New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-04-19
on THE OLD PAWNEE TRAIL
vor1ow1Ee THE STARS AND sTRIPEs 10
OKLAHOMA.
,,vr HUNDRED CANVAS COVERED wAGoNs
CROSSED THE KANSAS souNDAa1-rHE
MARCH BEGUN AT THE susIE SIGNAL
:, or A CAVALRY TRoor-THE EMF
GRANTS ORDERLY IN THEIR
MOVEMENTS.

"A
GRANTS ORDERLY IN THEIR
MOVEMENTS.
xxv TELEGRAPH THE THm0NB1
kvxansas City, Kan, via courier TO Wichita,
..-,I Is-At the sound OF q bugle and with
tHtssr that was waited over the plains, the
s.s..sr, started across the line this morning
~ s.s,nx win hnd the foremost camps pitched
-, niles from here, in the heart Of the
=. 1870 strip, midway between the line which
1000 Kansas from the Indian Territory and
-. ro,tb line of Oklahoma. After months and
80. Al oatient waiting, the boomers are at last
.rasy vay. They have entered upon their journey
'1..h avine colors. Their hearts are full Of
tare There is not one among them
.hst would now turn back. Aiasi
49, MANY viii be doomed to disappointment, how
s,auv viiI return from the promised lands Few
.,onths hence brolxen-hearted and Disappointed
T7,s scene this morning at sunrise on the ola
pavnae Trail where it enters the Indian Territory,
Tin not soon be forgotten by those who WINES eo
n All day. yesterday and during the nght
80 enrs and outfts have been moving up from the
hotta,n of the Arkansas and Ciinarron Rivers,
,vhere 'most Of the boomers have had tneir
q homess for weeks Along the line OF
an. road &C night innumerable camp
Ares CLEANED, and around these the
f3g,,rt. Of men. women and children crcuchod.
The canvas-covered wagons, the stocR mere anu
there hawthorn bush just beginning 10 ouo' COM
pleted the background. Above threatening CLOUDS
gathered, ftful flashes Of lightning revealed IN
startling outlines the whole scene, while In the
distance the rolling Of thunder, constantly lnereaS-
;pg in strength. signalled the approaching storm
Near midnirht it broke, deluging the camps, scat
terina fhe boomers to seek shelter beneath the
covers OF their wagons and putting out the fires
rrenched ss they were, the boomers minded them
selves less than the prospect Of the heavy
pul for the horses across the prairie in the morn
inr or the danger from the swollen streams that
,vouId have to be crossed. At last the rain
.eased. the thunder died away, and man and
heast sought rest for the work of the morning.
A heavy mist obscured the landscape st the hour
xrheu. according to the calendar, the sun should
bave- betn mn and about. 1t did not prevent
thu boomers. however, from starring early, get
ting their stock fed lighting the fires and putting
things IN shape for the start AS
the morning wore on, there was some
urtmise Of fine day, and with that The spirits Of
ne boomers rose A gentle breeze, blowing from
the south across the prairie, dispelled the mists
and dried M the roads. The sun tried hard to
penetrate che clouds, ana was for time almost
successful but finally gave up the struggle. By
= o'clock the road was jamfaed up with wagons
seams, cattle and boomers
Drawn up in company file was troop Z, Of the
bth Cavalry, under command Of Captain Hayes.
keeping back the boomers until the hour
should have arrived at which the order Of the
Secretary Of the Interior permitted them TO enter
the Cherokee Outlet. The morning. cir made the
horses Of the soldiers, ss well as those Of the
boomers. FESTIVE 1t was with difficulty that the
troop was kept in tine. Here and there boomer
outfit would crowd through 30 get an imaginary
advantage, only TO be driven back by the order
Of Captain Hayes. There would be parley, much
begging and remonstrance, but they were In JAIN
me captain was nexorable, less so with the view OF
carrying out the letter of his instructions than to do
equal Justice to ali. Slowly the time wore on.
doubIy slow to the impatient and expectant
boomers There before them lay the road TO the
promised land, and Is far as the eye could reach
the green prairie, its undulating surface broken
here and there by the tops Of cottonwood trees
These peeped suggestivsly from the rav1nes at the
bottom Of which the creeks, almost dry 1sw days
ago, were running with the fierceness OF MILL
race few cattle in bunohes ana groves
were scattered broadside toward the Hne of the
horizon. and in the foreground the hated wire
fences served TO remind the boomer OF his
natural enemy Lne COWpOys G&OOsAO VA Se~~N~~-
birds. whose quiet had never been disturbed
bv such busy scenes, few swiftly by, as IL
prompted by idle curiosity. From the hedge
sjose 70 the road couple Of rabbits wonderingy
suryeyed the picture, and then darted away at
fuIl run 90 tell their friends. The Trail along
which the boomers were TO pass was as yet
on,v fssutiy outlined on the greensward.
OF course there was the irnpressible photo
granular, amateur as well as professional His
camera took everything, from tho boomers
IN their discovered wagons holding the reins
Of the mules, and the little bare-footed girls who
stood ankle-deep in black mud of the road to the
soldiers and their gallant captain and the carcass
Of the OK near the cattle trail, strong ana
painful reminder Of things early TO come. Crowds
81 TOWN folks had come out In vehicles, on horse
hach on foot even, to witness the start But
chs AZ All others was not the race to be
carried of by the swift That viii
7begin only when the Oklahoma border
IS reached On Monday next There was
less suppressed excitement than curiosity, per-
haps. exhibited By the spectators. Unlike most
races. too. there was no fault found with the
starter. When the start came OF last, as 1T dio
f,narly, at o'clock there was light nod on the
part Of the commanding officer, after ne consuited
his watch. The bugler brought his trumpet to his
Inns and out upon the morning air rang the anx-
iouslv awaited blast. For moment or two there
Vas that silence which you SO often
,,otien, In I, theatre before the audience breaks
ant into round after round Of applause
ARR Striking passage in the play, and then there
went up q shout from the boomers such as these
plains hare had probably not heard since the war
cry OF hostile Indians met the ears Of the early
settlers On the Kansas border
With jerk and almost simultaneously the
teams In the front row pulled their heavy loads
out OF the black mud and started on their journey
wagon stack in the middle Of the road was
dragged out OF tho way by dozen Wiling
-so~ ...t.f..~ - an ava WGood