Joseph T. Roff
1888
Founder of Roff, Oklahoma
I moved to the Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, in 1871. When I came to the Territory there were very few white settlers here. The land embraced in what was then the Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations had, by treaty with the Indians, been ceded to them in consideration of the relinquishment of lands in Mississippi, Alabama and Tenneeessee. At the time of the removal of the tribes known as the Five Civilized Tribes, to the Indian Territory, the country was intended as a permanent abiding place of such tribes, where, as self-governing communities, they should be free from the interference and encroachment of the whites, but as years passed by and the population of the states contiguous to the Indian Territory increased, the whites overflowed into the territory where they formed commercial classes and improved and cultivated the land as tennants of the Indians.
Thus finally, partly as a result of the short-sightedness of the Indians, in admitting the whites into the country, and partly as a result of the pressure of the dominant race, which had over ridden them in their homes east of the Mississippi and which they were again powerless to resist, the seclusion and isolation which they sought by immigration, was lost.
It is a matter of history now that their tribal laws and courts were finally abolished, the land once held by them in common was alloted to them in severalty, and the old Indian Territory and Oklahoma came into the Union as one State.
As time went on the lease system was greatly extended. Cowmen were stocking the range with cattle, some of the pastures being fenced. Under the Indian law it was unlawful for a white man to hold cattle in the Indian Territory but this law was easily evaded and cattle were held in the Indian's name.
Owners of herds of cattle on their way to the northern markets through the Chickasaw Nation from Texas were compelled to pay a tax of twenty-five cents per head on the cattle driven though the Indian domain. This law was also evaded by resourceful cowmen and Indians in many instances by giving a a bogus bill of sale to some indian who would meet them at Red River, the Indian for an agreed sum accompanying the cattle and claiming them as his own until they passed the Chickasaw border on the north.
During Governor Overton's administration in 1876 or 1877 the Indian Legislature again amended the permit law by raising the tax on each non-citizen from five to twenty-fiv dollars. There had been some dissatisfaction some years before when the tax had been raised from one to five dollars but nothing to compare with the tempest raised by this last increase. Many of the lessees and renters openly refused to pay and Governor Overton called out the militia and also the assistance of a squad of United States soldiers to collect the permit tax and remove those who refused to pay. These strong measures were effective and most of the white men paid off, their Indian landlords assisting them in many instances. Those who persisted in their refusal were removed from the limits of the Chickasaw Nation.
Meanwhile the tide of white immigration to the Indian Territory continued. A good many cowmen came in from Texas seeking new range for their cattle and all tended to advertise the country. Many of the cowmen ran wire fences around their ranges, putting in large pastures to save expenses and keep other cattle off their range. In this way a number of large pastures were enclosed in the western part of the Chickasaw Nation, some of them covering thousands of acres.
This illegal practice became so prevalant as to finally attract the attention of the Indian Government and a law was passed prohibiting Indian citizens from fencing more than a square mile or 640 acres of land and orders were issued for the removal of all fences enclosing holdings in excess of that provided by law. The owners refused to take down their fences and the militia was again called out to cut down large pastures and put out permit evaders, and the Indian militia in obedience to these orders proceeded to cut the wire around illegal pastures and considerable excitement followed.
W. E. Washington, an intermarried citizen, was owner of one of these large pastures. A detachment of militia camped near his ranch with a view of cutting his fences the following day. During the night their horses were all stolen or run off, some twenty head were killed and the balance scattered all over the country. It was generally believed that Washingtons cowboys had run the Indians horeses off and Mr. Washington and some of his cow hands were arrested as I recall but the matter was finally adjusted in some way, Mr Washington paying for the horses.
Joe T. and Charles L. Roff
1935