The Wichita daily eagle., 1901-06-18
KIOWA AND
COMANCHE
COUNTRY
Army Sent TO Drive Out the
Sooner" Residents.
0THFR INDIANS PROTEST
Join With Lone Wolf in Favor
of Cattlemen.
OTHFR INDIANS PROTEST
PETROLEUM. is FOUND
ASphaltum Has Also Been Ac-
CidentaIIy Discovered.

Guthrie, o. T., June i7.-Captain Far
rand sayres, commanding officer at Fort
Sill. 0. T.. acting under orders from the
war department, started today with forty
cavalrymen TO clear the Wichita noun
tain land Of unlawful fntruders, prepara-
tory to the opening Of the Kiowa and Co
manchs reservation. The government is
determined to free the country Of all
"sooners.' whether there for the purpose
Of mining or otherwise.
william a Richards, assistant commits
sioner Of the general land Office. left to-
day for Washington. having completed
the preliminaries incident to establish
ing county seats and county boundaries
in the reservations to be thrown open.
washington, June 17.-Eshftie, principal
chief Of the Comanche Indians, White
Buffalo and six others are added to the
list Of complainants IN a motion to amend
dled today by counsel for the Indians
IN the case Of Lone Wolf and others
against the secretary Of the interior in
opposition TO the openin Of the Kiowa and
Comanche and Apache lands in Oklahoma
Assistant Attorney General Van Deventer
offered no objection 10 the motion but
said he failed to see how it could effect
the Legal status Of the case A petition
was field by the complainants stating
that. they have been authorized by the
Kievta, Comsnche and Apache tribes IN
grand council to protect their rights. The
court granted TIE motion.
Guthrie O. T.. June 1.-The editor Of
the Cheyenne Sunbeam says;
For the past eighteen years the editor
enough TO the Wichita mountains to keep
well posted as to its mineral productions.
Time and again have friends and ao-
quaintsnoes Investigated these mountains
and each time the story has been the
same. They returned with specimens
which thy thought were rich in copper, |
gold or silver, but the asssyers always
declared them to be worthless and the
excitemnt OF the prospectOrs would sub
side. There is, however. one thing that
IS going to raise big excitement after
the opening. Petroleum can be found
oozing from the ground on the east side
in the neighborhood Of Fort sill There
is no doubt Of this. We know parties
who have seen it and woh heard it pro-
nounced to be petroleum by General |
Hatch over twenty years ago.
Chikasha, L T.. June 17.-Prospectors /
who have lately returned from the Wich- |
ita mountains brought back with them
several hundred pounds Of asphalt mixed I
with sand which they claim to have
found there They are keeping the Ioca- /
tion secret, as they expect to take up |
the lands under the mineral act relating /
10 petroleum and other oils. According /
TO their description the asphaltum they I
secured is the result Of a slight oozing /
from a bank which mixed with clay az /
every rain. It has formed a natural /
pavement IN the bed Of Dry creek for a /
distance Of nearly a half mile They de- 4
clare it an Indication Of oil, and VIII be /
prepared to bore for st as soon as the /
country opens.
Il is currently reported here that Dep !
uty United States Marshal Heck Thomas /
and Assistant Deputy Thompson (nephew 4
of Marshal thompson with six others. /
have formed an association and already
stal1ed out lso acres of oil land on Lime 1
creek. where ssphaltum was found by the l
Rock Island graders ard which they have /
already recorded with the register OF
deeds Of Fl Reno county. They claim
that the mineral laws are already extend
ed over that territory by act Of congress
and that their present acts are legal
They also expect TO bore for oil.