People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1895-05-30
The KickapO0 Opening.

fires surrounded the Kickapoo reser-
walton reaching away on either hand
into the night until the more distant
flames merge into che red glow upon
the heavens.
Denunciation of the opening is
heard on every hand. 1t will proba
bly, be the greatest fake in the history
OF HOke Smiths administration in
Oklahoma. Over 10000 sun-burned
and pale-faced urban boomers mixed,
and camped tonight on the borders,
and fully 1000 within the border
As a fair estimate, there are enough
men already in the reservation to
place four men on every claim and
have hundred or two to spare. The
men who refuse to embrace SoOnerism
are hot. They know that the country
is full of sOOners and that no matter
how hard they run and how quick
they reach the land they have in
mind, they will find from three to a
half dozen fellows on the coveted
farm. This means a contest on near
ly every claim, the necessity Of prov
ing another man to be sooner and all
the trials and vexatious delays of land
Office litigation.
Everybody is mad. There are none
OF the songs and good natured shouts
that were heard in the night before
the previous openings. The men who
are to race honestly tomorrow stand
about in groups cursing the admins.
tration that has delayed the opening
so long, and then when the land was
at last declared ready for settlement,
permit it to be Oyerrun with sOonerS.
BlOOdshed is predicted, and at this
time appears unavoidable.
Six townships are contemplated,
and it is doubtful if any of them shall
be in existence a week hence, as the
country will be divided up into fouI
parts which will be attached to foul
organized counties of Oklahoma.
AdviceS received here from the line
tonight indicate that the boomer.
along the borders are in a very fretfu
mood. They declare that all the lane
is virtually settled upon right aC thi.
instant. The claim is made that tn,
KickapOo country is literally aliy,
with sOOners and that no effort ha
been made to GUST them. This ex
emptiOn from arrest or fear of futur
, Identification, it is said has embold
ened everybody to walk over the line
pick out what they want and settl
quietly on it tomorrow.
Some of the boomers openly declar
that they have given up all hope Q
getting any land. They say that tn
, sOOners succeeded In the Origina
r opening and in the opening of tn
t strip, where some precautions wer
taken, and if they could succeed theI
3 they will certainly retain the Ian
J they fraudulently secure when q
such precautions are taken. 1t
> likely that very few men who mad
the run from the line will find a
: empty claim. Every hollow an
y brush heap is reported to be full {
y the dishonest settlers. 1t is sOOne
v ism rampant.
When the announcement was mac
d last Sunday that the Kickapoo cou
= try would be opened on Thursday, IL
- land Office officials were taken by su
prise. They were not expecting IL
all and as a result everything at Il
land office is topsy-turyey. This
true Of this Office and the one at Gut
l. RE. THEE days were consumed
!, finding Moses Neal the allOtting agel
> Of the KickapOos. Moses had Il
4 KickapOO allotment books in his Dc
Is session and the Guthrie land Off,
Is sent out Chief Clerk Searcey to g
e them. He couldn't find hide nor ha
Vt Of him.
- Oklahoma City, o. T., May %.
}. Precisely at noon today a string
It great American boomers, that exten
r ed for more than $50 miles around Il
y triangular piece of land heretOfO
IS known to the students Of the map
: the Indian Territory as the Kickap,
e reservation, made wild rush in
: that country and before one o'clot
\ every quarter section, exclusive of Il
n Indian alOtments and land reserve
10 for school purposes, was occupied |
d. from one to fifty settlers. Wht
10 Oklahoma was settled it was thu
II predicted that nothing like the ru:
y that was made into that count
q would ever again occur, hut a year
two afterwards the Cheyenne al
70 ArapahOe reservation was throw
q open to settlement and cOnsiderir
Il the character Of the land the ru:
r was still greater than that whiC
II marked the opening Of the origin
lie Oklahoma. This was followed