Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1890-02-27


1t is doubtful il there 10 . method BY
which settlers can. be kept out of the
Cherokee strip. Nov that word has
gone out that the lands are soon to be
opened, settlers will rush in, and il
would be impossible for the whole
standing army to keep them out. Per
haps the plan that will work most ef'
fectively will be to let it be understood
that the rules in reference to ''sooners
will be strictly enforced, and that II
any man is there before he can 60 II
legally that he can acquire no rights.
But there are hundreds Of men who
have already selected the land they in
tend taking, and they will fight for that
claim if it becomes necessary to do SO
And those who hope to make theil
homes there and who are fearful that
they will arrive too late, will sneak in
and select their lands; they will hide in
caves and canyons, in the woods and
gulches, they will sleep on the frozen
ground and go for days without a mouth
full of food if necessary that they should
do so in order to evade the vigilance Of
the scouts and soldiers.
The settlement of Oklahoma showed
the determination of those who were
seeking homes, and when the strip is
opened the rush will be worse for the
reason that thousands refused to 20 to
Oklahoma knowing that the outlet
would soon be opened and there would
be more room and better opportunities
for securing land and doing business
All of those, as well as thousands who
were not ready to 60 when Oklahoma
opened. together with thousands Of
those who never thought Of taking the
fever until they heard Of the rush and
excitement that followed the first open
ing, will now hasten to be among the
first in the outlet.
But there will be many and bitter
disappointments there. Of the whole
Cherokee outlet proper there is not to
exceed one-third that is first class farm
ing land. There are thousands of acres
that are worth nothing now and can
never be made valuable or worth the
government price. This declaration
will be corroborated by every man who
has been in that country and examin-
ed the land with any care whatever.
With the new settlers it will be strug-
gle, hard and bitter one, for the great
praires will not give up their wealth at
a moment call. That land must be
the sod is to be broken, and
it will not be until the second crop is
raised that the settler can hope for even
a slight return for his labor.
And all who contemplate settling in
that country should bear this fact in
mind. IL is true that the general facil-
tiles for doing business and for improv
ing the lands will be better than they
were in western Kansas and Nebraska,
for already railroads are built into and
through the country, and it will not
take the business man long to get his
goods in place, nor the settler but little
time and no Inconvenience to reach his
land. And it may be incidentally re-
marked that he can also get out quick
when he has wasted his substance.
But there will be rush there, and
will 60 who will curse the day
that they heard of the country. Others
will become rich in day, and it is the
hope of each that this may be his lot
that will gil the new territory the day it
Is opened for settlement.-K. C. Globe.