The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1904-02-05
MAYOPENROSEBJDNMAY
That is What the Man From
Washington Thinks.
BILL TO GO THROUGH SENATE
II Is Confidently Expected That the
Senate Will Have Passed 1t Before
Saturday Nieht-Rush Of People is
Already on-Expect $4,000.

Yesterdays Northwestern train
which passed through Norfolk to
Bonesteel, carried Special Representa-
tive Backus of that place from Wash
ington where he had been in the in
terests of the Rosebud reservation
BILL back to his home in Gregory
county. Mr.. Backus was in Washing
ton the other day when the Rosebud
bill went through the house OF repre-
sentatives and he predicts that be-
fore Saturday night it will have
passed as safely through the senate
of the United States. 1t is hoped that
the bill may even be passed at the
senate's session today.
Having once passed through that
high body of the country's lawmakers,
nothing will remain in the way of
opening up the Rosebud reservation
of 416,OOO acres of choice land, except
the signing of the bill by President
Roosevelt and it is thought by the
Bonesteel man that the chief eXecu-
tive favors the measure and will ap-
ply his name the minute he gets sight
of the paper.
"The bill went through the house
without a ripple of objection" said
Mr.. Backus in speaking of the sue
cess which he and Mr.. Lucas have
had in Washington, together with
Congressman Burke and others who
have been boosting hard for the pass
age of this measure which means so
much to Gregory county and to the
entire new northwest. Everybody
seemed to be heartily in favor of it
and | confidently expect that before
next Saturday night the bill will have
passed the senate as easily. 1t may
even come sooner"
May the Month.
At the beginning of the fall, things
looked far more dubious for the open
ing of the reservation but now that
they have frightened up and the bill
is actually being taken through the
halls of legislation, there seems every
prospect in the world that the open
ing will soon take place. Mr. Backus
even goes so far as to state that he
thinks the drawings for those 416,00O
acres of free land will be held in
May.
Expect $4,000 People.
Few people can realize what a
mammoth influx of humanity will re
suit the minute thattaNdZffietao
opened" remarked a Northwestern
official who was in the same car. 1--WE
look for fully $4,000 people into the
Bonesteel country as soon as the lane
is thrown open to the outside world
don't see how we are ever going to
take care of the traffic, but that i.
what we earnestly anticipate
Rush Now On.
"In fact" he continued, "the rusl
has already begun. Every day righ
now we are hauling a large numbe
of people up into that territory TO
the purpose of being on the groun'
floor" And to substantiate his state
ment the railroad official pointed t.
over a dozen men in the same ca
who had bought tickets from differen
points east for the end of the railroad
"You see it is the last chance tha
the people of the United States vii
have at drawing of free government
land of this sort. Look at the masse
of people who went down into Okla
homa What was vast prairie o
one day had developed into a rea
living city by the next. Besides tina
the Rosebud has so long been advel
tised and the people have for so man
moons had their eyes upon it, ths
the minute they are allowed to &c
into the game, they will rush into ths
country by the tens of thousands.
"Why every man | meet is goin
to take in that drawing 1t isn't
small per centage of them, mind yo
or even a large one-it is everybod
you meet from the shores of tn
Mississippi to the sage brush of til
far west. Why it is actually astoun
ing when you ask people if they al
going up. 'Going? they say. WI
of course I'm going. 1t doesn't CO
anything to try and I've just as goc
a chance as anybody else to win
bunch of land. To be sure I'm goir
up just the minute it is opened
Where Will They Sleep?
81 don't see what on earth the pc
pie of Gregory county are ever goil
to do with those people when the ru
comes on. There aren't hotels enoui
in the state of Nebraska, hardly,
take care of the crowds that W
come this way and if there isn't
little bit of fighting for feed and bi
ting for beds. l don't want a Gel
Even on that excursion up the Ii
on September IL, there weren't enou
beds in Bonesteel to take care of t
people who had come to see the res
vation, and the stores were lined wi
strange sleepers that night. And
a crowd like that would go up for
look at the earth several months
fore there was anything definite
the way of prospect for openil
1