The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1905-12-06
An Interesting Letter From Oklahoma.
DAVIDSON, OKLAHOMA,
December 1St, 1905.

An Interesting Letter From Oklahoma.
DAVIDSON, OKLAHOMA,
December 1st, 1905.
EDITOR The TINES: I have plenty OF
time on hand this afternoon and will
send YOU few lines. If it reaches you
in time for your next iaSue you may
publish it.: and if not, throw 1t into the
waste basket.
am writing from Davidson, little
town few miles across the Red River
from Western Texas, about fifteen miles
from Vernon. AS you know, I left home
Nov. 10Th along with Messsr. Wilkins,
Thomas. Fin. Coffey and DR.. Hagood
Woods, bound for Hobart, Oklahoma, to
take part in the distribution Of town lots
bv the Frisco Development Company.
The whole excursion comprised about
100 from South Carolina, 100 from North
Carolina, $50 from Georgia, and about
300 more from the States Of Louisiana,
Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and Missouri,
making about 100 in all. The excur-
sionists were under the impression that
the lots were to be awarded like the
government awards lands, but when we
9 Got to Hobart it was learned that moth
inc could be done in the way OF lot
terv on account of the United States and
also the laws of Oklahoma, so all the
lots which had been sold in the towns OF
Arapaho, Cordell, Rocky, Hobart, Sibo-
nv. Roosevelt, Snyder and Davidson
were put up and sold at auction IN Ho-
bart, the sale lasting three days.
The lots were sold by the agents OF
this company last spring at S35 apiece,
or rather shares 10 the company were
sold at that price. Some of the lots
were worth many times that much, and
some of them of course were worthless.
Minimum bids at the auction were $50,
and some of the property sold well. If
all bidders comply there will be twelve
or hfteee thousand dollars to be divided
among the stockholders. The boys back
in the South and up in>Ohio, Indiana
and Illinois were suspicious Of these
Western fellows distributing that sur
plus properly, and finally appointed
committee of one from Louisiana, one
from Illinois and your humble servant
to remain ont here ten days or two
weeks to keep tab and see that the
funds are properly distributed, so Will
hardly be home before about the 10th
of December.
Oklahoma is greet country. It has
only been opened up for settlement
about ten years, and some towns which
were started four years ago now have
FIVE to seven thousand population-Ho-
bart for instance. I bought five town
lots in Davidson, representing Billy
Jenkinson, Ike Appelt and myself. This
is little town four years old, with only
few hundred people, but all here say
''she's coming town" some day. |
think Billy and | will have to make Ike
come out here and look after our little
lots.
Oklahoma and Indian Territory con-
tain perhaps the richest farming lands
in the whole United States. The peo-
pie make almost everything and they
purely hustle.
This town is in Comanche County and
the Comanche Indians are in this Sec
ton. Up near Hobart went out in the
Kiowa Indian reservation. Those In
dians are rich and ride in good carri-
ages and vehicles, but they retain many
customs Of old. The government leases
their lands out for them and gives them
the rents, and that accounts for their
having something, for they would never
work and make anything themselves.
The government has built houses for
them, but each head of family must
have his wigwam or "teepee" out IN
the yard all the same.
The SouawS wear moccaSlnS on their
feet, and must have big red blanket
around them. The men dress up; some
of them wear patent leather shoes on
Sunday, and all wear long hair, and
some paint their faces and wear beads
yet. There are missionaries among
them, and some Indians claim tC be
Christians but people out here say they
are Christians because they are not in
the majority. The Christian Kiowa
calls himself ''Jesus man," and the
fellow who doesn't belong to the Church
will tell you ''me no Jesus man." Lone
Wolf, Chief of the Kiowas, claims to be
a "Jesus man" and is a preacher.
The weather is a great deal colder
here than it is home, and the winds
come at you fierce and biting, for there
is nothing but prairie, prairie, prairie,
and a few little mountains with no trees
on them, thousands of prairie dogs, jack
rabbits and big Western steers. A jack
rabbit is about twice the size of our rab-
bit, with big ears, md you just ought
to see him skeedaddle" across the
prairie. 1t makes you think about the
black cat story that Mr.. Lanham told
on the campaign: You amt seen no
ruunin' yet" Archie Barron's sewing
machine joke that he told in Salem
about running 'e1p some" can't touch
jack rabbit for running.
One enthusiastic ole ''Tar Heel" :"
from Lincolnton, N. c., bought the first
lot sold in the town of Roosevelt and
the deed made to Miss Alice Roosevelt
The people out here are clever folks
and wont all the good folks they can
get to come out from the older States
1t is certainly the place for young fel-
low to come to make his fortune, and if
I were not well advanced bachelor and
didn't love South Carolina so well I
would stay myself. But l think I will
turn up home about the 10th Or 18th of
December.
The big newspapers contain Ipracti-
cally no news from East Of the Missis-
sippi except few dispatches from
Washington and New York, and that
makes it kinder lonesome for me.
will be in Hobart for the next few
days, and will then be in Enid for about
a week. Send me copy Of THE TINES,
and if there is any way to do it I would
ask YOU to send me about three table
spoonfuls of rice like they cook it at
home I haven't had a grain since
leaving Carolina, and have been forced
to eat Irish potatoes the whole time in
| self-defense.
Dr. Woods left the second day after
arriving at Hobart. Thomas left a few
| davs afterward for Fort Scott to buv