“I understand”: Quoted in McCartney, The Teapot Dome Scandal, 113.
“Veterans of”: Pawhuska Daily Capital, April 6, 1923.
On January 18: My description of the auction is drawn from local newspaper articles,
particularly a detailed account in the Daily Oklahoman, Jan. 28, 1923.
“the finest building”: Thoburn, Standard History of Oklahoma, 1989.
“What am I”: Daily Oklahoman, Jan. 28, 1923.
“Where will it”: Shepherd, “Lo, the Rich Indian!”
“The Osage Indian”: Brown, “Our Plutocratic Osage Indians.”
“merely because”: Quoted in Harmon, Rich Indians, 181.
“enjoying the bizarre”: Ibid., 185.
some of the spending: For more on this subject, see ibid.
“the greatest, gaudiest”: F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Crack-Up (1945; repr., New York: New
Directions, 2009), 87.
“To me, the purpose”: Gregory, Oil in Oklahoma, 40.
“The last time”: Ibid., 43.
“like a child”: Modifying Osage Fund Restrictions, 73.
“racial weakness”: From the decision in the case of Barnett v. Barnett, Supreme Court of
Oklahoma, July 13, 1926.
“Let not that”: Indians of the United States: Investigation of the Field Service, 399.
“I have visited”: H. S. Traylor to Cato Sells, in Indians of the United States: Investigation
of the Field Service, 201.
“Every white man”: Ibid., 204.
“There is a great”: Modifying Osage Fund Restrictions, 60.
“We have many little”: Pawhuska Daily Capital, Nov. 19, 1921.
“a flock of buzzards”: Transcript of proceedings of the Osage Tribal Council, Nov. 1, 1926,
ONM.
“Will you please”: Pawhuska Daily Capital, Dec. 22, 1921.
“bunched us”: Indians of the United States: Investigation of the Field Service, 281.
7: THIS THING OF DARKNESS
One day, two men: My description of the discovery of Roan’s body and the autopsy comes
from the testimony of the witnesses present, including the lawmen. For more
information, see records at NARA-FW and NARA-CP.
“He must be drunk”: Grand jury testimony of J. R. Rhodes, NARA-FW.
“I seen he”: Ibid.
“Roan considered”: Pitts Beatty to James A. Finch, Aug. 21, 1935, NARA-CP.
“We were good”: Lamb, Tragedies of the Osage Hills, 178.
“Henry, you better”: Testimony of William K. Hale, U.S. v. John Ramsey and William K.