Letters From Grandpa #410

LETTERS FROM GRANDPA

• 410

Dearest grandchild,

Today’s letter will be a warning about the “love of money”. The Scriptures teach: “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Tim. 6:10).

This warning from Scripture is made crystal clear by the best selling book “Killers of the Flower Moon” by David Grann. This famous book will be of special interest to you as it involves members of our own family. In the 1920’s the Osage Indians were the richest people per capita in the world. The love of money, however, drew many to Osage County like a magnet. Sadly, the love of money pierced them with many griefs.

Our family became involved with the Osages when our Aunt Waltena Myers married an Osage man named Raymond Red Corn in 1932. His father, Raymond Red Corn Sr., apparently died of poisoning at the age of 47. The motive, of course, was money! His son, the late Raymond Red Corn II was our uncle. His son, Raymond Red Corn III is our cousin. Among other honors Raymond III has served as the assistant principal chief of the Osage Nation, speaker of the Osage National Congress, and is a member of the Tulsa World Advisory Board. Grann’s book about Osage wealth and murder caught the interest of film director Martin Scorsese. He is presently producing a movie about these murders which is scheduled to be released in 2023. It will feature Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, as well as various members of the Osage tribe.

While there were plenty of villains in the book, one of the worst was a wealthy cattleman named William King Hale. Hale was a bully who rose to local prominence through years of bribery, extortion, and intimidation. In 1921, he ordered the murders of his nephew's wife and mother-in-law, followed by her cousin, sister and brother-in-law. His motive for these murders was to gain control of their oil rights. With the discovery of oil the Osage tribal leadership instituted a headright system. Under this system each member of the tribe was entitled to annual royalties from the sale of Osage oil and gas. Hale and his nephews, Ernest and Bryan Burkhart, were partners in crime. Ernest married Mollie Kile, a native Osage, and then had her sister, Anna Brown, killed in 1921. Anna's headrights were inherited by her mother, Lizzie Q, and her sister Mollie. The death of Lizzie Q and several cousins left Mollie and Ernest as sole heirs of their headrights. A headright was worth several hundred thousand dollars in the 1920s. This was a huge sum of money at that time for in 1920 you could buy a brand new T-Model Ford for $440. Mollie fell ill and it was later discovered that she too had been poisoned. Fortunately she recovered and fled from the area to safety.

The Osage Tribal Council suspected Hale in the murders, but couldn't get the townspeople to talk. Many of the locals had either been bribed or threatened into silence. The council then turned to J. Edgar Hoover and the newly formed FBI. Hoover sent four undercover agents to the Reservation. Over the next few years, these agents gained the townspeople's trust to the point that they began speaking out against Hale. Hale's nephew, whom he had coerced into helping with the murders, eventually confessed. Even with this confession, however, Hale almost got away with it. Local juries were afraid to convict him. After four trials, however, Hale was finally convicted by a different jury. Hale ordered the murder of an Osage named Henry Roan, and this murder took place on Government land. The jury, therefore, was composed of people outside of Pawhuska. This solitary conviction came before a Federal District Court in October 1929. Once Roan was dead Hale fraudulently tried to collect his

$25,000 life insurance policy, and then dared to serve as a pallbearer at his funeral. Hales brazen arrogance knew no bounds. Though the evidence against Hale was conclusive, even an outside jury in those days was reluctant to hang a “white man” for murdering an “Indian”. Consequently Hale escaped the noose and was sentenced to life imprisonment at Leavenworth, Kansas. No doubt due to Hale’s money and influence, he only served 18 years and was paroled July 31, 1947. This liberated murderer first worked on a ranch in Montana, then later moved to Arizona where he died in 1962. As the Scriptures warn, however, Hale’s love of money pierced him with many sorrows!

Another sad note to the story involves foreign incursion on Osage land. When author David Grann returned to Pawhuska in June 2015, Kathryn Red Corn directed him west of town to an 8,000 acre wind farm. There Grann found scores of metal towers 420 feet tall, which is equivalent to a 30 story skyscraper. Each windmill had three huge blades the size of wings from a jumbo jet. These turbines belong to an Italian energy conglomerate. Incredibly, they were erected on Osage land without the permission of the Osage Nation. The Osages went to court regarding this as a violation of the 1906 Allotment Act. As you might guess, the courts ruled against them. Even more devastating for the Osages are new rules restricting drilling for their own oil on their own land. One concerned citizen lamented to a reporter: “For the first time in 100 years there is no drilling in Osage County”.

Uncle Raymond and Aunt Waltena were godly Christian people who spent their lives in Christian service. Raymond was a many talented preacher of the Gospel and Waltena was his suitable helper. Raymond was a gifted musician, carpenter, hunter, artist, and athlete. He was highly respected by all who knew him. When Raymond realized that the unique “red corn” for which he was named was in danger of extinction, he sought the help of the University of Oklahoma and this problem has been solved. Uncle Raymond lamented that you could buy Chinese food, Mexican food, Italian food, etc. but not Indian food. He therefore started an Indian food business naming it “ha-pa-shu-tse”. This is the Osage word meaning “red corn”. Uncle Raymond died Dec. 1, 1993 at the age of 92. Aunt Waltena died Apr. 18, 2007. At this time the business was turned over to Ryan Red Corn. The “Ha-pa- shu-tse” Indian Food Business is located in downtown Pawhuska. One of their most popular foods is a delicious fry bread mix which Osages served to members of the royal family in England. Here is some background to the story.

The people of England had a fascination for the Wild West. When Buffalo Bill’s troupe performed in London in May 1887 before 28,000 spectators, Queen Victoria was so impressed that she asked the performers to meet with her after the show. Five years later, when the troupe came back to England, they did a special performance for the Queen at Windsor Castle. The troupe again returned to England in 1902. Uncle Raymond entered the story when he attended the 3rd World Scout Jamboree in Birkenhead England in 1929. 30,000 scouts and 300,000 visitors attended. The first Boy Scout troop in America was founded in Pawhuska by John Mitchell in May, 1909. Uncle Raymond was part of it. Perhaps it was the fascination the royal family had for Indians that led Prince Albert to the Osage camp. The Prince sent a limousine to bring the whole group to spend the week end Buckingham Palace. They dined with King George V, Queen Mary, and Edward and Albert. The next night the Osages played their drums and sang before the King and Queen and about 400 spectators. Uncle Raymond later painted a much admired oil portrait of King George.

The book about Osage murders and the love of money is a best seller. Let us hope the movie also does well. But most of all, I pray that you avoid the griefs and sorrows produced by the love of money.

I love you, Grandpa Boyce