and from
early experience is well able to
cope with the world.
-•J
ii<-
OF I'lTE INDIAN TERRITORY.
189
-*
JOHN A.COBB. M.D.
The subject of this sketch was
born ill McMinn county, East
Tennessee, in 1853, attended
public school until 1870, when
he emigrated to Texas. John
took to fannino; in the new coun-
*-
JOHN A. COBB, M. D.
try, but again went to school at
Weston, Collin county, in 1873,
after which he commenced teach-
ing at Mount Vernon; and from
thence moved to Marvin College,
Waxahachie, where he received
one year's instruction from old
Dr. M. B. Franklin, following
him to Grape Yine Masonic In-
stitute, wJiere he continued his stu-
dy. In 1882 he commenced the
study of medicine at the Univer-
sity of Virginia, and graduated
with high honors in the medical
department of the University of
Louisiana, even though he was a
defeated candidate for the vale-
dictorian of Texas.
He commenced practice in
Denison, Texas, in xVpril, 1884,
and from that point moved to
Caddo; but to the sorrow of the
inhabitants of that tow^n, he
moved to Lehigh in 1888, and
entered the arena of competition
against physicians who had been
long established in the country.
His success in Caddo, however,
reached the ears of the Leliigh
people, and it w^as but a short
time until he commanded a large
practice. He now, in partnership
with C. H. Hillier,ow^ns the prin-
cipal drug store in town, while
his partner in practice, Dr. J. H.
Carson, attends to the profes-
sional calls at Coalgate.
Dr. Cobb married Miss Julia
R. Benson, of Sherman, Texas,
1884. He has no children
except two adopted Choctaws
(twins), over whom he has been
appointed as guardian. There
is no more pleasant, sociable
companion than Dr. Cobb. His
natural cheerfulness of disposi-
tion has no doubt a salutory ef-
fect upon his patients, as very
few ever die under his charge,
-•i-
*-
190
-*
LEADEItS AND LEADING MEN
REV. W. H. MCRIXNEY.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of tliis sketch was
})orn January 2, 1861, at Ho-
lubbj, Choctaw Nation, and at-
tended the neighborhood school
from 1868 to 1873, after which
he was placed at Spencer Acad-
*-
EEV. W. H. M KINNEY.
emj until 1877. Thence William
was transferred to Roanoke,
where he remained five years,
obtaining his A. B. in 1883. In
the same year he entered the
Divinity School at Yale College,
where he secured his B. D. in
1886.
Returning to his home in the
Choctaw Nation, young McKin-
ney commenced life by uniting
in matrimony with Elsie Hudson
September 15, 1887, by whom
he has one child, Carrie, born in
October, 1888.
On his return from college,
William found his elder brother,
Thompson McKinney, wearing
the honors of principal chief,
having just been inaugurated.
This led to an opening for the
young divine, and he was soon
appointed district school trustee.
In the same year he was ordained
minister in the Presbyterian
church, and took charge under
the Choctaw presbytery. Mr.
McKinney, however, met with
an unfortunate mishap in the
summer of 1887. While return-
ing from Paris, Texas, with sev-
era thousand dollars in his sad-
dle-pockets, drawn from the
treasury to defray school expen-
ditures, Bella Starr, dressed in
male attire, and a male accom-
plice of hers, waylaid and robbed
the young man of every cent in
his possession. He did not of
course recognize the robbers, or
the truth might have been
brought to light at an earlier
date. But it so happened that
when the school trustee laid his
lamentable story before the coun-
cil, and in this manner endeav-
ored to explain the cause of his
John Wilson and Dancing Chief.
i^-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
193
*
*-
serious deficiency, the all-wise
legislators turned a deaf ear to
his defense, and he was doomed
to bear the calumny of his coun-
trymen for nearly two years.
In 1879, however, the truth came
to light in the following manner:
Immediately after the assassina-
tion ot Bella Starr, the author of
her adventurous life, H. F.
O'Beirne, made his way into her
stronghold on the Canadian, and
remaining with the outlaws until
he had secured the object of his
search, returned with a quantity
of manuscript in the shape of a
journal, which contained a very
complete history of her desperate
deeds and highway robberies.
The last item on the dark record
was the attack upon William
McKinney and the robbery of
the school fund. "Belle Starr's
Life,'' published soon afterward,
developed the truth and banished
the cloud that darkened the rep-
utation of this young man, who
had started out with such a bril-
liant career before him. Mr.
McKinney bore the imputation
with great patience throughout,
proving himself to be a christian
gentleman.
Besides his clerical duties, the
subject of our sketch has devoted
much of his time to farming.
He has one hundred and fifty
acres under cultivation and some
two hundred head of cattle.
Few citizens of the Choctaw
Nation have received so thor-
ough an education in the Latin
and Greek classics, while he is
above the average in the ordi-
nary branches of English, He
belongs to the Ok-la-fa-lay-a clan.
JOHN BOND.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Wade county, in 1853,
his father, Isaac Bond, dying
when he was very young, so
that he received little if any ed-
ucation. He was raised by his
uncle, Anonchubba, for whom
he commenced work on a farm
at an early age. In 1875 Mr.
Bond married Lucretia West,
born in 1844, the daughter of
Joseph West, of Mississippi, a
Cherokee by blood, who emi-
grated to Texas in 1847. By
this marriage he has five children:
Willie, Henry, Ida, Susan and
an infant. The oldest of these
children is four years of age.
In 1878 the subject of this
sketch was elected sheriff, which
ofiice he held for six years, but
was obliged to resign owing to
ill health. In 1890 he was elect-
ed Senator of Wade county,
Wiley-tubbee, Barton Jones and
*
*-
194
l.EADKKS AND LEADING 5IEN
Willis Jefferson being also can-
didates. Mr. Bond has a small
farm and a small stock of cattle
and hogs. His house was one
of the first built in Tuskahoma.
His wife is a bright, well edu-
cated woman, who spent many
years in teaching in the neigh-
boring schools. H*er parents
dying while she was a girl, she
was obliged to go into service,
and was afterward adopted by a
Mrs. Willis, who moved to the
Choctaw Nation, taking up her
residence at Lenore, in Wade
county, early in the seventies,
where she died. It was about
this time that Miss West and Mr.
Bond met for the first time, which
meeting resulted in marriage.
^-
JONATHAN J. WATKINS.
[CHOCTAW.]
This gentleman was born March
1, 1840, in Red River county,
and attended the neighborhood
school for four years, completing
his education at Spencer Acad-
emy. In 1858 he was appointed
county clerk, and filled the office
two years. On the breaking out
of the war he joined the Confed-
erate army, and remained in the
service until the close.
Mr. Watkins married a Choc-
taw lady in 1870, but separated
from her four years afterward.
In 1874 he was elected county
judge, which ofiice he held for
six years. In 1877 he married
Melinda Harley, sister of Thos.
Harley, of Red Oak, by whom
J. J. WATKINS.
he had no issue. He was elected
district attorney in 1884, which
ofiice he held six years. In 1890
he was called to the senate, and
is now representing his district
in that capacity.
Mr. Watkins is an honorable,
trustworthy man, sincere and
good-natured, and has the good-
will of all who know him. He
owns about seventy acres under
fence and a small herd of cattle,
horses and hogs. He belongs to
the Ok-la-fa-lay-a clan.
*
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
195
*
BENJAMIN HAMPTON.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketcli was
born in Wade county, C, N.,
April 24, 1853, and attended
neighborhood schools until 1866,
after which he was placed at the
William Fuller School, in Paris,
*-
BENJAMIN HAMPTON.
Texas, where he remained one
year. In 1868 Ben was sent to
an academy in Bonham, Texas,
where he stayed two years, and
in 18T0 completed his education
at Richmond, Virginia. In 1874
he married Harriet Belvin, by
whom he had two children, who
died young, his wife surviving
her marriage but three years.
Mr. Hampton married again
about 1879, this time to a daugh-
ter of W. B. Simms, of Old
Boggy, a white man. The issue
of this marriage was three chil-
dren, two of whom are living:
Perry and Phoebe.
The subject of this sketch en-
gaged in farming and stock rais-
ing in 1872, which he still pur-
sues with great success. He is
also tie contractor for the M., K.
& T. railroad, to which position
he was appointed in 1887 by
Thompson McKinney, P. C. C.
N., and re-appointed by his suc-
cessor, B. F. Smallwood, P. C.
C. N., in 1888. In 1873 Mr.
Hampton was elected journalist
for the House, and was re-elect-
ed five or six times. He has two
thousand two hundred acres un-
der fence, three hundred acres of
which is under cultivation. Be-
sides his farms he is the owner
of six or seven hundred head of
cattle, improved grades, and
seventy-five head of stockhorses
For years it has been his great-
est pride to improve the grade
of horses, cattle and hogs through-
out the country. With this in view
he has imported some of the
best Kentuckian stock, and is
therefore in a position to cope
with anybody in the Indian Ter-
ritory in the exhibition of su-
perior blood and weight. Mr.
'^
^-
196
*
I.EADEKS AND LKADING MEN
Hampton is of fair complexion,
vt'iy gentlemanly looking, and
exti'emelj fastidious in his dress.
In outward appearance an Anglo-
Saxon, in heart an Indian. He
has traveled a good deal in the
states; is well informed on most
subjects, and is an exceptionally
smart business man. He resides
at Caddo, in the Choctaw Nation.
*-
JOSEPH D. LINDSAY.
The subject of this sketch was
bornin Hancock Co. Ky., in 1856,
and came to Atoka, Choctaw Na-
tion, in 1873, where he went to
work in an humble capacity for
Prof. O. C. Hall, J. J. Phil-
lipps and others.
J. D. Lindsay is one of the
non-citizen residents of the Indian
Territory, who has long been
identified with the country, and
whose energy and industry has
been rewarded by financial suc-
cess. In 1882 he became a part-
ner in the mercantile business
of McBride & Co., and two years
afterward sold out and opened a
general goods house at Silver
City in company with Edward
Johnson, which partnership was
dissolved in 1880, and resulted
in Mr. Lindsay opening a store
at Minco, the then terminus of
the Chicago, Rock Island & Pa-
cific R. R., where he now carries
a stock of some ten thousand
dollars' worth of goods. Here
he has a liberal trade, which in-
cludes that of the wild, or reser-
JOSEPH D. LINDSAY.
vation Indians, Wichitas, Co-
manches, etc.
Mr. Lindsay has been a mem-
ber of the Oklahoma Lodge No.
4, located at Atoka, since 1877.
In 1879 he married Mary Ellen,
daughter of John McBride, of
Arkansas, and sister of Hiram
and William McBride, of Atoka,
by whom he has three children:
Hiram, Joseph D., William A.
-*
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
197
-*
*-
AMOS HENRY.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Sans Bois county in 1848.
He is a son of the late Artembe,
and belongs to the Hyah-pah-
tuk-kalo clan.
Amos recei*ved a limited edu-
cation at the Fort Coffee Acad-
emy, and in 1864: joined General
Cooper's command in Colonel
Tandy Walker's regiment. After
a nine or ten months' campaign
the war ended.
Mr. Henry married his first
wife in 1868, by whom he had
no family. In 1870 he married
Lucy Oks-ak-nibe, by whom he
has one son, named Wilburn
Henry. His wife died in 1886.
In 1880 he was elected county
ranger, after which he became
representative in 1881, and was
re-elected in 1882 and 1883. In
1885 he was elected to the sen-
ate, which office he held for two
years. In the meanwhile he de-
voted his attention somewhat to
agricultural pursuits. Since the
death of his wife, however, he
withdrew from politics to a great
extent, ceasing to be a candidate
for oflice until 1890, when he
allowed his named to be placed
on the list of candidates for dis-
trict school trustee.
In the fall of 1890 Mr. Henry
says he was put to a great deal
of trouble and expense through
a renter of his who brought suit
against him at South McAlester
for the recovery of a hundred
dollars for alleged expenses in
keeping twenty acres of fence in
repair for four years. The plain-
tiff, taking advantage of the ab-
sence of a contractor and Mr.
Henry's limited knowledge of
the English language, worked up
a suit against him, the legal ex-
penses of which amounted to
over two hundred dollars. The
jury in the case, we learn, were
white men, and the plaintiff came
off victorious, to the astonish-
ment of Mr, Henry, who de-
nounces the decision as unjust.
This gentleman is not the only
Choctaw who complains of this
species of justice dealt to his
countrymen at South McAles-
ter.
Amos Henry has always filled
in a very creditable manner the
numerous ofiices which he has
held, and he is being almost con-
stantly sought after to fill posi-
tions of public trust, which he
invariably declines.
->B
•:r
198
-*h
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
SIMON E. LEWIS.
[CHOCTAW.]
Judge Lewis was born in Tow-
sen county in December, 1840,
and was educated at Spencer
Academy. When the war broke
out he enlisted in Gen. Cooper's
command, and served four years.
Soon after the war he married
May Hildebrand, a Cherokee, by
whom he had one child, named
Kathleen. In 1875 he was united
to Eliza Striplin, a white girl,
and having procured a divorce
in 1876, married Julia Hunter,
by whom he had one child that
SIMON E. LEWIS.
died in infancy. In 1877 his
wife died, and in two years af-
terward he married Mrs. Mur-
phy, widow of the late Benjamin
Murphy, of Jacks Forks county,
i
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H
Wmm
MRS. LEWIS.
the issue of their marriage being
four living children, named Si-
mon Frazier, George Claburne,
Julia Alma and Ruth.
In 1879 Mr. Lewis was deputy
sheriff of Sans Bois county; from
1881 till 1883 he served as dep-
uty circuit clerk, and the two
years following was regular clerk.
In 1883 he was appointed circuit
judge to fill the unexpired term
of Rufus Folsom, and in 1884
was elected to the same office,
which he held for four years. In
1888 he was appointed district
collector of the first district, but
-*
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITOKY.
199
•f
resigned in 1890, removing to
Ardmore, Chickasaw Nation.
Judge Lewis is one-eighth
Choctaw, a man of learning, and
highly esteemed by all. His
wife is a lady of culture and re-
finement.
The subject of our sketch has
been a member of the Masonic
order for the past fourteen years.
He is the owner of a fine farm,
five hundred head of stock cat-
tle, and has an interest in three
coal claims.
REV. JAMES L. KEENER.
This gentleman was born in Jan-
uary, 1851, in Whitfield county,
Georgia, and educated at the
Methodist High School, Ooltowa,
Tennessee. The young man be-
gan his career of usefulness by
teaching school at Harrisson,
Hamilton county, where he was
licensed to preach in 1875. In
the following year he moved to
Yell county, Arkansas, where he
also taught, and in the fall of the
same year joined the Arkansas
cofnerence. He traveled during
the two following years, and in
1888 once more located and
taught school until 1881, in the
fall of which year he moved to
the Canadian district of the Cher-
okee Nation, where he served
two years at Webber's Falls. In
1883 he went to Boggy Depot,
Choctaw Nation, located there
for two years, and for the four
subsequent years served as pre-
siding elder of that district, where
he was greatly beloved and re-
EEV. JAMES LISBON KEENER.
spected. In 1889 he was moved
to Paul's Valley, where he is now
located. In 1876 he married
Sabina K. Johnson, and in two
years afterward Louisa C. John-
son, both of whom died in child-
birth. In 1881 he married his
present wife, Ellen Gertrude
Mann, of Booneville, Arkansas,
by whom he has two children,
Louisa, aged seven years, and
James Oland Coppidge, aged
two.
-*
FOREST HOME.
^-
OF THE INDIAX TERRITORY.
201
*
G. W. CHOATE.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in October, ISiO, in Ittahi
county, Mississippi, and attended
neighborhood schools until 1854.
In the following year he moved
to the Choctaw Nation, and in
M "^^^l
*-
G. W. CHOATE.
1860, at the breaking out of the
war, he joined General Cooper's
command. In 1865 he married
Eliza Wade, daughter of Simon
Wade, by whom he has two sur-
viving children, William F. and
Allen J. At the close of the
war he commenced farming and
stock-raising, and in 1876 was
elected sheriff, holding that office
for two years. In 1882 he was
re-elected, and in 1890 became
representative of his county.
G. W. Choate is a son of Jas.
C. Choate, half Choctaw, his
mother being of the Ward fam-
ily. On his father's side he be-
longs to the Ok-la-fa-lay-a clan.
He has four hundred acres of
land under cultivation and two
hundred and fifty head of stock
cattle and one hundred horses.
He is a man of good education,
intelligent, and very popular
among his people.
WILLIAM G.GARLAND.
[ CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Towsen county, in 1865,
and attended the neighborhood
school until 1880, after which
he was placed at Westminster
College, Fulton, Mo. Remaining
there until the following Septem-
ber, William moved to Kemper
Family School, Booneville, Mo. ,
where he studied until June,
1884. In August of that year,
on his return home, lie was ap-
pointed circuit clerk of the first
district. This office he held un-
til November, 1886, when he
engaged in the mercantile busi-
ness at Cache, Skullyville coun-
ty. In June, 1887, he married
Mary Bellar, daughter of James
P. Bellar, of Harrison, Arkansas,
-*
-•i<
2(12
I.EADEIIS AND LEADING MEN
who is now liviiiii; in Toniaha.
By this marriage he has one child
born in May, 1889, named
Joseph G. Mr, Garland sold out
his interest in the mercantile
business in 1887, and moved
back in his father's neighbor-
hood, where he was appointed as
county clerk to fill an unexpired
term. In 1889 he was elected
member of the lower House, and
in 1890 was re-elected by a good
majority.
Mr, Wm, Garland has a nice
farm and a small herd of cattle
and hogs, besides eight head of
horses.
He is an intelligent, well edu-
cated young man of good moral
character, a member of the Ma-
sonic order.
A.M. SURRELL.
This gentleman was born in
North Carolina in 1844, and
moved to North Georgia with
his father and mother in 1850,
w^here he received private tuition
until he joined the army in 1861
under Bragg, with whom he re-
mained until the command went
to Mobile, Ala,, after which he
changed into the heavy artillery
under Manrey, remaining in the
army until 1864, and frequently
served as a non-commissioned
officer. In 1873 he married
Miss S. F. Curry, of Kentucky,
by whom he has four children —
Bessie, Hettie, Cora and Albert,
In 1875 he commenced farming
in Collin county, Texas, which
business he abandoned in 1886,
^-
A, M, SURRELL.
and moved to Atoka, Choctaw
Nation, where his brother John
w^as residing. Soon afterward
he purchased the Atoka livery
stable from his brother, which is
now one of the best equipped
establishments of the kind in the
Indian Territory.
Mr. Surrell is an excellent
angler, and few men can surpass
him hunting either large or small
game. He is well thought of in
the community.
-*
^-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
203
-*
HON. CHAS. K. WINSTON.
[CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in April, 1835, near Doaks-
ville, Texas, and educated at a
neighborhood school until 1849,
when he was placed at the Arm-
strong Academy for three years,
*-
HON. C. K. WINSTON.
completing his education at Spen-
cer in 1852. When the war
broke out he joined the Confed-
erate army, but left the service
in twelve months. In 1881 he
married Mrs. Levina Loring,
who died two years afterward.
He then married Selina Annie
Battise, by whom he had six
children, two of whom are
living — Julia and Clarissa. Mrs.
Winston passed away in 1881.
Mr. Winston has since married
Eliza Peter, by whom he has no
family. In 1869 he was appoint-
ed county judge, and in 1873
was elected a member of the
lower house, and in 1874 was
elected to the senate, which office
he has occupied by re-election
every term since then until No-
vember, 1889, when he was ap-
pointed by the principal chief as
district trustee of the public
schools to fill tiie unexpired term
of H. C. Harris.
During Mr. Winston's service
in the senate he was invariably
voted to the presidential chair,
fulfilling the duties of the office
with a quiet dignity that never
failed to have its influence. He
is a devout christian and a truly
good neighbor, whose example
is of great benefit to the rising
generation of the Choctaws. He
is also a man of considerable
natural talent, which he rarely
attempts to display; is an excel-
lent watch and clock-maker, and
a good all-round mechanical
craftsman. But Mr. Winston's
best work is in the ministry, he
being appointed local preacher
of the M. E. Church South in
1873. Some years of his life he
also devoted to school teaching,
for which he is well adapted.
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-^
204
LEADEKS AND LEADING MEN
RKV. J. S. MURROW.
The first and oldest living mis-
sionary in the Clioctaw Nation
was born June 7, 1835, in Jef-
ferson county, Georgia. His
grandfather, William Murrow,
*-
REV J. S. MUEROW.
was one of Marion's daring band
in the Revolutionary war.
The subject of this sketch was
sent to the Indian Territory by
the Home Missionary Board of
the Baptist Church in 1857, and
since that time has been working
diligently, faithfully and effectu-
ally in the grand cause. The
results of his labor are percepti-
ble all over the Indian country.
In 1859 he married Clara, the
daughter of Hev. W. Burns, of
Stonewall, an excellent lady.
She had four children, two of
whom survived her death, which
took place in 1868. Mrs. Wm.
McBride, however, is the only
living child.
Mr. Murrow established the
first church in the Seminole Na-
tion in February, 1861. When
tiie w^ar broke out he was ap-
pointed by the Seminotes as their
agent under the Confederate gov-
ernment, and also as commissary
to provide for the destitute fam-
ilies. The fruits of his work are
now apparent among the Semi-
nole people, several hundred of
whom are members of the Bap-
tist church.
In 1867 Mr. Murrow settled
in Atoka, Choctaw Nation, from
which point he established many
churches throughout the territo-
ries of the Choctaws and Chick-
asaws. When, at his call in 1872
the churches of those nations
met together at Atoka, sixteen
responded. This association now
contains sixteen hundred mem-
bers and thirty-five churches,
most of which have good Sunday
schools.
Mr. Murrow was married a
few years ago to Miss K, R. El-
liott, a missionary lady, who ren-
ders him valuable assistance in
his arduous work.
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i^-
OF THE INDIAN TERUITORY.
205
->Jl
The subject of our sketch is
the acknowledged father of Ma-
sonry in the Indian Territory.
He was for some years Grand
Master, and is now Secretary
and Grand High Priest of the
Grand High Chapter.
When the "Indian Mission-
ary," organ of the Baptists in
the Indian Territory was on its
last legs. Brother Murrow took
it in hand at the sacrilice of time
and money, and has since suc-
ceeded in giving it a large circu-
lation. He is a most excellent
writer upon any subject which
he treats, being exceedingly ver-
satile, with a vast experience
gathered in his contact with the
various races of mankind.
Rev. Mr. Murrow has the good
will of all ranks and classes.
^-
LORINGW FRAZIER.
The subject of this sketch was
born in March, 1867, being the
second son of William Frazier,
of Jackson county. He was
placed at a neighborhood school
until 1884:, and from there went
to Spencer Academy, where he
remained three years. In the
fall of 1887 he engaged in clerk-
ing at Baris, Texas, and two
years afterward attended the
council meeting at Tuskahoma,
where he was appointed journal-
ist of the lower house. Moving
to Caddo the same month, he
accepted a clerkship in the dry
goods establishment of D. Mc-
Coy, which position he held till
the summer of 1890. In the fol-
L. W. FRAZIER.
lowing October be was appointed
journalist of the senate.
Mr. Frazier will probably
move to Paris, Texas, and there
take a complete commercial
course, with a view of engaging
in the mercantile business in the
near future. He is a bright, in-
telligent young man, full ctf en-
ergy and ambition, and looks
forward to the day when he will
be fitted to make a mark amons:
his people. He belongs to the
Ok-la-fa-lay-a clan, and is single.
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ti.-
■^
206
LEADKUS AND LEADING MEX
LA FAYETTE C. HARKINS.
[ CHOCTAW.]
The subject of this sketcli was
born in Atoka county in April,
1864, and attended the neigh-
borhood school until 1880, when
he engaged in stock-raising and
»^-
farming, which business he still
pursues.
La Fayette is the third son of
Henry Clay Harkins and nephew
of David Harkins, both deceased,
and who were prominent men in
their time. In 1890 La Fayette
was appointed national inspec-
tor, which office he still holds.
In October of the same year he
received the appointment of na-
tional coal weigher at Lehigh.
Mr. Harkins is a pleasant and
popular young man, intelligent
and well educated. He is one-
fourth Choctaw.
SAMUEL L. OAKES.
[CHOCTAW.]
Judge Oakesis oneof the sons of
Thos. W. Oakes. He was born
at Goodwater, Choctaw Nation,
in December, 1853, and was
sent to the neighborhood schools
until 1870, after which he was
placed at Shilo, west of Paris,
Texas, until 1872. He returned
to his home that year and there
remained for two years, after
which he resumed his studies at
Shilo until 1875. In 1885 he
was appointed clerk of the su-
preme court, serving creditably
and without intermission until
August, 1890, when he was elect-
ed county judge of Kiamichi
county by a good majority over
Nolan Hensen, John Fowler and
A. T. Stephens.
Mr. Oakes is a descendant
from the Hyali pah-tuk-kalo clan
through his mother, Harriett
Everidge. His father, Thos. W.
Oakes, was a white man from
North Carolina. The subject of
this sketcli has a farm of on
hundred and sixty-six acres un-
der cultivation and a nice herd
of cattle and horses.
-*
4<-
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
207
-*
JACOB JACKSON.
[OHOCTAW.]
This well-known citizen was born
in 1845, most probably in the
state of Louisiana, tliongh this
is uncertain, the record of his
birth having been lost when his
parents moved to this country in
JACOB JACKSON.
•i<-
the year 1850. Jacob was the
son of Holbot-tibe, a member of
the Baptist church, and a very
pious man. He died on the jour-
ney from the old state.
The subject of this sketch, af-
ter several years' education at the
neighborhood schools, spent four
years at Fort Coffee Academy,
Skullyville, and in 18G2 joined
the Confederate army, remaining
with his company until the ter-
mination of the war. The love
of learning being strong within
him, Jacob went to the academy
at Little Kock, in 1867; from
thence, in 1869, to King's Col-
lege, Bristol, Tennessee, and in
1870 to Roanoke College, Salem,
Virginia, where he spent four
years, and finally completed his
education. In 1874 he com-
menced the practice of law, and
in two years afterward was elect-
ed Semator for Skullyville coun-
ty, which office he held until
1881. In 1884 he was again
called to theSenate; in 1889 was
elected National Secretary of the
Choctaw Nation, which office he
still holds.
In 1878 Mr. Jackson married a
full-blood daughter of Thompson
Westley, a lawyer and member
of the council. By his marriage
with Levisa Westley he has but
one surviving child.
Mrs. Jackson, whose portrait
is here produced, was born in
Kiamichi county, in 1866, and
completed her education, a very
thorough one, at New Hope Sem-
inary after seven years' tuition.
She is a very devout member of
the Cumberland Presbyterian
-*
*-
208
OF THE INDIAN TEKIIITORY.
-*
cbnrch. For a short time after
her marriage she taught school,
but owing to household resjDonsi-
ty was obliged to discontinue it.
In this capacity, as well as oth-
ers, she was greatly beloved, be-
ing kind and charitable to all.
She died September 20, 1886,
her death being universally re-
gretted.
Florence Lillie, her only daugh-
ter, whose portrait is also pro-
duced, was born October 27,
1879. She is a bright, intelli-
gent young girl and bids fair to
•Jt-
MRS. JACOB JACKSON.
become an attractive and accom-
plished woman. Miss Florence
is at present attending New Hope
Academy, where she is giving
close attention to the more re-
fined branches of education.
FLORENCE LILLY JACKSON.
Jacob Jackson lost his mother,
Elizabeth Jackson, in 1864.
This good and pious woman died
in Cedar county, Choctaw Na-
tion.
The subject of this sketch is a
progressive man in all his views.
While in council he was invaria-
bly chosen to act on the conmiittee
on education. He is an old mem-
ber of the Masonic order, and a
man of superior intelligence
and education. Mr. Jackson
has a good comfortable home
near Bennington. His address
is Poteau. Choctaw Nation.
-*
1^-
-^
THE CHICKASAWS.
The Chickasaws, like their sister
tribe, tlie Clioctaws, were locat-
ed in Mississippi before their
emigration to the Indian Terri-
tory, and occupied that portion
of the State which at the present
time bears the names of some of
their illustrious warriors — Pon-
totoc, Fickins, Tishomingo, etc.
This territory had been ceded to
them at an early date, but by
and by the onward tide of civili-
zation demanded either their
subjection to the laws and cus-
toms of the white man or their
removal to a point further west.
Choosing the latter and lesser of
the two evils, they entered into
a treaty with the United States,
represented by Gen. John Coffee
(October 20, 1832), whereby
they agreed to dispose of their
lands in Mississippi and move to
what is now known as the Indian
Territory. Accordingly arrange-
ments were perfected, and the
majority of the Chickasaws took
their departure for the new land,
leaving behind many of the old
and infirm, who were neither
^-
willing nor able to depart from
their ancient homes. But the
Chickasaws, with characteristic
patriotism, never forgot the old
remnant that remained at home.
To their queen, Puc-caiunla
(Hanging Grapes), who was very
old, they afterward donated fifty
dollars per year for life, and to
Tishomingo, their head chief,
one hundred dollars' annuity.
To these primitive people at that
period these sums were quite a
bonanza.
The government of the Chick-
asaws in early days very much
resembled that of the Choc-
taws, though we have no refer-
ence to a queen in our informa-
tion of the latter race. The
Chickasaws, instead of being
divided into "iksas," or clans, as
was the case with the Choctaws,
were known by their distinctive
house names, the descent being
traceable backward through the
mother's ancestry. Thus the
mother and grandmother of Gov-
ernor Cyrus Harris being of the
House of Inchus-sha-wah-ya, his
-^
•i<-
LKADERS AND LEADING MEN
-*
*
name in olden days would have
been simply Cyrus of the House
of Inchus-sha-wah-ya. So with
Governor William Byrd, whose
name would have been In-cun-
no-mar, while that of Montford
Johnson and Hagen Greenwood
would have been, respectively,
Intel-i-hoo and Inchin-nook-cha-
ha. There are at least fifty
well known home names among
the Chickasaws, but they are
gradually failing into disuse.
The last king of the tribe was
named Ish-te-ho-to-pah. They
had also a queen, whom we
have already referred to, but we
are ignorant as to the extent of
her authority. There were also
some powerful chiefs who con-
trolled military organizations,
subject to the orders of the king.
Among the latest survivors of
these were Wmchester Colbert,
who emigrated to this country
and was the last chief who held
office in the Chickasaw Nation.
His son is now living in the per-
son of Humphrey Colbert, an
influential citizen, who has been
more than once a cabinet officer.
Among the old chiefs powerful
in his day was Isaac Alverson,
who also emigrated to this coun-
try. His wife, Sallie Alverson,
known by the name of "Aunt
Sallie," is now residing at Col-
bert Station, and is 100 years of
age. She was present at the
treaty between the Chickasaws
and General CoJffee, and is in
possession of a ponderous silver
medal presented by President
Andrew Jackson to old chief
"Isaac." The medal bears the
treaty date, 1829. In her pos-
session is ' also the peace pipe
which was passed from hand to
hand and mouth to mouth on
that memorable occasion.
No sooner had the emigrants
settled among their more power-
ful brethren in the Indian Terri-
tory than they became aware of
the fact that their minority would
forever exclude them from rep-
resentation in the General Coun-
cil. Accordingly, they entered
into a treaty with the Choctaws
on January 17, 1837, whereby
they were to have the privilege
of forming a district of their
own within the limits of* the
Choctaw domain. They were
also to be entitled to all the
rights and privileges of the Choc-
taws with the exception of par-
ticipating in the annuities. They
were to control and manage the
residue of their funds and select
such officers for that purpose as
they thought proper. In the di-
vision of lands which ensued the
Chickasaws, figuratively speak
*
-1^
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
*-
ing, "won the toss," otherwise
became possessors of the fertile
portion of the country, a tract of
land perhaps unequaled, and
certainly not surpassed by any in
the United States. Their sagac-
ity in this trade is worthy of
mention. At the time of the
treaty more than one-half of the
Choctaws were sojourning in the
eastern counties, nor did they
spend much time in penetrating
the wilderness one hundred miles
westward, for the Comanches,
Kiowas and other wild tribes
were constantly raiding the coun-
try. But the Chickasaws, soon
after their arrival, had visited
the western valleys and followed
the water courses to their heads.
They had seen enough and were
satisfied. Accordingly, when the
Choctaws relegated the weaker
tribe to a tract in the western
portion of the country, where-
by they became a breastwork
against the incursions of the wild
Indians, they little dreamed that
they were giving them the rich-
est body of land in the United
States for the paltry sum of
$530,000, to be paid annually
by installments. The Chicka-
saws, according to treaty stipu-
lations, receive one-fourth of the
immense royalty collected from
the Choctaw coal companies, as
well as from other sources, allow-
ing in lieu three-fourths of their
own revenue (which is merely
nominal so far as coal is con-
cerned).
By the above it will be seen
that the Chickasaws are decid-
edly better traders than their
Choctaw brethren.
BOUNDARIES, POPULATION, ETC.
The Chickasaw Nation lies
within the boundaries of the
Canadian and Red Rivers on
the north and south and the
Choctaw Nation and Western
Reservations on the east and
west. Its area in square miles is
7,267, with an acreage of 4,-
640,935. The population of the
Chickasaw Nation (including
white citizens by marriage) up
till the recent enumeration was
estimated at six thousand souls.
The number of negroes and
United States citizens who have
settled throughout since the
building of the Gulf, Colorado
& Santa Fee Railroad will almost
quadruple that amount.
Whether taken as an agricul-
tural or a grazing country, the
Chickasaw Nation cannot be sur-
passed. The valley of the Wa-
shita is the most productive body
of land in North America, yield-
ing in ordinary seasons from
fifty to eighty-live bushels of corn
-*
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
-*
*-
to the acre, with an equal propor-
tion of small grain. Some of
the farmers in this valley own
from 2,000 to 10,000 acres in
cultivation. Frank Murray, Esq.,
of Erin Springs, holds nearly
25,000 acres under fence, one-
half of which is planted in corn,
cotton and small grain.
Although it is a misdemeanor
punishable by the law to lease
the public domain to white men,
yet some citizens are disposing
of leases for terms of from five
to fifteen years. In this manner
they are enabled to have their
lands placed in a state of culti-
vation without cash investment.
Of a population of 6,000 citi-
zens prior to the census enume-
ration of 1890, about 350 were
whites adopted through inter-
marriage; 650 were half-breeds,
and about one thousand full-
bloods (or apparently so, judging
from appearances). Many of the
latter are very intelligent, being
educated beyond the average of
white men raised and schooled
in the farming communities of
the United States.
The Ohickasaws have not,
like the Choctaws, adopted the
negro freedmen settled upon
their public domain; and in this
instance it appears that they have
demonstrated superior states-
manship, as the rapidity with
which the negroes increase in
population would place them in
control of the government before
twenty years. They are still,
however, permitted to cultivate
the public domain without hind-
rance until some practical ar-
rangement is made for their re-
moval. The white laborers in
the Chickasaw Nation are re-
quired to pay a tax or permit of
five dollars per head per annum,
while men in other capacities
pay toll in accordance with the
value and importance of their
business, so that if the permit
law was properly enforced it
would of itself prove a large
source of revenue. The cost of
a license authorizing a white
man to marry a citizen of this
Nation is fifty dollars, while in
the Choctaw Nation it has been
raised within the last four or five
years from ten dollars up to one
hundred dollars. Other provis-
ions must also be complied with,
so that there is less intermarriage
than before and less likelihood
of adopting useless and impecu-
nious members of society.
GOVERNMENT, LAWS, EDUCATION.
The government of the Chick-
asaw Nation is patterned after
that of the Choctaws. The prin-
*
•i«-
-*
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
cipal executive officer, however,
is styled '^Governor" instead of
Principal Chief. This change
was wrought at the adoption of
the Constitution in I806. The
Nation is divided into four coun-
ties— Panola, Pickins, Pontotoc
and Tishomingo, each of which
returns three Senators and eight
Representatives. The legislature
convenes annually at Tishomin-
go, the capital, on the first Wed-
nesday in September, and usu-
ally continues for one month.
Business is principally — or has
been up till recently — conducted
in the English language through
the aid of an interpreter, but the
disfranchisement of the white
citizens has materially changed
the aspect of the body legisla-
tive, which during the years
prior to this revolution had risen
to a higher plane than any body
of law-makers in the Indian Ter-
ritory. The House and Senate
are now composed of full-bloods.
The judicial powers of the Na-
tion are vested in a Supreme,
District and County Courts, the
same as in the Choctaw Nation,
while the laws relating to crimi-
nal and civil offenses do not ma-
terially differ.
The Governor's cabinet is
composed of National Secretary,
National Agent, Treasurer and
Attorney General, which ap-
pointments (except the latter,
which is elective,) are made by
the Governor and ratified by the
Senate.
There is no better school sys-
tem in any State than that adopt-
ed by the Chickasaws. A su-
perintendent of public instruc-
tion is appointed by both houses,
who devotes his time to traveling
from institute to institute in-
specting the establishments and
the pupils, as well as the meth-
ods employed in their education.
There are five of these institu-
tutions, viz. : The Male Academy
at Tishomingo, Bloomtield Fe-
male Institute, Wahpanucka In-
stitute, Lebanon Academy and
Collins Institute, and a number
of neighboring schools, contain-
ing in all about six hundred chil-
dren. The sum of fifty thousand
dollars is semi-annually paid
from the United States treasury
to maintain these schools. This
money is the interest accumulat-
ing on investments in United
States bonds, and is an unusually
large sum to devote to the edu-
cation of a tribe or community
of 6,000 inhabitants.
FACTS IN RECENT HISTORY.
The first Governor of the
Chickasaw Nation was Cyrus
-*
ii«-
-*
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
Vll
*-
Harris, who was born close to
Pontotoc, in Mississippi, on the
22d of August, 1817. In 1837
he left the old State, and arriv-
ing at Skullyville, Choctaw Na-
tion, commenced preparations
with some three or four other
families for a march into the
Chickasaw country. After a jour-
ney of some three weeks, cut-
ting out a road for their travel
as they went, Harris and a few
of the party arrived on the banks
of Blue Creek. The young man
was by nature a pioneer and an
organizer. At the age of twenty-
one, during the first year of res-
idence in the Chickasaw Nation,
he commenced dabbling in poli-
tics, and in 1850 went to Wash-
ington as a delegate in company
with old Edmund Pickins. On
the adoption of the constitution
in 1856 he was elected first Gov-
ernor of the Nation by a major-
ity of one vote. Thrice was he
re-elected by his people, serving
four terms, during which peace
and harmony prevailed through-
out his entire jurisdiction. In
1876 he was again brought for-
ward, but defeated by his oppo-
nent, B. F. Overton, who at that
time and for some years after-
ward was exceedingly popular
with the full-blood element. In
1880 ex-Governor Harris, repug-
nant to his desire, was once more
brought out and elected by a
good majority; but Overton,
whose influence in the legislature
was very powerful, got possession
of the returns before the installa-
tion took place, and "counted
out " or canceled just votes
enough to elect B. C. Burney, a
member of his own party. Mr.*
Burney made a good governor,
nor was he held blameable for the
action of Overton in this matter.
After these occurrences. Gov.
Harris determined never again
to serve his people in an official
capacity, a declaration to which
he has strictly adhered. It is
worthy of remark that Colonel
Lem Reynolds, who was at that
time a leading partisan of the
progressive or Harris ticket, was
enraged beyond measure at the
treatment of his friend, and
would have placed him forcibly
in the executive chair had not
this noble-minded man refused
to contend for his rights where
there was the least danger of
shedding human blood.
It was during the Harris ad-
ministration of 1862 that the
Tonkaway Indians, a tribe of
cannibals located close to Fort
Cobb, were almost totally anni-
hilated by the Shawnees and
their confederates. It is said
-*
*-
-*
LKADKKS AXD LEADIXG MEV
that the ''Tonks," before the
commencement of the war, made
a raid into the Shawnee country
and carried off a number of chil-
dren, whom they barbecued and
ate with great relish. The Shaw-
nees awaited their opportunity,
until the Tonkaway braves had
departed on a big hunt, and left
at least six or seven hundred
women and aged men in the vil-
lage. During a moonlight night
in the early fall of 1862 the
Shawnees, assisted by volunteers
from other tribes, swooped down
upon the unsuspecting cannibals
and butchered the entire party
without regard to age or sex.
On the return of the warriors to
their village they found the dogs,
wolves and carrion birds com-
peting for the decayed remnants
of their fathers, mothers, wives
and children. Not a human be-
ing was to be found alive upon
the spot. The grief manifested
by the wretched Tonkaways beg-
gars all description. Their little
remnant of three hundred, in-
cluding eighteen or twenty
women, fell back on Rock
Creek and abandoned themselves
to the most abject despair. They
wailed aloud and cut deep incis-
ions in their arms and legs with
their hunting knives. Soon af-
terward the United States came
to the rescue and moved them to
Western Texas, beyond the reach
of other Indians.
The administrative terms filled
by Governors B. C. Burney and
Jonas Wolf were scarcely marked
by any events of very great im-
portance, and it was not till 1886,
when William M. Guy, William
Byrd, C. A. Burris, Jonas Wolf
and Robert Boyd were candi-
dates for the gubernatorial seat,
that unusual interest in politics
was manifested. But when the
election resolved itself into a
legislative contest between Byrd
and Guy, the excitement rose to
fever heat. The seating of Gov-
ernor Guy was so dissatisfactory
to the opposition that a party
war was declared from the first,
which continues till the present
day. The subsequent '•'counting
out" of Guy by the legislature
in 1888 and the installation of
Mr. Byrd soon resulted in polit-
ical disturbances M'hich might
have proven fatal to the tribal
government had not Guy relin-
quished his claim at the instiga-
tion of the United States, which
pronounced Byrd to be elected.
A full account of the political
troubles of the times will be
found in "A Chapter of Chicka-
saw History," included in the
life of Governor William Guy.
*-
-*
*-
-*
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
IX
*-
The most remarkable feature
in the present administration is
the passage of that act which
disfranchises the white citizens
of the Chickasaw Nation, who
have hitherto not only been
granted the full privileges of cit-
izenship, but have been potent in
framing the laws of the country
for many years. This action gave
rise to the organization of the
"Progressive " party, which took
the field last summer, under the
leadership of Hon. Sam Paul, to
dispute the rights of government
with the National or Full-blood
element, headed by Gov. Byrd.
Their defeat, however, was very
signal, the absence of the white
voters being felt to the amount of
150 or 200 votes.
The policy of the present ad-
ministration is apparently to
paralyze the influence of the
white citizen by the passage of
such laws as will discourage fur-
ther intermarriage. The act for-
bidding any more fencing of the
public domain, for pasturage,
and the threatened destruction of
all fences outside the limit al-
lowed by law, is unpromising
for white settlers. It is believed
by many that the intention of
Gov, Byrd and his colleagues.
Col. Lem Reynolds and Overton
Love, is to deprive white citizens
of their land tenure; but it is
hardly probable that the United
States would permit so glaring a
breach of the constitution and
treaties. The "paternal gov-
ernment," in its endorsement of
the disfranchisement act, has
already provoked enough of un-
pleasant reproach and criticism
without implicating itself further
in the matter.
CHARACTERISTICS, CUSTOMS AND
SUPERSTITIONS.
The recent political entangle-
ments, which might have resulted
so disastrously to the tribal gov-
ernments had serious party or
personal difiiculties ensued, is an
excellent illustration of the supe-
rior wisdom and foresight of the
Chickasaws. Their refusal to
risk the loss of their country to
gratify feelings of revenge is
commendable in the highest de-
gree.
The Chickasaws may justly
lay claim to being a most law-
abiding people. Notwithstanding
their proximity to Texas, there
is little or no whisky introduced
to their capital during the legis-
lature— a statement which can-
not be truthfully uttered when
referring to some other legisla-
tive bodies in the Territory. As
a people, however, the Chicka-
-*
*-
-<h
LEAUKKS AND LEADING MEN
saws are not as susceptible to re-
ligious training as the Ohoctaws;
but if deficient in this respect,
they are certainly their equals in-
tellectually. The Chickasaw full-
bloods, however, are more su-
perstitious than their neighbors.
Witch doctors and Pashofah
dances being still popular in
some localities. The dance of
the "Pashofah,'' which is be-
lieved to be a certain cure in
many stages of disease, is carried
on in front of the patient, who is
placed in a house facing the
east, and only accessible to the
Medicine Man, who performs his
craft in secret. Meanwhile the
guests dance with great energy,
a young woman of the tribe jing-
ling a few pebbles in a pair of
tarrapin shells suspended from
one of her limbs. A huge pot of
meat and corn boiled togetlier is
then served by means of a large
wooden ladle, which is passed
around until everybody is satis-
fied. They believe that each vis-
itor in this way carries off a por-
tion of the disease. During the
ceremony the greatest import-
ance is attached to the most trifl-
ing circumstances. The full-
blood's faith in witchcraft, how-
ever, has considerably declined
within the last five years, al-
though as recently as three years
ago, close to Pennington, an
elderly woman suffered a violent
death under the charge.
The late Ben Cunnyatubby is
said to have killed an old Medi-
cine Man seven years ago. Sev-
eral of Ben's children having
died, he sent to the Creek Nation
for a native doctor, who on his
arrival pronounced the deaths
to have resulted from witchcraft.
Becoming furious on hearing of
this, Cunnyatubby immediately
swooped down upon the old doc-
tor and killed him and his little
son. The above is derived from
the most reliable authority. In
ancient days any disastrous oc-
currence which was difficult to
account for was at once attri-
buted to witchcraft, and some
innocent, unsuspecting person of
either sex became the sufferer
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OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
209
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HUNTING AND FISHING.
Since railroads have begun to
penetrate Western Texas and
syndicates have fenced in the
vast area, which until 1880 was
the home of the buffalo, ante-
lope, deer and other game, the
only consolation now left to the
hunter, apart from the Rocky
Mountains, is the Indian Terri-
tory. The Chickasaw Nation,
which up to 1885 was a good
deer and turkey range, holds out
at present but little encourage-
ment to the lover of the rifle, al-
though small game, chickens,
quails, etc., are verj abundant.
The same may be said of the
Cherokee and Creek Nations, so
that the hunter of large game
must shoulder his Ballard or
Winchester and turn his face to-
ward the rising sun if he wishes
to enjoy a pleasant and profit-
able week in the camp.
The entire region of country
in the Choctaw Nation northeast
and east of the Missouri, Kansas
& Texas railroad is made up of
mountain ranges, interspersed
with streams of various sizes:
Into these ranges ( the Kiamichi,
Sans Bois, Sugar Loaf and Persh-
malein ) the large game has grad-
ually drifted for better security,
for here the country is sparsely
settled, some portions of it, ow-
ing to its rugged surface, being
totally uninhabited. In these
parts deer, turkey and beaver are
plentiful; while bear, panther
and cougar may be met with at
any time. The former are very
partial to the white acorn, which
grows in quantity beside the Ki-
amichi River. One morning in
October, 1885, four bears were
secured by one gun close to that
stream, and within four miles of
the Choctaw capital. A year
or two previous a bear ran past
the Council house and was pur-
sued into the hills and dis-
patched.
After a few nights, or perhaps
the first night in the mountains,
the hunter is usually treated to
that alarming antesoporfic, the
scream of the panther. These
animals are difficult to find in the
day time, though you may hear
them all night long and see their
trail the following morning. The
"loafer," or large mountain
wolf, is very plentiful. Until
within the last five years wild
horses were numerous in portions
of the Arbuckle Mountains, and
some small herds are still to be
found, but these are almost im-
possible to approach.
Unlike the Shawnees, there
are but few hunters among the
Choctaws and Chickasaws, al-
ib-
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:ilO
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
though the Choctaws can boast
of having better hunting grounds
than any otlier Indians at the
present time. But we should
not recommend our readers to
encroach upon their premises
without taking the proper pre-
cautions against losing their
hunting equippage, which is sub-
ject to seizure should a stranger
be found violating a certain stat-
ute, which forbids non-resident
white men from hunting on the
public domain. To guard against
this danger it is necessary to
make the acquaintance of some
influential Choctaw, who will see
that you are unmolested, and
perhaps accompany you or fur-
nish you with a guide. The hos-
pitality of the Choctaws and
Chickasaws to strangers who
come to hunt in their country
with honorable intentions is wor-
thy of comment. It must, how-
ever be distinctly understood
that no game be killed for the
markets nor for shipment out of
the Nation; nor shall there be
any unnecessary slaughter of the
game, the hunters being only
supposed to take what they re-
quire for use and leave the rest.
For further particulars, names
and addresses of hunting men
and guides address the Messrs.
O'Beirne, Atoka, I. T.
Probably the best bass fishing
in the United States is to be had
in the numerous streams and
small lakes of the mountainous
districts in the Choctaw Nation.
In some of these streams the
black bass grow larger than those
caught in the northern lakes.
The writer's experience at the
end of five summers' angling,
fixes the average of fish captured
with spoon and fly in the Choc-
taw Nation at 2 1-i pounds,
his largest specimen turning the
scale at seven. Besides the black
there are two other species of
this fish, the calico, or striped,
and the rock bass, the former
reaching four pounds, while the
latter gamey little fellow seldom
over-reaches one pound. The
editor of the American Angler,
some years ago, disputed the
presence of black bass in the wa-
ters of the Indian Territory, but
he was soon convinced of his
mistake. Thirty pounds' weight
of these fish to each rod, in four
or five hours, is a fair example
of the sport, and such can easily
be caught in the mountain creeks,
season and weather permitting,
provided the angler is supplied
with the proper flies and trolls,
and understands how to use them.
If he be ignorant of their usage,
however, he had better trust to
*-
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OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
211
-*
*-
live bait, plenty of which can be
secured at the expense of a little
time and trouble.
The usual bass flies for sale
in New York and other cities are
of little use in these waters. You
may "dabble" with a "coach-
man " until doomsday without
the least result. The killing flies
here are tied on Nos. 2 and 3
Carlisle hooks; they are but four
in number and are well furnished
with dubbing and hackle, and
fully as large as the largest sal-
mon fly.
The Choctaws and Chickasaws
seldom if ever fish with rod and
line. They prefer the bow and
arrow, with which weapon, when
the water is low and clear, they
frequently procure the largest
fish. At certain times the In-
dians get together for a grand
" fry." By means of a weed
called ''Devil's Shoe String,"
which they chop or beat up and
throw into the water, they stupify
and intoxicate the fish in such a
manner as to be able to secure
all that they require for present
use. The weed, however, is not
deadly poison, its eflfects being
but temporary.
The rugged beauty of the
scenery in the eastern portion of
the Choctaw Nation lends addi-
tional charms to the pastime
of angling. The streams and
lakes, especially the latter, are,
however, very small. A body of
water a mile long by three hun-
dred yards wide is rarely to be
met with. This intelligence will
sound strange to those who are
accustomed to angling in north-
ern waters. A few of the lakes
in the Choctaw Nation are sit-
uated on the summits of moun-
tain ridges. One of these (in
Sans Bois county) is at a great
elevation; the water is sufficiently
clear to distinguish a small peb-
ble on the bottom at a depth of
from thirty to forty feet. Here
the bass are in great numbers and
grow to an immense size.
WILLIAM L. COCHRAN.
[CHICKASAW.]
This gentleman was born in La
Grange county, Tennessee, in
1834, and reared and educated
in Marshall, Mississippi. When
yet a youth William was burn-
ing with the wild spirit of ro-
mance and adventure, so that on
hearing of Walker's proposed
expedition to Nicaragua he went
and joined the filibusters at Mem-
phis, Tennessee, in 1855. In
the command were many South-
ern gentlemen, as well as volun-
teers from nearly every State in
the Union. But probably the
-*
*
*
21;
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
most notable individual of that
brigade now living is Joaquin
Miller, the poet of the Sierras,
who joined the party at the age
of sixteen years.
William Cochran fought in
*-
WILLIAM L. COCHKAN.
seven or eight battles, the sur-
render of Grenada being perhaps
the most important. In the bat-
tle of Massaya he was shot in
the left foot, and had his leg am-
putated; after which he was ob-
liged to retire from the Held,
where he distinguished himself
as a dashing and fearless soldier.
When the civil war broke out
the subject of this sketch joined
the Ninth Mississippi, and later
the Eighteenth Mississippi, in
which regiments he acted as
commissary, experiencing service
at BulFs Run and elsewhere. He
was in charge of the last steamer
that ran from Mobile to Pensa-
cola before the port was closed
against the South, at the com-
mencement of the war. On this
occasion the Federal guns were
manned against him, and he liad
a narrow escape from losing the
entire command.
Mr. Cochran was appointed
commissary of the Chickasaw
Militia by General Albert Pike.
In January, 1867, after a long
absence from his home at Stone-
wall, Chickasaw Nation, he re-
turned and settled down to a life
of peace. His picturesque resi-
dence, produced on page 213,
was the first house ever built in
Stonewall. He is the owner of
one thousand acres of good farm-
ing lands under prime cultiva-
tion, besides fifteen hundred
head of cattle. For some six
years, off and on, he has been in
the mercantile business, but sold
out in 1889. In 1865 he mar-
ried Miss Jinsey Bohannon, by
whom he has two children living
— Eugenie, the wife of Dr. Jas.
Ray, of Denison, Texas, and
Ella, aged seven years.
Mr. Cochran is a thorough
gentleman and highly respected,
-*
*-
— *
THE CHICKASAWS.
*-
JAMES HARRIS GUY.
[CHICKASAW.]
There is scarcely any country
without its poetic genius, and
the Chickasaws are represented
in the person of James Harris
Guy, the late lamented brother
of ex-Gov. William Guy, who
might well have immortalized
himself in verse, had not death,
at the hands of a body of armed
desperadoes, cut short his career
while leading the Chickasaw
Militia against a fortified build-
ing. James Harris Guy was em-
inently handsome, the noblest
looking representative of his
race, while his poetic ability will
hardly be questioned by him who
Scans, perhaps the briefest of his
poetic flights, "Fort Arbuckle,"
which is here reproduced. A
short time before the death of
the poet, the compiler of these
sketches had entered into an ar-
rangement to edit a volume of
Legends and original poems
from his versatile pen, but the
reaper came too soon, and the
products of his genius were never
stored among the harvests of the
immortals.
FORT ARBUCKLE.
The day has been long- and dreary ;
I halt with the sitting- sun
To gaze on the open world,
And the work that the years have done;
And a vision rises before me.
Of the past as it hath been.
And all that the rolling- hills have heard.
And the bright-eyed stars have seen.
'Full many a thrilling story
Could the echoing rocks repeat.
And methinks I hear in the forest
The tramp of hurrying- feet.^,,,„.-»
The yells of the great Commanche
Ring once more in my ear.
And flies of the ghostly warriors
Appear and disappear.
I see the dusky phantoms
Rise from their g-raves to-day,
With the war paint still upon them
As they started for the fray;
They scorned the white man's promise
And refused to be his slaves.
But their ranks were few and feeble,
And the sun sets on their graves.
Once more from the hill above me
The painted warriors ride.
And fall upon Fort Arbuckle
r^Like rocks from the mountain side;
But now the bow and the quiver~A
Give place to the plodding plow,
A bible, a hut, a handful of corn
And a Christian's broken vow.
Oh, mystical Fort Arbuckle,
The sun is falling aslant.
And a friend stands out in his doorway;
God speed thee, Thomas Grant;
For thou hast ever a seat at thy board,
And in thy heart a place.
For him who would sing the wide world o'er
The songs of a ruined race.
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214
-*
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
WILLIAM PERRY LEEPER.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Noble county, Ohio,
January, 1851; educated at the
high school,Pana, Illinois. At an
early age Mr. Leeper entered the
mercantile business at Owaneco,
*-
W^ILLIAM PERRY LEEPER.
Illinois, afterward moving to St.
Louis, and finally settling near
Stringtown, Choctaw Nation, in
1873, where he embarked in the
cattle business on a moderate
scale. From this point he mov-
ed to Limestone in 1879, where
he married Minerva Ward, a sis-
ter of Henry Ward and William
Ward, descendants of the Hyah-
pah-tuk-kalo. In 1881 Mr.
Leeper purchased the old prop-
erty of ex-Governor Cole's, near
Atoka, and in 1883 moved his
cattle to the Oklahoma range,
near the site of the present city
of that name. In 1885 he loca-
ted twenty miles northwest of
Purcell at Leeper, where a post-
office has since been established
under his supervision. Mr. Leep-
er's property consists of three
thousand acres of land in a
state of improvement, one thou-
sand of which is planted in corn
and small grain, three hundred
head of cattle, forty horses and
a large herd of Berkshire and
mixed breeds of hogs. He has
a fine vineyard, orchard and gar-
den, and gives employment to
seventeen men annually. Mr.
Leeper is Master of the Norman
Lodge (under dispensation) and
is also Deputy Grand Master
Mason of the Grand Lodge of
the Indian Territory. In 1889
he originated the progressive con-
vention held at Ardmore, for the
purpose of vindicating the rights
of the disfranchised citizens,
w^iich has since resulted in a
general organization.
Mr. Leeper is well known in
the Indian Territory.
-•5
*
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
215
*
NEWTON G. FRAZIER.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
the son of Jackson Frazier, prin-
cipal chief of the Chickasaws,
but many years dead. His moth-
er, Hattie Frazier, whose Indian
*-
NEWTON GALLOWAY FRAZIER.
name was Hamalula-tubby, was
afterward married to Cyrus Har-
ris, the first governor of the
Chickasaw Nation. When quite
a boy Galloway was sent to the
Robinson National Academy,
where he remained fifteen years,
after which he went to Cane Hill,
Arkansas,and in eighteen months
completed his education. In
1877 he married Emily McLish,
aunt of Richard McLish, owner
of the now populous town of
Ardmore. Mr. Frazier's first of-
fice was that of sheriff, in 1876,
and two years later was elected
representative, taking his seat at
the same time that his step-father,
Governor Harris, was counted
out by the Overton faction. The
next office held by Galloway was
that of delegate to Washington
on the negro question, in com-
pany with Col. George Harkins,
they failing, however, to get a
hearing from President Cleve-
land. In the Guy administration
he was again elected member for
Tishomingo, and soon after filled
the office of National permit col-
lector. At the present time he
is again in the field for the legis-
lature. Meanwhile Mr. Frazier
is busily employed looking after
his stock and farming interests.
He has seven hundred acres un-
der cultivation and keeps as
many as fourteen hands in em-
ployment. He is an intelligent
and hospitable gentleman in high
repute with men of all grades,
popular with rich and poor alike,
and numbers among his numer-
ous friends and acquaintances
the most prominent men of the
Indian Territory.
-*
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216
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
ABEL DUSTIN CHASE.
[CHICKASAW.]
A. D. Chase was born in the city
of Baltimore, Md., on October
19th, 1826. In 1832 his mother
moved to Shenandoah county,
Ya., where she opened a female
seminary near Mount Jackson,
*-
ABEL DDSTIN CHASE.
on the celebrated Baron Stean-
bergen's plantation. From there
she moved to Harrissonburg,
Rockingham county, and carried
on a female school with great
success. In 1846 the war came
up between the United States
and Mexico, and Mr. Chase was
one of the first to volunteer in
the first Yirginian Regiment,
which joined Gen. Z. Taylor at
Walnut Springs, near Monterey,
Mexico; continuing in the ser-
vice until the conclusion of the
campaign. In 1856 the subject
of this sketch was in California
riding express through the moun-
tains, and in 1859 arrived at Fort
Washita, Indian Territory, where
he was appointed sutler's clerk,
and remained thereuntil his mar-
riage with Miss N. McCoy,
daughter of Judge James McCoy,
of the Chickasaw Nation, which
took place in April, 1860. Since
that time Mr. Chase has been
employed in farming and selling
goods, except while holding the
appointment of sutler at Fort
Washita, which ofiice he was ten-
dered by Gen. Samuel B. Maxey,
the same being confirmed by
General Kirby Smith, and which
he held until the termination of
the war. Mr. Chase lives on
excellent terms with the Indian
people, whom he says have always
treated him well. He now re-
sides at Ardmore.
HON. PALMER S. MOSELY.
[CHICKASAW.]
Mr. Mosely was born in Sep-
tember, 1851, at Tam-a-ho-shay,
Choctaw Nation, and was edu-
cated at Nashville, Tenn. His
-*
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
217
*
«
first office was that of Interpre-
ter to the Legislature, to which
he was elected in 1875. Two
years afterward he was elected a
member of the same body. In
1882 he was made Judge of his
county, and in 1884 became Na-
tional Interpreter, which office
he has since occupied several
times. In 1885 he was elected
School Superintendent, which he
held till 1889.
In 1876 the subject of this
sketch married Lizzie Holloway,
and in 1888 was united to his
present wife, Amanda Green-
wood, daughter of Harris Green-
wood, of the house of Inchish-
awaya and In-chin-nook-cha.
In 1884 he moved to his present
home, where he has one hundred
and seventy-five acres under cul-
tivation, which is in the hands of
four renters. He is also the
owner of two hundred and fifty
or three hundred head of cattle.
Mr. Mosely is deservedly one
of the most popular men in his
Nation.
MILTON BROWN.
[CHICKASAW.]
This gentleman was born in Mis-
sissippi; came to the Choctaw
Nation at the time the Chicka-
asaws were emigrating from the
old state. His father's name
was A-tch-a tubby. Milton first
settled at Caney Switch, and in
1856 embarked in the cattle bus-
iness, to which he has given his
complete attention to the present
day. In 1871 after, the death of
his first wife, he married Yiney
MILTON BROWN.
Killey, who died without issue
in 1887. In 1888 he married
Mrs. Annie Guy Reemes, widow
of the late Robert Reemes, whose
sister is the famous Washington
sculptress. Mrs. Annie Reemes
is sister of ex-Governor Guy, and
has long been considered the
most beautiful woman among
the Chickasaws. Her peer, if
-*
*-
218
LKADEIIS AND LEADING MEN
-•i«
she lias an equal, is only to be
met with in the members of her
own family, who are alike dis-
tinguished for their rare beauty of
form and face.
During the war Milton Brown
was first lieutenant in Colonel
Sampson Folsom's regiment, and
proved himself a dashing young
officer. He is at present residing
close to Wapanucka, where he
owns several pine houses, and
a stock ranch and a range which
are scarcely equaled in that por-
tion of the country. His large
herd of cattle is graded, and his
annual shipments are extensive.
FREDERICK T. WAITE.
[CHICKASAW.]
This gentleman was born at Fort
Ar buckle, Indian Territory, in
1853, son of the late Thomas
Waite, by his wife Catherine
McClure, sister of Hon. Tecum seh
McClure. Fred was educated at
the Illinois Industrial University,
Champaign, Illinois, and at Ben-
touville, Arkansas, and gradua-
ted at Mound City Commercial
College, St. Louis, Mo., in the
spring of 1874. After having
completed his education this
young man served for two years
in his father's business house on
Eush Creek, after which he went
to Colorado and New Mexico,
where he remained until about
1879. In 1881 he married Miss
Mary E. Thompson, by whom
he has one daughter named Katie,
aged eight years. In 1886 he
moved to the Choctaw Nation,
but returned in two years, and
*-
FEEDEKICK T. WAITE.
was appointed by Governor Guy
as a delegate to the International
Convention at Fort Gibson.
In 1889 he was elected repre-
sentative of Pickins county, and
became speaker of the House,
which chair he held during the
three call meetings that followed.
In 1887 he became a member of
the Indian Police force, and was
a candidate for the Senate on
the progressive ticket in 1890.
-*
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OF THE INDIAN TERKITOKY,
219
*
Fred. T. Waite is a good speak-
er and an excellent writer, con-
tributing many bright and inter-
esting political papers to the
journals of the day. He is one
of the handsomest and most in-
telligent of his race.
A. W. SHELTON.M. D.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born July 20, 1853, in Grayson
*-
A. w. shelton, m. d.
county, Texas, close to the Indian
line. In 1856 his father moved
to Western Texas, where every
full moon he was visited by the
wild Indians, who at that time
were exceedingly hostile. Fre-
quently arrows were found in the
yard in the morning which dur-
ing the night had been discharg-
ed at the dogs.
Dr. Shelton received his med-
ical education at Cincinnati, O.,
and in 1879 married a Miss Ada
Colbert. He has two children,
Edna and Myrtle.
Dr. Shelton lived at Carriage
Point, Chickasaw Nation, from
1875 to 1883. While there he
was attacked by a band of out-
laws, whose leader was named
Frank Long. This band he was
the means of dispersing. He
moved to Paul's Valley in 1888,
and has since then been employ-
ed in farming and practicing
medicine. He is a man of prac-
tical experience, having traveled
through nearly every State and
Territory in the Union.
JOHN M. WEBB.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born at Prattville, Alabama, in
August, 1850. He is the son of
the late Frank Webb, of Rawley,
South Carolina. Coming to
Panola county, Chickasaw Na-
tion, in 1872, John M. rented
a farm until his marriage to Abi-
gail Kemp, daughter of Joel
'•it
*-
220
-*
LEADERS AND LEADING JIEN
Kemp, after which he purchased
the improvements on the land
where he now resides. Mr.
Webb was elected to the Hor.se
of Representatives in 1881, dur-
ing Overton's administration. and
while Hicky-ubbe filled Overton's
unexpired term. In 1889 he was
re-elected under the Bjrd ad-
ministration, which office he still
occupies, though under the law
of disfranchisement by the Na-
tional party. In 1889 he was one
of the committee appointed to
contract and superintend the
building of Bloomfield Academy.
Mr. Webb has four sons, Joel,
George, William and John, the
oldest aged twelve years and the
youngest five.
WALTON JAMES
[CHICKASAW.]
Walton was born at New Boggy,
May 15, 1855, and was the only
son of the late Booker James.
When quite a boy the subject
of this sketch attended the neigh-
borhood school at Boggy Depot
until 1867, when he went to
Rock Academy, Wahpanucka,
where he remained about twelve
months. In 1870 he entered
Crocker's school, near Nashville,
Tenn., and there devoted himself
to his studies until June, 1873;
after wdiich lie returned home
and commenced assisting his
father in the stock business.
Ten years later, in 1883, he
started with a stock of his own,
and his present home place is
two miles from Rock Academy.
In the meanwhile he had mar-
ried Miss Susan Frazier, daugh-
ter of James Frazier, ex-SherifF
and ex'inember of the Chickasaw
Council. This marriage took
place in 1881, the issue being
four children — Minnie, Turner,
Felix and Abbie.
Mr. James has four hundred
head of cattle and has charge of
his mother and sister's stock.
He owms besides one hundred
•i*-
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OK THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
221
-<h
and twelve acres under cultiva-
tion and a number of hogs.
A prosperous and promising
young man, of industrious habits
and a good education, besides a
kindly disposition, it is reason-
able to conclude that before many
years Walton James will have
acquired a large share of this
world's goods. Like his father,
Mr. James has no ambition to
lead in politics.
qi-
EDWARD SEHON BURNEY,
[CHICKASAW.]
Mr. Burnet was born January
20, 1861, near* old Fort Wash-
ita, and educated at the Chicka-
saw Male Academy by Prof. J.
M. Harley. His father dying
while he was yet young, Edward
was obliged to succeed his elder
brother in taking charge of his
mother's affairs, which employed
his attention till he was twenty-
one years of age; when he mar-
ried Ada Cross, daughter of Joel
Cross. After this he moved to
Jimtown and bought the Rector
place; after which he moved to
Burneyville, on Mud Creek,
changing back and forth succes-
sively till he finally settled on
his present estate at Fred, In-
dian Territory, in 1889. Dur-
ing the past years he has had as
many as seven thousand five
hundred head of cattle in his
possession, all of which he has
parted with, and is now devoting
his attention to farming, having
seven hundred acres under culti-
vation and fifteen renters. He
has two children, Wessie Ella
E. S. BURNET.
and Joseph Calvin, aged six and
three years, respectively.
Although his brother, ex-Gov.
B. C. Burney, has been a prom-
inent legislator, Mr. Burney has
always avoided political contact
until the present time. He has,
how^ever, permitted his name to
be brought before the public as
a candidate for Representative
of his county in the election con-
test of 1890.
->B
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-*
LEADKRS AND LEADING MEX
WM. M. M. KEMP.
[ CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born July 7, 1860, and is the son
of Levi Kemp, of Panola coun-
ty, Chickasaw Nation, and a
grandson of the celebrated Joel
Kemp. He first went to school
at Bloomfield College, but his
father dying shortly afterward,
he was obliged to work hard in
order to provide for his own ed-
ucation. With this end in view,
he went on a ranch close to
Washita, where he remained one
year (in 1881). Returning about
twelve months afterward, he put
his " shoulder to the wheeP' and
engaged in stock-herding, at-
tending the Methodist school at
Whitehead during the winters
of 1884 and 1885. In 1886 he
attended Professor Halsell's
academy, at Savoy, Texas, where
he remained for some months,
once more returning to Washita.
In the fall of 1888 he commenced
clerking in a dry goods and gro-
cery store at Wynne Wood. In
1889 he entered Professor Bar-
ley's Academy at Tishomingo,
where he remained until the fol-
lowing spring. Soon afterward
he was elected Clerk of the
Chickasaw Senate at an extra
session of the Legislature, which
position he maintained until the
following November, when at a
called Council the disfranchise-
ment question was first raised.
In October, 1889, he was ap-
pointed County Clerk of Panola,
which office he has filled in a
creditable manner till the pres-
ent time.
Much credit is due Mr. Kemp
for the manner in which he has
worked out his own education,
his sole capital being industry
and perseverance, not a cent be-
ing contributed toward his school-
ing until he entered the National
Academy at Tishomingo. He is
at present residing with his
mother in Panola county.
•±»-
-.j.
Wild Horse, Comanche.
*-
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
225
JOHN R. SURRELL.
The subject of this sketch was
born near Rolling, Wake countj,
North Carolina, in 1848, and
was sent to the public school in
boyhood, but left at the break-
ing out of the war to join the
<^-
J. K. SURRELL.
Confederate service. He enlist-
ed in the Fourth Kentucky regi-
ment under Gen, J. C. Breck-
inridge, and remained in that
regiment until the close of the
war. After peace was established
he settled in the Indian Terri-
tory, and before long was ap-
pointed Deputy United States
Marshal, which office he held for
some years. In the meanwhile
he embarked in the cattle busi-
ness, and in 1868 married a Miss
Cummins, of Warner county,
Tennessee, by whom he has six
children — Minnie, MoUie, Wil-
lie, John, Daisy and Nome.
In 1888 he opened a general
mercantile business in Atoka un-
der the title of John R. Surreli
& Co., which business he dis-
posed of in the following year to
Messrs. Perry Bros., of Denison,
Texas.
Mr. Surreli is one of the old-
est white settlers in the Nation,
and is known through the length
and breadth of the land, having
become prominent not only as a
shrewd business man, but as a
factor in shaping the destinies of
several candidates for public
preference. His family, who
live in Atoka, Choctaw Nation,
are very popular, especially his
daughter, Miss Minnie, who is
among the prettiest and most re-
fined young ladies of the
county.
John R. Surreli has become
very popular throughout the In-
dian Territory, and has numerous
friends and acquaintances who
speak very highly of this gentle-
man and his very interesting
family.
-^
»i<-
220
LEADERS AND LEADING 3IEN
GOV. WM. MALCOLM GUY.
[ CHICKASAW.]
A CHAl'TER IN CHICKASAW HISTORY
EXTENDING FROM 1888 TO 1890.
So LONG as the great or good man
breathes the breath of life, so
long shall malice and envy strive
to feast at the expense of his rep-
utation. But only let death in-
^-
tervene and behold the halo
gather round his name. Who
is there among the Chickasaw
people at the present day ready
or willing to cast a slur upon the
memory of Cyrus Harris, the
great and good; though while
yet he lived see him surrounded
by traducers and political ene-
mies numberless. Verily does
history repeat itself in his nephew
William Malcolm Guy, who, fol-
lowing the example of his uncle,
pirmitted the " rule or ruin '■ fac-
tion to seize the reins of govern-
ment rather than plunge his
country in a disastrous war. Yet,
for this act of self-sacrilice, laud-
able in his uncle, Guy is notun-
frequently branded with timidity.
William Malcolm Guy was born
at Boggy Depot, Choctaw Na-
tion, February 4, 1845, the son
of Colonel William Richard Guy,
who served faithfully in the Flor-
ida war. The subject of this
sketch was sent to a neighbor-
hood school in the Chickasaw
Nation, but being of a rather
wild, adventurous disposition,
ran off to Mississippi, where he
went to school until the breaking
out of the war in 1861, when he
joined the Seventeenth Missis-
sippi Regiment under Colonel
Fetherstone. In the campaign
which followed from the light at
BulLs Run until the battle of Get-
tysbiirgh, July 2, 1863 (where
the gallant young soldier was
wounded in the head, and had
his left arm shattered by a mus-
ket ball), Guy was every where
in the front ranks. When strick-
en down, he lay twelve hours on
the battle field before removal to
-*
^-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITOKY.
227
-*
*-
the field hospital, audit was three
days before his wound was
operated upon, his youth and
vigorous health alone saving his
life. Before his complete re-
covery he was taken prisoner and
sent to Baltimore, where he re-
mained until exchanged to City
Point, Virginia. At the conclu-
sion of the war, instead of re-
turning home he entered college
at Marshall Institute, Mississippi,
where he stayed for two years,
coming back to Boggy Depot in
1868, where he found his three
married sisters residing. Soon
afterward he moved to Mill Creek
and aided his uncle, Cyrus Har-
ris, in the stock business. In
1870 he entered the field of pol-
itics, being elected Secretary of
the Chickasaw Senate, in which
capacity he served six years, off
and on. In 1883 he was elected
representative of his county, and
in 1885 and 1886 distinguished
himself in the Upper House,
where he gained the reputation
of being an incorruptible, as well
as a wise legislator.
Guy was first brought out for
Governor by his uncle, ex-Gov-
ernor Harris, in the summer of
1888, against William Byrd, C.
E. Burris and ex-Governor Jonas
Wolf; but nothwithstanding a
large majority accorded him at
the poles, the race (as is usual
when there are more than two
candidates) resolved itself into a
legislative contest of a most ex-
citing nature, which resulted in
a majority of one for Guy.
The new executive had no soon-
er been installed than he proceed-
ed to select oflicers. This he did
without partiality, and with due
regard to their fitness, distribut-
ing the favors equally between
his own political friends and
those of the opposite faction; but
he had no sooner done so than
a member of his own cabinet,
hailing from the opposite ranks,
and on whom he had conferred
the office because of his poverty
and inability for hard work,
turned upon his benefactor, and
falling into the ranks of the ene-
my, lent himself to every scheme
which might serve to damage
or confuse the new administra-
tion. Following closely on this
was the Governor's treaty with
the Santa Fe R. R., whereby he
received, upon his own responsi-
bility (and in accordance with
constitutional provisions) a large
sum of money for the benefit of
the Nation, but which action was
used with great efiiciency to pre-
judice the full-bloods against
him. When this was to some
extent accomplished, Hon. Lem
-*
*-
228
-1^
LEADEUS AND LEADING MEN
*-
Reynolds, a statesman of unques-
tionable ability, and the recog-
nized central figure of the oppo-
sition group, proceeded to shake
the foundation of ev'ery institu-
tion conducted by the party in
power. One of the results of
this move was the appointment
of Prof. Harley, a white man, as
lessee and Superintendent of the
Chickasaw National Male Acad-
emy, in the room of Judge Ben
Carter, brother-in-law of Gov.
Guy. This was accomplished by
securing a majority in the legis-
lature.
The Byrd party, through con-
stant misrepresentations, even-
tually gained a decided advan-
tage in both houses, so tliat when
the Governor's term of two years
had elapsed, and he was again
elected by a majority of fourteen
of the public vote, the legisla-
ture called for a count and ruled
out sufficient names to seat Wil-
liam Byrd, who was duly sworn
in as Governor of the Chickasaw
Nation.
On the night of September 26,
1S88, the deposed chieftain ar-
rived in Tishomingo with a fol-
lowing of nearly two hundred
men, and placing himself in read-
iness for a coup d'etat, entered
the capitol next morning, con-
cealing his presence until the
members repaired to the house
and proceeded to business. Gov-
ernor Guy forced the honorable
speaker to read the election re-
turns in the condition they were
in before their alteration, and to
immediately announce the result
of the same, which he did after
considerable hesitation, not how-
ever, until the Hon. Sam Paul
had delivered a speech that was
too logical not to have a mighty
influence upon the argument.
Judge Duncan was then called
upon to ofiiciate and Guy was
inaugurated Governor of the Na-
tion. A few minutes later a mem-
ber of the Byrd faction, under
the crafty advice of Col. Rej'-
nolds, made amotion to adjourn
sine die, which was seconded, and
the members rose to their feet
and hurriedly left the town. The
majority of the Guy men remain-
ed at the capitol for two days,
after which the Governor re-
ceived orders from a higher pow-
er to disband his forces. About
this time while the turbulence of
party spirit was at its height, Guy
was waylaid and his life attempt-
ed, but having the prudence to
travel with a body guard, he
escaped death at the hands of his
wood-be assassin.
Soon after these occurrences
Major Heath was sent from
-*
OF, THE INDIAN TERRITORY,
229
*-
Wasliington to report the condi-
tion of affairs at the Chickasaw
capitol. On first arriving he met
with Governor Byrd, and shortly
afterward invited both contes-
tants to meet him. They did so,
and came to an understanding
that the decision should rest with
the authorities at Washington.
Guy was without the shadow of
a doubt as to the result; why
should he hesitate to have it set-
tled by arbitration. The U. S.
Indian Agent had unhesitatingly
pronounced him Governor by a
majority of the public vote.
Meanwhile the Byrd faction wore
a gloomy aspect, all save one
(the placid leader himself), who
could ill conceal the smile of
triumph which threatened to com-
pletely over-run his countenance.
At length the decision arrived,
and its result was equally aston-
ishing to both parties. Byrd was
Governor— not by the unanimous
wish of his people, but by ex-
press desire of the U. S. author-
ities at Washington. Readers,
place whatever construction you
will upon the foregoing, it is ca-
pable of but one rendition, and
"he who runs can read."
There are still some members
of the Guy party who condemn
their late leader for hesitating to
assert his own and his people's
rights; but when we consider the
loss of life that such a course
would necessitate, as well as
its disastrous result to the tri-
bal government, we are bound
in all justice to admit that Guy
acted with a moral heroism only
to be met with in men of a su-
perior stamp. Upon himself per-
sonally, it was a great hardship
to relinquish the leadership of his
people without striking a blow,
surrounded as he was by nearly
three-fourths of the available
fighting men of his country.
The deposed Governor made
a few comments about the state
of afi'airs, but viewing the situa-
tion philosophically, and pleased
that none had suffered to gratify
his ambition, retired to his bach-
elor home, and there, with his
usual energy and industry, spent
the two years which followed in
the extension and improvement
of his farm. On June 26 last,
however, the public press an-
nounced to a numerous circle of
relatives and acquaintances that
ex-Gov. William Malcolm Guy,
had broken the bonds of celibacy
on the previous day, by marriage
with Miss Maggie Jane Lindsay,
daughter of the late JohnLindsay ,
Knoxville, Tenn., a pretty and re-
fined young lady of nineteen
years of age. The ceremony was
-*
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230
LEADERS AND LEADING HEN
performed within the limits of
the home circle at the residence
of his brother-in-law, Judge B.
W. Carter, at Ardmore, only the
old bachelors of his acquaintance
being invited to be present on
the occasion.
The decision in favor of Bjrd
by the United States Govern-
ment in 1888 was the signal for
further irregularities, and in 1889
resulted in a serious rupture of
the Chickasaw Constitution by
the disfranchisement of the citi-
izens by marriage, who had en-
joyed equal rights and immuni-
ties since 1866. Col. Lem Rey-
nolds and Judge Overton Love
are accredited with the parentage
of this bill, with a view of cutting
down the opposition and main-
taining themselves and party in
absolute control.
JOSEPH SADDLER.
[CHICKASAW.]
Joseph was born in Iowa in 1856;
came to Pickins county in 1867,
where he attended a neighbor-
hood school for some time. In
1878, after playing the role of
renter during a period of eight
or nine years, he married Miss
Jennie Alexander, daughter of
Chili Alexander, at that time a
wealthy Chickasaw, but recently
in humble circumstances. After
*-
this he moved to Caddo Creek,
and from tlience to his present
residence close to Erin Springs,
where he has two hundred and
fifty acres under cultivation and
some cattle. Mr. Saddler was at
one time lieutenant of the Chick-
asaw Militia, and was in the
massacre on Caddo Creek, where
James Harris Guy, Bill Kirksey
and the Rolf brothers were shot
down by the Lee gang from the
shelter of a fortified building.
During about ten or twelve
years the subject of this sketch
was present at the deaths of many
persons, some of whom were the
victims of malice and revenge.
Among these were Sam Rail, who
was killed at Berwyn by one
Meeks, over a disputed race, and
Eastman Burris, who was shot
dead by some oflicers on the daj^
of B. C. Burney's election, in the
vicinity of the voting precinct.
Mr. Saddler and a comrade of
his, Charlie Henderson, com-
posed two of the party who dis-
covered the dead bodies of Bud
Stephens and wife in the Ar-
buncle Mountains, in 1883, and
for which July (a negro) suffered
capital punishment. Mr. Sad-
dler's family consists of a wife
and two children, Lavina and
James — the former aged twelve
years and the latter four years,
-*
*
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
231
*
J. H. MASHBURN.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in 1845, being the son of
G. W. Mashburn, of McDowell
county, North Carolina. He
came to the Chickasaw Nation
in October, 1871, and was mar-
ried two years later to Henrietta
Eastman, sister of Charles East-
man. In 1874 under the Overton
administration he was appointed
constable of Panola, which office
he occupied for three years. For
four successive years he filled
the office of sherifi', after which
he was elected county judge. In
1886 Mr. Mashburn was called
by the public vote to a seat in
the Senate, which he filled hon-
orably and intelligently until the
end of his term, after which he
retired from politics, and is now
devoting his attention to farm-
ing and general mercantile busi-
ness, which he opened at Colbert
in 1888. Mr. Mashburn, though
very reticent on the subject, has
a very interesting war record.
When the war broke out he en-
listed in the First Confederate,
Arkansas Cavalry, and afterward
joined Brook's First Batallion,
being present at thirty-six engage-
ments without having received a
wound. Equally strange is the
fact that he has never been
paroled by the United States
government, nor ever has he
taken the oath of allegiance.
WILLIAM TALLEY.
[OHICKASAW.]
William was born in Charleston,
S. C, in 1850, and came to
Paul's Valley, Chickasaw Nation,
in 1872. On his arrival in the
Territory Mr. Talley devoted his
first few years to the business of
freighting, at that time very prof-
itable, and was employed by the
U. S. government carrying
goods from Caddo, Indian Ter-
ritory, to the Indian Reservation
at Fort Sill. In 1877 he drove
cattle from Erin Springs to Col-
orado and Wyoming, remaining
two years on the cattle range in
the former Territory. In 1879
he settled down on the Washita
River, Indian Territory, and in
1881 secured his Indian right by
marrying Agnes, daughter of
Senator Nelson Chigley, one of
the most progressive of the
full-blood Chickasaws. By this
union he had four children,
Fannie, William Nelson, Tom
Perry and Suda Bell, the oldest
aged eight years, and the yougest
three years. His wife died Feb.
16, 1888, aged twenty-six years.
Mr. Talley has eight hundred
acres under fence.
*-
-«
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-*
232
LEADERS AND LEADING 3IEN
S. W. WALLACE.
[CHICKASAW.]
This gentleman was born in Char-
lotte, N. C, educated in Texas,
graduating at Commercial Col-
lege, New Orleans. In 1861 he
enlisted in Roberts' Regiment,
Magruder's Arm J, and exchanged
into General Terry's Scouts. He
was through the entire Louisiana
Campaign, and finally came out
of Missouri with Pap Price in
1865. In 1884 he struck out for
the Chickasaw Nation and open-
ed a mercantile business at Erin
Springs, where he kept on
hand a good stock of cattle and
horses. It was soon necessary,
however, that he should prove
his right in the country, but hav-
ing plenty of witnesses he had
little difficulty in sustaining his
claim to citizenship. Under the
act of March, 1889, Mr. Wallace
was appointed U. S. Commis-
sioner at Erin Springs, and un-
der the act of May 2, 1890, be-
came Notary Public. In 1876
he married Mary W. Moore,
daughter of W. G. Moore, de-
ceased, of Kaufman county,
Texas, by whom he has one boy,
eight years old. His wife has
been teaching school at the
Springs for over two years. Mr.
Wallace has five hundred acres
under cultivation, two hundred
head of stock and fifty horses.
He gives employment to fifteen
hands at present.
WILLIAM THOS. SHANNON.
[CHICKASAW.]
WiLLiAN was born near Denison,
Texas, in 1862, and educated at
the seminary of that city. Mr.
Shannon came to Paul's Valley,
Indian Territory, in 1883, and
soon afterward entered the bus-
iness house of Stone and Myers,
Whitehead, and afterward that
of James Rennie, remaining in
Whitehead nearly three years.
While employed in the business
establishment of Calvin Grant,
at Paul's Valley, in 1887, he mar-
ried Laura Mayes, daughter of
David Mayes, of Beef Creek, by
whom he has two children, The-
resa and Joseph Scott. In 1888
he came to Purcell and there en-
tered the mercantile business in
partnership with Mr. Joe Myers,
the twain purchasing the interest
owned by C. F. Wauntland &
Sons. Messrs. Shannon and
Myers keep a stock of some
twenty thousand dollars, and
have an excellent trade. The
former has two thousand five
hundred acres under fence and
six hundred in cultivation, giv-
ing labor to some twelve men
annuallv.
*-
-*
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
233
-^
*-
CHARLES B. CAMPBELL.
[CHICKASAW.]
As WE approach the north west-
ern border of the Chickasaw Na-
tion, we find ourselves among the
great horse breeders and racing
men of the Indian Territory. C.
B. Campell (or Young Charlie as
he is called) is prominent among
this community, having in his
stables at the present time three
notable racers, viz: "Tom,"
"Barney" and "Betty," the lat-
ter known by her fast five-eighths
of a mile record at Muskogee in
1890. Charlie was born Jan-
uary, 1861, at Fort Arbuckle,and
educated at Pawnee City, Neb.
The early years of his life were
spent with cattle, having a small
stock of his own, and being em-
ployed to take charge of a herd,
the property of his uncle, M. T.
Johnson. In July, 1890, Mr.
Campbell opened a business
house at Minco, at the Junction
of the Chicago & Rock Island
R. R., which place is now in a
prosperous condition. Besides
his interest in the mercantile bus-
iness, Mr. Campbell has one
thousand five hundred head of
cattle and five hundred acres of
land under cultivation. In 1884
he married Maggie, daughter of
the well known stockman. Bill
Williams, of Anadarko.
CHARLES HOBART HEALD.
[CHICKASAW.]
Charles Hobart Heald was
born at Skullyville, Choctaw
Nation, March 17, 1843, his par-
ents having originally removed
from Massachusetts to the Indian
Territory some time previous to
his birth. In 1848 he removed
to New Orleans, La., and after
completing his education in the
east, Charles returned to the Na-
tion in 1860. The following year
he was married to Eliza Guy,
daughter of W. R. Guy, and sis-
ter of Gov. W. M. Guy. Mr.
Heald's wife died in 1887, and
of a family of ten children only
five are living. He has lived at
Boggy Depot, Mill Creek and is
now located at Healdton, I. T.
Mr. Heald was a personal
friend and great admirer of
Gov. Cyrus Harris, and also of
Gen. D. H. Cooper. The sub-
of this sketch has been through
the war with the Indians: first
with the Chickasaw Battalion and
then with the Second Choctaws.
He has held the office of county
clerk and represented his county
in the legislature.
Mr. Heald is now engaged in
farming in order to be at home
with his motherless children. No
white citizen is more universally
respected than C. H. Heald.
*
234
-*
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
WILLIAM FOX.
[CHICKASAW.]
William Fox was born in Robin-
son county, Texas, in 1853, and
came to the Indian Territory in
1870. Soon after his arrival Mr.
Fox went to work assisting his
fatlier to open a farm east of
Stonewall, on what is known as
Deer Creek. After eight years
of diligent labor he married An-
gelina Manning, daughter of Dr.
T. J. Manning, of Caddo, where
he was for some time afterward
employed assisting his brother in
the mercantile business. In 1881
he left Caddo accompanied by
his wife and made his head-
quarters at Los Yegas, New Mex-
ico, for twelve months. From
thence he traveled to San Fran-
cisco. Victoria(British Columbia),
and Seattle, finally " checking
up " at Snowhannich City, Wash-
ington Territory, where he made
his home for nearly four years.
In 1886 he moved back to Los
Yegas, and after a stay of fifteen
months returned to the Indian
Territory and opened a confec-
tionery establishment at Pur-
cell in 1887. The following
year we find him in the agricul-
tural business, and opening a
farm, eight hundred acres of which
he now has in a state of cultiva-
tion. In 1890 he moved back
to town and established a billiard
and pool hall, which now engages
his attention. Mr. Fox has spent
a good deal of time and money
in traveling, but does not ap-
pear to regret it in the least.
W. G. KIMBERLAIN.
[CHICKASAW.]
W. G. KiMBERLAiN was bom in
Washington county, Kentucky,
and educated in Missouri. He
came to the Indian Territory in
1870 and the same year married
Lizzie Mitchell, daughter of Ben
Mitchell, of Pickins county.
During the war Mr. Kimberlain
served in Shanks' Regiment, Gen.
Joe Shelby's Cavalry, and went
through the entire campaign
without a wound, notwithstand-
ing seventeen holes having been
shot through his clothes. Having
an early predilection for the cattle
business, Mr. K. devoted his en-
ergies to it both in Texas and the
Territory; so that besides twelve
hundred head in the neighbor-
hood of Whitehead, he owns a
goodly stock in Grayson coun-
ty, Texas. Besides this he has
fourteen hundred acres of land
under cultivation at home, and
is a large stockholder in the Mer-
chant and Planters' Bank, of
Sherman, Texas.
-*
•i<-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
235
-*
*-
MR. AND MRS. H. F. BAKER.
[CHICKASAW.]
The son of Samuel D. Baker,
of Saratoga, New York, was
born in 1839; educated at India-
napolis, Indiana, and came to
Caddo, Indian Territory, in 1881,
immediately afterward marrying
Mary Bonde, widow of the late
Captain Hightower. His wife,
while at Wappa Nucka Academy,
an orphan girl of five years, was
adopted by Mrs. Mary Davis, a
missionary, and placed at school
in Oxford, Ohio, afterward mov-
ing to Hamilton county, near
Cincinnati, until her education
was complete at twenty-two years
of age. Mrs. Baker owes to Mrs.
Davis all that she is, and all that
she has accomplished, which is
by no means trifling, as she has
taught with the greatest success
for nearly nine years at Sandy,
Tishomingo andArmstrongAcad-
emy. In 1889 Mr. and Mrs.
Baker moved to the old Fletcher
place, where they now reside. A
y^ar or two previously they had
owned a large stock of cattle
close to Caddo, but the Texas
fever robbed them of their ac-
quired wealth, and they depend
principally upon farming for a
subsistance. They are kind and
hospitable, and much beloved by
neighbors.
GEORGE R. BEELER.
[CHICKASAW.]
This gentleman was born at Rock-
port,Mo.,in 1854 and educated at
Highland, Kan. Mr. Beelercame
to the Indian Territory in 1879,
and settled close to Fort Ar-
buckle, where he held a stock of
cattle on Caddo Creek. Later
on he formed a partnership in
the business with Calvin Grant,
and between them they had
sixty thousand dollars invested
in hoofs and horns. In 1889 he
sold out, and the same year es-
tablished the Bank of Purcell,
Indian Territory. In July, 1890,
he sold his interest in this estab-
lishment and immediately after-
ward founded the Bank of Com-
merce, of which he is now vice-
president, F. H. Swain, presi-
dent (the latter gentleman is
president of the American Na-
tional Bank, Arkansas). Mr.
Beeler has some fourteen hun-
dred acres of land under cultiva-
tion, and a pasture eight miles in
circumference. He gives labor
annually to about twenty men.
In 1881 Mr. Beeler married
Mary, daughter of Thomas Grant,
of Fort Arbuckle, by whom he
had three children, but losing his
wife in 1888 he has since married
Georgie Collins, daughter of
Hon. Daniel Collins, of Colbert
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236
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LEADERS AND LEADING 3MEN
JOSEPH H. RILEY.
[CHICKASAW.]
Joseph was born in 1863 in the
Choctaw Nation; is the son of
Col. James Rilej, a leading man
in his day, but who died when
Joseph was but a child, so that
he was raised bv his father-in-law,
*-
JOSEPH H. RILEY.
Milton Brown, of Wah-pa-nucka.
The young man had a liberal ed-
ucation, having gone through
a thorough literary training at
Springfield, Mo., Booneville,
Mo., and Albany, N. Y. In
1866 he married Susan Cut-chub-
by, who died two years after-
ward. Mr. Riley has since
united himself to Miss Sallie
Moore, a ISTorth Carolina lady.
by whom he has one child, aged
thirteen months. His property
consists of two ranches contain-
ing one thousand head of cattle,
and nearly one hundred horses,
besides a farm which is now in
course of cultivation.
SIMON KEMP.
[CHICKASAW.]
Simon is a son of the distin-
guished Chickasaw, Joel Kemp,
and was born in December, 18-12,
on Clear Creek, near Fort Tow-
sen, Choctaw Nation; after which
his family moved close to Bloom-
field in 181:1:. He married El-
vira Colbert in 1862, and two
years after her death (which hap-
pened in 1869), he married her
younger sister, Eliza.
Mr. Kemp was first elected to
office in the second Harris ad-
ministration, when he was made
Sergeant-at-Arras: his next office
being that of Constable of Pan-
ola county. During the Overton
administration he was elected to
the House of Representatives,
and was re-elected each year dur-
ing the administrations of Burney
and Wolfe. During Guy's exec-
utive term, which followed, Mr.
Kemp was elected Speaker of
the House, in which office he ac-
quitted himself admirably. At
the same period he was one of
*
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OK THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
237
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the Committee on Citizenship.
After this, in 1886, he ran for
County Judge against Mr. Frank-
lin, and was beaten by two votes;
again, in 1888 (when Byrd was
forced by the National party to
usurp the Executive seat), Simon
Kemp became a candidate for
the judgeship of his county, and
was elected over W. Finch, He
still holds the office to the appa-
rent satisfaction of all parties.
Mr. Kemp is a farmer and has
two hundred acres of land under
fence at the old home of his
father, at which place he has re-
sided for forty-six years. He is
also owner of the Joel Kemp
ferry, on Ked River, which
brings him in a comfortable rev-
enue. He has no heirs, the chil-
dren of his first wife, two in
number, having died at an early
age. ^^^^^^^
J. F. MYERS.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born January 16, 1855, in Gray-
son county, Texas. He was ed-
ucated in Sherman and Boiiham,
Texas, and completed his educa-
tion at Carlton College, Bon-
ham. From there he came to
White Bead Hill, Indian Terri-
tory, securing a clerkship from
James Rennie, who was engaged
in the mercantile business, and
remained with him nearly live
years, when he and Mr. L. L.
Stowe purchased Mr. Rennie's
entire interest in the business.
He remained in this capacity for
three years, when he sold out
and went into the cattle or stock
J. F. M\ 1 K^.
business. In April, ISST, he
married Miss Eula Colbert, the
only child of the late Holmes
Colbert. About one year after
their marriage he and his nephew,
W. T. Shannon, came to Pur-
cell, Indian Territory, and pur-
chased the entire interest of C.
F. Wantland & Sons, general
merchants at tliat place. He
has since then been engaged in
that business.
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238
-<b
LEADKRS AND LEADING MEX
JOHN FRANKLIN GOODING.
[CHICKASAW.]
J. F. Gooding was born in Mem-
phis, Tennessee, in November,
1859. He is the son of the late
Rev. Charles Gooding, of Col-
bert, a sketch of whose life will
be found elsewhere in this vol-
ume. John Franklin was born
while his father resided at Siv-
elTs Bend, on Red River, where
he had a large plantation and a
number of negroes. His mother
had gone back to the old State
in the interest of some property
which she wished to dispose of.
This accounts for his alien birth.
Returning from Sherman,
Texas, where he received his ed-
ucation, Franklin went to work
and opened a large farm close to
Colbert. In October, 1880, he
married Sarah Stedman, a young
lady from Illinois, who was em-
ployed as National teacher at
Colbert. Under the Burney ad-
ministration he was soon appoint-
ed Constable of Panola county,
and in 1885 was appointed Sher-
iff, which office he resigned in
favor of his agricultural pursuits,
which at that time were more re-
munerative. He was also a
member of the United States In-
dian Police from 1883 to 1886.
This office he also abandoned for
the reason above stated. Mr.
Gooding is a steady, industrious
gentleman, devoted to domestic
life and opposed to pushing him-
self forward in public affairs.
He is, however, a stanch adher-
ent to the progressive party.
He has no children.
WILEY FRANKLIN BROWN.
[CHICKASAW,]
Wiley was born in Floyd coun-
ty, Georgia, in 1857, and came
to Savanna, Choctaw Nation, in
1881:, where he opened a large
dairy for the supply of the miners.
In the year following he married
Eliza Johnson, daughter of Mar-
tin Johnson, a Chickasaw, who
was waylaid and killed in 1878
at the Double Springs. In 1887
he commenced railroading in the
Arbuckle Mountains, and parted
from his wife twelve months later.
Mr. Brown has recently turned
his attention to farming and has
two farms (one in the Choctaw
and the other in the Chickasaw
Nation) in course of cultivation.
The subject of this sketch in his
earlier days was reckless and
and daring, and had very little
veneration for Uncle Sam and
his laws. As a proof of this
statement we mention the fact
*-
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a
I
I
OS
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a
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OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
241
->&
that he was Captain of a whiskey
boat called the "Tamarack,"
which plied the waters of Red
River in 1880. This craft, which
was flat-bottomed, contained a
cabin sufficiently large to hold a
considerable number of bibulous
Indians and white men, and dur-
ing its brief career, bore upon its
deck more dead and bleeding
bodies than many a ship which
had sailed the ocean for ten years.
Captain Brown, as he was called,
was witness to the pistol fight on
board between Ed Lawrence and
Bailey Tucker in 1880, in
which the former was shot dead
instantly and the latter died
from the effects of his wound.
The "Tamarack"" was shortly
afterward broken into stove wood
by the officers of the law. It is
with the consent of Mr. Brown
that we publish this matter.
*-
DANIEL COLLINS.
[CHICKASAW.]
Son of George Collins was born
in Caldwell county, Kentucky, in
March, 1839. Came to Panola
county, Chickasaw Nation, in
May, 1852, in company with
four brothers, three of whom are
living. In 1866 he married
Sarah, the daughter of Joe Potts,
of Colbert, a citizen of the Na-
tion and uncle of Jim Potts, the
founder of Pottsborough, Texas.
At the commencement of the war
Mr. Collins enlisted under Gen.
Cooper, where he was for some
time employed guarding the
agency at Fort Cobb. Later on
he joined the Choctaw Brigade
and fought at Cabin Creek and
elsewhere, after which he return-
ed to his home and married. At
the commencement of Governor
Overton's administration, Daniel
Collins was elected to the Senate,
which office he filled for five
consecutive terms in a highly
creditable manner. In the elec-
tion of August, 1888, he tied
with Col. Lem Reynolds for the
Senate, but rather than cause ill-
feeling he retired from the field.
Mr. Collins has seven children-,
the oldest, Georgie, is married
to G. R. Beeler, banker at Pur-
cell; Louie, unmarried; Mirtie,
married to William Kersey, of
Carriage Point; Ben Carter,
Maud, Daniel and Charlie; the
oldest being twenty-three and the
youngest four years. Mrs. Sallie
Alverson, the oldest living Chick-
asaw, aged one hundred years,
is residing with Mr. Collins, and
is still able to recall the treaty
made between Andrew Jackson
and her people in 1829.
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2-12
LEADEltS AND LEADING MEN
*-
ROBERT L. REAM.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born at Ream Station, Choctaw
Nation, in 1871, the son of the
late Robert Ream, deceased
brother of the eminent sculp-
tress— Yinnie Ream Hoxie, of
Washington, D. C. Robert's
mother was Anna Guy, sister of
ex-Gov. Wm. Guy, of the Chick-
asaw Nation, and otherwise high-
ly connected. The deceased
Robert, or as he was generally
called Bob Ream, was a talented
gentleman, but somewhat reck-
less in disposition, and spent a
great portion of his life hunt-
ing, fishing and otherwise
ministering to his pleasure, for
he was enabled, through the in-
come derived from his wife's
share in the McAlester and
Savanna coal mines, to live with-
out any greater physical or men-
tal labor than an occasional re-
course to the profession of law,
for which he was educated. He
died after three days' illness in
1887, and his body was embalm-
ed and carried to the capital at
Washita. Young Robert, the
subject of this sketch, first went
to school at McAlester, then to
Maryland Avenue School, Wash-
ington, D. C, one term. From
thence to the Chickasaw Male
Academy, after which he return-
ed to Washington and entered
the Brent building public school.
From there he was transferred
to the Military School at Alex-
andria, Yirginia, where partially
losing the sight of both eyes, he
was obliged to desist schooling
for a considerable period. On
his return home he went to work
at the stock ranch of J. J. McAl-
ester, and later on for his step-
father, Milton Brown, who in
1888 had married Mrs. Ream.
Young Robert, who is now nine-
teen years of age, is a member of
the Panola County Militia. He
and his brother and sister will
be left in good circumstances, as
their mother, besides her mining
property, has a stock of cattle
and fourteen hundred acres of
good farm land under cultivation.
FRANCIS JOSEPH FISHER.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch is the
only son of Hon. D. O. Fisher,
of Tishomingo. He was born in
Panola county, Chickasaw Na-
tion, and completed his educa-
tion at the Jesuit College, Osage
Mission, Kansas. He spent the
earlier part of his life taking
*
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OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
243
-*
charge of bis father's stock inter-
ests ; after which he entered into
partnership with his father in the
mercantile business till 1886,
when he purchased the store of
Messrs. Bjrd & Perry, of Tisho-
mingo. His health becoming
impaired by close application to
business, he sold out the follow-
ing year and opened a large
farm. He is now residing seven
miles southeast of the capital,
where he owns 250 acres of good
farming land on the Washita
bottom, and on which he makes
three-quarters of a bale of cotton
and fifty bushels of corn to the
acre. In September, 1884, he
was appointed National Agent
under Gov. Jonas Wolf, which
office he held till 1886. During
Guy's administration in 1887 he
was appointed to the office of
Inspector of Permits, and is now
a stanch adherent of the pro-
gressive party, while his father
is looked upon as one of the pil-
lars of the National or Full-blood
element.
»i<-
JAMES DULIN.
[ CHICKASAW.]
Mr. Dulin was born in Georgia
in 1837, and went fo Texas in
1854, settling down first in Push
and then in Parker county. In
1858 he took a pack outfit from
Gainesville to Denver, Colorado,
in search of gold, and returned
after an unsuccessful trip of
eighteen months. For many
years after this Mr. Dulin scout-
ed with various independent
companies in pursuit of Coman-
ches and other hostiles in West-
ern Texas, and in 1861 was with
Sul Ross when he captured Cyn-
thia Ann Parker, who had been
for years in the custody of the In-
dians. At the breaking out of the
war he joined Alexander's regi-
ment of Texas troops, under the
command of General Cooper,
and was all through the war.
In 1871 he married Pocahuntas
Walner, daughter of the late Dr.
W. M. Walner, and settled on
Blue Creek, where he remained
till 1877, when he moved to his
present home at Paoli.
A finely cultivated farm of
five hundred acres, besides five
hundred head of cattle and one
hundred head of horses, now oc-
cupy the attention of Mr. Dulin,
who has never mingled in poli-
tics nor cast a vote in the Indian
Territory. He has a family of
four children and a cheerful
home, the doors of which are al-
ways open to entertain the weary
traveler.
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244
-*
LEADERS AND LEADING 3IEN
NEWTON G. WILSON.
[CHEROKEE AND CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born near Tishomingo, in 1871,
and is the only son of the late
"William Wilson, and only sur-
viving male member of his fam-
ily residing in the Chickasaw Na-
tion. He was educated at the
National Male Academy, where
he spent five years. Was mar-
ried at Ardmore on July 1-1,
1890, to Ollie, daughter of J. K.
Dawnard, of Gainesville, Texas.
Mr. Wilson spent the earlier
part of his life attendingto stock,
and is at present in partnership
with Mr. Galloway Frazier in the
cattle business, at whose place
he resides with his young wife.
*-
EDWARD Q. FRANKLIN.
[CHICKASAW.]
Edward was born in Lynn
county, Missouri, in 1859, being
a son of Judge J. H. Franklin,
of Buckhorn Grove, Panola
county. Edward was raised by
his grandmother, after his fath-
er had departed for the Indian
Territory until the year 1873,
when the young man came to
Panola and sought the home of
his father. In 1883 he married
Louisa Calhoun, daughter of
Johnson Calhoun, who was mur-
dered in 18 81 by unknown par-
ties. After his marriage Edward
Franklin opened a farm of one
hundred acres, where he is at
present residing. In 1888 he
was nominated for constable of
Panola by the progressive party,
and duly elected, serving until
the supreme court decided that
none but citizens by blood were
qualified to hold office. To this
effect he received a notice from
Governor Byrd in October, '89.
E. Q. Franklin's wife has a pair
of Chickasaw scissors which be-
longed to her great, great, grand-
father, and which were manufac-
tured by a member of the tribe in
1750, 140 years ago.
MR. AND MRS. W^ S. BURKS.
[chickasaws.]
Mk. Burks was born in the state
of Kentucky, in 1826, and was
educated at Lexington. He came
to the Indian Territory in 1855,
and the following year married
Mrs. Nancy Wall, widow of
David Wall, the ceremony taking
place at old Fort Washita. At
the breaking out of the war, Dr.
Burks became a staff surgeon in
General Cooper's command, but
returned before its termination
and married his second wife,
Susan Burney, the widow of John
Duke, a Mississippian. Susan
Burney was the daughter of
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OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
245
David Calhoun Burney, and sis-
ter of ex-Gov. B. C. Biirnc}'.
She was born in 1836 and emi-
grated to the Indian Territory in
18J:4. After their marriage Dr.
Burks and his wife moved to the
vicinity of the old Council House,
and in 1872 made their home
*-
MRS. BURKS.
near Caddo. In 1882 Mrs.
Burks, being a lady of excellent
business capacity, was awarded
the contract for the Chickasaw
Academy a t Wapanucka,
which she fulfilled most creditab-
ly during the term of five years.
On its expiration they moved
once more to Caddo, and in the
spring of 1887 to Paul's Yalley,
where they have five hundred
acres of land under cultivation
in the charge of five families.
Mrs. Burks' father, David Cal-
houn Burney, held a high posi-
tion among his people back in
Mississippi, and was beloved and
respected by both Indian and
white. He died in 1871.
WILLIAM W. COOPER, M. D.
[CHICKASAW.]
This gentleman was born in Tus-
cumbra.Ala., in '48, son of Ladell
Bacon Cooper, a lawyer of the
same place. In 1873 he came
to Blue Creek, Chickasaw Na-
tion, where he resided for some
time with Thomas Johnson, after-
ward renting a farm from Mazep-
pa Turner. In 1882 he married
Mattie Wells, and purchased a
farm from her father at Wapa-
nucka, which he afterward sold
him back in 1886, and purchased
his present holding on Rock
Creek close to Dougherty. Soon
afterward four of the tenant
buildings on his property were
accidently destroyed by fire. Dr.
Cooper has never practiced his
profession in this country, but
devotes his extra time to agricul-
ture. He is a member of the
progressive party, but is not a
politician.
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246
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
*
REV. COLBKRT E. BURRIS.
[CHICKASAW.]
C. E. BuRRis was born in Pon-
totoc county, Mississippi, in
1827. His fatlier died when he
was but live years old. In 1837
he moved with the tribe to Push-
ma-lein, Choctaw Nation, and
afterward went to live with his
mother on a small farm near
Tus-ka-ho-ma. In 1849 he went
to Doaksville in the capacity of
a cowboy. In 1850 he moved
back to Jacks Fork county and
married a Miss Hoyay. In 1856
he came to Pon-to-toc county,
where under the Harris adminis-
tration he was first elected as
Representative, and as Senator
in 1859. In 1861 he was elect-
ed Chickasaw Delegate to the
meeting of the five tribes at Old
Norfolk Town (Eufala), and sev-
eral years afterward to the. Gen-
eral Pike treaty, and in 1865 to
the treaty at Fort Smith. In la-
ter years he was elected three
times as a delegate to confer
with the Choctaws, the last time
in 1886. During thirty years
Mr. Burris served as Senator,
and was Supreme Judge at the
time that Governor Cyrus Harris
was counted out by B. C. Bur-
ney. During the Guy adminis-
tration he was appointed (in
1886 and 1887) to meet the
united tribes at Okmulgee and
Fort Gibson ; was appointed
during the Byrd administration
a member of the Chickasaw
Commission, which office he
holds at present.
Mr. Burris was ordained a
minister of the Methodist church
immediately after the war, and
is at present a member of the
Muskogee Conference. Soon af-
ter the death of his first wife he
married Miss L. E. Bradley, a
native-born Missourian, by whom
he had seven children, two alone
surviving from the family of his
first wife, whose names are
Hindeman and Isaac. Mr. Bur-
ris is a candidate for Governor in
the present election contest.
FRANK COLBERT.
[CHICKASAW.]
Of the many great names that
adorn the history of the Chicka-
saws that of Frank Colbert is
among the most illustrious. Mar-
tin Colbert, father of the subject
of our present sketch, as well as
of four sons besides, all of whom
emigrated to the Indian Terri-
tory with the mass of their tribe,
was born in Mississippi. The
home of his people was then in
the vicinity of Home Lake, where
■*
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OF THE INDIAN TERRITOKY.
247
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•i^-
the family of Martin Colbert was
brought up. At the age of about
sixteen years Frank, the oldest
son, arrived at Colbert, north of
Red River, vi'here he has since
resided. During a period of
fifty years Mr. Colbert has de-
voted himself exclusively to farm-
ing and stock-raising, and is very
wealthy. Although eminently
fitted to occupy the highest ofii-
ces within the gift of his people,
yet he has never permitted his
name to be mentioned in connec-
tion with politics.
Frank Colbert has been four
times married. His first wife
was named Martha McKinney, a
Cherokee, by whom he had two
children, Martin and Mary ; by
his second wife, Malinda Factor,
a Chickasaw, he had one daugh-
ter, named Sallie ; by his third
wife, George Anne McCarthy,
he had three children. Holmes,
Texana and Jennie; and by his
fourth wife, Lou Goldsby, a
Cherokee, he had nine children,
five of whom are living, namely:
Jim, May, Fannie, Harley and
Richard.
Mr. Frank Colbert has spared
no pains in the education of his
family, all of whom are bright
and talented. He is now in his
sixty-ninth year, beloved and re-
spected by all who know him.
SANDFORD MINOR MEAD.
[CHICKASAW.]
The son of Tyra Landers Mead,
of Carroll county, Georgia. The
subject of our sketch was born
in 1848, and came to Panola
county, Chickasaw Nation, with
his widowed mother in 1868,
settling within six miles of Col-
bert Station. Ih 1872 he married
a Chickasaw named Eliza Hote,
who survived but a few years,
after which, in 1878, he married
Rose, daughter of Dick Cobb, of
Panola, by whom he had one
son named Walter Bradford, who
is now nine years of age. In
1881, after the death of his wife,
which occurred shortly after the
birth of her son, Mr. Mead mar-
ried Frances Kemp, daughter of
the illustrious Joel Kemp, by
whom he has three children,
Martha Francis, Minor and Lan-
ders. The subject of this sketch
opened a farm on Island Bayou
in 1873. He has now one hun-
dred acres of land under cultiva-
tion, and is owner of what is
known as the Carpenter Blufi"
Ferry, on Red River. Mr. Mead
has kept himself completely
aloof from politics, never having
held any oftice save that of school
trustee forBloomfield Academy.
When he first came to the Ter-
*
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!248
LKADERS AND LEADING MEN
ritoi-y, Panola county was little
more than a wilderness, tliere be-
ing few farms which contained
over ten acres of land, the full-
bloods at tLat time contenting
themselves with two acres of corn
and nothing more. There were
but four plank houses in the
county, and the settlers were
forced to cross the river into
Texas to have their corn ground
into meal. Corn was the chief
article of trade, and Mr. Mead
traded grain for the first cast-
iron plow that was ever used
in the Nation, the primitive im-
plement being a rude iron blade
manufactured by the blacksmith.
Buggies were unknown at the
time, and the wagons were cast-
off iron axle government schoon-
ers fitted only for four-horse
teams. During the early days
the Indian people used to dry
leaves of the sumack in lieu of
tobacco, and invariably inhaled
the smoke. To this habit Mr.
Mead traces back the pulmonary
diseases which are yearly carry-
iner off the aboris^ines.
*
CHARLES E. EASTMAN.
[OHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born at old Fort Washita in Feb-
ruary, 18-i8. Ee is the only son
of Charles Franklin Eastman, of
Old Hollis, New Hampshire,who
in the latter years of his life
moved to the Chickasaw Nation,
and was post sutler at Fort
Washita, were his son, Charlie,
was born. In 1851 the Eastman
family moved close to Red River,
within six miles of Colbert, where'
the old gentleman died in 1874;
and shortly afterward Charlie and
his only sister, Matilda, were
left in possession of the family
homestead. Charlie devoted
much of his time to the raising
and breeding of horses, besides
cultivating one hundred and six-
ty acres of farming land. In
1880 he was elected as represen-
tative of his county during the
Overton administration, which
office he held for three successive
terms. He was re-elected under
Governor Burney, and held the
office one term. On the election
of Jonas Wolf to the guberna-
torial seat, Mr. Eastman was
once more called upon to take
his old place in the Senate, his
term expiring in 1886, after
which this gentleman withdraw
from public life and married
Miss Rita S. Wilkins, daughter
of Dr. A. Wilkins of Chetam
county, Tennessee, by whom he
has one son, Charles David East-
man. Matilda Eastman is married
to Joe Perry, of Panola county.
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OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
249
-•i<
JUDGE B. W. CARTER.
[CHICKASAW.]
Benjamin W. Carter was the
fourth son of David and Jane
Carter, half-breed Cherokees, of
Scotch and Irish descent. He
was born at the old Eed Hill, in
Marshal county, Alabama (old
Cherokee Nation), on January 5,
*-
JUDGE B. W. CARTER.
1837, and the following year his
parents came west with the large
emigration of Cherokees to their
new country west of the Missis-
sippi. They settled near Tahle-
quah, Cherokee Nation, where
they lived for several years and
raised a large family of children,
all of whom are dead except the
subject of this sketch and two
other brothers. Benjamin was
educated principally at the Cher-
okee Male Seminary; and after
he graduated there, followed va-
rious avocations, from cowboy to
school teacher, until the war
broke out in 1861, when he was
one of the first to rally to the
defense of Southern rights, and
stood the brunt of battle, with
all the other hardships of a sol-
dier's life, to the close of the war
in 1865. He went in as a pri-
vate and was captain of Com-
pany C, First Cherokee regi-
ment, when the war closed. His
regiment was then in the Chick-
asaw Nation, and was disbanded
at Fort Washita. The excite-
ment of the war being over, the
country being devastated and
robbed of all its wealth, confu-
sion reigning supreme every-
where, and the whole world ap-
pearing to frown upon a poor,
hungry, half-clad, defeated sol-
dier, it was then that Captain
Carter's finer feelings were
aroused, his true courage and
better judgment returned to the
surface, and he reluctantly but
manfully laid down his armor of
war for the implements of indus-
try and peace, to begin life anew.
Since that motley day he mar-
ried among the Chickasaw peo-
-*
<b-
-<b
2-50
LEADKKS AND LEADING ME\
pie, and lias been a useful man,
filling many high and responsible
public positions in their govern-
ment. His wife is a sister of
Gov. Wm. M. Guy. No wiser
or more learned judge has ever
sat upon the bench of the Chick-
asaw Nation than Judge Carter.
His versatility is remarkable,
being: an excellent writer and a
ready conversationalist. The
judge has always been looked
wpon as one of the leading spir-
its of the progressive party.
Judge Carter has become very
popular in the Indian Territory
and has a host of friends and
admirers wherever he is become
known.
HUMPHREY COLBERT.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this biography is
the son of the celebrated chief,
Winchester Colbert. Humphrey
was born close to the Canadian
Kiver, near North Fork, in 1842.
In 1860 he married Elmira Park-
er, a Chickasaw, and in 1862
enlisted as lieutenant of the
Chickasaw Battalion under Col.
Lem Reynolds, in which service
he remained for two years. In
1865 he was appointed Sheriff
and in 1866 elected County
Judge of Pontotoc county, which
office he held ''off and on" for
a term of three years and a half,
finally sending in his resigna-
tion. During the Harris admin-
istration he was first elected a
member of the House of Repre-
sentatives (1873); was re-elect-
ed in 1877, and again in 1886.
During the interim Mr. Colbert
held the offices of Interpreter for
the House, County and District
Clerk, Commissioner on Incom-
petent Funds and Attorney Gen-
eral of the Chickasaw Nation, so
that he has scarcely been out of
office for thirty years. At one
period he held no less than three
offices at the same time. At
present he is occupying that of
County Clerk, and was nominat-
ed March 25, 1890, by the Na-
tional party for Attorney Gen-
eral of the Nation. By his first
wife Mr. Colbert has five chil-
dren— Elizabeth, "Walton, Mar-
tha, Doherty and Louisa, the
oldest being twenty-eight and
the youngest sixteen years of
age. His first wife died in 1884,
after which he married Selina
Hamilton, daughter of Solomon
Ano-la-tubby.
Mr. Humphrey Colbert is a
pleasant -mannered gentleman,
with a good address, and is quite
popular among all parties.
*-
-*
iif-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
251
-*
J. H. GODFREY.
[CHICKASAW.]
J. H. Godfrey was born in Illi-
nois, November, 1848, and in the
spring of 1857 moved with his
parents to Lawrence, Kansas, at
that period an almost uninhab-
ited wilderness. He remained in
Kansas until the year 1860, at
*-
J. H. Godfrey.
which time his parents, perceiv-
ing the storm-cloud of war,
moved back to Illinois, where
they remained until 1866. After
which, taking Horace Greeley's
advice, they returned to the
west, this time settling in south-
ern Kansas, on what was known
as the Osage or Cherokee strip,
his mother being the second white
woman that ever settled west of
the Verdigris River, in what is
known as Montgomery county,
then the home of the Osages.
His father established a trading
post near Shunta Sopa, or Black
Dog town, two miles and a half
south of where Coffey ville, Kan-
sas, now stands. Here Young
Godfrey assisted his father for
two years, during which time he
acquired such a knowledge of
the Osage, or Washashe tongue,
as to enable him to become an
interpreter between the settlers
and the aborigines. At this
period Pa-hu-ska, orWhite Hair,
and Shunta Sapa, or Black Dog,
were the principal chiefs of the
Osages. In 1882 he left Kansas
and arrived in Denison, Texas,
while the town was in its infancy,
where he was employed in various i
capacities. In 1875 he came to j
Colbert, Indian Territory, where
he entered the business house of
Gooding &'Maupin; and in 1877
married the daughter of the for-
mer (C. E. Gooding), and by so
doing became a citizen of the
Chickasaw Nation. In October,
1877, he was appointed district,
county and probate clerk, and
was kept continuously in that of-
fice for six years; and being a
close student of the laws of the
Chickasaw Nation, was admitted
-*
25-;
*
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
to the bar by the Supreme court
in 1885. Since that time he has
held various offices of trust, per-
mit collector, cattle tax collector,
and served one year on the Na-
tional school board. In 1886
Mr. Godfrey was appointed by
Governor Guy to the office of at-
torney general of the Chickasaw
Nation, which office he filled in
a highly creditable manner, de-
spite the many difficulties against
which he was forced to contend.
At the time the disfranchisement
act went into effect in 1889, he
was draftsman of the law com-
mittee in the Legislature. In Sep-
tember, 1889, and since the dis-
franchisement of the white citi-
izens (citizens by marriage) he
has, both with tongue and pen,
espoused the cause of justice,
taking a firm stand in favor of
the progressive party.
Mr. Godfrey is a master mason
in good standing, a member of
the Methodist church, and a
strong advocate of temperance.
He is exceedingly versatile, be-
ing an excellent writer, a good
speaker, and a natural musician.
He owns a large farm close to
Colbert, to which he personally
attends. He has three children,
two boys and one girl, besides
an adopted son, who is a full-
blooded Chickasaw.
HON. JOSlAll BROWX-.
[CHICKASAW.]
'*Isa-to-ba" (White Deer), as he
is called by the full-bloods, is
one of the most remarkable mem-
bers of his tribe. Slightly above
the medium height, with long,
qi-
HON. JOSIAH BROWN.
fair hair and blue eyes, he pre-
sents a striking contrast to his
swarthy-complexioned brethren.
Although possessed of varied tal-
ents and a large fund of gen-
eral knowledge, Mr. Brown is
wholly destitute of ambition, and
has more than once refused the
nomination for Chief Executive,
an office for which he is admir-
ably fitted. He was born in
1835 at Memphis, Tenn. ; is the
son of L. L. Brown, a North
-*
&-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
253
-m
Carolinian, his mother being a
Chickasaw. After having re-
ceived a thorough education at
Arkansaw College, Fayetteville,
he moved to the Chickasaw Na-
tion, settling close to the mouth
of the Washita River in Novem-
ber, 1849. In 1856 he married
Frances Simpson, a white woman,
and pursued farming till the war
broke out, when he joined Com-
pany B of the First Chickasaw
Battalion. After the usual vi-
cissitudes of the war, he entered
upon his official and political ca-
reer immediately afterward, be-
ing appointed as National Secre-
tary by Governor Harris in 1866.
He had, however, held his first
office as early as 1857, when he
was appointed Clerk of the Dis-
trict and County Courts. Mr.
Brown held the office of National
Secretary under Gov. W. P.
Brown in 18T0, and during parts
of two terms under Governor
Overton. In 1874 he was ap-
pointed by Governor Harris as
Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court; and later, during the Bur-
ney administration, was elected
National Auditor. In 1873 he
was declared a member of the
House of Representatives, and
in 1886 (during the Guy admin-
istration) was called to the Sen-
ate. Among the lesser offices,
never sought for but always read-
ily conceded to '^Isa-to-ba," was
that of Secretary of the Senate,
District Clerk, Chairman of the
Law Revising Committee (two
terms), Secretary of the Citizen-
ship Committee, Delegate to
Washington, Delegate to the
General Convention of the In-
dian Tribes, Captain of Militia,
and Sheriff of his own county.
By this it will be seen that Mr.
Brown held every office within
the gift of the people save that
of Attorney General and Gov-
ernor of the Nation, both of
which offices he refused — the lat-
ter because it was productive of
almost innumerable responsibili-
ties, which did not tally with his
ideas of a pleasant and peace-
able life, and the former because
the remuneration was not pro-
portionate to the labor.
Although fully fifty-five years
of age, Josiah Brown appears to
be but a little over thirty-five.
His long, silky, fair hair, fine
as that of a girl, together with
his general appearance, attracts
public attention wheresoever he
goes; while his opinions on na-
tional and legal questions are
respected by all parties. He
has two children, Mary Kate,
married to D. S. Norman: and
C. H. Brown, aged twenty-four.
*-
-*
254
-*
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
COL. gp:orge. w. harkins.
[CHICKASAW. J
About the middle of August,
1890, the citizens of tlie Choc-
taw and Chickasaw Nations
were stricken with grief and sur-
prise on learning of the sudden
death of Col. George W. Har-
kins, tlie o;reat Chickasaw ora-
*-
COLONEL GEdKGK W. HARKINS.
tor and statesman. He had but
a few weeks previous been in the
city of Washington, transacting
important business for his people,
and appeared in good health un-
til a few days before his death.
It is believed by many w4io are
conversant with his family, that
he died of heart disease, hastened
by over-taxation of the mind, for
he was a man of great nervous
energy and unflagging strength
of purpose.
To pronounce the late Colonel
Harkins a man of remarkable
ability would be making but a
mild assertion. Not only has he
established a lasting reputation
in his own country, but at the
United States capitol, where he
has been a constant delegate for
many years. His speech before
thecommittee against the opening
of Oklahoma to white settlement
was copied by nearly all the prin-
cipal papers in the union, and
secured for him the title of the
•'Rawhide Orator." Through-
out the entire contest Colonel
Harkins was faithful to his mis-
sion, and fought the passage of
the bill with unflagging courage
and tenacity long after delegates
from the other tribes had lost
hope or ceased to exert them-
selves. At the National capitol
few men had so many stanch
friends as Col. Harkins. His
popularity was unbounded as his
generosity, which unfortunately
for himself, had no limit so long
as the large-hearted delegate had
the means within his reach.
Born in Mississippi, the sub-
of this sketch moved to Doaks-
ville, in the Choctaw Nation,
with the general emigration.
-»i»
*-
-*
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
255
His father's name was Willis J.
Harkins, a well-known man
among his people. For some
reason or another Colonel Har-
kins preferred living among the
Chickasaws, and so left the Choc-
taw Nation, where the members
of his family were so prominent.
At the commencement of the
war he entered the confederate
service as a captain. In 1873
he was appointed superintendent
of the Chickasaw board of edu-
cation, and in 1876 became Na-
tional delegate to Washington,
which office he held, off and on,
until the day of his death. Col.
Harkins was also elected mem-
ber of the Council on several oc-
casions, and held minor offices
from time to time, but was emi-
nently adapted to that of dele-
gate, his diplomacy and states-
manship being of vital impor-
tance to the Chickasaws.
Colonel Harkins left a wife,
several daughters and two sons:
G.W. Harkins, Jr. and William,
both promising young men.
«<-
W. F. LANEY.
(PROPRIETOR CHICKASAW ENTERPRISE.)
The above-named weekly jour-
nal is one of the permanent in-
stitutions of the Chickasaw Na-
tion, and is the first newspaper
ever established in that country.
It dates from January, 1887,
when Messrs. Fields & Martin,
with the assistance of Col. W.
F. Laney, undertook the respon-
sibility of its columns. The for-
mer gentlemen, however, sold
their interest to Hon. Sam Paul,
and in February, 189U, it fell
into the handsof Col. Laney, who
had been absent for some time
in Mississippi but returned in
time to purchase the plant, res-
uri-ect the publication, and pay
off the debts incurred by the pre-
vious owners. The paper is now
on a good paying basis.
Col. W. F. Laney was born in
Russell county, Alabama, in
1845. At the breaking out of
the war he entered the First Ala-
bama Artillery and served till
his discharge at Macon, Georgia,
in 1865. He was very severely
wounded at the battle of Jack-
son, Mississippi.
At an early day Mr. Laney
learned the printing business
with his brother-in-law, B. F.
Owen, proprietor of the Union
Springs (Ala.) Gazette. Since
then he has worked on the Mont-
gomery Ledger, Mobile Regis-
ter, Flack's Bulletin, Houston
Times and Austin Journal, be-
sides being connected with sev-
eral papers in Fort Worth as
foreman and city circulator.
>*
2.56
LEADKRS AND LEADING MEX
GOV. WM. L. BYRD.
[CHICKASAW.]
The life of this notable Execu-
tive has undergone a wondrous
transition witliin the past three
years. His early career of un-
eventful peace has given place
to one of excessive turbulence.
The placid, plodding business
*-
GOV. WILLIAM L. BYRD,
man of bygone years is now
metamorphosed into a ruler
whose every action is looked for-
ward to with something very
much akin to dread. His recent
action in the disfranchisement of
the white citizens was alone suffi-
cient to gain him notoriety. But
let us commence at the begin-
ning. William L. Byrd, from
the most reliable information,
was born in Pontotoc, Missis-
sippi, being the son of John Byrd,
a white man, and Mary Moore,
of Chickasaw and Irish descent.
Some of Mr. Byrd's political op-
ponents declare him to have
been a white child in infancy,
adopted by the family; but we
do not see any grounds for this
supposition. In youth William
was sent to school at Pine Ridge,
Choctaw Nation, and later to the
Chickasaw Male Academy. The
first office he held in the service
of his country was that of Rep-
resentative, in 1867, and after-
ward Draughtsman of the House
for two sessions. At this time
he was residing in the Choctaw
Nation. Moving to Stonewall
in 1875, he was elected one of
three in 1877 to revise the Chick-
asaw laws. In 1881 he was ap-
pointed School Superintendent,
and in 1882 was elected Dele-
gate to Washington ; was Na-
tional Agent until 1885, and the
following year was a candidate
for the Governorship against
William Guy, ex-Governor Wolf,
B. C. Burris, Palmer Moseley
and R. L. Boyd. The result
was considerably in Guy's favor;
but. as usual, when the candidate
fails to secure a majority of the
total votes cast, the matter was
iB-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
257
->B
referred to the Legislature, and
Guy was elected by only one ma-
jority over Bvrd. In 1888 the
race between Byrd and Guy was
again run, resulting as before;
but Byrd's party being a major-
ity in the legislative body, they
resolved to contest the election,
and so doing, cast out a score of
devils in the shape of illegal
votes, electing Byrd by a major-
ity of forty-eight. Here was a
repetition of the Overton-Harris
affair, and which was followed
by disagreeable results, the Uni-
ted States being called upon to
decide the quarrel. Here, again,
Byrd was victorious. Uncle Sam
being partial to the man of sober
aspect and business parts. In
1890, when Sam Paul was in the
arena as a Representative candi-
date of the Progressive party.
Governor Byrd met him in the
lists and defeated him by an im-
mense majority. The disfran-
chisement of the white voters
accounts for this majority, for
had the latter been permitted to
vote, Paul must undoubtedly
have been the victor. Before
a week after the election had
passed the report was spread far
and wide that Byrd had been as-
sassinated; but no attempt of the
kind has ever come to light.
The Governor declares his in-
tention of looking after the in-
terests of all his people, without
respect to their political creed,
nor will he interfere with the
landed rights of the white citi-
zens. This he has declared to
the writer of the present biog-
raphy.
Governor Byrd entered the
mercantile business in 1873 at
Doaksville, and moved to Stone-
wall, where he has been doing:
an immense business. He has
three hundred acres under culti-
vation and one thousand head of
graded cattle. In 1862 he mar-
ried Susan Folsom, daughter of
David Folsom, ex-Chief of the
Choctaws, but has no family.
The children of his neighbors,, of
whom he is extremely fond, re-
joice in climbing to the knees of
the big, good-natured man while
he is reading what the press has
to say about his barbarous treat-
ment of the white man.
Governor Byrd, on his moth-
er's side, is of the House of In-
cun-no-mar.
•5-
PURCELL REGISTER.
Tins popular weekly paper was
founded by E. P. Ingle in 1888,
and purchased from that gentle-
man in the summer of 1889 by
R. Y. Mangum, a native of Mis^
sissippi, whose name is now at its
*
^
-•i<
258
LEADKllS AND LEADING >IE\
masthead. Mr. Maugum was ap-
pointed postmaster at Purcell in
October of the same year, but
manages to devote sufficient
time to the editorial and local
columns to make the paper in-
teresting. This gentleman was
a democrat until the nomination
of Horace Greeley by his party,
when he immediately became a
republican. At the age of twen-
ty years he married Miss Mary
E. Guffin and lived many years
in Texas, moving to Purcell in
1888, where he engaged in the
mercantile business.
The Purcell Register is devoted
to the interests of progression
and final absorption of tlie In-
dians by the U. S. government.
J. T. HENEGAR & CO.
The above-named business firm,
established in Stonewall, Chicka-
saw Nation, in October, 1889,
is the result of a consolidation
between the mercantile houses
of Mrs. J. James and that of
Henegar & Co. The present
firm keeps a general assortment
of goods to the amount of about
eight thousand dollars, and does
an extensive business in and out
of the county.
J. T. Henegar was born in
Warren county, Tennessee, in
1847, and during the war served
in the Home Guard — Federal
service. In 1869 he emigrated
to the Chickasaw Nation and set-
tled on the Canadian River.
Moving to Stonewall the follow-
ing year he commenced his ex-
perience on a farm, but soon af-
terward became a clerk in the
mercantile establishment of C.
C. Rooks. Later on he was em-
ployed in the same capacity by
Byrd & Perry until he resolved
to devote himself entirely to ag-
riculture, and once more became
a tiller of the soil. In 1889,
however, we find him behind the
counter in the business house of
Messrs. Hodges and Surrell, in
Atoka; and in 1890, we again
meet him in Stonewall, a partner
in one of the prominent firm sof
the Chickasaw Nation. After
the death of his first wife, Parlee
Cummins, Mr. Henegan married
Ada Lillard in 1889. His part-
ners in the firm are B. F. Byrd
and Mrs. J. James. Of the for-
mer it may well be said that he
is the most popular citizen in the
Chickasaw Nation. Frank is
a brother of Gov. W. L. Byrd,
and at present holds the office
of National treasurer. He is the
owner of a large stock of cattle;
a corn, wheat and saw mill; and
1,500 acres of land. Elsewhere
we furnish a sketch of his career.
*-
-^
9-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
259
-ii<
*-
H. T. MILLER.
PROPRIETOR "TERRITORIAL TOPIC."
This sparkling little six-quarto
sheet, the mouth-piece of the Pro-
gressive party in the Chickasaw
Nation, was established August
1, 1889, by Henry Turner Mil-
ler, of Glasgow, Missouri. No
sooner had it made its first trip
to the hearths and homes of the
leading and more enlightened
of the citizens, than they recog-
nized in their midst a publication
of no ordinary merit, and under
the guidance of a man of unde-
niable ability, with courage to
maintain his convictions, such
institutions being rare at that
time, the Territorial Topic was
successful from its birth, so that
after the first few months its cir-
culation never fell short of one
thousand copies. On August 6,
1890, the day following the con-
solidation of the Agricultural
Wheel and Farmers' Alliance,
the Territorial Topic was declared
the official organ of the great
body, which has no doubt added
considerably to its list of readers.
After the disfranchisement was
effected, and during the political
disorder that followed, Mr. Miller
spared no pains in championing
the cause of the outraged citi-
zens, whose rights had been
unjustly wrested from them by
the administration. The able
young editor, before settling in
this country, spent three years in
Stockton, Kansas, where he edi-
ted the Rooks County Democrat
during the last campaign. His
arrival in this quarter was Quite
opportune, as the majority of
the papers printed in the Chicka-
saw Nation find it more to their
advantage to be passive in poli-
tics, than to take issue in legisla-
tive questions. Not so, how-
ever, with the Territorial Topic,
which appears to succeed best
when armed and ready for the
war path. Mr. Miller has made
a host of friends during his resi-
dence in this country.
W. A. NORMAN
This gentleman was born in 1858
at Bloomfield, Mo., and is the
son of W. W. Norman. Wil-
liam's two brothers, D. S. and
Nelson H., came to the Chicka-
saw Nation some twenty years
ago, and marrying members of
the tribe, settled down to a pros-
perous citizenship.
In 1882 William resolved to
find his brothers, and landing at
McAlester, heard of their where-
abouts, and finally settled at the
Chickasaw capital, where he
opened a blacksmith shop, at
which trade he has since labored.
>b-
200
LEADEltS AND LEADING MEN
*-
JOURDAX A. SMITH.
The above-nainod citizen of the
Chickasaw Nation was born in
Carroll count}-, Tennessee, in
November, 1830. In the year
1859, seized with a desire to
travel, he left his home in the
old states and came to the Indian
Territory, settling near Tisho-
mingo. In 1802 he opened a
large farm and married Mrs.
Nancy McLish, a Chickasaw. In
the year 1863 Mr. Smith joined
the Chickasaw Battalion under
Col. Lem Reynolds, but was soon
called from the ranks and sent
on detached service for the
quarter-master's department. In
1806, when peace was restored,
the subject of this sketch was
elected sheriff of Tishomingo
county, in which office he con-
tinued until two years had elapsed,
when under the administration
of Governor Cyrus Harris he
w^as elected as representative of
his county two successive terms.
In 1870, moving to Panola coun-
ty, Mr. Smith purchased a large
farm close to Colbert, where he
now resides. The following year,
under the administration of Gov-
ernor Overton, he was again
elected to the legislature, which
office he tilled in a highly credi-
table manner. At the expiration
of his term, however, he aban-
doned politics and has since con-
fined himself exclusively to farm-
ing. Mr. Smith has suffered con-
siderably during the past four
years from the loss of one of his
eyes, which deprives him from
the pleasure of reading, a pas-
time to which he was greatly de-
voted. His family, which con-
sists of two daughters and one
son — Mary Ellen, Josephine and
Jourdan Couchatubbie — are all
married, with the exception of
the latter, a boy of nine years of
age. The former, Mary Ellen,
is the wife of W. E. Washington
of Marietta, L T., while Jose-
phine has recently wed William
Stone, of Sivell's Bend, Texas.
To comment upon the character
and reputation of Mr. Smith
would be waste of time. Enough
that he is both loved and respected
by all men, white and Indian
alike. Would that all men of his
age were as highly revered.
JAMES DAVISON. '
James was born in 1837 in Upper
Canada; emigrated to Cincinnati,
Ohio, in 1856, after which he
came to Fort Washita, Indian
Territory, with a Mr. Humes, en-
tering the mercantile establish-
ment of Humes & Hamilton at
that point in I860. On the out-
break of the war he enlisted in
-^
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
261
*
^
the Eleventh Texas regiment in
Grayson county, under Colonel
Young, and for a period of twelve
months raided the Cherokee
country and Neutral strip, de-
priving the Kansas troops of one
of their most valuable sources of
supply. Shortly afterward he
marched under Colonel Mcintosh
to the assistance of General Coop-
er, who was leading a campaign
against the Pin Indians, or North-
ern Cherokees, but meeting the
main army of the Pins, Mcin-
tosh attacked and routed them
with great loss. Cooper is said
to have never forgiven his broth-
er officer for that premature at-
tack and signal victory. His
jealousy was short-lived how-
ever, for Mcintosh was killed
sometime after at the battle of
Pea Ridge, or Elk Horn, Mo.
The subject of this sketch served
gallantly at the latter engagement
as well as those of Richmond,
Ky., Murphy sborough, Chica-
amaugua, Missionary Ridge, and
the Georgia campaign with its
numberless encounters of lesser
note. After the war Mr. Davison
settled close to Blue, where he
remained until 1872, when he
moved to Mill Creek and there
opened a large general mer-
cantile business, which he is op-
erating at the present time. On
his arrival at that point the coun-
try was very sparsely settled,
there being no postoffice south
closer than Burneyville, nor west
nearer than Paul's Yalloy, The
country was in a lawless condi-
tion, death being the only method
of solving the social or political
problem. Mr. Davison never
married, but has been so long in
the country as to be looked upon
almost as a native.
GEORGE J. WILSOX.M.D.
This gentleman was born in the
month of April, 1853, in Hen-
derson county, Texas, and is the
son of W. H. Wilson, M. D., of
Gainesville, Texas. He com-
pleted his education and gradu-
ated in medicine at Louisville,
Kentucky, in 1874; after which
he settled in Panola county,
Texas, and moved to Milam,
where he practiced his profession
for seven years. Thence he
came to Grayson county, where
he remained till the opening of
the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe
Railroad through the Chickasaw
Nation ; after which he moved
to Washita Station in 1887. Be-
sides his practice. Dr. Wilson is
postmaster at Washita, which is
a distributing point for four offi-
ces. He is a pleasant gentleman
and a popular physician.
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262
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LIOADERS AND LEADING MEN
CHARLIE E. BETTS.
[CHICKASAW AND CHEROKEE,]
The subject of this sketch was
born near Armstrong Academy
in 1846, and attended a neigh-
borhood school until fourteen
years of age. Afterward he
*-
went to Armstrong Academy,
where he remained for two terms.
At the close of the war he mar-
ried Katie Robins, a Cherokee,
the eldest daughter of Joshua
Robins. In 1867 he moved to
the Cherokee Nation close to
Webber's Falls, where he en-
gaged in the stock business, and
in 1878, after attentively read-
ing law for some years, obtained
a license and commenced prac-
tice, pursuing the legal profession
for fourteen years at Webber's
Falls. In 1881 he returned to
the Choctaw Nation, and there
took charge of J. J. McAlesters
ranch for two years. Thence he
moved to Caddo in 1889, and
commenced farming, at the same
time resuming his legal practice.
His wife dying in 1882, left him
two children, Nancy E. and
Amanda A., so he married again
in 1889.
Mr. Betts has one hundred
and seventy-eight acres of farm
land and between six and seven
hundred cattle, twenty head
of horses, and three hundred
head of hogs, besides owning the
constitutional right of the Kully-
chaha coal claim. He is a very
bright, intelligent man, with a
thorough knowledge of men and
capable of getting along in any
part of the world under all
circumstances.
WILLIAM MCBRIDE.
This popular merchant was born
in Prairie county, Arkansas, in
1853, and was educated princi-
pally under private tuition until
he came to the Choctaw Nation,
when he received instructions
from Prof. O. C. Hall, under
whose charge he remained over
two years. After this he entered
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OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
263
-*
the establishment of J. J. Phil-
lips, Atoka, where he remained
for five years. In 1879 he built
a bridge across Boggy, which he
took charge of for two years. In
1881 he moved to Stonewall,
WILLIAM M'BEIDE.
Indian Territory, and clerked for
C. C. Rooks, a leading merchant
at that point. Returning to Atoka
in 1883, he entered business with
his brother, Hiram and Joseph
Lindsay, and purchased the build-
ing and stock of A. B. Cass, and in
a very short time built up the
largest trade in the country. The
McBride brothers then purchased
Joseph Lindsay's interest; mean-
while Lehigh became a promis-
ing point for trade, and the Mc-
Brides moved their stock to that
place and sold the building to
the Lankford Bros. The Lehigh
firm was known by the title of
Hodges, McBride & Co. They
continued in business about four
months, and sold to J. J. McAl-
ester, who formed a stock com-
pany, in which he took stock.
In 1878 Mr. McBride married
Miss Clara A. Murrow, only
daughter of Rev. J. S. Murrow,
the oldest missionary now in the
Indian Territory. Mrs. McBride
is a lady of great refinement and
highly educated. She is the
mother of six children: Joseph
M., William A., JolmH., Hiram
Y., Clara A., and a baby.
William McBride is a business
man of great ability; his success
in the mercantile line is remark-
able, and may be attributed
much to his popularity, for he is
a young man of excellent ad-
dress and kindness of disposi-
tion. He belongs to the Baptist
church, and has been secretary
of Sunday School for a number
of years. He is one of the oldest
Masons here, having been secre-
tary, senior deacon, senior war-
den and worshipful master, which
ofiice he now holds. He is past
grand secretary of the Grand
Lodge of the Indian Territory,
and present junior grand warden
of the same.
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264
LEADHHS AND LEADING MEX
JUDGE THOS. B. JOHNSTON.
This gentleman was born in 1819
near the Tom Bigbee River, in
Alabama, and came to Skully-
ville, Ghoctaw Nation, in 1850.
lie was for a long time in the
employment of his uncle, John
Johnston, Sr., who was claim
agent for the Choctaws. In 1852
he married Eliza Strickland,
daughter of John Strickland, and
during the war was a scout for
General Cooper. In 1874 he
moved to Johnsonville, where
he now resides, has a fine farm,
fifteen hundred head of stock
and three hundred horses. In
1868 he was appointed County
Judge, and District Judge ten
years afterward.
Judge Johnston has eight chil-
dren— Florence, Lester, Joe E.,
Isaac W., Albert Sydney, Lem-
uel; Laura, wife of Ambrose
Barr; Catherine, wife of N. H.
Byers; and Emma, wife of Jos-
eph Bunch.
Judge Johnston was among
the first white men who settled
in the Indian country, and was
a brave and sturdy pioneer. He
is a highly esteemed member of
the Methodist church.
Col. Isaac W. Johnston, who
resides with his brother, is one
of the oldest teachers in the
Chickasaw Nation, having been
in charge of National schools in
various districts for a term of
sixteen years. The Colonel, who
is also a citizen of the Indian
Territory, is intimate with the
affairs and political history of the
Chickasaws. During the war he
was Colonel of the Harrison
county (Texas) militia, and has
since held offices of honor and
trust in the Lone Star State.
His oldest daughter is married to
Col. J. C. Degress, of Austin,
and his second girl married Capt.
J. P. Rodney of the same city.
W. H. BACON.
This gentleman was born July,
1845, and is the son of Rev. H.
Bacon, of Pigeon Roost, Missis-
sippi, a Cherokee by blood, who
emigrated to Boggy Depot, Choc-
taw Nation, in 1816, where he
lived four years ; after which he
moved to Panola county, Chick-
asaw Nation, and died in 1876.
In 1861 W. H. Bacon enlisted
in "Stan"' Waite's Cherokee reg-
iment, fighting in the battles of
Cabin Creek, both battles at
Honey Springs, and at Illinois
Creek on December 25, 1864,
where during a heavy snow storm
both armies retired, making it a
draw fight. He retired from the
service in August, 1865; after
which he began tending stock.
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OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
265
-•i*
In 1872 he was elected Consta-
ble of Panola county, and was
elected Judge of Panola in 1881.
In 1866 he married Frances Liz-
enby, daughter of Charles Liz-
enby, a Kentuckian, by whom
he has six children — Samuel J.,
Edward S., William J., Frank-
lin, Martha and Gertrude. After
the death of his first wife he wed-
ded Sammie, daughter of Mitch-
ell Hancock, living near Paris,
Texas.
Mr. Bacon is a farmer and
stock-raiser and a stanch mem-
ber of the progressive party.
DR. WILLIAM POYNER.
Dr. Poyner was born in 1855 at
Weston, Graves county, Ken-
tucky ; came to Pickins county,
Chickasaw ]S^ation, in 1883, and
the following year to Tishomin-
go, where he commenced the
practice of medicine, and opened
a hotel in 1885. His medical
education commenced in Cincin-
nati, Ohio, and was completed at
Nashville, Tennessee. He mar-
ried Louisa Corbett, the widow
of Ben Boyd, by whom he has
one child, Willie Boyd Poyner,
aged twelve months.
Dr. Poyner believes in and is
beloved by the people, who look
upon him rather as a citizen and
member of the tribe than as a
licensed trader. He is a first
cousin of Alexander, John and
James Rennie, three among the
wealthiest and most influential
business men in the country, and
who are also Canadians by birth
and education.
EVERETT P. BAKER.
Mr. Baker was born in 1853 in
Washington county, Arkansas,
and was educated at Fayette-
ville, Arkansas, and La Porte,
Indiana. Everett married Miss
Mattie Starke, of Fayetteville, in
1878, and soon afterward settled
in the Indian Territory at Ato-
ko in 1884, where he devoted
himself to the hotel and livery
business till 1886, when he
moved to Paul's Valley, where
he is now conducting a first-class
livery stable.
Some six years before his mar-
riage Mr. Baker was engaged
freighting for the government
between Caddo and Fort Sill,
and later was employed filling a
hay contract for Uncle Sam.
During these years he had several
hair-breadth escapes from the
Comanche and Kiowa Indians.
Though not a citizen of the
Indian Territory, Mr. Baker is
looked upon as a permanent set-
tler and is highly respected in
the Chickasaw Nation.
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266
LEADKRS AND LEADING HEX
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A. H. NUTTALL.
Mr. Nuttall, president of the
Industrial Union of the Indian
Territory, was born in Warren
county, North Carolina, March
18, 1845. His father was A. PI.
Nuttall and his mother Matilda
C. Hawkins, daughter of ex-
Gov. William B. Hawkins, of
North Carolina. When the war
broke out the subject of this
sketch, at the age of sixteen
years, volunteered in Company
A, Ninth Mississippi regiment,
and was afterward promoted to a
captaincy in Col. Davis' battal-
ion. Daring his service he fre-
quently risked himself across the
enemy's lines, and was twice
taken prisoner when acting as a
scout, but on each occasion he
made good his escape. He was
a dashing soldier and a daring
scout.
In 1879 Mr. Nuttall moved to
the Indian Territory and settled
close to Armstrong, Choctaw
Nation. In 1886 he went to
work and procured sufficient men
among the whites and Indians to
organize the first Subordinate
Wheel in the Indian Territory
which when organized was called
Bennington Wheel No. 1. This
was accomplished August 2,
1886. After organizing twelve
other lodges, he established- a
Territorial Wheel at Caddo, and
was honored by being chosen
president by the entire voice of
the body. Since then the Wheel
has rolled on rapidly, spreading
its influence all over the Indian
Territory. In the meanwhile
President Nuttall was re-elected
at every annual meeting. On
August 5, 1890, when the Farm-
ers' Alliance and the Wheel con-
solidated under the name of the
Industrial Union of the Indian
Territory, Mr. Nuttall was elect-
ed as their president, with H. C.
Randolph as vice-president and
Mr.Ivins secretary and treasurer.
CHAS. M. MAXFIELD.
Mr. Maxfield was born in Yer-
mont. New Hampshire, in 1846,
and educated in the Cheshire
High School. From boyhood
he followed the business of jew-
eler, and at twenty-one years of
age was appointed postmaster at
Chester, Vermont. After leav-
ing that point he made many
moves, coming in contact with
every class of people and expe-
riencing every climate between
Exanwaba, Michigan, and the
Gulf of Mexico. Inl887hecame
to Atoka, moving to the Valley in
1890, where he is permanently lo-
cated, to be henceforth a fixture
among the Chickasaw people
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OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
267
-*
HON. JAMES M. STOVALL.
This gentleman was born in
Franklin county, Tennessee, in
1831, and educated "on the
wing" (as he says himself). He
is a good illustration of the self-
made man of this generation.
It was not till April, 1882, that he
came to the Indian Territory and
settled at Johnsonville, where he
farmed for some three years and
held stock across the line in the
Pottawatomie country. In 1885
he moved within five miles of
Purcell, and on the eventful 22d
of April, 1889, crossed the Cana-
dian and established his claim in
the promised land of Oklahoma,
a few miles north of Purcell. In
the new country he soon became
a marked man, and on August 5,
1890, was elected Representa-
tive of Cleveland county.
During the war Mr. Stovall
was a lieutenant in Company E,
Colonel Hughes' regiment, of
Price's army, and while absent
in the field his house and prem-
ises were destroyed. In 1857
he married Mary E. Grow, by
whom he has five children, four
sons and one daughter.
Though not a citizen of the
Chickasaw Nation, Mr. Stovall
is most popular among the peo-
ple, and feels most at home when
south of the Canadian River.
GEORGE W. ADAMS.
Mr. Adams was born in Andrew
county, Missouri, in 1857, and
educated in Dallas, Texas. He
came to Tishomingo, Chickasaw
Nation, in 1875, and in 1880 ac-
cepted the position of school
teacher at Sealey school, which
he held for two .years ; soon af-
terward purchasing Mr. W. W.
Cooper's mercantile business at
Wapanucka. He did not, how-
ever, remain long in the busi-
ness, but moved to Blue, in the
Cheadle neighborhood, where he
commenced dealing in cattle till
selling out in 1887; he then settled
in Tishomingo, and in partner-
sliip with Dr. Walter W.Vannoy
opened a general mercantile bus-
iness, which is now in in a pros-
perous condition. He is also
postmaster, distributing mail to
some 150 persons.
Tishomingo, which is the capi-
tal of the Chickasaw Nation, is
looked upon as the best trading
point off the lines of railroad in
the southern portion of the In-
dian Territory.
Mr. Adams was married in
1883 to Norah, daughter of M.
S. McSwain, of Denison, Texas,
by whom he has one child, a
boy, named George M., eighteen
months of age.
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LKADEKS AND LEADING MEN
*-
JAMES ALLEN COLBERT.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Mississippi, February,
5, 1832, and moved with his
people to the Chickasaw Nation.
He went to school at Freston,
Texas, for a short time, and while
yet a young man married Miss
Athenius M. Fulso'ra, fourth
daughter of Hon. Israel Fulsom
illustrious Choctaw, descended
from the royal "iksa." The
alliance of these two young peo-
ple brought into matrimonial re-
lationship one of the most pow-
erful representative families of
each Nation; the Colberts being
as prominent among the Chick-
asawsas the Fulaomswere among
the Choctaws. The issue of
this marriage was ten children,
of whom six are living: Hen-
rietta, Charles, Walter, Lavisa,
Czarina and Benjamin.
The deceased (the subject of
this sketch) was, like his brother
Frank, greatly beloved and re-
spected among his people; but
unlike him, was a leading legis-
hitorand wielded strong influence
in National affairs. Besides his
connection with ^he judiciary,
Mr. Colbert was repeatedly elect-
ed member of the council. Dur-
ing the war he was second lieu-
tenant of Genei-al Cooper's body
guard, which post he held until
the end of the struggle. After
the war he and his brother, with
a third party, embarked in the
mercantile business, after which
he drifted into stock raising and
finally went to improving farms.
Mr. Colbert was a progressive,
intelligent citizen, and one of the
most charitable of men. Many a
widow and orphan has had reason
to offer prayers for the eternal
welfare of one whose generous
actions were almost numberless.
For years he took care of and
gave homes to his brother Henry's
orphan children as well as to
three of his sister's children. His
sons, AValter and Charlie, are
young men of great popularity
and excellent business qualities.
The former is doing business in
Denison, while the latter looks
after his stock ranch at old Fort
Washita. James A. Colbert died
January 26, 1874, aged -11 years
and 11 months, deservedly and
sincerely regretted. His widow
is now residing among her rela-
tives in Atoka, I. T.
The subject of this sketch was
well and favorably kil%)wn every
where throughout the Indian
Territory, and had a host of
stanch friends and ardent ad-
mirers.
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Comanche Medicine Man.
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272
LEADKRS AND LEADING ME^
THOMAS J. PHILLIPS.
[CHICKASAW.]
Tins prosperous merchant was
born in Tishomingo county, Mis-
sissippi, in 1839, attended school
until 1852, and came to Boggy
Depot, Choctaw Nation, in 1858,
where he entered the employment
of Messrs. Mitchell and Wright,
general merchants. Remaining
with them until 1859 he went to
Tishomingo, Chickasaw Nation,
where he clerked for Aaron Har-
land, in whose employment he
continued until the commence-
ment of the war. When the war
broke out Tom joined General
Cooper's command in the Indian
Territory, but in the same year
went to his native state and
joined Forrest's Cavalry. At the
battle of Athens the subject of
this sketch was shot in the right
hip and obliged to remain in
the hospital until discharged,
when, being unfit for further ser-
vice, he returned to the Choctaw
Nation and went to work for his
old employers. After eighteen
months thus passed he moved
to Stonewall to take charge of
a branch store for his brother,
J. J. Phillips. He remained in
charge of this place for about
three years, after which he pur-
chased the concern, continuing
tlie business in that place until
1879, when he sold to Rooksand
Byrd, and moved to McAlester,
where he opened a large stock
of general merchandise. In 1884
he established a branch house at
Krebs, and two years afterward
one at South Canadian. J. W.
Phillips owns alarge stock of cat-
tle, and some thirty-six square
miles of pasture, besides one
thousand acres under cultivation.
He is one of ilie wealthiest men
in his county. In 1873 he mar-
ried Miss Mary Bourland, oldest
daughter of Judge R. R. Bour-
land, a Chickasaw, by whom he
has had eight children: Joseph
R., Mattie, William T., Charles
R., Rollie H., John Everett,
Ellie L. and George Randolph.
T. J. Phillips is a man of great
executive ability and unimpeach-
able integrity, who, by his own
perseverance and energy, has
well nigh reached the summit of
the ladder of success.
JUDGE REUBEN BOURLAND.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Hopkins county. Ivy.,
March, 1820. Reuben was chief-
ly educated in the neighborhood
schools, coming to Texas in
1837, wdiere in company with
his brother he practiced survey-
ing and alternately farmed. In
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OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
!73
1842 he came to the Indian Ter-
ritory and improved a farm, after
which he returned to Kentucky
and Mississippi. Here in a short
time he married Eliza Moore,
a Chickasaw. In July, 1843, he
moved back to the Territory and
continued farming for many
years. By his marriage he had
eight children, four of whom are
living; William, John, Mary and
Martha. Two of his deceased
sons, James and George, were
killed by the accidental discharge
of a gun. George was a mem-
ber of the Chickasaw Legislature
at the time of his fatal accident.
Mr. Bourland has been judge of
Tishomingo county, Chickasaw
Nation, and William, his eldest
son, was National secretary of
the same Nation; while John,
his second son, was National
jailor. Mrs. Bourland died Oct.
8, 1851; since that time Mr.
Bourland has made his home
with Mrs. T. J. Phillips, his
oldest daughter. Mr. Bourland
is one of the old landmarks of
the Choctaw and Chickasaw Na-
tions, and is a gentleman of su-
perior intelligence.
*-
J. C. WORLEY.
[CHICKASAW.]
This gentleman was born in July,
1849, in Mississippi. His father.
Charles Worley, a white man,
dying while the subject of this
sketch was but a child. His
mother emigrated with him in
1853 to the Chickasaw Nation,
and settled close to Carriage
Point. In 1869 Mr. Worley
married Melissa Francis: by
whom he hasten children: Charlie,
aged nineteen years, Minnie,
Jesse, Kobert, Oscar, Scott,
Gertrude, Mattie, John and An-
drew. Mr. Worley lived for
some years at Pond Creek, and
in 1886 moved to Whitehead.
He has six hundred acres of land
under cultivation, and five hun-
dred head of stock cattle at Erin
Springs, where he now resides.
HENRY T.WALKER.
Among the white men who are
looked upon as fixtures in the
Chickasaw Nation we may here
mention H. T. Walker, the re-
doubtable dentist, born in Stewart,
Co. , Georgia, in 1860. This ener-
getic professional man graduated
in dentistry at the Philadelphia
Dental College in 1886, and
has been practicing ever since
in the Indian Territory. His
headquarters are at Paul's Val-
ley, while he has the exclusive
practice at the government quar-
ters at Fort Sill. Dr. Walker is
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274
-*
LEADERS AND LEADING 3IEN
iio\ only looked upon as a first
class operator, professionally
speaking, but as one of the best
gunners and anglers in the Terri-
tory. He is a pleasant companion
and always ready for a joke.
HON. NELSON CHIGLEY.
[CHICKASAW.]
This gentleman was born near
Memphis, Tenn., in 1835. When
NELSON CHIGLEY.
two years old he moved with a
portion of his tribe to Fort Coffe,
and from thence to Blue Creek,
Chickasaw Nation, but did not
commence his useful career until
he came to Washita "Valley, where
he opened a small farm in 1854,
and was married live years later
to Julia Push shuk-ka. Chig-
ley has ever since labored with
energy and perseverance, not
only to cultivate the rich lands
that lie around him, but to en-
courage the less ambitious full-
bloods by word and example to
industry and economy. As a
proof of his activity and business
acquirements, he has now nearly
two thousand acres of land in
corn and cotton, and pays per-
mits for fifty-three farmers in all.
In 1870 he was elected to the
Senate, and held the office six
years. In 1888 he was again
elected, and is now a candidate
for the same office, having been,
strange to say, nominated by both
factions — Progressive and Na-
tional. In 1889 he, in company
with Silas Wolf, Joe Kemp and
Sam Paul, made a hard fight in
the Senate against the disfran-
chisement of the white citizens.
He has three children, Moses,
Wyattand Eliza, the oldest being
eighteen years. He has also an
adopted son named Nelson Lewis,
aged twelve years, who six years
ago was cast aside by his pa-
rents, but who is now cared for
with a father's tenderness and
love.
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OF THE INDIAN TERKITORY.
275
-*
GILES W. HARKINS, M. D.
George
[CHICKASAW.]
The eldest son of Col
W. Harkins, the Chickasaw ora-
tor, was born at Boggy Depot,
April 2, 1861. He was educated
at Whitesborough, Texas, high
school, ^lineohi acadcniv: Tiu-
GILES WELLINGTON HARKINS.
versity of North Carolina, Chapel
Hill, and graduated at the New
Orleans Medical College, in
March, 1887. Receiving his
diploma, young Dr. Harkins com-
menced practice at Lehigh, Choc-
taw Nation, where he was soon
appointed by the medical board
of the Indian Territory as medi-
cal examiner for the Choctaw
Nation. In the fall of the same
year he was appointed physician
and surgeon for the Atoka Coal
Mining Co. He was also hon-
ored in the same year by the
position of Internal Revenue
Collector on the Gulf of Colorado
and Santa Fe railroad. In 1890
he married Miss Mollie Sharp,
of Marion, Kentucky, whose
father is a merchant in Dyers-
burgh, Dyer county, Tennessee.
Recently Dr. Harkins has been
appointed physician for the South
Western Coal Co., and is located
at Coalgate, where he is about
to open a drug store in connec-
tion with his practice. Dr. Har-
kins, besides his company work,
has a number of patients from
time to time scattered broadcast
through the county, which makes
his practice very extensive. He
is a most promising young phy-
sician and is extremely popular
among the mining community,
as well as among the Choctaw
and Chickasaw people. His
father. Col. G. W. Harkins, who
recently died, was one of the
ablest men, and perhaps the
greatest orator the Chickasaw
Nation has ever produced.
Dr. Harkins is becoming very
popular in the Indian Territory,
and has a host of friends and
adn)irers.
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276
LEADERS AND LEADING SIEN
JUDGE ROBERT L BOYD.
[CHICKASAW.]
The present District Judge of
the Chickasaw Nation was born
in Martha county, Mississippi, in
January, 1844. His father, Mr.
James M. Boyd, who was of
Scotch descent, married Nancy
V'
fh
JUDGE K. L. BOYD.
Love, a Chickasaw of the house
of In-quin-no-ma. He and his
family emigrated to Fort Smith,
Arkansas, iii 1855, and thence to
Pickins county, Chickasaw Na-
tion, in 1860. Kobert was edu-
cated at the Skullyville National
School, and at the opening of
the war joined the Bell Point
Guards, under Captain Hurtzig.
During the years which followed
he became a member of Cooper's
command and the Wells Batal-
lion, and was afterward transfer-
red to the Chickasaw Batallion.
During his war experience he
served at Pea Eidge, Cabin
Creek, Prairie Grove and Maz-
zard Prairie. After the surren-
der he married Emily Allen,
who died within twelve months;
after which he married Mollie
McSweeney, a full sister of the
wife of David Osborne Fisher.
In 1868 he came to Pickins coun-
ty, where he was elected to the
office of Sheriff, which position
he held until 1870, resigning on
account of bad health. In 1872
he was appointed by Governor
Cyrus Harris to fill the unexpired
term of C. P. H. Percy, Attor-
ney General, to which office he
was re-elected in the following
year and held for a period of
seven years, off and on. In 1878
he was elected National Secre-
tary, and filled the same office
under Governor Jonas Wolf in
1884. In 1888 he received the
appointment of District Judge,
which office he is at present fill-
ing to the public satisfaction.
Among the minor positions of
trust occupied by Judge Boyd
we may mention that of Secre-
tary of the Senate, Committee-
man on Revision of the Laws,
->B
*-
OK THK INDIAN TERRITORY.
Draftsman of the Law Commit-
tee of the Legislature, Constable
of Pickins County, etc., etc. He
was more than once solicited to
become a candidate for Gover-
nor, but invariably refused to
make the race, although he has
held every other office except
Superintendent of Education and
National Treasurer.
Judge Bojd is a pleasant gen^
tleman, and his decisions prove
him to have superior legal ability.
*-
HON. LEWIS KEEL.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch is ig-
norant of the precise year of his
birth, but believes that he was
born the year of the paj^raent of
the first Chickasaw annuity. His
father's name was Cus-sap-po-li,
which means divide, or distri-
bute. He was schooled at Far-
son Robertson's old academy,
Tishomingo, and in 1863 mar-
ried Malsey Ok-sha-tub-by, by
whom he has three children —
Manda, Johnson and Esau, the
oldest aged twenty-seven and the
youngest eleven years.
Before the war Mr, Keel was
wealthy, having over three thou-
sand head of beeves, but at the
end of the struggle he was left
comparatively poor. After the
disbanding of the Chickasaw Ba-
tallion, in which he served as
sergeant, he was elected a mem-
ber of the House of Eepresenta-
tives, which office he held by re-
election, off and on, for nearly
tvv'enty years. During Governor
Guy's administration he was
called to the Senate, and re-
HON. LEWIS KEEL.
elected in 1888, his term having
just expired. Mr. Keel was also
Public School Trustee and a
member of the Committee for
the Distribution of the Chicka-
saw Net Proceeds Claims in
company with J. T. Collins and
Humphrey Colbert.
Mr. Keel is a peaceable citi-
zen and greatly devoted to his
home and family.
->B
278
LEADERS AND LEADING IMEN
JOSEPH B. WILSON.
[CHICKASAW.]
Joseph was born at Sherman,
Tex,, in 1859; is the son of Philip
Wilson, a white man, and Susan,
whose maiden name was Mitchell,
and who was one-fourth Chicka-
saw, After the death of his
father his mother married David
JVlaj' es, of Beef Creek. The sub-
ject of this sketch completed his
education at the Chickasaw
Academy, Tishomingo, after
which he went into the stock busi-
ness on Beef Creek, and also de-
voted his attention to farming.
In 1880 he married Emma Wor-
ley, daughter of C. R. Worley,
of Erin Springs, and moved to
Purcell in 1888, where for some
time he was engaged in the livery
business, but sold out in 1890.
At present he has eight hundred
acres under cultivation and six-
hundred head of cattle, and gives
employment to some twenty men
annually. Mr. Wilson has three
children, Alta Pearl, nine years
old, Susan Ellen and Claude,
*
JOHN H. WALNER.
[CHICKASAW.]
John was born near Colbert, In-
dian Territory, in 1862; is the
son of William AValner, of Cum-
berland county, Virginia, John
was educated at the Baptist Ac-
ademy, at Fort Smith, Arkansas,
but owing to ill health was
obliged to leave school at an
early age. In 1878 he embark-
ed in the mercantile business in
Cherokee Town and sold out four
years later. The following year
he married Luld B., daughter of
Wiley Stewart, of Caddo; and
soon afterward invested in live
stock, continuing in that business
until 1890, when he sold his en-
tire herd. Mr. Walner has been
living in Wynne Wood since
1883, and has a farm of one hun-
dred and fifty acres in the neigh-
borhood. He is also an ofiicer in
the United States Indian Police.
HON. HOGAN KEEL.
[CHICKASAW\]
HoGAN Keel was born in Atoka
county, Choctaw Nation, in 1852.
His father's name was Ka-shap-
lay, and his mother's was Shoh-
king, of the house of In-cho-ka-
pa-ta. His education was com-
pleted at Nashville, Tennessee,
and Bonham, Texas. He com-
menced his career as a teacher,
and was afterward elected Sar-
gent at Arms to the Legislature
during the Overton administra-
tion. During the years which
followed to the present time,
Hogan served as interpreter for
the Legislature, member of the
*-
OF THE INDIAX TERRITORY.
279
-*
House of Representatives two
terms; constable of Pontotoc
county; sheriff, interpreter of the
Senate and member of the Senate
twice. He married Annie Mc-
Carthy, and later Nellie Westley,
both Chickasaws. By his second
wife he has one child, Minnie,
three years old. Mr. Keel has
one hundred acres under culti-
vation and about one hundred
head of stock. In 1889 he took
out his papers as a legal practi-
tioner at the Chickasaw courts.
*-
CHARLES COLLINS.
[CHICKASAW.]
Charles was born in August,
1851, son of George W. Collins, a
native of Kentucky. In 1851
Charles emigrated with his father
and brothers to Panola county,
Chickasaw Nation, and went to
school across the river in Grayson
county, Texas. In 1880 he mar-
ried Widow McCoy, daughter of
Captain Joseph Harris, deceased,
and sister of Hon. Robert Harris,
National agent. She died in
1885, leaving one girl, Maggie,
seven years of age. In 1887 he
married Miss Tennie Trentham,
daughter of Joe Trentham, of
Tennessee, by whom he has an
infant daughter named Allen.
Charles Collins resides close to
old Fort Washita, in the neigh-
borhood of his brothei-s, Tom
and Edward, He has three hun-
dred acres under cultivation, the
greater part of which he
rents on the usual terms. He
is not a politician, nor has he
ever run for office, much pre-
ferring his home occupations, and
an occasional dead shot at a
deer, in the dense woods of the
Washita, than political rivalry.
PERRY FROMAN.
[CHICKASAW.]
Perry was born in Vermillion
county, Illinois, September, 1836;
educated at Danville, Illinois;
came to Missouri in 1855, and
from thence to Cook county,
Texas, in 1876. Two years af-
terward Mr. Froman penetrated
the fastness of the Arbuckle
Mountains, and there opened a
stock ranch, stock raising having
been the occupation which he had
followed ever since his arrival in
Texas in 1876. In 1881 he mar-
ried Lavina Colbert, and shortly
afterward moved to his present
home near Wynne Wood, where
he built a residence and improved
fourteen hundred acres of land,
giving employment to some
twenty-eight families. LTp to
1890, when he disposed of his
entire stock, Mr. Froman usually
handled as many as 6,000 cattle
-*
^
-•!•
280
LEADKRS AND LEADING 3IEX
CICERO A.SKEEX.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Rcindolph county, North
Carolina, in 1853, and was edu-
ucated at Edinburgh Academy,
North Carolina, which was under
the charge of Prof. R. H. Skeen
(^his uncle). In 1872 he left home
J^ ^
s
#xf
"iU
ii,w^mBi
L
_jteiSfflk-«:.
^^
fc .^^B
CICERO A. SKEEN.
and went west, landing at Atoka
in 1873, and moving to Pontotoc
county, where he taught school
for some years. During this
period he married Cleopatra,
daughter of J. B. Herrell, who
lived but two months. In De-
cember, 1877, he married Emma,
daughter of Col. Samson Fol-
som of the 1st Choctaw regiment,
by Avhom he had seven children,
only three of whom survived.
The oldest is named Walter and
the younger ones, Fannie and
Cora. Professor Skeen taught
at the Yellow Springs and Sandy
Creek, after which he located a
farm and ranch on the head-
waters of Blue Creek. He has
six hundred head of cattle, forty
head of horses and one hundred
and fifty acres under cultivation.
In 1886 Mr. Skeen was elected
representative on the Byrd ticket,
and one year later went to the
upper house, which office he re-
signed when appointed to the
lesseeship of the Wahpanucka
Institute for five years, which ap-
pointment he is now filling with
two years of unexpired term be-
fore him.
Wahpanucka Institute, a pic-
ture of which is published in
this volume, is the longest rock
building in the Indian Territory
and contains thirty-six doors and
eighty-nine windows, three feet
by five. It is three and one-half
stories high and one hundred
and fifty feet long, with a capac-
ity for one hundred and fifty pu-
pils. This solid structure was
built in 1851 by the Chickasaw
government and placed in the
hands of the Missionary board
for many years. During the war
*-
-*
^-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
281
-*
it was used as a barracks by the
Confederate soldiers. The scen-
ery in the vicinity of the academy
is remarkably picturesque, situ-
ated as the building is — on a
lofty and mountainous ridge over-
lookino; the waters of the Cliick-
>i-
MES. SKEEN.
asaw Delaware. At present the
faculty has charge of sixty pu-
pils, for which Mr. Skeen as con-
tractor, is allowed ten thousand
doTlars per annum. This money,
as well as that which is expended
on the other National academies
is derived from interest accumu-
lating on United States bonds,
fifty thousand of which is paid
semi-annually into the Chicka-
saw Treasury. The faculty con-
sists of Prof. Skeen, Prof. J. J.
Scarborough, who has charge of
the male department. Miss Cora
Fuller, of the female literary de-
partment and Miss Mary Turner,
who is a most accomplished music
teacher. The Indian pupils in
this institute are the equals of
white pupils in point of intellect-
uality, while morally they are su-
perior to their pale brethren, be-
ing more obedient and evincing
a greater amount of industry and
perseverance.
AMOS R. WAITE.
[CHICKASAW.]
This gentleman was born at
Paul's Valley, February, 1858,
the son of the late Thos. Waite,
and nephew of Hon. Tecumseh
McClure. Amos was educated
at Ann Arbor, Michigan, and
graduated at Oberlin, Ohio. In
1886 he opened a mercantile
business at Whitehead, which he
sold out in two years, but once
more embarked in the same line
in Paul's Valley, closing out in
1889. Mr. Waite has recently
turned his attention to farmintr
and has 125 acres under cultiva-
tion. In 1886 he married Mary
E. Spear, daughter of E. R.
Spear, of Devonshire, England,
by whom he has two children,
Verdi V. Waite, aged eighteen
months, and Catherine,an infant.
*
^-
-*B
282
LEADERS AND LEADING 3IEN
HON. SAM PAUL.
[CHICKASAW.]
During the past few years no
name among the Chickasaws has
figured more conspicuously than
tliat of Sam Paul. Indeed, from
manhood until the present time
it has i"i(n-('r fallen into obscnritr.
'^-
HON. SAM PAUL.
although from no intentional ef-
fort of his own does it appear
that he has sought notoriety.
His father, Smith Paul, is a white
man, one of the few survivors of
his race who emigrated with the
tribe from Mississippi. The cel-
ebrated Paul's Yalley was settled
by him at an early date, and this
fertile tract sliows evidence of
his agricultural skill in the shape
of line orchards and vineyards
planted many years ago. Smith
Paul, though a very old man, is
enabled to enjoy the wealth
which he acquired by his superior
energy. He is now residing in
California close to the Pacific
coast, and occasionally visits the
Yalley.
Hon. Sam Paul is about forty-
two years of age, and slightly
below medium height, quick in
motion and of the nervous tem-
perament. Fallingheir to a large
property early in life, and being
generous and liberal, like many
of his race, he acquired habits of
extravagance, but the most pro-
nounced traits in the character
of Sam Paul is his ntter contempt
for danger; fear to him being an
element unknown and unappre-
ciated. As a Legislator he has
always figured in the front ranks;
the Senatorial seat for Pickins
county being ever at his com-
mand.
It was not, however, until
1888, when Guy was "counted
out" for the governorship, that
Paul displayed his fearless and
relentless spirit of partisanship.
"Though we have to wade waist
deep in blood to accomplish it,"
said he addressing the assembled
council, "Guy shall this day
take his seat as governor." Guy
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ti<-
-*
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
283
*-
was inaugurated, but fearing
bloodshed, failed to urge liis
claims any further. Had Paul
been in his place nothing short
of extermination would have pre-
vented his taking his seat. In
1890, after the disfranchisement
of the white citizens, they unan-
imously fixed upon the Hon.
Sam to represent them in Wash-
ington, and later nominated him
as gubernatorial candidate for
the progressive party. As a mat-
ter of course he was defeated, the
majority of his adherents being
deprived of their franchise.
Mr. Paul has ever been a
stanch friend to the white man.
His father was a white man, and
for no motives of self-interest
to gain the favor of his people
could he be induced to be-little
the blood inherited through his
father. This of itself is a noble
quality, and will cover many im-
perfections, for Sam Paul,
through hisimpetuousity of dispo-
sition, has committed some errors
which set the wagging tongue
of scandal in motion more than
once. Few public men, who pos-
sess strong individuality and
much aggressiveness are lucky
enough to escape public criti-
cism, when they lay themselves
liable to censure, and Sam Paul
is not an exception. As the lead-
er of the progressive party in the
Chickasaw Nation, all eyes are
now turned in his direction,
while he, himself, bent on restor-
ing the white citizens to their
original status, is at the time of
this writing making preparations
for a trip to the United States
Capitol.
Much depends on the result of
his mission.
ISAAC S, WRIGHT.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Jackson county, Georgia,
and educated in Forsythe county
at a public school. He came to
the Chickasaw Nation in 1878,
and renting some land from
Robert McGehee close to Tisho-
mingo, commenced farming. Af-
ter a few years he moved on D.
B. Cotton's place, where he re-
mained until 1888, marrying
Lizzie B. Turner, daughter of
Mazeppa Turner, in February of
the following year. Mr. Wright
is half owner of the Dougherty
Mill and Gin, and devotes much
of his time to the milling busi-
ness. Besides thishe has a farm
of land which occupies a portion
of his attention. He is a member
of the progressive party.
-*
^
-*
.'84
LEADERS AND LEADING 3IEN
13^
MONTFORD P. JOFINSON.
[CHICKASAW.]
This popular and wealthy citizen
was born in November, 1843, at
Boggy Depot, Choctaw Nation,
the son of Cliarles Johnson, an
Englishman, now residing at
38 Murray St., New York, and
Rebecca Courtney, of the house
of Intel-le-bo. After five years'
schooling at the Tishomingo
Academy, young Johnson com-
menced farming on the Washita,
and in 1862 married Mary Eliza-
beth Campbell, sister of Charles
Campbell, of Purcell. In 1868
he moved his stock to Johnson-
ville, which takes its name from
liim;and after a residence of ten
years located permanently at Sil-
ver City.
During the war Mr Johnson
served for a while in Frachier
McLish's Militia, and for tliree
months rode express between the
quarters of the Chickasaw batal-
lion at Fort Arbuckle, and the
Texas Troops stationed at the
mouth of Mud Creek. This was
a perilous undertaking and one
which few men could have been
found daring enough -to volun-
teer.
Mr. Johnson has one thousand
acres under cultivation, and five
hundred head of cattle, many of
which are thoroughbred Here-
fords. Durham and Polled Angus.
Among his stud horses is one
named Barak, sired by the cele-
brated King Ban, who won forty
thousand dollars in 1887. This
thoroughbred animal is worthy
of mention.
Mr. Johnson established the
Bank of Minco, with sixty thou-
sand dollars capital, in July,
1890, and which is entirely man-
aged by members of his own fam-
ily, H. B. Johnson, his second
son, being cashier. Mr. John-
son's family consists of seven
boys and three girls, namely: Ed-
ward, aged twenty-seven years;
Henry, Robert, Clifford, Benja-
min, Ira, James, Stella, Fanny
and Gertrude.
REAGAX W. JENNINGS.
[CHICKASAW.]
This gentleman was born in
Sherman, Texas, in 1857, and
was educated at a neighborhood
school. During his earlier days
young Reagan devoted himself
to the raising of stock, and in
1878 married Miss Henrietta
Colbert, the eldest daughter of
Hon. Jim Colbert, one of the
most prominent among the
Chickasaws. The young mar-
ried couple first settled on Rush
Creek, near Erin Springs, and
*
*-
OK THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
285
*
thence moved to Alexander,
Paul's Yalley and South Cana-
dian, successively, finally locat-
ing at Wynne Wood, where they
now reside, in March, 1882.
Mr. Jennings owns nearly
half of the site upon which the
little town is built, besides twelve
hundred acres of land, one fourth
of which is under good cultiva-
tion. He has five children —
Daisy, eleven years old; Thenie,
Cutcheon-tubby, Lavisa and Al-
vers. Mrs. Jennings is a ladj^
of refinement and culture, both
natural and acquired.
EDMUND TURNBULL.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in 1854, the son of Robert
TurnbuU once the wealthiest of
his tribe. Edmund was educated
at the Chickasaw Academy, and
in 1878 married Laura Buckley,
of Bennington. During the first
four years of his married life he
was reckless and desperate until
1882, when he became a convert;
was baptised the same year, and
ordained deacon of the church,
which position he held until his
death, which resulted from con-
sumption on February 8, 1886,
aged thirty-one years. After the
loss of her first husband Mrs.
*-
Turnbull sent her children to the
Chickasaw Academies, and had
them educated. They are named:
Lena Eliza, Robert Rosella and
Susan, the oldest aged twelve
years, and the youngest four
years. In 1890 Mrs. Turnbull
married Robert Kelly, a white
man, at Bonham, Texas, and
they are now residing in the
neighborhood of Armstrong
Academy.
THOMx\S B.THOMPSON.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in May, 1865, the son of
Thomas Jefierson Thompson, de-
ceased, who was a brother of the
well-known Green Thompson,
of the Choctaw Second Cavalry
Regiment. Thomas Jefferson
was educated in youth by Pro-
fessor Hall, of Atoka, and after-
ward went to Lebanon and final-
ly completed his education at
the Chickasaw Male Academy
under Professor Harley. In 1888
he was elected permit collector,
and the year following was ap-
pointed to the office of supreme
clerk under Judge Samuel Love,
which position he occupies at
present. Mr. Thompson has a
farm of seventy-five acres under
good cultivation close to Emet,
Indian Territory.
-*
*-
-*
28fi
I.EADEIIS AND LEADING MEN
C. L. CAMPBELL.
[CHICKASAW.]
This gentleman was born in 1843
in London, England, of Scotch
and Irish parents, his father be-
ing of the former and his mother
of the latter race. At fifteen
years of age he came with his
father to Arbuckle, Indian Terri-
tory, where he served his time in
the stock business at various
points, and married Miss Sallie
Humphreys, daughter of Major
Dick Humphreys, in 1865. Im-
mediately afterward he began
teaching school at Tishomingo,
but finding himself "at sea" in
this capacity, left for the Cana-
C. L. CAMPBELL.
dian River, and again took to
herding cattle. In 1881 Mr.
Campbell moved to Silver City,
where he remained till 1888,
MRS. C. L. CAMPBELL.
when he located on the Washita.
At this point he has eight hun-
dred acres under cultivation,
three hundred and fifty of which
he attends to personally. He
also holds from two to four thou-
sand head of graded stock, many
of which he fattens and ships to
Northern markets.
Mr. Campbell's wife is a de-
scendant of the house of Wild
Cats. She has seven in family
— Adelaide, Carrie, Montford,
Holmes, Lawrence, John and
Rose. Mr. Campbell has never
mixed in politics to any great
extent.
*-
-*
Kiowa Papoose.
5<-
OF THE INDIAN TEIllllTORY.
289
-*
FELIX R. PHILLIPS.
This popular and highly es-
teemed young business man was
born at Corinth, Mississippi, in
1860, and educated at Mound
City Commercial College, St.
Louis. In 1877 he came to Mc-
F. R. PHILLIPS,
Alester, Choctaw Nation, where
he was employed by his uncle,
J. J. Phillips, as clerk in his
mercantile establishment. Re-
maining about twelve months at
that point, he moved to Atoka
and went to work in his uncle's
branch house in the same capac-
ity. After three years' steady
attention to business, he became
*-
a partner in the profits of the es-
tablishment, and continued .for
five years in that position, until
18.82, when he went to Lehio-h,
and in conjunction with A. N.
Garland and his uncle became a
member of the Atoka Coal Min-
ing Company's mercantile house,
which has the sole privilege, in
consideration of a contract, of
providing the miners with mer-
chandise, etc., etc. The "Com-
pany Store," as it is generally
called, carries as large, if not
the largest, stock of goods in
Lehigh, amounting to from forty-
eight to fifty thousand dollars.
Mr. Phillips is a young man
of unsurpassed business qualifi-
cations, and is also extremely
popular, M-ithout which no man
need hope to succeed in business
among the mining fraternity,
especially where the competition
is so warm.
The subject of this sketch is a
nephew of J. J. Phillips, recently
of Atoka, and T. J. Phillips, of
McAlester, who is a citizen of
the Choctaw Nation by marriage,
and has a large stock ranch and
many farms close to the Canadian
River.
Mr Phillips has become verj'
popular and has numerous friends
and acquaintances.
■*
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->h
290
LEADKKS AND LEADING MEN
ALEXANDER MCKINNEY.
[CHEROKEE AND CHICKASAW.]
The deceased subject of this
sketch was born in Mississippi,
May, 1830. His father was a
white man, and his mother a
Clierokee, who, drifting into the
*-
ALEXANDER M KINNEY.
Chickasaw country at an early
age, was adopted by that tribe.
In ISii Alexander moved to
the present Choctaw Nation and
attended the neighborhood school
at Boggy Depot. In the year
1857 he married Miss Mattie
Collins, of Grayson county,
Texas, and originally from Ken-
tucky. Miss Mattie was a bright,
animated and adventurous young
woman, fearlessly following her
husband whethersoever he went
in pursuits of game or adventure.
After settling on their present
home two miles from Stringtown,
this lady was alone one morning
when a deer trotted up to the
gate in front of the house; hither-
to she had never attempted to
discharge a gun, but her eager-
ness to secure the animal was
such that she risked everything
and succeeded in killing the deer
after firing the first barrel pretty
wide of the mark. During the
squally years of the revolution
Mrs. McKinney more than once
kept the invaders from entering
her premises, and on one occa-
sion disarmed a drunken Indian
who was forcing his way into the
house. Mr. and Mrs. McKin-
ney had but one child, a boy,
who died early. Their love for
children was such that they were
constantly adopting, educating
and starting them in life. No
less than sixteen in this manner,
at various periods became the re-
cipients of their parental care.
Four children of the late Henry
McKinney, and four of William
McKinney's family were thus
brought up.
They also raised a niece named
Maggie Pursley, and at the same
time an orphan boy whom they
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OF THE INDIAN TliKUIToKY.
291
-*
uamecl Ben. At the ages of six-
teen and thirteen years this young
couple married and are now liv-
ing in the Chickasaw Nation,
where they have an extensive
farm under cultivation and a
good stock of cattle. The above
named were perhaps theyoungest
*-
MKS. ALEX. M KINNEY.
couple ever married in the Choc-
taw Nation.
The deceased subject of this
sketch was a most popular man,
off-handed, generous and strictly
honorable. Appreciating the
fact that he had no offspring to
hoard money for, he spent much
of his means in educating, cloth-
ing and feeding the destitute chil-
dren of others, so that when
Alex. McKinney died at the age
of lifty-three, he was sincerely-
regretted abroad and at home.
At the time of his death, in 1S83,
he left a comfortable home, one
thousand head of cattle, two
hundred and lifty head of horses
and mules, and about three hun-
dred acres of excellent farm land.
His widow, Mrs. McKinney,
still resides at the old homestead
and is not the less remarkable
for hospitality, benevolence and
love of children. Indeed, her
doors are ever open to those in
need of a home or a shelter.
She is exceedingly fond of fishing
and hunting, and their being
plenty of game and several small
hikes well stocked with fish on her
property, she is seldom, if ever,
without a house full of visitors,
whom it is her greatest pleasure
to entertain.
J.WESLEY PARKER.
[CHICKASAW.]
This gentleman was born near
Tishomingo in 1850, and is a
full-blood Chickasaw. He first
entered on his edncational career
at Shilo, Lamar county, Texas;
from thence he went to Bonham,
under Professor Harley, com-
pleting his education at Drury
College, Springfield. Mo., hebe-
-^
*-
292
-*
LKADERS AND LEADING MEN
ing one of the first pupils edu-
cated at that institution. On
quitting college lie devoted his
services to Dr. W. S. Burks in
the mercantile business at Cad-
do, and afterward to J. J. Mc-
Alester in the town of the same
name. Here he defended thein-
»it-
terests of this wealthy man, and
during a crisis, when the busi-
ness establishment was on the
verge of being sacrificed to in-
cendiary, interposed his influence
and saved the building with its
large stock of goods. The man-
ner in which he was requited
for this action caused grievous
disappointment to Mr Parker.
Shortly after this occurrence the
young njan went to work for Mr.
Goldshall, of Denison, and af-
terward for Messrs. Sam Starr &
Co., of the same city, by which
firm, during a residence of over
twelve months, he was treated
with the greatest consideration.
During the four years which fol-
lowed he traveled on the various
lines of railroad for R. G. Hall
& Son., SneiderBro's. and Chat-
man, Bridal & Co., Sherman, his
business relations with these
firms being most satisfactory.
In 1876 lie came to Atoka, Choc-
taw Kation, and from thence to
Perry Froman's, at Mill Creek,
where he was employed in the
cattle business. But it was not
until the dawning of the Guy ad-
ministration that Wesley Parker
entered the political arena as a
candidate for the legislature.
Finding, however, that one of his
friends wanted the office he re-
signed his nomination, and was
soon after appointed National in-
terpreter in 1886. Atthe general
Council of the five tribes, which
met the same year at Eufala,
Mr. Parker was delegated to in-
terpret by the Chickasaws. In
1887 he engaged in the stock
commission business at Mill
Creek, where he is now head-
quartered at the business house
-*
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OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY,
293
-«
of James Davison. From the
death of his parents at an early
age, Wesley was brought up by
his aunt, Hettie Frazier, after-
ward the wife of the great gov-
ernor, Cyrus Harris, both of
whom treated the young man
with the care and affection of a
son. His Aunt Hettie was the
widow of Jackson Frazier, prin-
cipal chief, a man honored and
beloved by his people; so that
John Wesley has examples be-
fore him that should inspire the
noblest actions. He is now a
candidate for representative of
Tishomingo county, and a man
of excellent promise.
*-
MR. AND MRS. A.RENNIE.
[CHICKASAWS.]
The subject of this sketch was
born at Kingston, Canada, in
October, 1828; is the son of
Alex. Rennie, of Aberdeen, Scot-
land, one of the first settlers in
Toronto, Canada. Mr. Rennie
came to Fort Washita i.n 1856,
and joined the Chickasaw Bat-
allion as adjutant at the break-
ing out of the war. Soon, how-
ever, he was relieved from duty
to serve Governor Harris in the
capacity of National secretary,
which post he occupied for four
years, at the expiration of which
he filled the office of National
auditor for the four following
years. In 1882 he went to Den-
ison, Texas, where he purchased
property and erected some fine
buildings, filling the offices of
school superintendent and mem-
ber of the city council between
ALEXANDER KENNIE.
the years 1882 and '86. Mr.
Rennie is now vice-president of
the State National Bank, the
safest institution of the kind in
Texas, while his taxable proper-
ty in Denison exceeds seventy-
five thousand dollars. Add to
this his home property at Wolf
Springs, the house and improve-
ments alone which cost ten thou-
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*-
294
-fb
LEADERS AND LEADING SIEX
sand dollars, together with live
stock, and Mr. Kennie will show
uj) among the wealthiest men of
the Chickasaw Kation. During
the administration of Gov. Wm.
Gnj he vvas appointed Kational
Treasurer, but transferred liis
responsibility to D. O. Fisher
^-
MES. ALEXANDEK KENNIE.
when the Byrd party assumed
the reins of government. Alex-
ander Renuie was married in
1861 to Mary Humphrey, daugh-
ter of Richard Humphrey, her
mother's maiden name being Sal-
lie McClish, who was also mother
of the late Holmes Colbert, Na-
tional Delegate to Washington.
Mrs. Rennie. a lady of refinement
and remarkable spirit, was edu-
cated at Wapanucka Academy
and Colbert's Institute. She
spent much of the eai'ly part of
her life with her mother on Cad-
do Creek until her marriage.
Recently a rich discovery of
asphaltura has been made upon
her property in that vicinity,
which will soon be in a fine way
of development.
JUDGE J. H. FRANKLIN.
[CHICKASAW.]
This gentleman was born in Jar-
uary, 1835, in Boyle county.
Kentucky, close to Perryville,
In 1858 he married Martha A.
Quick, of Laclede, Missouri, who
died in August of the following
yeai\ In 1859 he went to the
United States Fair at St. Louis
and purchased a large stock of
jewelry, which he sold afterward
at a large profit in Sherman,
Texas, in 1860. He left Sher-
man with W. H. Russell, Major
Timmons and Captain Chapman
to inspect the land that was sold
in behalf of Texas in the Pan-
handle country, and put in the
season with the Comanches and
Apaches, who at that time were
friendly. Besides Albuqurque,
El Paso and San Antonio, he
wintered at Whitesboro, and in
the spring of 1861 taught school
at Denton. He joined General
-*
s*-
*
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
295
-«
Cooper's command at Webber's
Falls; was taken sick, and got a
pass to Burnet county; after
which he joined Dorban's Fron-
tier Reserve. He married An-
nie Crawford while in Burnet
county, and moved four miles
west of Denison ; then moved to
-„^^^
Wk
m i^i^
^
%w\
V
\m
k
^I^^^^^^^^KE iHQK|
1
1
JUDGE J. H. FRANKLIN.
the Coffee farm, near Preston
Bend, where he buried his wife
and child in January, 1872. In
1873 he married Martha A.
Love, widow of Frank Love and
sister of Col. Lem Reynolds,
leader of the Chickasaw Batal-
lion.
Mr. Franklin states that there
had never been any trouble at
any time in the Chickasaw Na-
tion until Governor Overton cre-
ated it by raising the permit
money from twenty-live cents to
twenty-five dollars. In 1884 he
was elected County Judge, but
since the expiration of his term
has not been a candidate. He
has about two hundred and fifty
acres under cultivation and em-
ploys about twelve work hands
annually.
Throughout his life Judge
Franklin has been a great sports-
man, and at present keeps a pack
of fox-hounds and a complete
equippage of the chase. In 1872
he entered Masonry, and holds
the diploma of the Palm and
Shell. He has had six children,
only two of whom are living, a
son and daughter.
JOHN HENRY KENNEY.
[CHICKASAW.]
This gentleman was born in May,
1850, the son of Patrick Kenney,
of Philadelphia, came to Atoka
in 1870, but not to live perman-
ently until 1872, when he settled
in Tishomingo county, devoting
his time to driving stage between
Caddo and Mill Creek. This he
followed for four years,, after
which he opened a farm of four
hundred acres which he now
-*
^
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296
LEADERS AND LEADING JIEN
rents out, giving labor to some
ten or twelve liiinds. In 1876 he
married Minnie S. Harris, daugh-
ter of Gov. Cyrus Hai-ris by his
tirst wife, by whom he has eight
children, Maggie, James, Nan-
nie, Mandy, Levi, Lillie, Jesse
and Osceola, the oldest being
fourteen years of age. Mr.
Kenney has never dabbled in
politics. In the earlier portion of
his life, while on the frontiers of
Texas and Colorado, he exper-
ienced many thrilling adventures,
some of which are well worthy
of recording.
*-
HON. HOLMES COLBERT.
[CHICKASAW.]
Of this illustrious law-maker,
who passed away on March 24,
1872, there has been so much
said, so many conflicting asser-
tions concerning his actions and
the motives thereof, that we shall
avoid further criticism of the
dead by simply furnishing a
rough outline of his life. Born
in 1829 of one of the most dis-
tinguished families among the
Chickasaws, Holmes had from
his childhood every advantage
that wealth and refinement could
bestow. At the age of twenty-
three he passed a brilliant exam-
ination at Union College, Sche-
nectady, New York, in the gradu-
ating class of 1852, and three
years afterward, in 1855, draft-
ed the Chickasaw Constitution,
adopted soon afterward by his
people — such an extraordinary
feat that, if we consider the age
of the young man and his lack
of legislative experience, the
work would reflect credit on the
skill and wisdom of the most
matured mind. This lasting ser-
vice on the part of Mr. Colbert
was the starting point in a life
of energy and usefulness, his
heart being centered in the wel-
fare ot his people till the hour of
-*
ib-
OK THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
297
-*<
his death. When the summons
came he was at Washington,
whither he had repaired to rep-
resent his people, for he was fre-
quently chosen to act as Dele-
gate when important issues were
at stake. His remains were fol-
lowed to Glen wood Cemetery by
his old friends. Col. E. C. Bou-
dinot, Judge Paschal, Hon. D.
W. Yoorhees, Governor Stone,
of Iowa, and others, while Dr.
Byron Sutherland delivered the
funeral oration. The force and
eloquence of this oration cannot
^
HON. HOLMES COLBERT.
easily be forgotten by those who
gathered around the grave of the
illustrious author of the Chicka-
saw Constitution, and who was
MRS. COLBERT.
forty-
snatched away in the
third year of his age.
Holmes Colbert was a noble,
generous, large-hearted man, be-
loved by all who knew him. His
widow, whose portrait is here
produced, is now residing at
Purcell, Indian Territory. She
is a sister of the Hon. Sabe
Love, lately delegated to Wash-
ington by the National party to
settle the question of disfran-
chised citizens. He is one of
the two men who guide the helm
of the Full Blood-party.
-lit
*b-
-*
298
LKADEUS AXD LEADING MEN
DR. H.F. MURRAY.
[CHICKASAW.]
Dr. Murray is the son of the
hite Robert Murray, of Franklin,
Williamson county, Tenn. He
was born in March, 1819; came
south in 181:9; was married at
Clarksville, Texas, to Margaret
^-
H., daughter of Lovett M.James,
a Chickasaw, after which he
moved to Red River county,
Choctaw Nation, from thence to
Bloomtield, Panola county, in
1870, and from thence to Colbert
in the same county four years af-
terw^ard, where he now resides.
He practiced medicine success-
fully for a period of thirty years,
and abandoned the profession for
that of law, which he took up in
1881. In 1875 he was elected
judge of Panola county, which
office he held for five years.
Shortly afterward he was ap-
pointed district judge, and in
1883 was elected district attor-
ney. In 1886 Dr. Murray was
chosen as delegate to Washing-
ton, where in company with Col-
onel George Harkins, he repre
sented his constituency in the
protest against district courts,
Territorial form of government
and new railroad charters. Of
late years the subject of this
sketch has been a strong factor
in politics, invariably regulating
the progressive ticket of his own
county. The Doctor's war re-
cord is not less interesting than
his political career. In 1846,
when the Mexican war broke out,
he was appointed Captain in
the Second Tennessee, under
Brigadier General Gideon Ril-
lar. He was at the siege of Vera
Cruz, and the battle of Sera
Gorda. While in the foremost
ranks of the last victorious en-
gagement the plucky Captain
was struck by the fragment of a
shell, which carried away part
of his ear, and wounded him. in
the head so as to render him in-
sensible. He was carried on a
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OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
299
*
litter to Jalappa, where he re-
mained for six months, after
which he received his discharge
in June, 1847. For the past
twelve months he has been draw-
ing a pension from the United
States government.
At the opening of the revolu-
tionary war Dr. Murray was
elected Colonel of the Militia of
Red Kiver county, Texas, but
not being called out, was made
district commissioner of the same
section of country, to provide
for the wants of the wives and
widows of the soldiers that were
in active campaign. The Doctor
has always been a man of great
energy and enterprise, and even
now in his seventy-first year is
quite as sanguine of tempera-
ment and physically active as
the majority of men at forty-five
or fifty years of age. His wife
died in March, 1874. By lier
he had eight sons, six of whom
are living, viz: James Alfred,
Robert (sherifi'of Panola county)
George, Meiggs, Colbert and
Hinton. The eldest of these is
tliirty-four and the youngest
seventeen years of age.
*-
TIPTON SHIRLEY HARRIS.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch is the
youngest son of the late govern-
or Harris; was born in August,
1869, at Mill Creek, and was ed-
ucated at the Chickasaw Male
Academy. His earlier years
were spent in looking after his
father's property, until 1888,
when he opened a farm close to
TIPTON SHIRLEY HAKKIS.
Buckhorn, and in 1889 married
Birdie Hele, daughter of the late
W. Hele, superintendent of the
National Cemetary, Louisville,
Ky. The young couple are re-
siding: at the old homestead, at
Mill Creek, where Tipton looks
after the interests of his widowed
mother. Mr. Harris lias recent-
ly entered the political arena,
being a candidate for National
permit collector. He intends to
apply himself to the law.
-•i*
-•$»
Hf»0
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
JOHN RENNIE.
[CHICKASAAV.]
This gentleman was born in To-
ronto, Canada, in 1838. He at-
tended public school till 1852,
and in the same year went into
the dry goods business with his
brother, Alexander Rennie. Af-
JOHN RENNIE.
ter three years he moved to
Hamilton, Canada, pursuing the
same line of business until 1861:,
when he changed his location to
Stratford, and there transacted
a good business until 1868.
In the fall of that year he moved
to the Chickasaw Nation and en-
tered the employment of his
brother Alexander, who had
<^-
married a citizen of that coun-
try. AVith him he remained un-
til 1881, when be opened busi-
ness on his own account at Sa-
vannah, Choctaw Nation. Here
he remained until the great ex-
plosion in 1887, when the entire
raining town moved to Lehigh,
and he among the rest. He also
moved his capacious building
and opened out tlie largest stock
of goods at that time exposed for
sale in the Lehigh camp. Since
then he has been doing an ex-
tensive business both in the coun-
try and mining trade, carrying a
well-selected stock of about thir-
teen thousand dollars, and is one
of the most popular merchants
of the county.
Alexander Rennie, Sr., father
of the subject of this sketch, was
born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland,
coming to Canada when a boy
of fifteen years. He was well
known in after life throughout
the Dominion as a man of ex«ten-
sive capital.
John Rennie has never been
married. In 1861 he was initi-
ated into Masonry, and during
that year received the first seven
degrees. In the subordinate
lodge he filled all the offices up
to that of Worshipful Master; in
the Royal Arch Chapter all up
to and including E King. On
*
•i*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
301
-^
moving to the Indian country
lie became a member of the Ok-
lahoma Lodge, No. 4, then lo-
cated at Boggy Depot, but since
moved to Atoka. In 1885 he
withdrew from that lodge, and is
now a charter member of No.
20, located at Lehigh. In 1888
he became Grand Master.
In 1876 Mr. Rennie joined
the Odd Fellows, Caddo Lodge,
No. 1, and became a charter
member of Tishomingo Lodge,
No. 2, in which he filled all the
offices, including that of Noble
Grand. He is now a member of
Thos. Wiley Lodge, No. 6, of
Lehigh.
The subject of this sketch is a
brother of Hon. Alex. Rennie,
who has filled nearly every im-
portant office in the Chickasaw
Nation except Governor, and
who is looked upon as one of the
wealthiest men to be found in the
Indian Territory.
-i<-
JOHN WILLIAM BURKS.
[CHICKASAW.]
This gentleman was born in the
month of May, 1858, at Gaines-
ville, Texas, and is the son of
Dr. W. S. Burks, of PauLs Yal-
ley. He was educated at Bryan,
Texas, and Paris, Texas, at which
places he remained for five years.
In 1881 he married Hannah
Waite, sister of Hon. Fred. T.
Waite, of Paul's Valley, and
moved to his present home in the
valley twelve months afterward.
In 1886 he was elected Repre-
JOHN W. BURKS.
sentative of Pickins county, and
was the first white man ever ap-
pointed by the Speaker of the
House to escort the Governor to
his inauguration. In 1887 he
held the post of Permit Inspec-
tor, and was Deputy Collector
the year following. In 1888 he
was again elected to the House,
but like other white citizens, suf-
fered disfranchisement at the
hands of the Byrd party.
5'-
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302
LEADERS AND LEADING ^NIEN
Mr. Burks has twelve hundred
acres under cultivation and gives
work to some forty renters. He
has recently opened a law office
and is practicing at the bar of
the Chickasaw courts.
Mr. Burks has five children —
Tuleika, Vera, Royden, Willie
and Rowena, the oldest eight
years and the youngest eigiit
months old.
FRANK M. FOX.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born near Terre Haute, Indiana,
and educated at Weatherford and
Bryan, Texas. He came to the
Indian Territory in 1870, and
commenced farming in the vicin-
ity of Atoka. Two years after-
ward he married Miss S. G.
Priddy, daughter of Col. James
Priddy, of Stringtown, and went
into the stock business at Stone-
wall; after which he returned to
Atoka and embarked in the mer-
cantile line. Moving from that
point after twelve months, he re-
opened in Caddo and remained
there for ten years. Thence he
moved to Gainesville, Texas, and
in 1887 settled in Purcell, where
he now resides.
Mr. Fox has seventeen hun-
dred acres under cultivation close
to Ardmore, and gives employ-
ment to forty men. He is one
of the owners and procured the
charter for the Ardmore Coal
Co. mines, which cover an area
of four thousand acres of coal
lands. He has also one hundred
-i-ra
1
m
^'-
*
1
'
'41
^
II'
--^
{ *
Ik
1
m
lu
F. M. FOX.
and fifty head of stock cattle and
is agent for two large tobacco
factories — the Robarts factory,
of Henderson, Ky., and the
Wellsville factory, of Wellsville,
Mo. He also represents the
Wherry Manufacturing Co., of
St. Louis.
Mr. Fox was chairman of the
National Progressive Conven-
tion, held at Purcell in the sum-
mer of 1890.
*-
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5<-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY,
305
-*
GEORGE A. YARBOROUGH.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch is the
son of Jas. J. Yarborough, of
Alabama, who came to Panola
county, Chickasaw Nation, in
1871, and died three years after-
ward on what is now called the
*-
G. A. YARBOROUGH,
Randolph farm, where his widow
still resides. George was born
in Panola county, Texas, in Sep-
tember, 1849, where he went to
school, his education being com-
pleted at Alvarado, Johnson
county, Texas. In October, 1872,
he married Battle S. Love, the
daughter of Hon. Samuel Love,
Supreme Judge of the Chicka-
saw Nation, and residing in
Panola county, Indian Territory,
since 1844.
George Yarborough was elect-
ed to the Senate in 1885, and
held the office one term. In
1886 he was appointed Clerk of
the Supreme Court. In 1889
his wife died, leaving seven chil-
dren— Francis, Emmet, Ida Vir-
ginia, William Henry, Ella Ger-
trude, Minnie May, George Au-
gustus and James Hercules, the
oldest being seventeen years and
the youngest one and a half
years.
The residence at present occu-
pied by Mr. Yarborough is situ-
ated on the Double Springs and
Tishomingo road, near the head
of Rock Creek, and is one of the
finest sites for a ranch in the
Nation. He has a number of
stock cattle and one hundred
acres under cultivation.
Mr. Yarborough is a strong
member of the pa'ogressive party,
and would favor the equal allot-
ment of land in severalty.
BOOKER JAMES.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch, now
deceased, was born in Mississi]ipi
in 1822, and emigrated with the
rest of his people to the Chicka-
saw Nation. He commenced
his career as a farmer and stock-
^
->i<
306
LEADKllS AND LEADING 3IEX
raiser close to Boggy Depot, and
in 1858 moved to what is now
known as the Booker James
phice, some ten miles from Le-
high. He married in 1857, the
issue of this union beins: five
^-
children. three of whom are liv-
ing— Walton, Margaret, now
Mrs. Allen, and Alice.
Mr. James was a wealthy and
influential Chickasaw, although
he kept aloof from public life as
much as he could, being wholly
devoted to stock-raising and ag-
riculture. As good men were
scarce, however, his people elect-
ed him three or four times as
Representative of his county.
which office he filled with credit
and honor.
Upright, liberal and benevo-
lent, Mr. James was greatly es-
teemed by the white race, as
well as his own people, and his
death caused universal sorrow
throughout both nations. He
departed this life February 7.
1890, leaving behind him a rec-
ord that his children should never
cease to be proud of.
WM. X. PRICE,
[CHICKASAW.]
This gentleman was born in
Henry county, Tennessee, and
came to Tishomingo the year
succeeding the war, after having
served in Walker's Division,
Eleventh Texas infantry.
Mr. Price, now one of the
most extensive and most practical
farmers in the Indian Territory,
commenced his career by freight-
ing from Tishomingo and Boggy
Depot to Fort Smith. In 1872
he married, and the following
year purchased a small holding
on the now celebrated "Sor-
ghum Flat," the most fertile as
well as the most picturesque val-
ley in the Chickasaw country,
and which contains a basin of
cultivated land comprising one
thousand acres, through which
the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe
-*
^-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
307
-*
railroad shapes its course. The
valley is enclosed by the lofty
Arbuckle range, a semi-circle of
W. N. PRICE.
green-clad summits, belted with
dense timbers, whose dark foli-
age forms a splendid contrast to
the lighter verdure above and
the swaying yellow corn in the
vale beneath. Mr. Price has
nearly fourteen hundred acres
under cultivation, besides a gin
and supply store, which, together
with a United States postoffice,
are situated close to the railroad
on his property. He was mar-
ried to Tobothia Humes in 1886,
and has two sons, Nelson, aged
seventeen years, and Ellis, eight
years.
MRS. EULA MYERS.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch is the
daughter of Hon. Holmes Col-
bert, one of the leading Chicka-
saws, and Elizabeth Lare, whose
family is also highly distin-
guished. Miss Eula was born in
July, 1869, in Panola county,
and was educated at Bloomfield
Academy, Chickasaw Nation.
She married J. F. Myers April
1-1, 1887, and is now living with
MRS. EULA MYERS.
her husband, a leading business
man. She is pretty, vivacious
and intelligent, possessing many
accomplishments and social vir-
tues. Her portrait as above is
taken in native- Indian costume.
-*
*
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808
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
HON. T, A. MCCLURE.
[CHICKASAW.]
This highly es-teemed representa-
tive of his race was born in Mis-
TECUMSEH A. M CLTJEE.
sissippi about the year 1830, be-
ing of the house of Mo-suck-cha.
He emigrated with the lirst group
that left the old State. His
mother being left a widow, mar-
ried Smith Paul soon after their
settlement on Blue Creek (Smith
Paul is the only white man now
living who emigrated with the
Chickasaws). Tecumseh was
therefore taken in charge by his
step-father and placed at school
at Boggy Depot, boarding the
while at the residence of Colonel
Guy. Later he was transferred
to the school at Post Oak Grove,
now known by the name of Em-
met. In 1862 he married Mary,
daughter of Aho-che-tubbe, of
the house of Metapo. Her moth-
er's name was Suth-a-hacha and
her grandfather was Captain
Ala-pam-bay.
In 1865, after having spent
the years of the war in the Sax
and Fox country, Mr. McClure
and his family settled in Paul's
Yalley close to Smith Paul, who
had been there since 1859. In
those days game was very plen-
*-
MRS. M CLUEE.
tiful, and Tecumseh being a
great hunter, killed numbers of
deer, antelope and buffalo. But
-*
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OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
309
-*
civilization has wrought a vast
change, and the hunting ground
is now metamorphosed into a
field of corn and cotton, of which
the subject of our sketch owns at
least one thousand acres and
pays permits for about thirty
hands.
In recollection of the olden
days Mr. McClure is about build-
ing a deer park, and has already
commenced collecting a small
stock of those animals.
The subject of our sketch has
never voted but three times, hav-
ing kept out of politics till 1886,
when he was elected to the Sen-
ate and became its President the
first year. In 1890 he was called
upon to be a candidate for Gov-
ernor, but refused the nomina-
tion.
Mr. McClure has six children,
all of whom are well educated.
They are named Janeson, Se-
lina, Melinda, Im<m, Edward
and Abbie, the oldest being
twenty-six and the youngest ten.
Tecum sell McClure is beloved
and respected by all — his record
is without a blur or blemish.
*-
WILLIS B. LOWRANCE.
[CHICKASAW.]
This gentleman was born in
August, 1830, the son John
Lowrance, of Rowan county,
North Carolina. The subject
of this sketch spent many
years of his earlier manhood in
Tarrant county, Texas, where at
the conclusion of the war, being
opposed to secession, he was ap-
pointed district clerk, justice of
the peace and treasurer of the
board of public schools. In 1876
he came to the Indian Territory,
•and one yeai afterward pur-
chased the Boiling Springs place
from James Harris Guy. The
springs are located close to
Buckhorn Creek, and the location
is one of the best in the Nation,
being remarkably healthy, while
the soil is most productive. Mr.
-*
•i<-
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310
LEADERS AND LEADING JIEX
Lowraiice has five hundred acres
under cultivation.
In 1863 he married Adelaide
Lowrance, and in 1877 became
a citizen by marrying Mary,
daughter of Peter Fletcher, a
half-breed Chickasaw, by wliom
he has three children, viz: Rob-
ert Haines, aged twelve years,
Oscar and Bertie. At the age of
fourteen Mr. Lowrance joined
the Cumberland Presbyterians,
but has since become a worker
in the Methodist church; is su-
perintendent of Sabbath Schools
(there being a membership of
fifty at the Boiling Springs) and
is ever zealous in the service of
Christ. Since his arrival in this
country Mr. Lowrance says that
the falling-ofi" in the full-blood
population is almost incredible.
*-
JOSEPH M.FRANKLIN.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born at Milam, Mo. , in Decem-
ber, 1854. Joseph was the son
of Edmond Franklin, one of the
earliest settlers of Missouri, and
who came to that country with a
little colony from Kentucky.
Early in 1865 Joseph emigrated
to Burnett county, Texas, and
in 1874 to Panola county, In-
dian Territory, where in the year
following he married Tinnie
Colbert, daughter of Sam Col-
bert, and by this union became
a citizen of the Chickasaw Na-
tion. After marriage Mr. Frank-
lin started farming in Pickins
county, close to Berwyn, which
place he parted with on the death
HON, JOSEPH M. FRANKLIN.
of his wife in 1877. Moving to
Panola he soon located at Pleas-
ant A^ alley, where he now re-
sides. In 1880 he married
Eliza R. Shelton, daughter of J.
J. Shelton (one of the earliest of
Texas pioneers) and in 1884 was
elected member of the House of
Representatives, where he served
honorably and intelligently for
three terms and was again re-
elected in 1889. On this occa-
-*
*-
OK THE INDIAX TERRITORY.
311
*
sion, however, he served but
eleven days, until he was expelled
from the House as a disfran-
chised citizen. In 1889 Mr.
Franklin was a candidate for at-
torney general, and received the
popular vote, but was counted
out by the opposite faction, and
his place filled by Ben Kemp.
On July 21 last, at the pro-
gressive convention held at Tis-
homingo, Joseph Franklin was
once more nominated as attor-
ney general, and it may be added
that no man in the Nation is bet-
ter adopted to this responsible
ofhce than the present nominee
of the progressive party.
*-
GEORGE H.TRUAX.M. D.
[CHICKASAW.]
This gentleman is the son of Dr.
J. B. Truax, who was surgeon in
the British army in the Crimean
war. George was born in March,
1855, at Whitley, Ontario, Can-
ada, and educated at McManus
University. He graduated in
medicine in 1875 at Cincinnati
in Florida University; practiced
in Minnesota, Arkansas, Texas
the Indian Territory, and came
to Stringtown, Indian Territory,
in 1879. After the death of his
first wife. Dr. Truax married
Mary C. Colbert, daughter of
George W. Colbert, of Nelson;
after which he moved to Stone-
wall and devoted some of his
time to farming and stock-raising.
The Doctor has five hundred
and fifty acres of land under
fence, and gives work to four
hands annually. He has re-
G. H. TRUAX, M. D.
cently opened a large drug store
in Stonewall, where he now
keeps the U. S. postoflice. He
has three children, one by his
first wife, named Maggie A.,
aged eight years, and by his sec-
ond wife, Arthur Cleveland, aged
three years, and Pearl, one year.
Dr. Truax has the chief prac-
tice in the Stonewall district,
which he attends to with unflagr-
gmg energy.
-^
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812
-*
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
MAZEPPA TURNER.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born JVlaj 8, IS-iO, in Greens-
ville county, Virginia, and came
of Scotch origin. He was edu-
cated in De Sota county, Missis-
sippi, and came to the Choctaw
Nation, settling close to String-
town in 1870. While in Shelby
county, Tennessee, ten years pre-
viously, he had married Laura
J. Johnson, whose mother was a
Chickasaw, and whose brother,
up until his death a few years
ago, was a member of the Chick-
MAZEPPA TURNER.
asaw Cabinet, and always a lead-
ing citizen.
Mr. Turner moved to the
Washita country in 1878, since
which time he has been diligent-
ly increasing his landed rights
^
MRS. MAZEPPA TURNER.
until he can now boast of pos-
sessing at least seven hundred
acres of first class soil under
good cultivation. He pays an-
nual permit for twenty-five rent-
ers. Besides this he owns some
seventy-five head of horses and
cattle, and has at least threehun-
dred hogs. Mr. Turner has al-
ways avoided politics, though he
never failed to support the prin-
ciples of administration laid
down by Governor Cyrus Harris,
whom he looks upon with good
reason as the greatest man and
the best ruler that ever governed
-•i
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
313
-*
the Cliickasaws. During the war
the subject of this sketch served
in the Second Tennessee Cavah-y,
under General Forrest, and
fought at Shilo, Chickamauga,
Sehna and numerous other en-
gagements, being twice slightly
wounded.
In 1889 he joined the Masonic
order, Dougherty Lodge, and is
now Pilgrim Chief of the Orien-
tal Order of the Palm and Shell.
He is a good christian, and a de-
vout student of nature.
Mrs. Turner, whose portrait
is here produced, belongs to one
of the leading families of the
Nation, being a cousin of the
late Holmes Colbert and niece
of Frazier McLish.
*-
JAMES M. HARRIS.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch is the
second surviving son of the late
and much lamented Cyrus Har-
ris, first governor of the Chicka-
saw Nation. When quite a boy,
James went to school at Boggy
Depot, and from thence to Prof.
O. P. Starks, of Paris, where he
remained but one session, after
which he was sent to the Chick-
asaw Male Academy (then under
the charge of Professor Harley)
for six years, where his educa-
tion was completed. In 1882 he
was appointed Supreme Clerk
under Judge Samuel Love, and
in 1884 became permit collector
during the Wolf administration.
In 1886 he was appointed Na-
tional Auditor by Gov. William
JAMES M. HARRIS.
Guy, which office he held with
credit until its expiration.
He married Tennie Brown,
daughter of Governor Brown, in
1884, and resided with his father
for over a year. His residence
is now at Mill Creek, while he
owns a fine farm at Buckhorn,
but spends the greater portion
of his time attending to stock.
Mr. Harris is gifted with refined
tastes, and like his father, a nat-
ural musician.
-*
.SI 4
l-EADEUS AND LEADING :M EN-
WILLIAM HULL.
[CHICKASAW.]
This gentleman was born in
Liverpool, England, in 1S44,
came to Fort Sill, Indian Terri-
tory, in 18(50, where he was soon
])lac'ed in charge of the Indian
Agency Work Shops, and retain-
ed the position of govern-
ment blacksmith until 1873.
Three years afterward Kr. Hull
obtained a right in the Chickasaw
Nation, through his marriage
with Tippie Paul, daughter of
Smith Paul, the wealthiest and
most influential of his people at
that period. Mrs. Hull, whose
*-
MRS. WILLIAM HULL.
portrait is here given, when quite
a girl, was more than once forced
to fly from Paul's Valley with
her parents to seek shelter at
PV>rt Arbuckle, from the Chev-
WILLIAM HULL.
ennes and Kiowas. In those days
many white men were killed by
the hostiles, and the massacre of
nearly three fourths of the Ton-
kaway Nation, not far distant
from the Valley, by the Indians,
is fresh in the memories of sev-
eral of the Paul family. Mr.
Hull, since his marriage, has de
voted himself almost wholly to
farming, and has now thirteen
hundred acres of good land under
cultivation, upon which he has
ten families located. He is an
energetic farmer and takes pride
-*
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
li)
315
in having one of the finest
orchards in the Nation.
Mrs. Hull is a descendant from
the house of Im-mo-suck-cha, her
mother's name being Allata-
teche. With a view to perfect-
ing the education of her eldest
daughter, Tamsey, Mrs. Hull
sent her to England, where she
remained five years at a Liver-
pool seminary, and there acquir-
ed a thorough knowledge of sev-
eral of the arts and sciences.
Miss Tamsey Hull is the only
young lady among the Chicka-
saws who has been educated in
the old continent.
qi-
EDWARD COLLINS.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Caldwell county, Ken-
tucky, in 1849, and came to
Panola county, Chickasaw Na-
tion, in 1854. He went to school
in Grayson county, Texas, and
after the death of his father, in
1866, he entered the employment
of Dr. Burks, tending the stock
at his ranch on Glass' Creek.
Afterward he lent his services to
Captain Watkins in the same ca-
pacity for two years, and in 1874
married Elsie McKinney, niece
of Mrs. Alex. McKinney, of
Stringtown. In 1879 he moved
to his present farin, near Fort
Washita, where he has two hun-
dred acres of good land under
cultivation.
During Guy's administration
(1886 to 1888) he served as
member of the House of Repre-
EDWAED COLLINS.
sentatives, but is averse to push-
ing himself forward for political
aggrandisement. He has five
children — Mattie, Louisiana,
Tom, Charlie and Edward, the
oldest being eleven years of age,
a young girl of great promise.
Mr. Collins had three broth-
ers, all of whom were citizens of
the Nation, but John was unfor-
tunately accidentally shot two
years ago.
-^
31(1
LEADKKS AND l.EADIXG MEN
TANDY C. WALKER.
[CHICKASAW AND CHOCTAW.]
This gcntleiiuin was born in July,
1840, in Sans Bois county, and
is a son of Louis Walker, a Choc-
taw, and Mary Cheadle, a half-
breed Chickasaw. He was edu-
cated at Skullyville, and moved
to South Canadian in 1858. At
the opening of the war he joined
Colonel Carroll's regiment in
Arkansas and fought at Wilson's
Creek and other engagements;
after which he acted as a scout
for Colonel Cooper. In 1863
he was elected Captain and Pro-
vost Marshal for General Hine-
*-
TANDY C. WALKER.
man, and toward the close of
the war fell back among the ref-
ugees on Red River. In 1^05
he married Isabella Cochran, the
daughter of Robert L. Cochran,
was delegated to the Treaty of
Amnesty at Fort Smith. While
at Canadian in 1874 he was
elected Sheriff to fill an unex-
pired term. In 1877 he was
elected Representative of his
county in the Choctaw Council,
and shortly afterward, in com-
pany with Robert Reams, J. J.
McAlester, Bill Pursley and oth-
ers, got into trouble with Gov-
ernor Cole, but finally carried
Esq.; after which, in company
with Sabe Love and others, he
the point at issue. In 1879,
owing to a personal difficulty
-*
*-
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
317
-*
with John Morrison, which end-
ed in a tragedy, Tandy left Ca-
nadian and settled close to Stone-
wall, where in 1881 he was ap-
pointed Captain of Militia by
Governor Overton. In 1886 he
was elected to the Chickasaw
Senate, and after the expiration
of his terra acted as National
Permit Collector till 1890.
The subject of this sketch was
a strong supporter of Gov. Wm.
Byrd till his party disfranchised
the white man, after which, not
seeing his way clearly to the
final result of this action, he rose
boldly and walked out of the
ring. Whether he was right or
wrong remains to be proven.
Mr. Walker has a fine farm
and a large stock of cattle. His
family is nine in number — Rob-
ert, Theodore, Annie, Jack, Cen-
tennial, Cornelius, Ida, Grover
and Minnie.
►i-
J. H. EASTON.
[CHICKASAW.]
The subject of this sketch was
born in Albemarle, Virginia,
and came to the Chickasaw Na-
tion in I860. At the opening of
the war he was elected Captain
of Company H, Chickasaw cav-
alry, under Col. Lem Reynolds,
and was in action at Elkhorn,
Newton i a, Mazzard Praire, Bird
Creek and Round Mound, dis-
banding his company at Fort
Washita in 1865. In 1867 he
married Margaret Taylor, a
widow, by whom he has four
children — Josephine, Gracie,
Henry and Franklin, the oldest
being eighteen and the youngest
J. H. EASTON,
ten years of age. In 1887 he
moved from Tishomingo, where
he had been doing business, to
his present home at Emmet. He
is now engaged in a small mer-
cantile business, and has besides
some fifty acres of land under
cultivation.
Mr. Easton has never run for
office nor interfered in politics in
the slightest degree, and though
he has been a juror for many
years, he has never been a witness.
-*
318
I.EADEUS AND LEADING MEN
C. E.GOODING.
[CHICKASAW,]
The subject ot this sketch was
the only son of Lem Goodinoj,
of Portland, Maine, whose latter
years wore spent in the capacity
of Ijulian Trader at Doaksville,
Choctaw Nation, and afterward
*
C. E. GOODING.
at old Fort Washita, Chickasaw
Kation. He was born in 1833
and came to the Territory when
only twelve years old. At an
early age the enterprising young
man commenced trading on his
own account, and in February,
lb58, married Mrs. M. T. Fra-
zier, daughter of James Allen, of
Tockpulla, Mississippi. Soon af-
terward he opened a large farm
at Sivell's Bend, where he hired
a number of negroes. On the
termination of the war he estab-
lished a trading post, or business
house, at carriage Point, but soon
afterward moved to Panola coun-
ty, wherein 18G5 he was elected
County Judge; the following
term Clerk of the Supreme Court;
and later on, during the adminis-
tration of Governor Overton, he
was called to the Cabinet, where
he occupied the position of Na-
tional Secretary. During the
Burney administration he again
came to the front, this time as
National Treasurer, and at the
expiration of his term bade fare-
well to politics. In 1867 he be-
came a Free Mason, and at the
time of his death was Past Grand
Master and had taken every de-
gree but the thirty-third. In
1880 he began studying for the
ministry, and in 1884 was or-
dained in the Methodist church.
He died in June, 1888, after a
lingering illness which baffled all
medical skill.
Mr. Gooding was beloved by
all and respected by everybody,
and his influence was wide-
spread. He left four children —
Frank, aged thirty; Mollie God-
frey, aged twenty-eight; Emma
Watkins, aged twenty, and Lem-
uel, aged seventeen.
-*
^-
-*
THE WILD TRIBES OF THE SOUTH WEST.
SOME LEADING MEN AND WOMEN OF THE
KIOWA, COMANCHE, WICHITA, CADDO
AND THE OTOE TKIBES.
*-
GRANNY HOUSTON.
The portrait given on page 63 is
taken from a photograph of
Granny Houston, the squaw of
Gen. Sam Houston. She is now
with the Kiowa Indians near
Anadarko, and claims to belong
to that race, though this is hardly
probable, from the fact that Gen.
Houston became associated with
her in the vicinity of the Canadian
river in the eastern portion of
the Choctaw Nation, while the
Kiowas at that period w^ere in-
habiting Southern Colorado, New-
Mexico and Western Texas, and
not at all disposed to intermar-
riage or cohabitation with white
men settled so far east of their
hunting grounds.
Granny Houston is probably a
Cherokee from her own evidence
and that of some of the an-
cient aborigines of the western
reservations, she was born about
the year 1781, which makes her
109 years of age, at least eight
years older than Aunt Sally Al-
berson, of Colbert, Chickasaw
Nation. Granny Houston states
that she lived with the great
Texas patriot both on the Cana-
dian and close to Caddo, now on
the M., K. & T. Kailroad, and
that he was a kind and gentle
husband, and a good hunter, al-
ways keeping the wigwam well
supplied with game and fish. She
is in good health, able to converse
when she will, and is much es-
teemed by the Wichitas and other
wild tribes.
QUANAH PARKER.
[COMANCHE CHIEF.]
The portrait cut of Quanah Park-
er, given on page 95, taken
from a photograph by Wm. L.
Sawyers, is admirably true to
life. Quanah is the son of a
-*
*
-*
LEADERS AND LEADING MEN
Comanche chiefjiis mother being
u captive white woman named
Parker, carried by the Indians
from the Texas county which now
hears her name.
Though the subject of this
sketch is dark in complexion, yet
it will be observed by his portrait
that he possesses the retrousse
nose, that is seldom if ever met
with among the aborigines, thus
proclaiming him to be the pos-
sessor of a certain portion of
white blood. Qnanah, within
the past tw^elve or fifteen years,
has been on peaceable terms with
the government, and is now a
wealthy Indian. In 1877hewas
sent out by tlie United States of-
ficials to bring in the hostiles
from Western Texas, which coun-
try they had been devastating for
several years. Buffalo hunters
were then numerous on the bor-
der, and to these he exhibited
a letter from the post commander
at Fort Sill representing his mis-
sion, and requesting them to
treat him with courtesy. Armed
with these credentials, he suc-
ceeded in bringing in the hostiles,
not, however, until they had suc-
ceeded in capturing and driving
out of Western Texas every re-
spectable piece of horseflesh
witliin their observation. Mr.
Parker is now a wealthy and high-
ly respected citizen, his influence
extending to no less than five
living wives, distributed among
his various "tepees" throughout
the reservation. The town of
Quanah in North Western Texas
takes its name from the subject
of this sketch.
COMANCHE MEDICINE MAN.
The Indian name of this great
medicine man, whose portrait
will be found on page 271, has
escaped the memory of the com-
piler. He is, however, a great
official in his tribe, being endow-
ed, they believe, with a superhu-
man skill in the construction of
certain compounds, and the con-
sultation with Oracles and Omens
that enable him to either bring
about events, or prophecy con-
cerning their fulfillment. In
cases of sickness he works rather
on the credulity of the patient
than on his vital organs; wizard-
like employing spells and incan-
tations in preference to herbs and
decoctions. The latter, however,
are used on some occasions. In
past years the comanche medi-
cine man consulted his oracles
before any serious enterprise was
undertaken. If the medicine
worked satisfactorily the council
plans would result in success and
were therefore adopted. On the
*
•i<-
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OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
other hand if the great Esculapius
announced "bad medicine" the
project wasinvariably abandoned
or postponed until a more ad-
ventitious period. Should the
medicine man fail in his prog-
nostications, he not only lost
prestige in his tribe, but ran the
risk of death-sentence as a false
prophet. Before the battle of
Dobey Walls, a short time after
the war, the Coraanche medicine
men bespoke a great victory for
the three hundred warriors who
undertook the siege of that strong-
hold, which was then defended
by Billy Dixon (a U. S. scout)
and about ten hunters. The en-
terprise resulted in the repulse of
the warriors with great loss in kill-
ed and wounded, while the besieg-
ed lost but one man, who was out-
side tlie defense when the attack
was made. Since that event the
medicine men, heretofore infal-
lible, have never quite regained
their supremac3^ The crosses
and religious ornaments worn by
the subject of this sketch are sup-
posed by the wearer to exert a
potency in the achievement of
certain ends.
qi-
KO-MUL-TAH.
[KIOWA CHIEF.]
The gorgeous head-dress of eagle
feathers worn by Ko-mul-tah,
(whose portrait appears on page
159),proclaimshis superior rank.
His bow in readiness for imme-
diate action illustrates the love of
warfare which is a leading char-
acteristic in this chieftain. His
countenance is a strong indica-
tion of that warlike disposition
which belongs to his race, and no
Indian on the reservation feels
more acutely his position of de-
pendence. Let Ko-mul-tah loose
in Western Texas with a hundred
braves well mounted and well
armed, as in days gone by, and
you will gratify the very height
of his ambition, for in him are
concentrated the fires and pas-
sions of an unconquered race.
THE DANCING CHIEFS OF
CADDO NATION.
John Wilson and his companion
on the left, a half-breed, whose
portraits appear on page 191,
represent the dancing chiefs of
the Caddo Nation. " Dancing
Chief " is a very important ottice
in this tribe, and one which ap-
pears to command respect as well
as admiration. Apart from the
war dance, which is now seldom
resorted to, it is customary for
two or more tribes to meet, one
tribe exhibiting its skill for the
amusement of the other. A
i*
>i*
-*
l.KADt:US AND LEADING MEN'
*
graceful athletic dancer is there-
fore much esteemed by the In-
dians, and supremacy in the art
gives rise to much good-humor-
ed competition.
John Wilson's costume, though
fantastic, is quite picturesque.
Around his ankles are fastened
a band of bells various in symph-
ony, which announce his ap-
proach from a considerable dis-
tance. He is a pleasant, intelli-
gent fellow.
WILD HORSE.
[COMANCHE.]
The portrait of Wild Horse, which
appears on page 223, will be easi-
ly recognized by a few of the
old Texas rangers who have
come in contact with that very
ferocious gentleman between
the years of 1865 and 1880.
Wild Horse had a peculiar at-
traction for Wise, Jack, Young
and other counties in that section,
and frequently^raided Fort Eicli-
ardson, stealing the stock within
pistol shot of the post. The last
raid into Wise county, marked
by the massacre of three women,
a mother and two daughters in
Sandy Creek, in 1874, was at-
tributed to Wild Horse, who
knew every secret path in the
wilderness between Fort Sill and
Bridgeport on the Trinity. From
the years 1876 to 1880 this chief
was forced to confine his hostili-
ties to the hunters who guarded
the frontier line from Ked River
in Greer county to Fort Concho.
WHITE HORSE.
[chief of the otoes.]
The portait of White Horse,
which appears on page 111, is a
true representation of the Otoe
Chief, clad in his costume of
cloth, dashed with silver, and
wearing around his neck treaty
medals which mark him to be an
Indian of much distinction in his
tribe, w^hich is now reduced to a
mere remnant. White Horse is
a man of great intelligence, with
a knowledge of human nature
which is rarely equaled, even
among people who are noted for
their sagacity in this respect. He
is also benevolent and peace-lov-
ing, ever foremost to settle dis-
putes, which are wont to spring
up among the Indians in his
neighborhood.
CORA CARUTH.
This lady, whose portrait appears
on page 143, is fairer than oth-
ers of her tribe, yet withal she is
a full-blood of the Wichita race.
At an early age she was sent
east, where she received an ex-
-*
*-
-*
OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY.
cellent education. Being natur-
ally bright and ambitious, Miss
Cora immediately fell in with
the customs and society obser-
vances of her white sisters. She
is looked upon with something
akin to pride by the older mem-
bers of the tribe,while the young
warriors are her devoted slaves.
Cora Carnth is now acting inter-
preter for the Wichitas at Ana-
adarko.
*-
[COMANCHES BUTCHERING
CATTLE.
The scene, on page 240, repre-
sents the Comanches butchering
the cattle supplied them by the
government on ration day, one
beast being allowed to so many
Indians, according to the size of
their families. The Comanches
are great lovers of flesh, having
not as yet become accustomed to
the use of vegetable or farina-
ceous diet, so that on ration day
they are usually in a voracious
state, their stomachs being suffi-
ciently empty to render un-
cooked meat a very palatable
morsel. One of the delicacies of
the Comanche bill of fare is a
"slunk" (unborn) calf or colt,
the mother being very frequently
killed to furnish them with this
revolting feast. The Comanches,
however, are not by any means
as repulsive in their habits as
some of the other tribes, whose
methods of living are often de-
cidedly obnoxious to the more
relined and less barbarous of the
aborigines.
BIG TREE.
[KIOWA CHIEF.]
The portrait of this chief, given
on page 175, is taken from a pho-
tograph of Big Tree, at one time
a great chief of the Kiowas.
Many a heart and home in Texas
were devastated by the ruthless
hand of this relentless desperado,
whose only peace was in war-
fare, at which he excelled above
all others of his tribe. In 1871,
in company with Satanta, a Co-
manche chief, he brought his ca-
reer to a climax by attacking a
government train on the military
road between Jacksborough and
Fort Belknap and massacreing
the entire party save one, who is
said to have escaped by flight.
The writer of this sketch passed
there a short time after the
bloody event and found the spot
strewn with the carcasses of men
and horses and the debris of
burned wagons. This act so ex-
asperated the government that
every possible step was taken
«
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LKADKKS AND LEADING MEN
for the capture of tlie hostile
leaders, which resulted in their
arrest in IS 73. Big Tree and
Satanta were thereupon sent to
the Texas State Prison at Hunts
ville on a life sentence. Satanta
refused to work and committed
suicide, while Big Tree, by good
hfliavior and a display of indus-
try and some energy in the man-
ufacture of elm chairs, was lib-
erated from durance vile and
permitted to return to his reser-
vation. Big Tree, however, is
under a cloud and is looked upon
as a disgraced chief. If he had
killed himself as did his compan-
ion, his name would have still
been dear to his old comrades in
arms; but to have borne the yoke
of the white man and accepted
his humiliating terms of freedom
appears to have rendered him
singularly unpopular. Being re-
leased on good behavior, he is
liable to re-arrest should he in
the future render himself obnox-
ious by the violation of law.
LAURA.
[KIOWA.]
The portrait o^^ Laura, given on
page 79, one of the Indian
woincu that you constantly no-
tice in the Kiowa camp, is Laura.
She lias an honest, pleasant
countenance and eves which
meet yours with less timidity
than m.ost of her sisters. The
combination of moccasin and
parasol indicates the wavering
between barbarism and civiliza-
tion, which is apparent in the
costumes of many Indians accus-
tomed to contact with the whites.
Laura is pretty and will converse
with the white man within the
limit of her vocabulary, if he
knows how to approach her
properly.
KIOWA PAPOOSE.
This picture, given on page 287,
illustrates the method adopted
by the wild tribes for carrying
their infants, or papooses. The
box or cradle is strapped on the
woman's back, who bears the
burden without any apparent in-
convenience. The papoose cradle
is of superior and expensive
workmanship, being closely and
handsomely beaded, which de-
notes tiie superior rank of its
owner.
•i^
APACHE CAMP.
The portrait found on page 303
illustrates an Apache hunting
camp visited by the photogra-
pher during the absence of most
of the braves, who are abroad
hunting for venison and other
game.
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