Silan Lewis was the last man executed under Choctaw law. He was shot by Lyman Pusley for killing Joe Hoklotubbe. His heart was on the right side of his body, and he did not die immediately after being shot through his left lung. His mouth was covered while he lay on the ground bleeding to insure his death. He married his second wife, Sally Rosalie Holloway June 4, 1894. Silon was about 64 and she was 17. He is buried in a grave in Sec. 7, T-3-N, R-15E, in the Blanco, OK area, with two of his children.
_____________________
From an interview with William Columbus Ervin dated April 14, 1938, by James Russell Gray, Investigator, Indian Papers:
"When I was about nine years old, while still living on the place I have just described, something happened that I want to tell you about. Probably you remember the story of Silan Lewis and how he was the last man executed legally under the Choctaw Government's jurisdiction. Well, I knew him; he was a friend of my father's and he came to our house in the Fall of 1894.
Lewis had been accused of killing another Choctaw named Joe Hoklotubbe. I know the name is spelled H-o-k-l-o-t-u-b-b-e because a young fellow named Joe Hoklotubbe, a grandson of the original, is working under me now on an Indian road project near Blanco; I'm foreman, and have been for four years now.
The way I heard it is that this Joe Hoklotubbe was on one side of a political fence and Silan Lewis was on the other side. One faction was called Progressives and the other side Nationalists and the former wanted to open up the Choctaw Nation to settlement by whites, while the latter faction wanted to keep the whites out as much as possible and retain the Choctaw Nation exclusively for Indians. There had been a lot of hard feeling over an election recently and Hoklotubbe was the leader of the Progressives in this neighborhood while Lewis was a sort of leader of the other faction.
I heard it said that Hoklotubbe was seen in Hartshorne, buying a lot of cartridges at J. D. Chastain's store. Chastain's place was on the corner at Ninth and Pennsylvania; Chastain's wife was an Indian and he got a lot of the Indians' Trade.
Someone told the men on the other side about Hoklotubbe buying the cartridges and that night a bunch of men rode up to Hoklotubbe's house and killed him. It has been said that Hoklotubbe was sleeping on his front porch, and that the men just filed him with lead and rode away. The house was only a mile south of Hartshorne, and I have heard people say that the popping of the Winchesters was like a Fourth of July celebration. Hoklotubbe was shot about eighteen or twenty times.
Lewis, being the leader of the opposing faction, was tried by the Choctaw court for the killing. He was found guilty and was sentenced to death. Then, according to the Indian custom, he was turned loose until the day of the execution. My father was an Indian officer, a Lighthorseman, and he sort of kept an eye on Silan Lewis to protect him from his enemies. He and another Officer brought Lewis to my grandfather's place in Hartshorne.
Father tried to get Lewis to leave the country and save his life; he even tied a horse where Lewis could find it. Once in Texas, Lewis would have been safe. But the man wouldn't leave; he was determined to go through with his sentence. His coming death worried him though; it made him pretty sad and thoughtful. He had a young wife, a pretty girl about half his own age. He had a good home and plenty of land and cattle; he had everything to live for. He took his wife and had their pictures taken together.
He joined a church, I do not know what denomination, that fall, too. I remember seeing him baptized. It was done at a pond just north of the old rock gin that stands yet on Ninth Street on the right hand side of the street as you cross the railroad tracks going north. Only a few people saw that ceremony; just my grandmother, two girls who were my cousins, and I. I'm not certain, but I think the preacher was that old fellow named Schimmerhorn who used to be in Hartshorne.
All this shows that Indian is a human being and has feelings, even if he does not always show his emotions as readily as a white man. Some people seem to think that Indians are cold and hard, without any kindness or emotions of any sort.
I didn't see Silas Lewis shot, but my father did. It has even been said that Father shot him, though that isn't true. Father was his friend and refused to do the shooting A Choctaw named Lyman Pusley did the shooting. Pusley lives somewhere in McAlester now; he must be about ninety years old.
There was a photograph taken of the execution of Silan Lewis. A young fellow named Frank Raymond took the picture. It shows Lewis lying dead on a blanket, and a group of Indians and whites standing around him. My father is in that picture."
_____________________
From an interview with William Columbus Ervin dated April 14, 1938, by James Russell Gray, Investigator, Indian Papers:
"When I was about nine years old, while still living on the place I have just described, something happened that I want to tell you about. Probably you remember the story of Silan Lewis and how he was the last man executed legally under the Choctaw Government's jurisdiction. Well, I knew him; he was a friend of my father's and he came to our house in the Fall of 1894.
Lewis had been accused of killing another Choctaw named Joe Hoklotubbe. I know the name is spelled H-o-k-l-o-t-u-b-b-e because a young fellow named Joe Hoklotubbe, a grandson of the original, is working under me now on an Indian road project near Blanco; I'm foreman, and have been for four years now.
The way I heard it is that this Joe Hoklotubbe was on one side of a political fence and Silan Lewis was on the other side. One faction was called Progressives and the other side Nationalists and the former wanted to open up the Choctaw Nation to settlement by whites, while the latter faction wanted to keep the whites out as much as possible and retain the Choctaw Nation exclusively for Indians. There had been a lot of hard feeling over an election recently and Hoklotubbe was the leader of the Progressives in this neighborhood while Lewis was a sort of leader of the other faction.
I heard it said that Hoklotubbe was seen in Hartshorne, buying a lot of cartridges at J. D. Chastain's store. Chastain's place was on the corner at Ninth and Pennsylvania; Chastain's wife was an Indian and he got a lot of the Indians' Trade.
Someone told the men on the other side about Hoklotubbe buying the cartridges and that night a bunch of men rode up to Hoklotubbe's house and killed him. It has been said that Hoklotubbe was sleeping on his front porch, and that the men just filed him with lead and rode away. The house was only a mile south of Hartshorne, and I have heard people say that the popping of the Winchesters was like a Fourth of July celebration. Hoklotubbe was shot about eighteen or twenty times.
Lewis, being the leader of the opposing faction, was tried by the Choctaw court for the killing. He was found guilty and was sentenced to death. Then, according to the Indian custom, he was turned loose until the day of the execution. My father was an Indian officer, a Lighthorseman, and he sort of kept an eye on Silan Lewis to protect him from his enemies. He and another Officer brought Lewis to my grandfather's place in Hartshorne.
Father tried to get Lewis to leave the country and save his life; he even tied a horse where Lewis could find it. Once in Texas, Lewis would have been safe. But the man wouldn't leave; he was determined to go through with his sentence. His coming death worried him though; it made him pretty sad and thoughtful. He had a young wife, a pretty girl about half his own age. He had a good home and plenty of land and cattle; he had everything to live for. He took his wife and had their pictures taken together.
He joined a church, I do not know what denomination, that fall, too. I remember seeing him baptized. It was done at a pond just north of the old rock gin that stands yet on Ninth Street on the right hand side of the street as you cross the railroad tracks going north. Only a few people saw that ceremony; just my grandmother, two girls who were my cousins, and I. I'm not certain, but I think the preacher was that old fellow named Schimmerhorn who used to be in Hartshorne.
All this shows that Indian is a human being and has feelings, even if he does not always show his emotions as readily as a white man. Some people seem to think that Indians are cold and hard, without any kindness or emotions of any sort.
I didn't see Silas Lewis shot, but my father did. It has even been said that Father shot him, though that isn't true. Father was his friend and refused to do the shooting A Choctaw named Lyman Pusley did the shooting. Pusley lives somewhere in McAlester now; he must be about ninety years old.
There was a photograph taken of the execution of Silan Lewis. A young fellow named Frank Raymond took the picture. It shows Lewis lying dead on a blanket, and a group of Indians and whites standing around him. My father is in that picture."
Silan Lewis was the last man executed under Choctaw law. He was shot by Lyman Pusley for killing Joe Hoklotubbe. His heart was on the right side of his body, and he did not die immediately after being shot through his left lung. His mouth was covered while he lay on the ground bleeding to insure his death. He married his second wife, Sally Rosalie Holloway June 4, 1894. Silon was about 64 and she was 17. He is buried in a grave in Sec. 7, T-3-N, R-15E, in the Blanco, OK area, with two of his children.
_____________________
From an interview with William Columbus Ervin dated April 14, 1938, by James Russell Gray, Investigator, Indian Papers:
"When I was about nine years old, while still living on the place I have just described, something happened that I want to tell you about. Probably you remember the story of Silan Lewis and how he was the last man executed legally under the Choctaw Government's jurisdiction. Well, I knew him; he was a friend of my father's and he came to our house in the Fall of 1894.
Lewis had been accused of killing another Choctaw named Joe Hoklotubbe. I know the name is spelled H-o-k-l-o-t-u-b-b-e because a young fellow named Joe Hoklotubbe, a grandson of the original, is working under me now on an Indian road project near Blanco; I'm foreman, and have been for four years now.
The way I heard it is that this Joe Hoklotubbe was on one side of a political fence and Silan Lewis was on the other side. One faction was called Progressives and the other side Nationalists and the former wanted to open up the Choctaw Nation to settlement by whites, while the latter faction wanted to keep the whites out as much as possible and retain the Choctaw Nation exclusively for Indians. There had been a lot of hard feeling over an election recently and Hoklotubbe was the leader of the Progressives in this neighborhood while Lewis was a sort of leader of the other faction.
I heard it said that Hoklotubbe was seen in Hartshorne, buying a lot of cartridges at J. D. Chastain's store. Chastain's place was on the corner at Ninth and Pennsylvania; Chastain's wife was an Indian and he got a lot of the Indians' Trade.
Someone told the men on the other side about Hoklotubbe buying the cartridges and that night a bunch of men rode up to Hoklotubbe's house and killed him. It has been said that Hoklotubbe was sleeping on his front porch, and that the men just filed him with lead and rode away. The house was only a mile south of Hartshorne, and I have heard people say that the popping of the Winchesters was like a Fourth of July celebration. Hoklotubbe was shot about eighteen or twenty times.
Lewis, being the leader of the opposing faction, was tried by the Choctaw court for the killing. He was found guilty and was sentenced to death. Then, according to the Indian custom, he was turned loose until the day of the execution. My father was an Indian officer, a Lighthorseman, and he sort of kept an eye on Silan Lewis to protect him from his enemies. He and another Officer brought Lewis to my grandfather's place in Hartshorne.
Father tried to get Lewis to leave the country and save his life; he even tied a horse where Lewis could find it. Once in Texas, Lewis would have been safe. But the man wouldn't leave; he was determined to go through with his sentence. His coming death worried him though; it made him pretty sad and thoughtful. He had a young wife, a pretty girl about half his own age. He had a good home and plenty of land and cattle; he had everything to live for. He took his wife and had their pictures taken together.
He joined a church, I do not know what denomination, that fall, too. I remember seeing him baptized. It was done at a pond just north of the old rock gin that stands yet on Ninth Street on the right hand side of the street as you cross the railroad tracks going north. Only a few people saw that ceremony; just my grandmother, two girls who were my cousins, and I. I'm not certain, but I think the preacher was that old fellow named Schimmerhorn who used to be in Hartshorne.
All this shows that Indian is a human being and has feelings, even if he does not always show his emotions as readily as a white man. Some people seem to think that Indians are cold and hard, without any kindness or emotions of any sort.
I didn't see Silas Lewis shot, but my father did. It has even been said that Father shot him, though that isn't true. Father was his friend and refused to do the shooting A Choctaw named Lyman Pusley did the shooting. Pusley lives somewhere in McAlester now; he must be about ninety years old.
There was a photograph taken of the execution of Silan Lewis. A young fellow named Frank Raymond took the picture. It shows Lewis lying dead on a blanket, and a group of Indians and whites standing around him. My father is in that picture."
_____________________
From an interview with William Columbus Ervin dated April 14, 1938, by James Russell Gray, Investigator, Indian Papers:
"When I was about nine years old, while still living on the place I have just described, something happened that I want to tell you about. Probably you remember the story of Silan Lewis and how he was the last man executed legally under the Choctaw Government's jurisdiction. Well, I knew him; he was a friend of my father's and he came to our house in the Fall of 1894.
Lewis had been accused of killing another Choctaw named Joe Hoklotubbe. I know the name is spelled H-o-k-l-o-t-u-b-b-e because a young fellow named Joe Hoklotubbe, a grandson of the original, is working under me now on an Indian road project near Blanco; I'm foreman, and have been for four years now.
The way I heard it is that this Joe Hoklotubbe was on one side of a political fence and Silan Lewis was on the other side. One faction was called Progressives and the other side Nationalists and the former wanted to open up the Choctaw Nation to settlement by whites, while the latter faction wanted to keep the whites out as much as possible and retain the Choctaw Nation exclusively for Indians. There had been a lot of hard feeling over an election recently and Hoklotubbe was the leader of the Progressives in this neighborhood while Lewis was a sort of leader of the other faction.
I heard it said that Hoklotubbe was seen in Hartshorne, buying a lot of cartridges at J. D. Chastain's store. Chastain's place was on the corner at Ninth and Pennsylvania; Chastain's wife was an Indian and he got a lot of the Indians' Trade.
Someone told the men on the other side about Hoklotubbe buying the cartridges and that night a bunch of men rode up to Hoklotubbe's house and killed him. It has been said that Hoklotubbe was sleeping on his front porch, and that the men just filed him with lead and rode away. The house was only a mile south of Hartshorne, and I have heard people say that the popping of the Winchesters was like a Fourth of July celebration. Hoklotubbe was shot about eighteen or twenty times.
Lewis, being the leader of the opposing faction, was tried by the Choctaw court for the killing. He was found guilty and was sentenced to death. Then, according to the Indian custom, he was turned loose until the day of the execution. My father was an Indian officer, a Lighthorseman, and he sort of kept an eye on Silan Lewis to protect him from his enemies. He and another Officer brought Lewis to my grandfather's place in Hartshorne.
Father tried to get Lewis to leave the country and save his life; he even tied a horse where Lewis could find it. Once in Texas, Lewis would have been safe. But the man wouldn't leave; he was determined to go through with his sentence. His coming death worried him though; it made him pretty sad and thoughtful. He had a young wife, a pretty girl about half his own age. He had a good home and plenty of land and cattle; he had everything to live for. He took his wife and had their pictures taken together.
He joined a church, I do not know what denomination, that fall, too. I remember seeing him baptized. It was done at a pond just north of the old rock gin that stands yet on Ninth Street on the right hand side of the street as you cross the railroad tracks going north. Only a few people saw that ceremony; just my grandmother, two girls who were my cousins, and I. I'm not certain, but I think the preacher was that old fellow named Schimmerhorn who used to be in Hartshorne.
All this shows that Indian is a human being and has feelings, even if he does not always show his emotions as readily as a white man. Some people seem to think that Indians are cold and hard, without any kindness or emotions of any sort.
I didn't see Silas Lewis shot, but my father did. It has even been said that Father shot him, though that isn't true. Father was his friend and refused to do the shooting A Choctaw named Lyman Pusley did the shooting. Pusley lives somewhere in McAlester now; he must be about ninety years old.
There was a photograph taken of the execution of Silan Lewis. A young fellow named Frank Raymond took the picture. It shows Lewis lying dead on a blanket, and a group of Indians and whites standing around him. My father is in that picture."
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