Evening star., 1893-09-15
WAITING ON THE BORDER LINE.
Thousands All Ready to Enter the
Cherokee Strip.

WAITING ON THE BORDER LINE.
Thousands All Ready to Enter the
Cherokee Strip.
Special Agent Swineford estimates that
12o,O0O people will enter the Cherokee strip
tomorrow noon, but others declare the
number will certainly be 2OO.OO Many
boomers have arranged TO have barrels OF
water sent to their claims, t. be used until
they can dig wells
Nine thousand people were in line at Or
Iando. o. T.. yesterday morning waiting to
be registered. The clerks ire worn out,
and 1t is impossible to complete the regis
tratton by Saturday noon. The agents of
the Interior Department are st their wits
end and frantically telegraphing to Wash
tngton for some way out If the difficulty.
while the people are growing desperate
and riot Is imminent all .iong the hne.
II the government does not provide a
1orce large enough to register all before
tonight the people will sweep away the
booths tomorrow and enter the strip with
mighty rush. sweeping the few soldiers
ana government agents before them. The
the law, but the government after put
ting them to trouble and expense. has failed
to accommodate the waiting thousands,
and men in line swear they will have
AoHhcS' WHETHER tney get registered or not,
and the first officer who attempts TO eject
or molest them will get shot. A score Of
deaths and great number Of murders will
follow.
The trains during the night brought 5000
TO orlando and ragons and horsemen are
still coming in an endless procession.
There are 1900 claims all told in the
strip. and $1,000 people are now ready to
dash for theni There will be two thousand
lots in each town and from three to ten
men will rush for each lot. At Pond Creek
no water Is to be found. and the drillers
nave given up in disgust.
Prairie Fire Raging.
A man coming In from Payne county
states that a prairie fire has been raging in
the Pawnee reservation for twenty-four
hours. burning everything before IT..
Scores Of horses and cattle belonging to
the Indians have perished and the grass
and tree foliage is all destroyed, which will
cause additional hardship to the settlers
who go in there tomorrow. fire also
started on the line northeast Of Orlando
Wednesday night, burning OF large
tract. No lives were lost. but a number OF
boomers had their tents and Outfits de.
stroyed.
Waiting on the Border.
Twenty thousand people were yesterday
added to the immense crowds On the line
Of the strip. The force Of clerks at the
registration booths is being increased. but
work as hard as they will the line grows
larger instead of smaller. Supplies are
running low. and prices are going UP. A
hot wind has been blowing from the south.
burning everything up and hurling clouds
OF dust into the face and eyes OF every
Of them women. tainted In line during the
day, and several are dangerously Ill from
the effects Of the heat.
Negroes Victimi.ed.
A colony of several hun ired negroes ar
rived. every one having a prin led certifi-
cate granting him farm Of land upon his
arrival and presentation of the same to
the land office. These people were victim
lied by some scoundrel who Travelled
through Louisiana and sold them these
certificates at so each. Other parties have
arrived with tickets emitting them to
draw in the Cherokee strip land drawing.
for which they have paid several dollars
each
At Hennessey a man from Kansas City
was knocked down on the main street and
robbed OF $3.50 1t Is estimated by consefva-
tive men that by tomorrow there will be
on the line to take part IN the race about
five persons for every claim on the strip.
At Orlando over five hundred women have
been in line for two days and special
registration booth was opened for them.
large force Of extra clerks are being
hired and from four to ten more booths
were opened at every registering point yes
terday.
Gov Renfrow, in accord lnce with in
structions from Washington, has issued
q proclamation instructing all sheritfs to
employ deputies enough to prevent all par
ties going into the strip from carrying
deadly weapons. Eleven thousand certih-
Gates have been issued at Orlando III three
days.
Not Settlers. but Spectators.
The Indian Land Adjustment League. OF
which VIM. Lloyd Garrison is president.
has issued an address to the American
people regarding the opening Of the Cher
okee strip 1t says the opening will prove
to be simply a gigantic real estate specu-
lation. In which the rights of the eeauine
home seeker will be lost signt OF. By
means Of bicycles. fast horses AMI bal
looms. every effort is being made TO smut
out those who actually aeed the lano In
this Columbian year, when liberty, equai-
ity and fraternity are the watchword OF
the republic the address points TO the arm
ed bodies Of men, who. at q goverament
signal, are to trample on every ootSation
of fraternity and brotherhood the league
declares that the greater part of oklahoma
is now held by SPECTATORS, and that the
aame result is inevitable in :he Cherokee
strip. The league says 1t has facts to prove
that the majority Of boomers now IN tne
strip border are not gen dine home seekers
but SPECTATORS.
The address calls on the people TO stamp
with their disapproval the laws That Ter
NIT such a rush for land, and to agitate
for the application Of the lease principe 10
Indian land openings.