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Show OKLAHOMA. 205 With their sporadic population timber increases yearly, game is abundant and cheap, common pasturage is plenty, and cattle are grown at a cost of from three to eight dollars per head. The Choc-taws jvere immensely wealthy before the war. Single herders num-bered their cattle by thousands. The average wealth was twice as great as that of any purely agricultural community in the States, and golden ornaments of every sort were profusely displayed on horses, carriages, and the Indians' persons. The amount of fine clothes and jewelry sold by traders here at that time seems incredible. The war swept them clean ; literally broke up and ruined them, leaving noth-ing but the land. Before the war Mr. Walker was accounted a million-aire. He began again, in 1865, with fifty dollars and one saddle- mule. He was ahead of his neighbors only in this : his fifty dollars were in greenbacks, theirs were in Confederate notes. Those who " went South " were even worse ruined than those who " took the Federal side." Some died of grief and despair, on returning home in 1865. But most went resolutely to work, and are once more prospering. But many years will be required for those vast herds of cattle to be renewed. This neighborhood has every sign of a prosperous community of civilized farmers. On the whole, I rather like the Choctaws. We soon returned to Muscogee, and on the afternoon of a sultry day set out to walk to Fort Gibson. Three miles brought us upon the old cattle trail from Texas to Kansas City, where we were soon overtaken by a grizzled and weather- beaten old Texan, who politely asked us to take a seat in his wagon. Eyeing our valises suspiciously, he asked : " Got any Avhisky in them ? " " No," was the answer, with expressed regrets. " Ef ye had, ye'd walk, you bet; wouldn't have you get in here with one pint of whisky for five hundred dollars ! " This radical temperance platform in this latitude excited our aston-ishment, and we called for an explanation. He gave it: " A burnt child dreads the fire. One pint, yes, one dram o' whisky ' d cost me this hull load. These deputy marshals d n the thievin' rascals, I say they ' 11 search y'r wagon any minit ; and if they find one drop, away goes the hull load to Fort Smith, and d n the haight of it d'y ever see again. One trip a nice lookin' chap enough asked me to ride. He got in, and pretty soon pulled a flask. ( Drink/ says he. ' After you,' says I. Well, in less ' n ten minutes comes the marshals and grabbed us. If they find a drop even on a man as is ridin' with |