Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1893-09-17


ARKAssAs cIrs, Kan. Sept. i6-For
twenty years the old'time boomer has
maize hls headquarters Ia and about
thia city; for twenty years he has lived
An . tent OF q wagon aud eiamored Tor
the Indians land; Tor twenty years no
has mad espssnodie attempts 20 enter
forbidden lines and taken possessicr u
land not bis own; for ell this time he
has done every conceiyable thing bat
work. and. now that his mission here il
accomplished. what VIII become of hims
Where will he find more land To coyety
Early IN the seventies a few settlers
Who came 10 southern Kansas. being
unable 10 locate the state line correctly,
settled upon the other side on land
sacred 10 the use of the Indian.
just south of this city number OF
the settlers were across the line. and be
gan farming upon land now occupied by
the Chillocco Indian school. IL was not
long. however, until a detachment of
soldiers came along anil removed them
and placed permanent monuments TO
designate the boundary between Kansas
and the Indian territory.
This great tract OF land bordering
upon the Kansas line from the ss6th me
ridian $50 miles west and fifty -eig ht miles
In breadth. had, in 1874. beed given 10
the Cherokee Indians as a hunting out
let from their home reservation in the
eastern part of the territory 10 the hunt
ing grounds OF the Rockerics. There
were over eight million acres in this
tract. but the powres at Washington
considered all this country a part Of the
Great American Desert" and. con
sequently, worthless. 30 il readily gave
the Cherokees the right 10 use the land
for hunting purposes forever. Ia 1882
Washington Irving visited this tract OF
land. and describes buffalo and wild
horse hunt there in his book entitled
~ Tour OF the Prairies.' painting in
most glowing terms the beauty Of the
land. and predicting for IL a future even
beyond the imagination OF the most
ardent boomer OF later days. Designated
in the treaty OF 1882 as the Cherokee
outlet, this land later became known as
the Cherokee strip because Of it's shape.
Long before those first Kansas boom
ers began 10 coyet the land the outlet
had ceased TO be used 10y the Indians
for the double reason that there was no
large game To hunt, and no Indians who
cared To hunt il.
Then it was that the cattIemen began
bringing their great herds up and pas
turing them upon the rich grass that
covered the whole outlet like green
mat.
The Indians derived revenue from
this pasturage for several yearssuntil tho
government decided they could use the
strip only for hunting purposes and had
no right TO lease it, and ordered tho cat
tie of.
Four years ago congress abandoned
the impracticable idea OF organizing an
Indian state OF the Indian territory and
took action toward opening Oklahoma
10 settlement. and providing for the
appointment OF commissioners to treat
for the strip. For nearly three years
the struggle continued Then one day
there was great rejoicing among the
boomers and their friends everywhere,
for the Cherokees had agreed 10 sell.
Another year Of weary waiting passed
round before congress acted and ratified
the deal. and even then there was work
to do for the interior department was
slow to act ard undecided as to the
arrangements for the opening.
At last. on August 10Th, the presi-
dents proclamation declaring that the
land would be open for settlement on
September l6 was issued. and the boom
ers' work was done.