The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1893-11-03
IN THE CHEROKEE STRIP.
The Experience Of a Drummer In
the Rush for Land.
He Found ne Had Made a Great NTls-
take and Was Glad to Get Out or
the Country Alive--Trials OF Other
Would Be Soonere

- j b "a
No less than eight travelling men
were seduced into making a run to the
Cherokee strip in search of quarter sec
tions or town lots and the number &
which returned disappointed and dis
gusted was exactly six. AS was one
of the number and hence am telling |
tale on myself, says writer in the
st. Louis Globe-D Democrat, cannot be
accused of malice, unless it be against
mankind in general and the interior
| department in particular. paid
twenty dollars for turn to register,
and have ever since looked upon the
man who made the sale as remark
ably smart individual. obtained
certificate and at twelve o'clock COM Z
menced to ride bright looking horse
into the strip. ] might have got o
good claim if could have controlled
the horse. But couldn't. The ami
NAL simply did his best to beat every
thing else in sight, taking the fastest
horse for ,peacemaker aud following
with praiseworthy assiduity. ] have
been under the impression that could
ride, and If sticking on a horses back
means good riding have nothing to
| be ashamed of, for certainly did not
| fall off. Otherwise was complete
| failure as rider, for the horse went at
his own gait, turned when he wanted
to and treated my desires with
contempt which was supreme. 1t
was nearly three o'clock before
/ he got so tired out that l was
able to stop him, and by that time he
had got me into one of the worst sec
tions IN the strip, where the ground
did not begin to be worth the amount
the government asked for it. Whether
| those who obtained the claims got in
! on balloons or whether they sneaked
in over night am not prepared to say,
but every claim with pretense of herb.
| age or water on it was occupied, and
! one man had a house half built. 1t did
| not take me long to make up my mind
that the sooner I could get back into
Kansas the bettev, hutI had no idea OF
the enormous distance had travelled
until had got well into the journey
on an exhausted horse which needed
both food and water badly. / had to
camp out all night, and finally got into
| town on Sunday morning heartily
| ashamed of myself, and with enough
/ dust ON me to have started small
vegetable garden. My only consolation
was that hundreds of others We're
equally unfortunate, and believe
there was more grumbling and cussing
to the square inch all day Sunday in
this town than anyone present could
possibly realize. W., who travels for a
st. 10 dry goods house, did not turn. up
till Just after supper on Sunday even
ing. Exactly what happened to him
no one will know until he regains his
temper. At present he will give no in
formation whatever, and all that is
known is that he went into the strip
on horseback and came back as an
extra passenger in a prairie schooner
j or ex-boomer's wagon. a Chicago man
who went in with us on horseback
from here got hopelessly lost, and
finally found himself at Kiowa, where
he sold the quadruped and took the
cars back here. Another man Of the
travelling fraternity, who has always
boasted that he never got left, Joined
town-site colony few days befors
! the opening and went in with them
Half dozensooners were quarrelinf
over the quarter section they has
, | designed to make the metropolis of thu
Indian territory when they arrived a
, it, and all they could do was to driv'
. back. Our brother in atiiiction give
most humorous account of his ex
! perience. Three of the number made
! the run on horseback, the balance fol
T lowing in wagons, When they met a
tho coveted spot and compared notes
! they decided to camp out for tht
night and come back at their leisure
!, as they had enough food and drink OF
, hand to give indigestion. If not gout, t.