Oklahoma--Indian Territory

Letter from Jasper L. McBrien to Theodore Roosevelt

Jasper L. McBrien wants to start a lyceum bureau that provides the best speakers for the best rates. He lists his credentials as a lecture organizer and asks for Theodore Roosevelt’s rates and availability from September 1, 1911, to September 1, 1912, and beyond. A handwritten post script reminds Roosevelt that McBrien was one of the men who held up his train on the way to the Iowa State Teachers Association.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-07-17

Letter from Cicero A. Skeen to Theodore Roosevelt

Cicero A. Skeen thanks President Roosevelt for his support of Oklahoma statehood. In gratitude, Skeen has sent a bottle of molasses made from sugarcane grown on his farm using materials supplied by other residents of Oklahoma and the former Indian Territories.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-18

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

Attorney General Bonaparte sends President Roosevelt a letter from United States Marshal George K. Pritchard of the Central District of the Indian Territory. Bonaparte believes the letter an admission of guilt on Pritchard’s part, no matter his intentions. He waits for a formal response from Roosevelt with regards to what to do with Pritchard’s employment.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-03

Letter from George K. Pritchard to Charles J. Bonaparte

United States Marshall Pritchard explains to Attorney General Bonaparte his conduct that might be relevant to the accusation of Dr. J. J. Dunning of McAlester, Oklahoma, that his wife lacks fidelity. Pritchard names several people who can furnish character references and offers further testimony.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-30

Letter from Ethan Allen Hitchcock to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock assumes responsibility for publishing the Higgins correspondence as a pamphlet and will conform to President Roosevelt’s wishes in the future. Hitchcock is not surprised that Roosevelt has heard complaints about the investigations in the Indian Territory; “‘Weary Willie’ grafters” are prone to making charges “against those uncovering their scoundrelism.” However, he thinks that the final reports will prove these investigations were warranted.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-01

Letter from Ethan Allen Hitchcock to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock responds to President Roosevelt’s request for information regarding an account of the correspondence featured in a New York Sun editorial from August 16, 1906. Hitchcock tells Roosevelt that he was not responsible for the editorial except to the extent that correspondence referenced was issued by his authority. The correspondence, which he summarizes, pertains to the hearings before Hitchcock on the leasing of oil lands and natural gas wells in Indian Territory and the Territory of Oklahoma.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-22

Telegram from Boies Penrose to Theodore Roosevelt

Boies Penrose writes to set up a meeting between President Roosevelt, Arkansas Senator James K. Jones, and Pennsylvania oil magnate Theodore N. Barnsdall to discuss “serious complications in Indian Territory over gas and oil matters.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-02

Letter from Francis E. Leupp to Theodore Roosevelt

Francis E. Leupp, commissioner of Indian affairs, writes to President Roosevelt regarding Colonel Cecil Andrew Lyon and the purchase of coal lands owned by the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-23

Letter from Edward L. Hamilton to William Loeb

Representative Hamilton has heard that President Roosevelt intends to advocate in his annual message for joint statehood for Oklahoma and Indian Territory. Hamilton suggests to William Loeb that in the message, Roosevelt make a similar reference to joint statehood for Arizona and New Mexico.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-11-14

Some familiar faces at home

President Roosevelt looks at his desk and sees a “post office scandal” man, an “Indian Territory affair” man, a silhouette labeled “Delaware post office case,” and two hands labeled “glove contract.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-10-01

There’l soon be something doing

In Washington, D. C., President Roosevelt tells Board of Indian Commissioners member Charles J. Bonaparte, “Now Bonaparte, go right now and stop that,” pointing to an “official land shark” in Indian Territory who holds a “perpetual lease” and tells a Native American, “All you have to do is sign this lease.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-09

Another little interruption

President Roosevelt attempts to ride on a Republican elephant “to the White House 1904,” but he is stopped by a large caricature of a native American holding “Indian Territory—for sale cheap,” an “Indian lands grab” sword, and a sign that reads “Fine oil property—mineral lands for sale—Bixby & Co.” There are two feathers in his hat: “the Dawes Commission” and “Indian land for sale—Dawes Com.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-09

Torture for $15

Captain White of the Cantonment Indian School of Indian Territory confirmed that an officer of the Bureau of Ethnology and an officer from the Field Museum of Chicago paid Cheyennes and Arapahoes to torture themselves in a “sun dance.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-08-06

Letter from Henry Cabot Lodge to Theodore Roosevelt

Senator Lodge hopes that Mr. Noble will be re-appointed as postmaster of South McAllister in the Indian Territory.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-02-08

Letter from John M. Taylor to Theodore Roosevelt

John M. Taylor states that the Republican Executive Committee located the Territorial Convention and will elect six delegates representing the Indian Territory. The delegates will be instructed to vote for President Roosevelt’s re-election at the Republican National Convention.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-01-25

Letter from Charles J. Bonaparte to Theodore Roosevelt

Charles J. Bonaparte shares his views concerning candidates for Postmaster in Baltimore, Maryland, with President Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-12-06

Rules and regulations adopted by the Republican Executive Committee Indian Territory

Announcement with rules and regulations for the creation and organization of Republican clubs in Indian Territory.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-10-02

Rules and regulations adopted by the Republican Executive Committee Indian Territory

Announcement with rules and regulations for the creation and organization of Republican clubs in Indian Territory. Document is printed in a Native American language, likely Cherokee.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-10-02

Letter from Francis E. Leupp to Theodore Roosevelt

Francis E. Leupp suggests N. Dubois Miller be appointed to investigate the Indian Territory scandals.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-09-03

Letter from Ethan Allen Hitchcock to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock writes to President Roosevelt to inform Roosevelt of a meeting with a Charles Nagel in Boston to ask for help in selecting a man to investigate the situation in Indian Territory. Hitchcock suggests Roosevelt meet with Nagel.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-08-21