The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-09-23
The Sac and Fox Reservation
Occupied by Boomers.
THEY DIDN'T WAIT TILL NOON
The Thin Gordon of Soldiers Made the
Poorest Kind of Fence.
No Bioodshed Reported-A Company of
Girls in the Race-Cowboys Ride i'm
on steers-The Negro Invasion--The
Magic Growth of Towns.

GuthrIe was an animated town this morn
ing. Many belated settlers were skurrying
around To find means of conveyance to the
new lands. Horse traders were selling
stock, and farmers were soliciting men to
ride with them to the border of the new
lands. Ten dollars was the fare and the
boomers eagerly accepted the chance to
| make the journey even at that outrageous
price The farmers did their business, so
did the livery keepers. They all agreed
last night on double price for their wares
and even then the supply was nearly ex-
hausted before night.
The scene at the land office was a lively
one today. About 80 old soldiers. each
armed with declaratory statement, had
been in line before the office door for four
days past. Some slept in chairs, some on
the ground, some hardly at all Their
meals were brought them by wives, chill
dren or friends. The land Office opened at
four seconds past II o'clock today, and the
first man to present his papers was S. f.
diamond, who had stood in line day and
night since last Friday. He was almost
exhausted from exposure and want of
sleep and rest, and as he staggered up 10
the window it was necessary for friend
TO assist him.
The second man was !. A. Kloich, and
the third man was Thomas Bclknapp
There was no disturbance about the office
and business proceeded quietly and
swiftly. At O'Clock all tue old soldiers
had got in their papers. The line did not
decrease, however, as settlers who had 10
Gated claims in the new lands began to ar
rive to file entry notices. The land office
kept open till o'clock. At that time
fully 200 men were still in line, and others
were arriving every minute.
dispatch from Oklahoma City says it
was expected that there would be a riot at
the land office when it opened for business
at noon. The crowd which had surrounded
it for the last four DAYS became very
boisterous last night and this morning it
was found necessary to guard the office
with deputy marshals. The latter sue
ceeded in preserving the peace, and there
was no disturbance.
simultaneously with the arrival of the
hour of noon, the homeseekers gathered
on the border, made a headlong rush over
the line into the coveted country and on
TO the quarter sections upon which the
eyes of some had been feasting for days,
and of others for weeks and months. The
rush was mad one, and was made so by
the fact that the number of homeseekers
greatly exceeded the number of quarter
sections available for settlement. There is
room in the lands for about 5000 settlers,
allowing 16O acres for each. There were
on the border, waiting to claim available
land, fully $1,000 people, so that there
were three people for each quarter section.
1t is no wonder, then, that the rush was
mad one. Like scenes were never wit
messed before, except in oklahoma two
years ago.
The craze 10 become owner of a part of
the new lands caused strange comming-
ling of the various elements of society
Half an hours diligent work would have
been sufficient to prepare the most elabor-
ately equipped boomer for the race into the
new country, but the preparations were
begun long before the hour of noon.
Horses were hitched, wheels creased.
saddlegirths chinched and everything made
snug as early as 10 O'Clock, so anxious was
every one to be in readiness to move at
the appointed time. When the noon hour
did arrive all bent upon excitement found
vent in firing of reyolvers and rifles and
shouting and singing, and cracking of
whips and furious driving and
running. The horsemen. of course
had the advantage over all others
in the race Most of the racers
were horsemen who had proceeded to the
border in prairie schooners with their
families, each leaving his schooner, family
and one horse on the border, and mounted
on the other. After locating his claim the
boomer will return and direct his posses
slons to his new home. Some of the more
desperate cowboys mounted steers, and
the latter, joining in the stampede. car
rled their riders to the interior, while
others were unceremoniously unhorsed, or
unsteered, not far from the border
The boomers were distributed among the
various starting points about as follows:
At Tohee, 5000; Langston, 1000; on the
border of kickapoo. 5000; at the Potta-
wattomie border. 1900. The allotment
to the Pottawattomie Indians nearly ex-
hausted the lands in their reservation, so
that the homeseeker had little chance of
locating a claim there. At Langston were
negroes, gathered by a negro colonization
society TO the number of 1900, and they
were TO move en- masse into the Cimmaron
valley, the most fertile region, and locate
in 4 bunch. Five hundred whites. mostly
cowboys, also had their eyes on that sec
tion, and each party made all sorts of
threats Of taking the land by force.
one unique sight at Tohee was COM
pany of young ladies from Guthrie, who
had formed 3 colonization company to
proceed 10 the new lands and settle on adj
Joining claims. They were mounted on
Texas ponies and were attired as near as
might be in cowboy costume. armed With
revolyers and equippeNEb for camping our.
They made the race in a body.
The rush from here to the border BEGAN
before daylight this morning. Ten thou
sound persons would be 4 moderate esti-
mate Of the people who passed through
this city en- route for the new country.
The government supervision of the
opening seems 10 have been sadly def
cient. The entire government force was
composed Of two companies of troops. 2O0
men, and the force of three United States
marshals, numbering about 30 men, OF
the latter fifty were sent to Langston to
preserve the peace between the cowboys
and negroes; fifteen were required at each
Of the three land offices and twenty-five at
Tohee. OF the regular troops a squad of
men were stationed at each of the two
county seats. This left only some 80
men to patrol the borders OF about 30
miles extent. The men we're stationed at
irregular intervals. In some places there
we're ten or fifteen 10 the mile while at
others stretches Of five and ten miles were
entirely unguarded. Under these c0ndi-
tions it might have been expected a num-