The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-09-04
CHEROKEE STRIP OPENING.
The Presidents Proclamation NOmi-
mates September i6,

Washington, Sept. BIN accordance
with the proclamation of the President of
the United States, the Cherokee Strip
will be opened up to white settlers on
Aug. 10. The mad rush for lands and
homes that was made into Oklahoma in
1889 is not yet forgotten. The opening of
the Cherokee Strip viii be unlike that Of
Oklahoma in many respects. There is
the same eager hunt for homes by people
who are hungry to acquire property by
short methods; but the rush will not be
so frantic, and there will be more safe
guards thrown around the entry and set
Element Of the lands,
THE GREAT DEMAND FOR LAND
For months the Interior Department
has been in receipt of letters by the hun
dred from people who want to be early on
hand at the opening Of this much-coyeted
Indian country. These letters have come
principally from the west and south. The
writers were keen at the beginning, but
now, as the time draws near, the excite
ment grows apace. The chance TO obtain
home for d mare song, IN a country
which has been so widely advertised, and
in such glowing terms, is one which
thousands desire to avail themselves of.
LOCATION OF THE STRIP.
Comparatively little is known of the
Cherokee Strip, or outlet, by the average
citizen who is not interested in finding
home there, 1t lies almost In tine center
of this great country, and at the
threshold of five great states. Colorado
and Kansas bound it on the north, Mis-
souri, and Arkansas on the east, Indian
Territory and Oklahoma on the south and
Texas on the West In shape it is per-
feet oblong rectangle, except a slight
dip-down into the Indian Territory 1t
separates the greater part of Okla
homa from what was formerly known as
mo Mans Land, T" but is now part of Ok
lahoma
DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY.
The strip is 200 miles long and SO miles
wide, and embraces S,l44,682 acres. 1t
lies between the 96th and. Tooth parallels
of west longitude geographically it is
rolling country, broken here and there
by hills and uplands and interspersed
with valleys and bottoms. The tempera-
ture in winter varies from 35 to As de-
grees, and in summer from " to 81.
Roses, fuchsias and heliotropes are often
seen growing wild there at Christmas and
New Years.
All the extravagant things that were
written in rapturouS praise of Oklahoma
have been repeated about the Cherokee
Strip; but they are not true; or are true
only to very limited extent. The coun-
try is not the paradise it has been de-
scribed to be. AS regards soil and pro-
duct ions, the strip may be divided into
three divisions.
THE DIVISIONS.
The eastern part, which includes not
quite one-third of the whole, is frst-class
farming country. 1t is plenteously Wa-
tered, and the water courses are skirted
with fine timber, oak, walnut, cedar,
ash, beech and hickory. The soil is black
and loamy, and of great fertility. The
undulating prairies are covered with
thick growth of fowery vegetation, and
are bare of timber or brush. Both the
bottom lands and the prairies are admira-
bly, adapted to the production of corn,
wheat, tobacco, cotton and potatoes. This
land is offered by the government at S25
per acre.
TWO NOT so GOOD.
The other two divisions of the strip, the
central and western, are about equal in
size and are not to be compared with the
eastern division, as farming country.
The middle division is composed very
largely of'salt lands, or salt marshes. as
they are sometimes called. For cultiva-
tion the land does not amount to much
In some large tracts the salt forms on the
surface of the ground and along the edges
of the streams. There are also vast fields
of salt, beautifully crystallized, which
present novel and attractive scene. 1t
appears like there is salt enough here to
supply the whole country and it very
cheap-can be had for the handling. But
the great difficulty is the expense of
transportation. There are not many rail-
roads within reach, and freight is much
higher on them than on the roads which
handle the products of the salt mines in
the northern states The lands in this
division win be sold by the government at
$l.50 per acre
GRAZING COUNTRY.
The third division, comprising, about
third of the whole, is an alkali country,
aud is good only for grazing purposes, but
is said to be well adapted to that. The
ranges for cattle and sheep are splendid
being profusely clothed with the succulent
'bunch grass Owing to the self-cured
"bunch grass" and the mildness of the
climate and the abundance of water, this
region is claimed to be one of the best
countries in the world for sheep.
RAILROADS AND STREAMS.
This strip is traversed by four lines of
railroads and by numerous streams of all
sizes, from very large rivers to very small
brooks. There will, of course, be an in
crease in the number OF railroads after
the country fills up with bona fide settlers,
who will cultivate the lands, build towns
and 90 into manufactures. There, are a
good number of settlements" already in
the strip
The strip has been called "Sportsmah's
Paradise. - Fowl, fish and game of al
most all kinds are abundant in their re-
spective seasons.
THEIR NEIGHBORs.
The Indians in the Indian Territory will
be among the nearest neiehbors of the
new settlers in Cherokee Strip. These
Indians are Of high order for their rae.
They practice agriculture and many of
the arts. They raise all sorts Of grain on
their farms, own great herds of cattle,
ponies and horses, live in good houses, run
mills and factories, conduct excellent
schools and maintain good roads. More
over, amongst them can be found mis-
sionaries, white men who have been sent
there by the churches in the states, and
whose efforts at Christianizing the In
dians have met with a degree Of success |
which would be very encouraging in reli-
gious enterprises in the east. They have
considerable money in the United States
treasury on which they receive interest
annually They are rapidly adopting
American manners, customs, usages and
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