New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-08-08
TIE SJOUY RESERVATION OPENED.

The solution of the Indian problem goes on
ftfully. The news that the Commissioners ap-
pointed to treat with the Sioux for the opening
Of their great reservation have triumphed comes
at the same time with the announcement that
the Cherokee elections foreShadOw refusal to
sell the great strip belonging to the latter
tribe. # is to be hoped that this expectation
may prove To be erroneous, and that when the
CherokeeS are finally made to comprehend the
situation they may yield as the Sioux have
done.
1t would be impossible to maintain such
barriers as the Sioux Reservation and the
Cherokee Outlet against the advancing tide Of
settlement in the West No Government, how
ever powerful. and however willing to fulfil its
treaty obligations, could forever protect these
vast spaces against the hamburger of the
whites. The Sioux have wisely recognized this
situation and have accepted the terms offered
The result is triumph for civilization. il
throws open 10 white settlement ii .OOO.OOO
acres Of land, cutting in half great tract,
which made an impossible barrier between the
eastern and western portions Of South Dakota,
More than H. 000.0O0 acres remain for the
is sold during the first three years settlers must
pay 81 % per acre and during that time, no
doubt the best lands will be taken ny; for the
next two years the ,ate is to he - cents an
acre, and 80 cents for the ensuing five years.
at the end Of which time the Government viii
take all lands unsod at the laS-named rate.
This outcome will he of great advantage not
only to the whites. who gain an immense tract
for settlement aud development. but to the
Sioux. who receive a good price for their land
and are certain to profit by the civilizing nfiu-
ences with which they will be surrounded.
Much Of the land is represented as being very
desirable and predictions are already heard
of gIeater scramble for the best places than
that which took place in Oklahoma.
The Commissioners to negotiate with the
Cherokees have apparently much harder task
before them. The cattle men. who have for
many years leased the Strip for small rental,
but whose notions of its value suddenly appre-
ciated when the Government proposed to throw
it open to settlement, are believed to have been
melting the CherOEeeS against sale. let 1t
may be set down as a certainty that the i'll
yasion of the Cherokee Strip by white settlers
is only matter of time. The newly opened
Territory of oklahoma can only be approached
from the north through the Cherokee Strip.
and this fact alone will be a constant incentive
to unlawful incursions. The Government offers
IA liberal price for the land namely. ~ % per
acre. the full Government price, for the entire
tract of q. 022 900 acres. yielding to the Chero
KEGS the sum Of 81 j27 800. Even at Il low
rate Of interest this would give them much
larger income than they have ever been offered
by the cattle syndicateS. and the sale would not
necesSitate any change in the present situation
of the CherokeeS. who have their homes in
another part Of the Indian Territory. The
Cherokee Strip, unsod is likely to be the scene
of constant disorder and even Of bloodshed, and
it is doubtful whether the United States Army
will he large enough in the future to protect it,
The Cherokee Strip once sold means great plac-
teal advantages to the CheroLeeS. and one step
more forward in the civilization Of the Indian.
1t is to be hoped that the Cher0keeS will borrow
some Of the. wisdom of the Sioux.