When assured of
their friendly attitude toward the Indians, the Negroes were accepted by
them as equals, even during the days of slavery when the blacks on account
of the cruelties of their masters escaped to the wilderness.[21] Here we
are at sea as to the extent to which this invasion and subsequent
miscegenation of the black and red races extended for the reason that
neither the Indians nor these migrating Negroes kept records and the
United States Government has been disposed to classify all mixed breeds in
tribes as Indians. Having equal opportunity among the red men, the Negroes
easily succeeded. A traveler in Indian Territory in 1880 found their
condition unusually favorable. The cosy homes and promising fields of
these freedmen attracted his attention as striking evidences of their
thrift. He saw new fences, additions to cabins, new barns, churches and
school-houses indicating prosperity. Given every privilege which the
Indians themselves enjoyed, the Negroes could not be other than
contented.[22]
It was very unfortunate, however, that in 1889, when by proclamation of
President Harrison the Oklahoma Territory was thrown open, the intense
race prejudice of the white immigrants and the rule of the mob prevented a
larger number of Negroes from settling in that promising commonwealth.
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