New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1904-07-27
TOOK PART IN LAND RUSH
Four New Ulm Men Registered at
Yankton.
In Line Nearly Seven Hours Await
ing Turn.

Have Small Hopes of Being Among
the Winners.
After having taken the trip to Yank-
ton, S. D., for the purpose of register
ing their names for the Rosebud In
dian lam thrown open to settlement
by the government, four New Ulm men
returned home last Wednesday morn
ing. The >prospectors were B. Juni,
DR.. j. p. Graft, Vim. A Pfefferle and
Fred Schaefer and all secured chances
in Uncle Sans big lottery. Paul
Lehman, the fifth member of the
party, did not come back with the
others, but stopped off at Brookings.
~ will be greatly surprised = said
Mr.. Pfefferle to a Review reporter.
IF any of the New Ulm crowd are
among the winners. The chances are
too small, but we do not regret the
journey, as it is worth all it cost to see
the crowds at Yankton. We reached
that city about IL o'clock on the night
of July 18th and, even at that hour,
the line in front of the land Office was
forming. Four hundred people re-
manned up all night and when we joined
the lire at 4 a. N. we were compelled
to wait until 1920 o'clock before we
could enter our names.
sOn the day we registered the total
at Y ankton reached $4,000 and these
figures will serve to give some idea
of the crowded condition of that town.
Although there was no rioting, as at
Bonesteel, still the excitement was
intense. Fakirs of every description
were constantly present and gambling
games of all sorts and descriptions
were openly operated. One industri-
Gus individual amassed wealth by rent
ing chairs and stools to waiting appli-
cants while other vendors passed up
and down the line selling food and re-
freshments. In the vicinity of Yank
ton the land is of the best and I am
of the opinion that the claims on the
reservation are worth from 81, 500 to
81, 900, as asserted"
tits generally admitted that the vari
Gus railroad companies we're the great
est benefciaries by the opening of the
Rosebud Indian reservation, and if
they could get Uncle Sans permission,
they would doubtless buy more reser-
vations and open them on the lottery
plan.
A conservative estimate of the num-
Der that registered at Yankton, Bone
steel, Chamberlain and Fairfax for the
drawing is 10000. A railroad man
who has kept tab on the crowds going
through Sioux City says the average
railroad fare of each person who re-
gisters will be fully $40. This gives
the railroads, 81, 100, 1000 in fares, while
the entire price paid the Indians for the
Rosebud reservation is but little more.
Then the cost of meals and lodging of
these landseekers will make their ex-
penses fully SIS each and the 25-cent
notary fee for papers amounts up to
the total of S27, 500. In all the expense
Of the pilgrims to the registration
booths from all over the United States
will be about 81, TOO, O00 Ofthe HOO
who register, only 2,4l2 will be success
full, leaving 107, 588 who will get moth
ing for their pains.
A real estate man who has travelled
over the reservation land estimates
that while a person has only two and
one-half chances in 100 of drawing
farm at all, only one in 100 will get
quarter worth the 81 an acre charged
by the government. There is about one
chance in 1000 Of getting land which
will attract anything like prices for
which land all over the Dakotas,
Minnesota and Nebraska is selling for
now.
Persons returning from Y ankton tell
diverting incidents which have hap
pened around the registrations booths.
Harry Moore, of ST. Joseph, Mo-, was
the biggest man to register. He is
over six feet tall, is so years old and
weighs 400pounds. A woman 80 years
old, was escorted to the booth by her
daughter, Mrs. De Camp, of Yankton.
One woman swore she was $50 years
old and 20 feet tall, she having filled
in the blank wrong.
Registrations have closed and the
first drawing will occur tomorrow.
Subsequent drawings will be held at
intervals of ten days.