The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-04-15
SHOOTING SCRAPE.
A Conflict Raging in Beaver County, Ok.
Over land.


Over Land
PERRY, Ok, April 15.-In Beaver
county, Ok, a great conflict is raging
between homesteaders and cattlemen
that may end very seriously. Beaver
is the extreme western county in
Oklahoma, and very little of the
public lands have been fled on by
homesteaders. Farmers have picked
out the quarter sections and the
best ones have been taken and filings
placed on them in the United States
land Office The catt1emen have fenced
up the lands not taken for homesteads
for grazing purposes, and in many in
stances have fenced IN a host of set
tiers from the outside world. This
fencing up by cattlemen is in direct
conflict of the United States laws,
and the few settlers are MAX
ing it hot for them. Hundreds
of complaints have gone to the
commissioner of the general land Office
and Special Agent R. R. Poe of the land
department at Washington has arrived
at Beaver to make thorough iavestiga-
ton of the numerous complaints by
the homesteaders. Col. Poe has for
warded a circular to the numerous cat
tlemen who are accused to meet him
in Beaver City the goth, with all other
parties concerned, for full investiga-
ton. It is said that serious shooting
scrapes occur nearly every day between
the warning elements.
AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SETTLERS.
WASHINGTON, April 15.-It was stated
at the land office that the Council
Grove reservation, near Oklahoma City,
is open to settlement and those MAX
ing entries will have a prior right
when the land is disposed of accord
ing to the new law regulating the sale
of military reservations. The trans
fer of the reservation from the war
department was made a few days
ago. The value of the land will be
announced soon by a commission and
after appraisement will be sold to the
highest bidder. Those having located
on the land, however, need not bid,
but can secure their claim by paying
the highest bid offered. This advan-
tage can be secured by locating on the
land now. The same law applies to
the Fort Hays reservation, adjoining
Hays City, Kan, and that of Fort
Supply, in western Oklahoma.
Those locating on the Fort Hays
reservation may not be benefited by
settlement advantages, as an effort is
being made to have congress donate
the whole reservation to Kansas for
educational purposes. The bill passed
the last congress, but was not signed
by the president. Should the depart
ment defer appraisement of that re-
servation, and congress pass another
bill, and it became a law, settlement
on the reservation would be defeated.
CHoCTAw INDIANS IN ARMS.
PARIS, Tex, April 15.-Five men
have already been killed and twenty
five wounded, some of them fatally, in
the Choctaw nation, and news of ter
rible massacre is expected at any mo-
ment Three bodies of Indians are in
the field well supplied with food
and arms, and the worst is feared.
One of these represents the Jones and
the other the Locke faction, while
the third is headed by Gov. Gardner,
and is making earnest endeavors to
preserve law and order, if necessary at
the muzzles of rifles. Gov. Gardner, of
the Choctaw nation, was here Saturday
seeking volunteers, fully armed and
equipped, to aid him in suppressing the
instruction. He has also decided to
ask for federal assistance.