The times., 1899-05-07
MUSHROOM TOWNS.
Settlements That Spring Up in IA Sim
,cIa Night,

Durango. Col. May Building on a
number of townsites in the Ute lands is
going forward with all possible speed.
The filings at the land Office up to noon
yesterday numbered eighty. There is no
way of estimating the number of actual
settlers, who are in no hurry to file their
claims.
Although the lands were only opened for
settlement Thursday. all the desirable
quarter sections were taken up in the first
rush of land seekers. who were lined up
all around the territory awaiting the sig
nal TO enter.
New York men are looking over the
ground with a view to building railroad
through the old reservation from Durango
to Albuquerque n. NJ. Several large irri-
eating enterprises is also under way.
Barry Sullivan. a newspaper man,
lawyer, labor agitatoT. and sheriff 5 deputy
a graduate of Harvard. and man OF con-
siderable culture, is one of the picturesque
figures that went down with the throng
from Durango. He had a piece of land
picked out, and in his determination TO get
it drew his pistol upon a Mexican who
undertook TO interfere. Sullivan had him
self sworn in as a deputy at Durango SO
as to be protected.
The Mexican yielded and Sullivan staked
his homestead II is a magnificent tract.
is located in the fork of the Piedra and
San Juan rivers. On the maps which have
been circulatde about Durango this land
is marked as allotted 10 the Indians. Sui
livan. however. declares that he has proof
that the maps are wrong. and he knows he
took no risk. He had his attention called
to the land last November, and waited for
it in secret. The Oklahoma crowd declare
he is sooner" on the ground, and that
he was on the reservation VIXEN the noon
hour arrived.
There was a hot race for another sec
ton OF the land in the same vicinity.
Twenty boomers. cowboys, and Mexicans.
lined up on the southern boundary of the
State and waited for signal from DR.. AL
len, of Chickasha, l. T. AS the men dash
ed away ]. w. Ward. of Denver. was nearly
killed by his horse.
The horsemen dashed through the sage
and raised dust that almost concealed
them from the spectators. Mort J. Byers,
OF Pagosa Springs, reached the desired sec
tion inside Of a minute. and jumped to the
ground without waiting for his horse to
step. Seeing a stick. he droYe it into the
ground in the presence of half dozen wit
nesses. who had followed on horseback.
and then attached small American flag
to it The rest of the horsemen plunged
on over an irrigation ditch, and one mar
rowiy missed falling into it. They dashed
into the San Juan River. and swan to
the other side. looking for some other
quarter section.
E. r. Friday. Barry" Sullivan says. got
the second best piece of land. 1t is located
on mesa. and the townsite people are
anxious to get on it. but Friday is in with
the Oklahoma crowd. and the latter are
jubilant. Friday comes from Turrett,
Chalfee county. where he has been con-
Quoting a hotel.
The lands of the Ute reservation open to
settlement are located in the southwest
corner OF Colorado. The territory consists
of strip fifteen miles wide and about
ninety miles long, containing about 900. 900
acres. The greater part of this land is
smooth and tillable. provided irrigation
can be provided for 1t.
Several thousand acres of the land was
allotted to the Ute Indians in severalty be-
fore the order of the opening was issued
and it is said this included the choicest
locations.