New-York tribune., 1906-11-25
Lest Large Slice Of Indian
Land in Oklahoma
To Be Settled.

Oklahoma City. Okla, Nov. "a (Specai)-
"opening of the Big Pasture" If have heart
the sentence in the last six weeks have
heard it a thousand times In the hotel Hobbies
at the railroad stations. on the trains and in TIT
streets everywhere the refrain, the opening o.
the big Pasture"
The first time you hear II ct one of the South
western commercial hotel tables It suggest:
some sort of coming-out ball, a function.
housewarming. a barnraising. On the top OF
this everybody asks every one else, Are you
going 10 file a bid?" and that puzzles the un-
initiated still more They must have rattle, a
lottery, some game Of chance attached TO this
mysterious opening OF the big Pasture.
The newsboy the train-he is known as the
news butcher west Of the Mississippi-gfves
the secret away for the of % cents in the
shape OF folded map and neat little book of
land descriptions.
The big Pasture" until few years ago was
q piece OF land belonging TO the Comanche.
60owa and Apache Indians, 5o50o0 acres
n extent, and situated IN Southwestern Okla
bona, on the Red River To-day the United
i6tatss government Is tust about TO SELL Il to the
white man IN quarter sections or 1s0-acre plots,
tN4th the permission Of the Indian owners. II
l~4ii 20 TO the bidders making the highest sealed
lMds
When the Secretary OF ths Interior announces
tkte names Of the successful bidders $500 white
lkAniitas viii settle IN this new region OF sgri-
cultural promise. and next year all that left
of untraynnsiled lands OF the Indians IN what
ssSs formerly the Indian Territory viii be broken
Ssorn end 10 snd with sod ploushs, and next fall
ID rnill,on dollars or two IN crops will be added
% the wealth Of the young State OF Oklahoma
60 goes Il In Oklahoma In a short seventeen
years all the millions and millions OF acres Of
fertile lands once set aside for the remaining
tribes Of Indians have been absorbed by the
white man.
The IS 900 yndians OF tho waving grass lands
have not been showed of the territory: they
have been simply submerged IN white mans
civilization Of 100000 souls Each Indian man
and woman, and child and baby has at least
square of land in wire fence 1s0 acres IN ex-
tent. Most of them have thousands of dollars
In the United States Treasury TO their credit,
drawing interest
The opening Of the big Pasture" will be his
foric. IN that It Is the last large body of land IN
ths limitations of the old Indian Territory left
for settlement.
The opening will be unique, IN that the gov
ernment has adopted new plan of disposing of
Indian lands after several experiments.
The beginning OF Oklahoma was in 1889. when
1he famous Boomer runs took place. and when
thousands OF home seekers gathered the
boundaries. their impetuosity held In check by
.ines OF armed soldiers waiting for the signal
gun TO release them IN rush" for farms and
town lots.
Those were wild, rough times enough, when
gun play common when held their
hard possessions by threats and physical
violence. and often not then. and when women
and babies lay down the billowing grass land
sobbing exhausted and hunger torn.
Strong wondered why they had been
stricken with this madness for land and the
sneaking sooner who had staked out his acres
the previous night sold out IN the glory of
sunrise to the man, sweat streaked and dust
laden, still obsessed with desire for home-his
home.
The government IN subsequent openings tried
TO stop this wild carnival OF physical strength
and wits and reduce the amount Of litigation
(which followed the first system by making It
necessary for a TO register at a land office
before he made the and file his land claim
after he staked The second plan was almost as
bad as the first and really required moro stay
Ing power on the part Of the combatants The
Third attempt was 6 lottery game, in which
every one desiring land had to register and
against their names were drawn numbers from
p huge revolving box. The position in numeri-
cal sequence carried the privilege Of selection
of any unallotted quarter section. Thousands of
men VINO old not want the land except for spec
cation got claims and many thousands of
bona fde home seekers were cut out.
With nothing left but half million acres for
eettlement the government devised the practi-
bal scheme for the Big Pasture" of letting Il
30 sealed bids
OF course. this system knocks out the poorer
honeseeker, and will result IN allotting the land
70 men of fair means, who realize, usually from
CORNER experiences. the marvellous productivity
and wealth TO be had from Southwestern soil
The compensation this time comes to the Ind
ian. Heretofore the red man has given up his
kerritory on a valuation set by the government,
hever amounting TO more than 81 so an acre,
The minimum price set by Congress for the
lands OF the big Pasture" was S5 en- acre,
Fully ten thousand persons have visited and
Inspected the big Pasture" lands In the last
Pew months. according TO the Rock Island g.