INDIAN CHIEFS AND BRITISH LORDS

August 22, 1877—Cherokee Advocate-- As long as Sitting Bull was known simply as the 
head of a tribe of savages whom the United States had conquered and assigned to a 
reservation, he was an Indian with an outlandish name--no more--a "pushing, roaring 
and not by any means a Sitting Bull," as the New York Tribune said of him when he 
commenced hostilities.  After the battle of the Rose Bud for the famous and favorite 
hero and Indian fighter, General Crook, got pretty severely gored, there began to be 
double expressed whether Sitting Bull was Sitting Bull at all.  It became quite clear 
that he was not an Indian but a White man, perhaps a smart frontiersman who had fled 
from justice.
	But after the gallant Custer with his entire command was massacred and used 
up by Sitting Bull and his warriors, when the latter objected to allowing themselves 
to be killed by the chivalrous Custer for his own glory, it became positively certain 
not only that General S. Bull was not only not an Indian, but that he belonged to one 
of the "first families" of the whites--in fact was of high descent and the fine 
cultivation.  How else could it be otherwise when another member of one of the "first 
families," though American and of excellent education, had been beaten in a fight 
with all the advantages of fighting or not as he chose?  Of course the Bull could be 
no scrub.  He must be of good blood with a known pedigree and--(what makes the 
difference between men and cattle) he was not red.
	Having reached the conclusion it is no matter of surprise that inquiry has 
led to the natural discovery that Sitting Bull is in fact a blooded English or French 
men (there being a little doubt which) but certainly one or the other.  He might have 
turned out to be an American, but unfortunately for the country there are no titles of 
nobility on this side of the water and the exploits of S. B. gave him claim to be a 
Lord at least.  Lord accordingly late he has turned out to be-Lord George Gordon-who 
had been cheated out of his rights in the old country and had fled to the Sioux,  
among whom his native talents--nothing less than Lordly--has won him the first place 
of honor and influence.
	It now seems that the Sioux is not the only Indian Tribe which has a white 
man of "high degree" for chief.  The Nez Perce has either a Lord, or Knight of the 
shoestring, or some other title, in Chief Joseph.  The blood of the American Howard's, 
a family of distinguished name, has not been found adequate to the task of 
extinguishing Indian Joseph.  Indian Joseph must therefore be somebody whose blood or 
race is superior to that of General Howard.  We think there is enough evidence in the 
late fight in Montana, between General Gibbons and the command of Chief Joseph, to 
prove the latter to be a Count of one of the old French families--a Monpmortency or 
De Couci perhaps--at all events a family which is able to clean out the Howard's.
But these are not the only scions of noble houses to pretend to be Indians but cannot 
help discovering themselves by their genius.
There is an unknown gentlemen of a Noble House who lives away down about the Staked 
Plains  and has quite lately shown his whereabouts by beating a force of United States 
Troops in that remote region.  Twenty-seven white men were killed.  Of course it took 
white men, or a white man's genius to kill them in fair fight, which this no doubt was.  
The English have a plenty of Lords to run off from their families and wealth, paint 
their faces and wear flaps, after graduating with honor from Oxford and this unknown 
Indian Chief of the Staked Plains must be one the Brood; but, in order to do equal 
justice to the leading white races, we are inclined to opine he is a German Baron.
	It is not singular perhaps that English and French Noblemen should run away 
from their castles a château's and civilized friends to become Chief of Savage half 
naked Tribes of North American Indians.  But we confess that to us it is a little 
curious that these runaways should show themselves so superior to their brothers left 
behind.  If history tells truly the American Army led by its gallant officer's has 
proved on many a hard fought field its superiority to the best fighting stock of 
Europe, including officers of the highest military and taken from the highest civil 
rights there.
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“LEAF BY LEAF THE ROSES FALL”

August 22, 1877—We are informed on good authority that certain persons, non-citizens 
are cutting and rafting walnut timber from the Nation opposite Fort Smith and vicinity 
to Van Buren.  They make a pretense of working for some of our estimable citizens there 
to cover the depredation.
	The same thing is and has been going on for years close to the Kansas line.  
Thus the wealth of the Nation, carefully guarded from themselves, falls into the pockets 
of outside rouges--no less.
	What can be done with non-citizens by our laws?  Nothing.  They may do anything 
they please and our laws must permit it.  The United States is not interested in 
protecting our public domain--no one is interested in it but Cherokee's and they 
cannot, except in their own collective capacity, by complaint made to their Agent.  
The remedy is too slow and ineffectual at best.  Non-Citizens cut valuable timber, 
as they are doing now.  Some citizens must take the trouble upon himself of reporting 
the case, which is a much the business of 20,000 others as it is his, and he knows it 
and feels it.  The Solicitor to whom the trespass is reported gets no more for 
complaining on behalf of the Nation than if he does not and his personal interest is 
also divided among 20,000 others of course, he will not be in a hurry in every case to 
do his duty in the promises and if he does, it is only to report quarterly the intrusion 
complained of with other cases, to the Principal Chief.  It takes a more time for the 
Chief to complain to the Agent and when the Agent gets ready to act, it will be after 
inquiry and investigation, lest injustice may be done through misrepresentation.  By 
the time the order to stop reaches the depredator he has had time to make his pile and 
in this manner our country has been stripped of a great amount of valuable timber along 
the Kansas line and now the same thing has commenced on the Arkansas River.
	This valuable timber (walnut) generally grows upon the best of our lands, the 
high rich bottoms of streams.  Had the law, proffered with the rest of the New Code, 
been adopted which allowed citizens to choose for themselves and children tracts of 
land to improve under our laws, when they could--each tract being well defined and 
described in from the central small improvement required to be made and the tracts so 
registered in the District Clerk's office--there is no doubt that all of the land 
including the most valuable and tempting timber would have been selected and registered, 
and placed thus under the immediate care and charge of citizens, for themselves or 
children are wards.  They would have seen to it that any trespass of the sort complained 
of was stoopped without delay and no timber removed at least; and thus the timber of 
the Nation would have been securely saved to the Nation and its citizens.  By some 
such means alone may we expect to put a final stop to such stealing--for it is no 
less.  But until what is everybody's business becomes anybody's business--until it 
ceases to be nobody's business--can we expect to see the common property in timber 
preserved as it should be--especially that which grows at points easy of access by 
land or water, to those who are ready to buy it outside of our limits.
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