Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-07-20
SHOT To
START A RUSH
IN n { BRASkA
Government to Have an Old
Fashioned Land Opening
in October.

An old fashioned land opening and
Western rush, the first since Okla
homa was thrown open to settlement
more than twenty years ago, will
be witnessed in Western Nebraska
next October. when nearly half a
million acres formerly held in a Gov
eminent forest reserve, will be de-
clared open for demonstrating pur-
poses.
The order of the Land Department
returning to the old method of land
distribution came Unexpectedly to the
local land office, which had expected
a prosaic Drawing" instead of the
picturesque rush"
The lands in question lie in Nc
Pherson and Grant Counties and for
about ten years have been protected
from settlement by having been
segregated as forest reserves"
though there were absolutely no trees
on the great tract when it was with
drawn from settlement.
However, it was the intention of
the Forestry Bureau to make an OBJ
ject lesson of this portion Of the
great plains and to plant millions of
pines, cottonwood, poplar and locusts
in fact, to change a great plain into
a dense forest.
Ten Years to Learn.
1t has taken the Government ten
years and a lot of money to discover
That the soil and the climate of this
section are not conducive to tree cul-
ture. But, having reached that con-
clusiOn, the great tract will now be
released by the Forestry Bureau and
will be returned to the Land Depart
ment for demonstrating purposes.
In the meantime, however, all the
land reserve has been settled up by
farmers and stock raisers, and to-
cay there Is scarcely an acre of pub
! lie land in the counties. The entire
tract was, years ago, included in the
great open country and was known
as the very best grazing and cattle
raising range in all the trans Mis-
souri, country.
In those years it was supposed that
| Western Nebraska would never pro-
duce crops and would never be a
farming country. But in after years
1t has come to pass that some of the
best farming counties in the State
are cut from the famous short grass"
country There are many first-class
! sections Of farming land included in
| the $4,000 acres which will De
rushed for" next fall, but the larger
| portion is grazing land.
To Parcel Grazing Land.
The grazing land will be parceled
| out in 640-acre tracts and will be
| awarded under the Kinkaid act, which
permits of homesteads of this size,
| The farming land, however, will be
| limited to 120 acres to each individual.
| Under the new rules governing home
| stealing, IL will be necessary for the
| applicant to spend only three years
on the property instead of the five
| years required for so many years by
| the homestead laws At the end Of
| that time a deed can be secured, and
the land can then be sold or retained,
| just as the homesteader desires.
| All this land is easy Of access, On
the north Burlington Railroad towns
| are only a few miles away, and on
| the south a branch Of Union Pacific
| skirts the border 1t is somewhat
| hilly along the streams. but there are
numerous high table lands, excellent
for agricultural purposes, besides a
number of wide and rich valleys. In
the area there are a number Of never
failing streams, dozen or more lakes
4
in extent. Before It was segregated
II was looked upon as the richest
ranch land in the State To-day,
were it possible to have title to the
lands, they would sell from $50 an
acre downward to So.
Efforts Prove Failure.
The efforts of the Government to
make the plains into a great forest
have been a failure
On farms of 100 acres each there
| will be room for 2,0S4 homesteaders
on the tract which will be opened.
! But because many of the homesteads
will be of $40 acres each, not that
many can be given farms.
Some of the lands will come under
the Jurisdiction of the land office at
North Platte and the others will re-
port to the Broken Bow land office.
! Under the system to be used, the en-
| tire tract will be patrOlled by soldiers
| II prevent ''sOOners" from entering.
! on the appointed day October /.
! probably at noon a single shot, fired
| by an officer will start the rush. Al
! applicants will have an even start
and there will be neither favoritism
! nor handicap.
After selecting his land. IT is then
up to the homesteaGer 10 get to the
| land Office before another homestead
| er beats him to II. Many races and
! contests will undoubtedly occur and
the picturesquenes of the West of rs
, or 40 years ago will be in evidence.