# The Boy Land Boomer

THE BOY
LAND BOOMER
OR
DICK ARBUCKLE'S
ADVENTURES IN OKLAHOMA
BY
CAPTAIN RALPH BONEHILL
AUTHOR OF
"THREE YOUNG RANCHMEN,"
A SAILOR BOY WITH DEWEY," ETC.
ILLUSTRATED BY W. H. FRY
H. M. CALDWELL COMPANY
The youth had to cling fast around his neck to save himself a lot of broken bones"
Copyright, 1902,
by
THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY
Made by Robert Smith Printing Co., Lansing, Mich.
Chapter 1 Dick Arbuckle's Discovery Chapter 2 Dick on a Runaway Chapter 3 A Cave and a Cave-in Chapter 4: Out of the Cavern Chapter 5: The Cavalrymen Chapter 6: Dick’s Hunt Chapter 7: Out on the River Chapter 8: Exposing a Swindler Chapter 9: Mike and the Mules Chapter 10: Mr. Arbuckle’s Story Chapter 11: A Strange Letter Chapter 12: Yellow Elk Chapter 13: Nellie’s Flight Chapter 14: Dick to the Rescue Chapter 15: An Important Conversation Chapter 16: Attacked by a Wildcat Chapter 17: The Meeting in the Woods Chapter 18: A Cry from the Darkness Chapter 19: Nellie Meets Vorlange Chapter 20: The Moving of the Boomers Chapter 21: Dick’s Disagreeable Discovery Chapter 22: Dick Hits His Mark Chapter 23: The Soldiers Again Chapter 24: Chased by Cavalry Chapter 25: Good News from Washington Chapter 26: The Boomer and the Bull Chapter 27: The Last of Yellow Elk Chapter 28: Clearing Up a Mystery—Conclusion
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
| | PAGE |
| "The youth had to cling fast around his neck to save himself a lot of broken bones" | Frontispiece |
| "The next instant the boy was hurled headlong into the boiling and foaming current" | 62 |
| "Dick had let fly the jagged stone, taking him directly in the forehead and keeling him over like a tenpin" | 179 |
| "In a second more the two men were in a hand-to-hand encounter" | 220 |
PREFACE.
"The Boy Land Boomer" relates the adventures of a lad who, with his father, joins a number of daring men in an attempt to occupy the rich farming lands of Oklahoma before the time when that section of our country was thrown open to settlement under the homestead act.
Oklahoma consists of a tract of land which formerly formed a portion of the Indian Territory. This region was much in dispute as early as 1884 and 1885, when Captain "Oklahoma" Payne and Captain Couch did their best to force an entrance for the boomers under them. Boomers remained in the neighborhood for years, and another attempt was made to settle Oklahoma in 1886, and up to 1889, when, on April 22, the land was thrown open to settlement by a proclamation of the President. The mad rush to gain the best claims followed, and some of these scenes are related in the present volume.
The boomers, who numbered thousands, had among them several daring and well-known leaders, but not ​one was better known or more daring than the leader who is known in these pages as Pawnee Brown. This man was not alone a great Indian scout and hunter, but also one who had lived much among the Indians, could speak their language, and who had on several occasions acted as interpreter for the Government. He was well beloved by his followers, who relied upon his judgment in all things.
To some it may seem that the scenes in this book are overdrawn. Such, however, is not the fact. There was much of roughness in those days, and the author has continually found it necessary to tone down rather than to exaggerate in penning these scenes from real life.
Captain Ralph Bonehill.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1930, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 93 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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