Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/259

 INDIAN TERRITORY 247 erable arable and productive land, much of it is rocky and only fit for timber or pasture ; three fifths of the Cherokee country is of this charac- ter. Between Ion. 97 and 98 a narrow strip of timber, called the " Cross Timbers," stretch- es from the Red fork of the Arkansas 8. and S. W. into Texas. W. of this and N. of the Cana- dian is a sterile region, scantily overgrown with grass, producing only a few stunted shrubs, cac- tuses, &c., and covered in places with saline de- posits. The most common trees and shrubs are the cottonwood, oak, sycamore, elm, walnut, ash, yellow pine, pecan, Osage orange, haw- thorn, and the grape vine. Indian corn is the chief crop. Wheat is also raised, as well as rye, oats, beans, pumpkins, potatoes, and other vegetables, and upland rice. Cotton was for- merly largely cultivated S. of the Canadian and on the Arkansas and Red rivers, and is still grown there to some extent. Apples do well N. of the Canadian and Arkansas, and peaches, pears, plums, cherries, and small fruits flourish. Among wild animals may be mentioned the prairie dog, the deer, and vast herds of buffalo and wild horses that roam over the W. plains. Wild turkeys are abundant. Large herds of horses and cattle were formerly owned by the Cherokees and other civilized tribes, but they were dispersed and driven off during the civil war, which prostrated the industries of the In- dians, and from the effects of which they have not yet recovered. The following table is com- piled from the report of the commissioner of Indian affairs for 1873 : TRIBES. Acres of land cultivated. Wheat, bushels. Indian corn, buiheli. OaU, bushel*. Potato*!, bushels. Hay, tons. Lumber (awed, feet. 89260 69650 629 000 850CO 10000 80JiOO 10000 Tft.000 10000 25000 .'ill IHIH 50000 10000 100 000 10000 60000 60 000 Creeks 31 1)1)0 600 500 000 1 000 4,671 2184 64 742 8*260 4,110 1*876 7600 160000 4000 Other tribes 6,309 190 81 210 1500 10860 1 470 850468 Entire territory. 217 790 92574 1 699 952 60760 198 470 188,746 There were also raised 5,000 bushels of barley, 10,936 of beans, 1,534 of peas, 6,500 of turnips, 25 of rice, 4,000 Ibs. of sugar, and 5,000 bales of cotton (2,000 by the Chickasaws and 3,000 by the Choctaws). The value of furs sold was $193,560. The productions in 1872 were 100,- 420 bushels of wheat, 6,562,540 of Indian corn, 104,939 of oats, 281,000 of potatoes, 700 of beans, 1,000 of rice, 27,624 tons of hay, 1,200 Ibs. of tobacco, 36,000 gallons of sorghum mo- lasses, and 570 bales of cotton. The total value of productions was $4, 168, 932, viz. : Cherokees, $1,923,155; Chickasaws, $219,000; Choctaws, $1,119,797; Creeks, $537,325; Quapaws, &c., $30,881; Seminoles, $159,500; other tribes, $179,274. There were 2,350,000 feet of lum- ber sawed (2,000,000 by the Cherokees). The value of furs sold was $102,020, chiefly by the Cheyennes and Arapahoes, Osages, Kiowas, &c. The number and value of live stock in 1873 were as follows: TRIBES. Honei. Cattle. Sheep. Swine. Value. 1 5 000 108 302 8050 68868 $1 861 038 Chickasaws 85.000 100000 50,000 2,000 7.->.iiim 1,854.000 Creeks .... 15 000 35000 100000 Quapaws, &c Beminoles Other tribes 891 2,600 43,764 997 10,500 2->.KA "60 3;621 25,000 7,956 ' 67^i>6 217,650 1,441,684 Entire territory. . . 212,188 322.854 18,100 430,445 (9,408,178 The railroads in the territory are the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas (from Sedalia, Mo., on the Missouri Pacific line, to a junction with the Houston and Texas Central, at Denison, Tex.), which crosses the E. part, and the Atlantic and Pacific, from Pacific, Mo., on the Missouri Pa- cific, to a junction with the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas, at Vinita in the Cherokee country. The total mileage in the territory is 269. In- dian territory forms the greater part of the central Indian superintendency, and contains 11 agencies, viz. : the Cherokee, Choctaw (in- cluding also the Chickasaws), Creek, Kaw, Kiowa, Neosho (Osages), Quapaw, Sac and Fox (including also the Absentee Shawnees), Seminole, Upper Arkansas (Cheyennes and Arapahoes), and Wichita; for each of which an agent is appointed by the president with the consent of the senate, to represent the United States ; but each tribe has its own in- ternal government. The jurisdiction of the United States courts for the W. district of Arkansas extends over the territory in civil actions where a white man is a party, in case of crimes committed by or upon a white man, and in proceedings for violation of the laws regulating trade and intercourse with the In- dians. The subject of a territorial govern- ment has been much discussed both among the Indians, who in a general council in 1870 framed a constitution, and in congress; but difference of views between congress and the tribes has hitherto prevented its organization. The United States have adopted the policy of settling the various Indian tribes in this region as far as practicable upon separate reserva- tions, where they may be free from the en- croachment of the whites, and under the gen- eral superintendence and protection of the government. The greater part of the inhabi-
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