Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-04-19

Five Thousand want-To-Be Settlers Strike
for the Cherokee Outlet-A Patriotic In
cident Marks the Forward NIarch-Res-
cue of the Stars and Stripes Amid Great
Enthusiasm-A Prospective Battle That
No One Should Stop-DismaI Outlook.
ARKANSAS CITY, Kan, April 19-At 8
O'Clock yesterday morning Capt Hayes, at
the head of his column, blew long bugle
blast as signal for the assembled boomers
to start, and Immediately afterward 1000
wagons and 5000 men, women and children
began the long and wearisome journey on
the Pawnee trail across the Cherokee strip
for Oklahoma. Just before the start was
made Capt. Hayes made a brief speech to the
boomers, reminding them of their pledge not
to interfere with cattlemens fences or Indian
villages in the Pawnee and Ponce reserva-
tons The boomers over at Hunnewell and
Caldwell started a few minutes after the Ar
kansas City procession.
The Flag Must Go Along.
An interesting incident occurred just as the
bugle sounded that gave the signal to march
for the alleged Eldorado. Everybody was
trying to be first, and an exciting race
up and down hill began. The wagon with
the flag got jammed between a tree and
fence, and it might have been in Kansas yet
had not an old man, whose face was wrin-
killed. and furrowed, hobbled out into the
middle of the road and arrested the wild
rush of horses and wagon by waving his
arms Boys he cried, pointing to the
wagon bearing the stars and stripes, some of
US have fit for it, We love it," Instantly
the turmoil ceased Horses were brought to
full stop and the big line was again motion
less. A hundred men ran to the stalled wagon
and lifted it bodily from between the fence
and tree, and, carrying it out to the road
sent it spinning for Oklahoma, when three
ringing cheers were given for the flag. The
prairie schooners fell in behind it, one after
another, until there was a procession which
seemed almost interminable
Greeted by the Indian Children.
As it passed the Chilloco Indian school lit
tie Indian girls greeted it with waving flags
and huzzas In a field beyond the school was
a camp of Otoe Indians. They had been in
town all the preceding day SPENDING their
quarterly allowances. Dressed as they were
In the finery purchases at the dry goods
stores they formed a picturesque group, and
regarded the procession of wagons with an
air of stolid indifference, and the squaws
scarcely raised their eyes from their simple
camp tasks to view it They did not realize
that the march of civilizatian and progress
had begun 1t would be nearly impossible to
describe the procession in detail. Old men,
whose wrinkled faces and white heads told
the story of stormy lives, were there by
scores. Dozens of children, some of them
barefooted and bareheaded and nearly all of
them more or less than half naked, trudged
painfully in the mud behind the wagons.
Pretty Ella Blackburn's Schooner
The skipper of the neatest schooner of the
fleet was Pretty Ella Blackburn, formerly of
Quincy, Ills, and her crew of three sisters
They were dressed in becoming calico gowns
and old-fashioned sunbonnets The girls are
going for homes in Oklahoma, and they say
they will not return without one even if they
have to marry boomers. However, they will
when they get it they will rely on pretty
pair of Winchesters which they bought in
Arkansas City Wednesda> to help till the
soil with
Whisky Is Contraband.
Capt Woodson, who regulated the depart
ure, searched every wagon and DESTROYED
every drop Of liquor found in them He did
this under orders from the department
Capt Hayes has similar orders relative to
his crowd, and he will begin his search when
he overhauls them about half way across the
strip
II la H ElAu-