Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-12-28
How an Oklahoma Land Dispute
Was Settled Outside Of Court.
dNllrrHnnnWnAnnnrIu

Back IN the early summer OF 1893 two
men were sitting on one claim in west
ern Oklahoma. They had been sitting
there for some months~-n fact. ever
since the opening Of that particular
part OF the territory. IN the rush that
had attended the opening one man had
slaked out the section. The other had
been first at the land office aud filed a
claim to the same piece Of land before
attempting to occupy It. Thus arose a
controversy such as was matched by
hundreds OF others IN different parts
Of the territory,
The two men had cntrenched them
selves and watched each other with
shotguns In their hands for the first
few days Then one hoisted q flag of
truce and proposed a temporary com.
promise, The terms OF this com.
promise was that a line was to be
drawn across the quarter section and
that each was TO keep 10 hIs respective
side Of the line Each was to build
himself temporary shack ana put In
crops with the understanding that both
crops and shaCks should revert TO the
legal owner Of the section when the
case came 10 be decided by the pro-
cesses OF the slow-going courts OF law
The fact that each permitted the other
to do this was not TO prejudice the case
Of either when II finally came up In
court, and II was understood that II
either one Ventured over the dividing
line the other was at liberty TO have re-
course to the shotgun,
Thus the matter stood for some
months, and each man kept sharp
eye on the shack of his nelghbor and
left his loaded shotgun within easy
reach Then one day, when the sun
beat down with scaldlng heat that
made blowing impossible, a strong wind
blew up-a wind that seemed to blow
out Of the very mouth Of inferno.
Great masses Of clouds swiftly shift
Ing and changing hue, now black now
purple, now Rreenish-yelow rolled up
In the southwest. The farmers that
had come from Kansas and Missouri
retired to their cellars, II they pos.
sessed such luxuries, and the tender
wv h'A bhN NllNAl h1llA'l 40 hlu IlNIfAANh
TO photograph the wonderful cloud eff
fects, The clouds shut out the sun,
and there arose a subdued murmur
that developed FIRST into a tremuous
bu2zng and then into a sulen roar
Then out Of the dark cloud masses
came a wonderful pillar, a dusty-gray
column that looked like the lower end
of gigantic balloon. The column was
indistinct at first, but II advanced
across the prairies with the speed Of an
express train, and as 1t came nearer
and nearer the buzzing sound increased
to a roar that was like q hundred
Niagaras.
Smith, the man who occupied one sid9
of the dead line on the disputed quarter
section, was from northern Missouri
When he saw the shape of the yellow
balloon tail he called to HIS wife and
they made a run for little hole he had
dug In his front yard. They let them.
selves In and closed the trap door that
covered IT, and then both lay low wait
Ing for the shock they knew was COM
ing
Jones, on the other side Of the line,
saw these maneuyers, but being from
eastern Tennessee, he thought only that
his neghbor might be intending to re-
open hostilitles, and so he took his
shotgun and sat In his shack. with his
aiming eye and his trigger cooked to.
ward the dead line
The roaring that came from the ap.
preaching column increased IN lntens-
ity; the earth trembled. the air sang
with a kissing noise. Suddenly day
was blotted out and hades was let loose.
Smith and his wife could neither see
nor think, but they instinctvely tried
90 hold on to the very earth beneath
them which seemed to be hurled up
into the air and whlrled about like
scrap of paper,
In a few minutes the roaring sound
began TO lessen, the Keeling earth be.