Los Angeles herald., 1906-10-30
DECLARE OPENING
SIMPLY A FARCE
RESERVATION CLAIMS Ape
"GOBBLED UP"
Country Is Rich in Minerals, but Many
Entered Days Before the Off.
eisl Signal Was
Given
BV Associated Press.

HAWTHORNE, New, oct. 29.--Walk
ler Lake Indian reservat Ion was openet
at noon today and half an hour aftC
the signal admitting thousands of pros
peCtors had been fired countless mining
claims had been located and town sitci
established ana mushroom cities ar,
now springing up at the mouths o
| Dutchman and Cottonwood creeks, II
the vicinity of which the richest mining
territory is supposed to lie.
| Although there were many who pre-.
fired to locate claims according to the
law surrounding the opening of thC
| reservation, and waited at the boun.
dairy lines, numerous men had rushed
into the coveted lanG the night pre-.
| vfous. As result the race from the
! boundary was farce
J. p. Miller, who started from Haw-
tnorne with about 500 men when the
dynamite signal was fired. beat auto
mobiles and vehicles with his fleet
horse, covering the distance of seven
miles in twenty nine minutes. He se-
cured as locations valuable Arastra
mining property. George Green. with
A. Nye and z. IJ. O'Brien of Tonopah,
ran in the race from Walker mountain
from the Yerington side, covering four
miles of precipitious country in twenty
one minutes. They also secured four
teen Arastra properties.
George Nagle, supposed to be acting
for United States Se'ator Nixon, staked
out a townsite at Dutchman's creek.
PatroiIed With Rifles
Holders of claims Immediately pa
trolled them with Winchesters, but as
nobody cared to dispute their claims,
there was no bloodshed. tt is feared,
however, that when surveys are COM
nenced tomorrow there may be dis
putes that will cause trouble
Half dozen women participated in
the struggle for mining land and IN
some instances succeeded in securing
rich properties.
AS rule the people who waited until
the regular time before rushing into
the territory did not secure anything
Tor their efforts, and many honest pros
pectors who had spent all their savings
to participate in the opening turned
back defeated.
Special Land Agent Frank Parks
mas received no reply from Washing
Ton IN answer to his recommendation
on account of irregularity.
He asserts that today's proceedings
are an injustice against those who
sought to obey the laws regarding the
opening and whose efforts were baffed
oy those who rushed through ahead of
time because the boundary lines were
not properly guarded.
Had 1t not been for the work of pri-
vate citizens who assisted the four
teen Indian police there would not
have been the slightest resemblance of
regularity in the opening.
So rich is the country that has been
opened that numbers of prospectors
displayed free gold that they had
washed from their claims this after
noon. The news of the strikes that
Were made has spread like wildfire.
Tonight camp wagons are rushing
for the newly opened country. A ferry
of launches is now plying between the
eastern and western sides of the lake
and prospective townsltes promise to
spring up at spots where boats land.
The railroad skirts the entire eastern
SIDE of the lake and supplies that are
being rushed in are left at Walkers
station to be taken across the lake.
Indignation prevails tonight at Haw-
thorne, Warrington and Schurz, where
disappointed prospectors have returned
after finding that they had no chance
against those who rushed in ahead of
time.