The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-12-03
ANACONDA BOOMERS
Win Two Farms on the Nee Perce
Reservation.
SCENES AT THE GRAND RUSH
william Adams and Robert Nc
Oowan Distance All Competi-
tors-They Have Very Nice
Neighbors-Newes City.

Two of the luckiest out OF the 1000
men who made the rush into the Nez
Perce Indian reservation were young
men from Anaconda, William I. Adams
and Robert MCGOWAN. who held POSI-
lions at the smelters. They each Sc
cured claims of 160 acres, and are
several hundred dollars richer tnan
they were two weeks ago.
The signal gun which opened the
reservation for settlement was nreo
at noon in front of the United States
land office at Lewiston, Idaho. and at
that time the grand rush for farms was
supposed to begin as matter OF fact,
however, the reservation was crowded
with locators long before the hour ar
rived. The government provided oniy
80 mounted police to patrol the bound
aries which contained 100000 acres OF
land. There was therefore not much
difficulty in crossing the border, every
one seeking land did so at their con-
venience The rush therefore was not
from the land office TO the land but
from the land TO the land Office.
Messrs. Adams and MCGOWAN returned
yesterday and tell many interesting In
cidents of the trip.
I'VE left Anaconda on Friday morn
ing" said Mr.. Adams. ''and had to
catch five different trains and all OF
them had to be on time to land US at
Lewiston in time to accomplish any
thing. We arrived there Sunday night
via cayuse from Uniontown where we
left the railroad. We rode all sunday
night and passed many teams, there
were people all around us and we had
difficulty in finding place where we
would stand a show to get good
ranch. We looked about us all that
morning and about o'clock found
sections which suited US exactly. Two
restaurant men from Lewiston were
there ahead of us in a hack. and a
third man also in a hack had his map
on the piece of land which l wanted.
McGowan's section corners mine, we
posted our notices and then before the
men in hacks understood what we
were doing. spurred our horses over the
hill and headed for the land office at
break neck speed. / was used to riding
and kept MCGOWAN going ahead. He
was green at horseback riding and was
pretty sore when we landed in Lewis
ton from a 25-mile jaunt cross country
in two hours. BY four o'clock we had
our papers made out and then by
standing in line all that night until
after O'Clock the next morning they
had the satisfaction of receiving the
first papers to the ground. The ad-
joining quarters are owned by two
Idaho girls. Miss Beaman and Miss
Douglas by name. The young ladies
were not compelled to stand in line for
after they had secured positions the
men ahead CALAMITY consented to their
immediate filing OF their papers upon
being assured that no man in line had
a counter claim. The locations made
by the Anaconda men are % miles from
Lewiston but only five miles from
Evans ferry, a steamboat landing.
The land is exceedingly fertile and
without any improvements is said to
be worth $40 per acre.
"Nez Perez City is the new town
which started on the reservation. 1t
IS so miles southeast of Lewiston. 1871
miles north of Cottonwood and 10 miles
from Kamiah. II Is the center of a
tract of country which has a settler for
every 100 acres. The situation for a
beautiful town is perfect The site Is
fiat. there Ss good water. and timber is
only four miles away. There are go
lots, which sold for 81 each, that being
the charge for recording papers. Slips
of paper were numbered bearing the
number of some lot on the townsite.
These were placed in a hat and each
man who paid 81 drew out a lot num-
Der. Some invested their last dollar in
these tickets and were able to sell them
after drawing at a handsome profit. A
block was SGT aside for "a public school
and rs lots held out for the erection of
buildings to cost not less than $500.
Miss Margaret Simons was given two
lots because she was the first lady In
the new town.
Mrs. L. A. Wayfand wants ITO be the
posomistress. all mail now being re-
cetved at Cottonwood The building
boom there is on in earnest, and by
spring Neg Perez will be an important
thriving cs,y.
Not all who went on the rush were
successful, though 1T is claimed that
there is land enough for all but doubt
Il. At cihe Falouse ferry / saw lots OF
nren selling horses for a song, so as to
have money to get out OF the country
ON. Some had not money enough Il
pay the ferry charges. l think abou,
dwo-thirds OF the boomers failed TO gel
any land