The Springdale news., 1889-03-22
OKLAHOMA
BY J. II. \.

For ten years, the people of tho United States have been reading about Oklahoma, and of the men called Boomers" who have been tryinig to enter the land called by that name; and, within the past year, they have read that bill has been introduced n Congress making Oklahoma Territory, and opening tito settlement.
 Oklahoma is the Chiekasaw term for q pleasing landseape-that is, "beautiful land and comprises an area of a little more than 35,00o square miles, or about 5000, 900 acres -thrce-fourths of the size of New Yorx State.
 is described as follows in the bill:
 "BoHnded on the west by the State ofTexas and the Territory of New Mexico; on the north by the State of Colorado and the State of Kansas; Oh the east by tho reserEa- tion occupied by the Cherokee tribe of Indians east of the ninety-eixth meridian of west longituGe: and on the south by the Creek, Seminole and Chiekasaw reservations, and by the State ofTeXas, comprising what Is known as the public land strip, and all that part of the Indian Terri tory not actually occupied by the five civilized tribes.
 The Territory is among the most fertile and promising agricultural land between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, and would have been opened long ago, were t not for the peculiar eondi- tions under which 1t is held.
 A portion of t, known as No Mans Land" strip about thirty four miles wide and one hundred and sixty-seven miles long, Is not infladed ill any organized Territory through q mistake ofthc surveyors.
 There Is no law there except that of the bullet and bowie knife. The remainder of Oklahoma is in tho possession of the Greeks, Semi holes and Cherokees.
 Indion Territory was part of the old Louisiana Territory that 1nclud ed 15f, 100000 acres of land pur- chased from France in ls03; and the public-land strip known as the '.No Mans Land'' was eeded to the Unl- ted States by Texas when sae was admitted into the Union.
 As is well known, the occupants ot Indian Territory hold their and by United States titles, the best in existence. Under what plea of jus tice, then do the Boomers seek to invade this land and take up home steads2
 There are-seyeral reasons. By the act of Congress, May 2S, 1880. the United States began to ralin- quish title in these lands, and this net WAS snppllmentcd by several bargains and treaties by which th" great part of Indian Territory was conveyed to five nations-the Cher okees, Choetaws, Ghickasaws. Greeks and SeminoIes.
 Oklahoma proper was part of q tract assigned to the Creeks in T treaty concluded with them on Feb ruary II, 1888, and remained their property without dispute until Au- gust :, 1858, when the Greeks con. veyed these lands 10 the Seminoles and the two tribes thereafter held the land in common.
 In ls66 the Semiuoles and Greeks conveyed these lands to the United States by treaty which stated thar the conveyance was made in com plianee with desire of tbe United States to locate other Indi ans and freedmen thereon" Bu, Congress instead 9i loating Indians and freed men on these lands, granted the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad the right q way through tho Territory and every odd-numbered section of land for forty mlIes on each side of the railroad was gwen to the com pany.
 The Greeks and seminoles claim that this action of Congress violated the treaty, and that the title thus reyerts 10 them. On the other hand the Boomers declare that the title rests in the United States, and the land is open for settlement.
 There IS also Cherokee strip of land in dispute and other reserva- tons. The Cherokee strip is used for extensive cattle ranges, and it's