The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1899-07-02
TROUBLE AT COLBERT.
The RaIIroad Company Protest Against
the TownsIte Commission.

The Railroad Company Protest Against
the Townsite Commission.
Information is that a portion of
Colbert, l T. is in a somewhat un-
settled state on account of claim
of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas
to a portion of the land that the
town is located on.
In 1872, when the NJ r., &
T. was completed as far as Col
bert, the then owners of the COM
pany property, and agents of the
corporation entered into contract
with James and Frank Colbert and
J. A. Smith, who at that time
owned the improvements on the
land about Colbert and had it un-
der cultivation, that the company
would build a round house and
terminal facilities and shops at
Colbert, in consideration of which
the three men named above signed
a contract to deed to the Missouri,
Kansas and Texas eighty four
acres of land, and to secure thy
same to the railroad compan
when allotment of Indian lands
should come.
The. railroad company built on
into Texas and established term
inals, roundhouse and shops at
Denison and nothing was done in
Colbert, but now the company
makes claim to the land, and on
that land a portion of the town of
Colbert is located. The principal
business streets of the town is on
the land claimed by the company.
The claim of the Katy would take
all of the principal business street
and all the line of buildings on the
east side of the street and the
awnings and sidewalks on all of
the buildings on the west side of
the street are on the property
claimed by the Katy.
The railroad company has filed a
protest with the Chickasaw town
site commission now plating and
surveying the tOwnsite of Colbert,
protesting against that portion of
the townsite being plated and sur
veyed as portion of the townsite.
as the land, they claim, is company
property, therefore not subject to
any claims of the Indinns or the
government. After receiving the
protest from the railroad company
the townsite commissioners refer
red the matter to the interior de-
partment at Washington ana from
the department received lnstruc-
tions to hold up 9n the survey and
plating of the land till the case is
settled in the courts. The settle
ment OF the case may consume a
great deal of time in going the
length of the courts and tie up the
bortion of the townsite claimed by
the company for several years.
Gov. d. II. Johnston of the
Chickasaw nation on behalf of the
nation is working on the matter
and will try to get the case to trial
at an early date and settle the title
to the land. 1t is maintained by
the citizens of Colbert that the
railroad company has no valid
right to the land and can not hold
it by law, as their part of the con-
tract was never complied with,
the contract on the part
of the Colberts and J. A. Smith
without force. They contend fur
ther that no individual of the ma
ton had a light to make any con-
tract that would in any way bind
a member of the Chickasaw tribe
in regard to lands, as all the lands
are community property and be-
long to the nation in its entirety
and not to individuals.
The townslte commission has
gone ahead with it's work and is
and plating the town
not in the territory claimed by the
railroad company. Main street
has been plated a quarter of a
mile west of where the principal
business street of the town is now
located. 1t is eighty feet wide,
runs north and south and forms
conjunction with the present busi-
ness street at Franklin street and
McCarley avenue.
Cautious Mother
Will always keep on hand supply
of Beggs' Cherry Cough Syrup. A