Sam and Jenny Paul at Mt Vernon in Washington DC during Sam's visit to testify before Congressional Committee on Indian Affairs (Front row, fourth and fifth from right.)
When Sam Paul was
chosen as the leader of the Chickasaw Progressive Party, his life took on a new purpose.
I can't say he was a changed man. He had the same fiery temper and the same
ruthless determination as before, but instead of chasing criminals (and women)
he decided to lead his people into the future.
His first action
was to travel to Washington, D.C. to lobby for the Progressive cause. (See post
of Oct. 29, 2011, Sam Paul, Part Seven) In a speech before the Joint
Congressional Committee of Indian Affairs he pointed out that the recent laws
disenfranchising intermarried white citizens went against the Chickasaw
constitution.
On his return to
Indian Territory Sam Paul bought a newspaper, The Chickasaw Enterprise, whose previous owner was being forced to
sell because of intimidation by the Chickasaw Government. Sam installed his
nephew, Fred Waite, who was currently constable of Pauls Valley, as editor, and
they proceeded to publish articles supporting individual ownership of land and rights
for white citizens.
This statement of
the newspaper's position was published in October of 1889:
The Enterprise is an Indian newspaper and is
owned and edited by an Indian. And, we do with the best interests of our people
at heart say we shall continue to further advocate the speedy acceptation by
our citizens of their land in severalty and the inauguration of a territorial
form of government.(The Outlaw Statesman, by Mike Tower, P 89 )
Fred was no easier
to intimidate than his uncle Sam. He was not only a constable, he had previously
been one of Sam's deputies, and had before that ridden with Billy the Kid's
"Regulators" in New Mexico. Fred had a college education and soon
would be elected to the Chickasaw legislature and later be named Attorney
General. The story of Fred
Waite is told in the book, Outlaw Statesman, by Mike Tower.
Fred Waite, about 1880
Sam Paul took his
mission seriously. He bought another newspaper in Ardmore, Oklahoma, The Chickasaw Chieftain, which he edited
himself, quite an accomplishment for an Indian whose education had consisted of
tutoring by itinerant teachers. Sam enlisted the help of his sons Bill and Buck
in gathering news.
Sam also opened a
law practice in Pauls Valley and I suspect he had little trouble getting white
clients needing someone to represent them in Chickasaw courts.
Sam made speeches
throughout the territory, advocating eventual statehood with equal rights for
both Indians and whites, and when the first land was opened to white settlement
in the famous land run of 1889, it was Sam Paul who fired the gun to start the
race. He believed so fervently in the benefits of white settlement that he
made trips to Texas and Arkansas to invite families to come to Indian
Territory.
Being a politician
in the Chickasaw Nation wasn't for the faint of heart. Sam Paul was shot at once during
a speech before a large crowd in Wynnewood, Oklahoma. He ducked down behind the podium momentarily, and then stood back
up and finished his speech. On another occasion
he rode into a meeting of Pull-backs with an armed escort, and delivered a
speech to them while his men trained guns on the crowd.
Sam Paul
I have the complete
text of one of my great grandfather's speeches, which was published in the
Chickasaw Chieftain. The speech was delivered in 1891 at a Fourth of July
celebration in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, before a crowd of 1000 white men and
Indians. Sam Paul's voice was weak due to a throat "affection" which
"compelled him to pause and drink water at frequent intervals," but
his delivery was "eloquent and forcible." He spoke without notes:
Ladies and Gentlemen: I have been invited by
the committee to come here today and speak on the issues which are now
agitating the people of the Chickasaw Nation. I hardly know how to properly
address an audience of this kind at a Fourth of July picnic. My speechmaking has
been confined to political gatherings of my own countrymen during election
campaigns and before the council of the nation. I must ask the indulgence of
you all for I have not made sufficient preparation to do justice to the
occasion.
I shall talk to you on the subject of
progression, touching upon the allotment question.
I shall go back as far as 1830. At that time
the Choctaws and Chickasaws were located east of the Mississippi River, and
owing to the state of laws being extended over them, they became very much
dissatisfied, because they could not understand or obey the white man's law,
and as they believed, could not prosper under such circumstances. The chiefs
and head men of the tribes appealed to the President of the United States to protect
them against the laws of the white man; but to their great surprise and sorrow,
the President said: "I cannot stop the operation of the laws of the states
over your people." Then the Choctaws, becoming convinced that they would
have to be governed by the state laws, expressed their desire to cede their
country to the United States and secure a new home across the Mississippi.
Accordingly, they purchased this land from the United States government and
received therefor a patent. In 1837 the Chickasaws made an agreement with the
Choctaws to locate within the Choctaw Nation and to have certain rights and
privileges. After living in this manner for several years, the Chickasaws
became dissatisfied with their dependent relations with the Choctaws, and in
1855 the two tribes, with the consent and under the direction of the United
States government, readjusted their relationship, the Chickasaws being given
their own district over which they were allowed to establish a government of
their own. In addition to $530,000 already paid by the Chickasaws to the
Choctaws for a one-fourth interest in their land, they paid $150,000 more for
the right of independent government.
I simply refer to this for the information
of those who may not understand the status of the Chickasaws in this country.
After all this had been done, the Chickasaws adopted a constitution after the
fashion of the United States. Then the Chickasaws were independent of the
Choctaws having their own government. There were very few white people among
the Chickasaws at that time and such a thing as politics was almost unknown
among them. They lived harmoniously, looking forward to the welfare and
prosperity of the whole people and they were prospering. The few years they
were here in this country they had accumulated herds of horses, cattle and hogs
and were opening up small farms on the rich bottoms of the Blue, Boggy,
Washita, Canadian, and Red Rivers, and other streams too numerous to mention.
But alas! The great Civil War, with its disastrous influence, put a clog in the
wheels of the progress of these people. The North on one hand, the South on the
other - what were they to do? They were forced to take one side or the other. The
result was that a part went to the North and a part to the South. Their little
homes were destroyed and their herds confiscated or driven away. When the war
was over in 1866, a treaty was made with the United States government,
reaffirming all former treaties, with a few exceptions.
Now we will come down to where it is most
interesting. After the war there became two factions among the Chickasaw
people. They did not have that friendly and brotherly feeling they had before
the war. There arose strife, difficulties, discontent and in many instances
there was bloodshed. They became prejudiced toward each other and toward the
white settlers and that prejudice had been growing stronger and stronger ever
since and has taken a firm root in the politics of the nation as well as in the
social life of our people.
Oh, what wonderful and grand things could
have been accomplished in this nation if this prejudice had never existed. I am
satisfied that had enterprise been encouraged, as before the war, we would
today have one of the finest and richest countries in the world almost. If
enterprise had been encouraged, we would not only boast of our rich lands and
our free and independent government, but we could boast of our great flouring
mills, cotton mills, woolen mills, iron works, machine shops, quartz mill coal
mines, oil wells, railroads, colleges, magnificent churches and brick blocks
and the hundred and one institutions that go to make up a perfect civilization.
This country has better and a greater variety of natural resources than some of
the most populous and powerful states in the union.
About the year 1850 my father moved to Ft.
Arbuckle. We were then on the extreme frontier. There were none but the Comanches
and other savages west of us. It was very dangerous to live there, but my
father was one of those hardy and fearless pioneers who blazed the way for
civilization to follow. Many a time we would slip away from our little log
cabin just before dark, seeking a hiding place for the night. Often on
returning home the next morning, we would find footprints made by these wild
Indians all over the yard. Often we would be forced to move within the fort for
protection. In after years they became friendly and during the war the
Comanches, Caddos, and Osages were located where the town of Paul's Valley now
stands. We were also there; having moved from Fort Arbuckle in 1859. Many a
scalp dance have I witnessed at Paul's Valley during the war. I have seen
barbarity in its most degrading forms and been an eye witness of the
transformation that a quarter of a century has wrought in this country. I
simply refer to those days that I may contrast the present with the past.
In spite of the stubborn fight of the
Chickasaws against progress and the innovations of the white man, in spite of
oppression and restrictive legislation by our government, the country is
building up and is already nearly as far advanced in an agricultural sense as
any farming community in the west. In spite of the bitter legislative
opposition to the construction of the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe railroad through
this nation, it was built, and instead of ruining this country, as was
confidently predicted by the full bloods, it has proved a Godsend to the cause
of progress among us. It seemed to put new life in the Indian. He became more
energetic and began to acquire the white man's dollar and the white man's ways.
I cannot recall a single instance where the
Chickasaw Nation has encouraged enterprise. Who built the railroad through our
land and put opportunities in our hands for gaining riches and contentment? The
white man. Who opened up all of these rich and beautiful farms? The white man.
Who built the churches and school houses of the nation? The white man. Who
built the flouring mills, the cotton gins, the various industries we see on
every hand? The white man. Who are the merchants, the mechanics, the agricultural
toilers, the professional men - the brawn and brains of the land? White men.
Now why is that we should be so bitter toward our brethren in white? In nearly
every instance where an Indian is operating with a white man he is prosperous,
be he a full blood or half breed; but where you find one who will not associate
or have any dealings with the whites, you will find a pauper, when he might be
among the well-to-do men of his tribe if he would just lay aside that little
thing prejudice. Take the white man out of this nation and we Chickasaws
wouldn't exist - well, say twelve months.
Now this is the class that are in power
today, the white haters. This is the class of men who have organized themselves
into a militia force and are scouring the country and endeavoring to enforce
laws that are an outrage upon an industrious and peaceable people. This is the
class of men who are imposing fines and inflicting punishments upon their most
intelligent and enterprising citizens. This is the class of men who disenfranchise
and are endeavoring to prosecute the white brother whose blood and example have
elevated the Indian from the scalp dance to the ways of civilization. This is
the condition of affairs in this country today.
Things have come to such a pass that I do
not believe we will ever prosper until there is a change had in our government
- a complete change. What I mean by a complete change is to change the tenure
of our lands from a system of community to one of severalty and allow
individualization to absorb the tribal relation. But as I was saying, the full bloods
are so prejudiced toward the progressive half breeds and adopted whites that
their eyes are blind to matters affecting their individual welfare and their
national life. There is but one path out of the woods, but their foolish
prejudice has made them so blind they will not see it.
During Governor B. F. Overton's
administration, he together with some of the men who are now figuring in our
governmental affairs, laid a deep and well planned scheme which has worked
quite successfully. They leased large tracts of valuable land to white men for
a long term of years and at the next legislature passed a law making it a crime
to negotiate land leases, providing however that those already made should
stand. Thus they used the full bloods' prejudice to keep him in poverty, and
they are still so prejudiced that they would rather go hungry than repeal that
law. To show their prejudice is stronger than ever, they disenfranchised the
white citizens who have built up our country, and the band of desperadoes and
disreputable characters they call the militia is out today arresting citizens
and worrying noncitizens for violating the Chickasaw laws, as they call it, but
I call it for improving the country and trying to build up homes for themselves
and their children. Why, a man cannot go into an enterprise of any kind without
violating some of their obnoxious laws. The rights, privileges and immunities
guaranteed to us by our treaties and constitution have been legislated away
from us and we are now powerless to redress these wrongs.
Speaking of leasing lands, I always was in favor
of the lease system, with certain restrictions guarding against monopoly and
alien corporations. Under the present system a white man cannot feel as though he
had a permanent home here. He is a transient squatter and a violator of law as
it is. Would it not be better to have the whole of the territory in an advanced
state of cultivation through a safe and equitable land tenure than in a raw,
wild state? It seems to me it would be much better, so when the time for
allotment has come, each Choctaw and Chickasaw could select a farm ready
improved. Of course there should be just provisions made to pay for the
improvements and satisfactorily adjust the claims of the men who have equities
in the country without an interest in the domain.
I am heartily in favor of allotment and have
been for years, although I bowed to the will of the majority in the late political
campaign. My plan of allotting is to class the land as 1, valley; 2, upland; 3,
swamp; 4, mountain. I suppose there is good bottom land enough to give 160
acres to each individual, the remainder to be divided according to its value -
we will say $5 for valley land; $3 upland, $2 for swamp and $1 for mountain
land. So you see the person locating (in) the mountain tracts would have five
acres to the valley man's one, reserving all the mineral interest for the
benefit of the Chickasaw government - that is for the government to have the
right to assess a royalty. After securing patents for our lands, we are to be privileged
to dispose of all land in excess of 160 acres, which is inalienable for
twenty-one years. Town sites, school and other public lands are provided for in
the treaty of '66, the allotment plan of which could be easily modified to suit
the condition of affairs in this country today. I believe this is the best and
most amicable way by which the land can be allotted, giving to each and every
individual his or her pro rata share. The treaty provides for taxes, though I
believe it would be wise for us in making these changes to provide when we are
to be taxed - say twenty one years from the date of allotment. You see the
treaty only provides that there shall be money enough retained that the
interest will be sufficient to defray the expenses of the government until such
time as the president may see proper. Now the danger is that the president may
see fit to assess the people at once, after turning over all monies belonging
to the Choctaws and Chickasaws. While I am in favor of individualization of the
land, opening the country to capital and encouraging all kinds of enterprise I
want to protect the interest of the full bloods, although they regard me as
their worst enemy They became prejudiced toward me because in the council of
the nation and on every suitable occasion I advocated justice and freedom.
Because I labored to repeal all of those obnoxious laws and enact good and wholesome
ones - laws that would perpetuate and honor our government, they even
threatened to take my life and would today had they the opportunity. Why, I
cannot attend to my business at Tishomingo with safety, for fear of organized
plots to assassinate me.
Oh, it makes me shudder when I think of the
man they murdered at Tishomingo while I was attending court there last winter.
The poor fellow had been bushwhacked within sight of the capital, under the
shadow of the court, and cut to pieces without a show for his life. There the
body lay concealed in the brush, dragged to the light of day and public sight
by the hogs that mutilated it shockingly. The murdered man and his murderers
were members of the jury. When roll was called those red-handed assassins
answered to their names, but their victim answered not. There they were with
blood on their shirts, blood on their hats, blood on their pants - oh, I imagine
I can see them now with blood dripping from the very end of their fingers! They
did not even find a bill against them. They were turned loose to prey upon some
other defenseless, innocent man. There were many cases the past year as heinous
as this.
I long to see the day when a man's life and
property will be fully protected in this Chickasaw Nation. This is the class of
men who stand between the more enterprising, intelligent and peaceable citizens
and complete civilization and prosperity.
I hope the day is not far off when the
tomahawk will be buried and we can join hands in friendship. When we can more
completely open up our lands to settlement, our country to capital and
business, and give our brothers in white an opportunity to secure a permanent home
among us and be our neighbors, elevating us to the highest standard of
civilization. Then there will be peace and prosperity throughout "the land
of the free and the home of the brave," and not 'til then.
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