The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1881-10-20
Once wore. On 10 Oklahona.


CAPT Payne.-the tireless. persistent, sensible
Capt Payue,-is srain hard 8; work organizing
other Oklahoma boom. There is nluea in his at
t.inrts 20 scttic thcse socaed Indian lands II is
n, al riioun<hine Some day the people along the
In.ian Territory bor.ler vill awaken 10 the plain
fact that Capt. Payne wAs right after ALL aid thAt
by the decided stand taken by him nrt his stick
tditiyeress he has accomplished n something which
will no; only BE- credit the Captain but of great
benefit to all His open letter Is appended, which
lie saws: Il will start for OklahAma again in
about two weeks, and would once more ask the at
teniion of my friends, and not only them but all
who may desire cheap homes in a land which, l am
tempted to say from a personal knowledge, is al
mdt flowing with milk and honey The picture
that has been drawn Of Oklahoma has never been ex
asgerated nor falsely portrayed The perspective of
all the pictures have made of Oklahoma, or have
been made by 9th .rs, in the newspaper OF Kansas
and adjoining States, true TO life The coloring
all belonged TO the places to which it placed,
and il remains to-day and always the same beautiful,
grand country-and it is absolutely ours; ours
cultivate TO live upon, to sell barter or trade,
surely n. the sun shines the waters But the
readers of this may see further on the truth Of my
position 1t might be well TO state in the beginning
some facts touching my trial in the United States
-Court, at Fort Smith. Arkansas IL IL il n fact
that never fined by the Court for my -oealed
invasion of Indian 90 lands, tas has been stated by
of the newspapers of the Statel, nor ever
held under n single cents worth Of bonds The
Court could not. dared not, put itself on recorl
having been guilty OF sneh gross inJussee TO e,ti
lection for doing that which Congress authorized him
TO do; and not prescribe him by laws which could
have only been enacted in Imagination; certainly
not through wise, prudent and far-seeng American
Congress. Ii is true, was arraigned and tried by
tho United States Court at Fort Smith; yet not in
any upon the merits or facts in the case, hut
upon n demur land this the case Of the Govern
ment.l. 1t would not have taken any more Of the
Courts time to get at the facts, but 1t chose to do
otherwise, because, had the Government given
the trial asked for, expected and desired OklahO
ma would have had many people to-day upon its
soil as has Florida within her borders The Court
10 II It IN he IL
sentimental policy which only tends to impoyerish
the white citizen of the Republic to support the red
man, whose highest type of civilization is reached
when he Is clothed before etc But the Court
lodged the main issne-the finely allowing the de-
mur. So | am to-day as free man as walks upon
the soil of historic Kansas. i reassert here, that
there is not a law within the lids of the enactments
of an American Congress which can fine me any
other American citizen for settling upon the public
lands within the Indian Territory The ceded lands
do not belong to the Indians but solely and exclu-
svely TO the Government Of the United States, and
are therefore, a part of the public domain. quote
section from the charter of the A & z. K. R., Acts
39th Congress:
SIC 6. Iad Be fgA,r enae;ed that the President of
forty miles in width both sides Of the entire line of said
road after the general rOur shall be fixed and fast
Of land hereby granted shall be liable sale
entry prempton before after they surveyed
provisions Of the act Of September eighteen hundred and
foryone granting preempton rights and acts amendatory
steas actual settlers the public domain approved
May twenty eighteen hundred and shall be and
hereby extended all other lands the line
Of said rcad when surveyed excepting those hereby grant
cd to said company.
Thus it will be that the Atlantic & Pacific has
forty miles each side of its road-bed-each odd
secton-but each even section shall be, by the came
act, subject to Pre-emption and homestead laws.
1880, that the Atlantic a. Prcifc had forfeited no
right franchise, and that the company
titled to the lands. There is absolutely question
to right to settle each even section within
the limits of this grant. i do not believe the Gov
ernment would undertake to put settlers of the line
of this road in the face of plain law. Section
of the same grant reads:
The United States shall extinguish rapidly as may be
and only by their voluntary oeon the Indian title To all
lands falling under the operation OF this act and acquired in
the donation TO the road named in the act
The Indian title extinguished in 1896. The
Government paid them in cash for every of land
at from 10 to 30 cents per acre. Poor Lo cuts no
figure in this He has just much right TO land IN
Sedgwick County rs to that lying within the grant
to the Atlantic & Pacific railroad. II he did not
want the white race TO occupy these lands, why did
he dispose of them The Atlantic Il Pacific are now
building west from Vanitia, l. T., and will complete
the road through the ground mentioned above. III
there has been any doubt to right to these lands
will not this remove il for all time Now, IN conelu-
sion, desire to to my friends and those interes-
ted that suit for damages against General Pope
forcing us from the Indian Territory will be tried
in the Leavenworth County Court in December and
have no doubt of our ability to secure damages:
From this on it will be purpose to push hard
from every side. Ali members of our colony who
have not received letters of instruction mstruc
ted go into the Territory from every quarter and
by the nearest route select claim and settle upon
il. Avoid starting in large numbers, as to occss-
sion unnecessary comment. Ii will be the pur-
pose of railroads. politicians, and corpnrafions 10
keep out actual settlers, that they themselves may
get possession 1t is mot theirs il We have the
to win victory-and victory awaits concerted
and earnest action.
will have horseback men (messengers) all over
the country. They will get your location and report
to me, telling you in the meantime where am ioea-
ted After thirty or forty days, or when there are
enough of us in the country to hold it, will come
together ut given point, hold a meeting. elect
officers and make laws, etc. Go into the Territory
and get on your claims-not all in day, but
fast as Won can for the next two months. There
thousands of people in the country today, aud going
all the time. Why not us! ID. L. PAYNE, Pres.