New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-04-20

there a shack satisfies lae wants OIL me- 4"'A"s
He rarely becomes tiIler Of the SOIL though he may
raise cattle. AS rule his rihe aud snotgun supply
the necessities Of his table.
An unslircssful boomer remains boomer" al
his iIbo successful one IL apt to return 70 oy'f
zatou and indulge In tho swopping OF corner ioo VI
the laying out OF town Sites rathcr than face again
the hardships OF the wilderness There arc lew ony
OF the original boomers left who served undeF fssne
and ACCOMPANIED him on hls raids into Oklahoma
Among the camps visited found no more perhaps
than dozcn.
what has bccope Of your friends ~ asked Of one
od man vvbo started with Payne from this very town
on April ID, 1850.
Some Of them are dead; others have returned 70
their homes in after they were driven cut OF
Oklahoma still others
He hesitatcd q minute, and then, eyeing me BUS
piciously, suddenly broke out
"who are you anyway"
The answer must have satisfied him, for presently
he resumed:
owen, thoy arc still IN onahoma-in hdins'
How Is It the soldiers have been unable to ma
themqe
ooh they don't move about much except at night,
and they live in dug-outs in the most inaccessible
parts of the woods. They In constant communities
ton, however with u.s. .
"How is that"
aWell. they go by fictitious name, to begin with
Then they send their letters to the nearest posonce
always by an Indian. When he returns he doesn't
meet them at the dug-out but In some distant part
Of the woods. oh, the woods In Oklahoma" he coli
cluded are full Of Smiths and Joneses and Browns
Just now"
PROFESSIONAL "sooMERs" AND LEGITIMATE
SETTLERS.
This account Of tho life of the boomers in hiding
In Oklahoma Is fully corroboratcd by others. Most
Of them are reduced almost to starvation, nothing re-
naming to them but the few rags their backs and
their Winchester They are determined and desperate
sot Of men. They have watched their claims for
years, perhaps and they win not permit newcomer
TO come in now and snatch the reward OF their labor
without struggle, should tho law happen to
be on the side OF the newcomer The most COOL
headed men look for trouble in the new territory
and for the settlements OF many Disputed title oy
| an appeal to the rifle rather than to the courts
Altogether different from the boomers proper are
tho settlers though both go under the former name
| and are probably looked upon identical In the
public mind. The large majority Of the people In
| camp hereabouts settlers. They look for home.
steads; they are rarely town-ste spectators. IN
lilo the professional "boomers" they not Of
rowing disposition as rule, though both have the
object in view that Of betterng their condition
BY far tho greatest number find, come from South
ern Kansas. A few hail from Missouri and some
have como in wagons all tho way from Nebraska.
more, Boston, ST. Louis Washington and other largo
cities in the country. Altogether, should estimate
the number Of boomers" in the nelghborhood Of Ar
kansas City TO be 1900. OF course there are daily
large accessons, and by Thursday night, when most
Of them will break camp, there VIII probably be 2ooo
crossing tho line into the Indian Territory at this
point alone. AZ Caldwell there Will be similar
number and there may be small groups at other points
In going through their camps ono cannot help oeins
| al AZ m
make upon one The preconceived notion Of boomer
fear Is that no Is species OF border r1tian, des
perado, 6 fugitive often from justice. Nothing could
be more erroneous. You will find all types and
classes OF men among them, of course, from the col
lege.bred to tho who has never seen town OF
moro than 800 inhabitants But you Will find them
also companonable helpful toward esoh other, and
the best sign perhsps-singularly polite toward women
largo number OF the latter and great many children
arc In each camp In the present favorable condition
| OF the weather they TO suffer little or no dis
comfort, and the youngsters certainly thriving
| am told that since last September, when the hrst
boomers made their appearance near this city, aud
went into camp underneath the trees on the banks OF
tho Arkansas River not q single death among the
children occurred and yet they remained in tents all
the winter.
STRONG AND FAST SADDLE HORSES FOR THE
COMING RACE
Nou might paraphrase the old provero, snow me
| the company a man Keeps and VIII tell you who he
ls" by saying, Show me his live stock and VIII
tell you what kind Of farmer q man is,n In the
present instance and apply II without committing
very grave error Of judgment The live stock OF the
boomers especially their horses and mules seem
10 be above the average OF their kind Great attention
has been paid by the more onterprsing among them
to their saddle horses during the winter. They are
all strong beasts, and many Of them are fast Upon
these tho men depend TO carry them at noon or Mon
day next across tho limo in advance Of the wagon trains
It will be lively race, this of the advance guards
rushing IN from the south and the NORTH intent upon
beating the railroad trains which the Achson, Topeka
and Santa Fe Railroad viii on that day. as well
as the old original boomers who are now In hiding
in tho woods in Oklahoma. Blood even may be
spilled before the goes down on April 90. All OF
the boomers OF course have wagons and tents, and
most OF them few stu possessed the luxury
OF chickens ls week. but 1t Is doubtful whether the
birds will reach Oklahoma In many OF the camps
the stock Of provisions has run dIscoursgngly low.
| All this, however Is indication of the financial
resources OF the boomers" While many Of them are
undoubtedly poor, very poor-that Is, they have little
or no cash In hand-thero are others who, am told
have more than 81 900 in bank In this town. ready to
draw upon In case Of need
| variety Of professions Is represented among the
boomers IN camp A young fellow whom by his
appearance mIstook to be the veest country bumpkr
turned out to have been clerk In a drug store In
Nebraska for three years. His father who Is another
boomer was lawyer and had hts shingle all
| painted and prepared ready 10 hang out the minute
| he had located his claim. Another boomer turned
| out 10 DO physician who had studied az Heidelbers
In his youth, had drifed out TO California went Il
the Cape of Good Hope and returned thence ten years
ago, only 10 find himself now an oklahoma boomer
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