THE INVASION OF OKLAHOMA.
A History of the Indian Nation--Early Struggles of Oklahoma
Boomer--Fight between Home-Seekers and Soldiers--Scenes at the Opening
of Oklahoma Proper--A Miserable Night on the Prairie--A Race for
Homes--Lawlessness in the Old Indian Territory.
Oklahoma, the youngest of our Territories, is in many respects also the
most interesting. Many people confound Oklahoma Territory with the
Indian Territory, but the two are separate and distinct, the former
enjoying Territorial Government, while the latter, unfortunately, is in
a very anomalous condition, so far as the making and enforcing of laws
is concerned.
Up to within a few years Oklahoma was a part of what was then the
"Indian Territory." Now it has been separated from what may be described
as its original parent, and is entirely distinct. It contains nearly
40,000 square miles, and has a population of about a quarter of a
million, exclusive of about 18,000 Indians. It contains more than twice
as many people to the square mile as many of the Western States and
Territories, and is in a condition of thriving prosperity, which is
extraordinary, when its extreme youth as a Territory is considered.
In 1888, Oklahoma was the largest single body of unimproved land capable
of cultivation in the Southwest. It was nominally farmed by Indian
tribes, but the natural productiveness of the soil, and the immense
amount of land at their disposal, cultivated habits of indolence, and
there was a grievous and even sinful waste of fertility. To the south
was Texas, and on the north, Kansas, both rich, powerful and wealthy
States. The Indian possessions lying between disturbed the natural
growth and trend of empire.
Seen from car windows only, the country appeared inviting to the eye. It
was known, from reports of traders, to have all the elements of
agricultural wealth.
And this made the land-hungry man hungrier.
The era of the "boomer" began; and the "boomer" did not stop until he
had inserted an opening wedge, in the shape of the purchase and opening
to settlement of a vast area right in the heart of the prairie
wilderness. When the first opening took place it seemed as though the
supply would be in excess of the demand. Not so. Every acre--good, bad,
or indifferent--was gobbled up, and, like as from an army of Oliver
Twists, the cry went up for more. Then the Iowa and Pottawatomie
reservations were placed on the market. They lasted a day only, and the
still unsatisfied crowd began another agitation. Resultant of this, a
third bargain-counter sale took place. The big Cheyenne and Arapahoe
country was opened for settlement. Immigrants poured in, and now every
quarter-section that is tillable there has its individual occupant and
owner.
But still on the south border of Kansas there camped a landless and
homeless multitude. They looked longingly over the fertile prairies of
the Cherokee Strip country, stirred the camp-fire embers emphatically,
and sent another dispatch to Washington asking for a chance to get in.
Congress heard at last, and in the fall of 1893 the congestion was
relieved.
The scenes attending the wild scramble from all sides of the Strip are a
matter of history and do not require repetition. Five million acres were
quickly taken by 30,000 farmers.
The old proverb or adage, which states that the man who makes two blades
of grass grow where one grew before is a public benefactor, would seem
to proclaim that Oklahoma is peopled with philanthropists, for the
sturdy pioneers who braved hardship and ridicule in order to obtain a
foothold in this promised land, have, in five or six years, completely
changed the appearance of the country. A larger proportion of ground in
this youthful Territory shows that it is a sturdy infant, and it is
doubtful whether in any part of the United States there has been more
economy in land, or a more rapid use made of opportunities so
bountifully provided by nature.
Truth is often much stranger than fiction, and the story of the invasion
of Oklahoma reads like one long romance. Many men lost their lives in
the attempt, some few dying by violence, and many others succumbing to
disease brought about by hardship. Many of the men who started the
agitation to have Oklahoma opened for settlement by white citizens are
still alive, and some of them have had their heart's desire fulfilled,
and now occupy little homes they have built in some favorite nook and
corner of their much loved, and at one time grievously coveted, country.
Oklahoma came into the possession of the Seminole Indians by the
ordinary process, and remained their alleged home until about thirty
years ago. In 1866, the country was ceded to the United States
Government for a consideration, and in 1873, it was surveyed by Federal
officers, and section lines established according to law.
It was the natural presumption that this expense was incurred with a
view to the immediate opening of the Territory for settlement. For
various reasons, more or less valid, and more or less the result of
influence and possible corruption, the actual opening of the country was
deferred for more than twenty years after its cession to the United
States Government, and in the meantime it occupied a peculiar condition.
Immense herds of cattle were pastured on it, and bad men and outlaws
from various sections of the country awoke reminiscences of biblical
stories about cities of refuge by squatting upon it, making a living by
hunting and indifferent agriculture, and resting secure from molestation
from officers of the law.
To remedy this anomaly, and to secure homes for themselves and families
in what was reported to be one of the most fertile tracts in the world,
Captain Payne and a number of determined men organized themselves into
colonies. There has always been a mania for new land, and many people
are never happy unless they are keeping pace with the invasion of
civilization into hitherto unknown and unopened countries. Many who
joined the Payne movement were doubtless roving spirits of this
character, but the majority of them were bona fide home-seekers, who
believed as citizens of this country they had a right to
quarter-sections in the promised land, and who were determined to
enforce those rights.
No matter, however, what were the motives of the "boomers," as they were
called from the first, it is certain that they went to work in a
business-like manner, planned a regular invasion, and formed a number of
colonies or small armies for the purpose.
We will follow the fortune of one of these colonies in order to show
what extraordinary difficulties they went through, and how much more
there is in heaven and earth than is dreamt of in our humdrum
philosophy. The town of Caldwell, on the southern line of Kansas, was
the camp from which the first colonists started. It consisted of about
forty men, and about 100 women and children. Each family provided itself
with such equipment and conveniences as the scanty means at disposal
made possible. A prairie schooner, or a wagon with a covering to protect
the inmates from the weather and secure a certain amount of privacy for
the women and children, was an indispensable item. When the advance was
made, there were forty such covered wagons, each drawn by a pair of
horses or mules, and each containing such furniture as the family
possessed. The more fortunate ones also had in the wagons certain
material to be used in building the little hut, which was to be their
home until they could earn enough to build a more pretentious residence.
Eye witnesses describe the starting of the colony as one of the most
remarkable sights ever witnessed. The wagons advanced in single file,
and some few of the men rode on horseback in order to act as advance
guides to seek suitable camping grounds, and to protect the occupants of
the wagons from attack. In some cases one or two cows were attached by
halters to the rear of the wagons, and there were several dogs which
evidently entered heartily into the spirit of the affair. The utmost
confidence prevailed, and hearty cheers were given as the cavalcade
crossed the Kansas State line and commenced its long and dreary march
through the rich blue grass of the Cherokee Strip.
The journey before the home-seekers was about 100 miles, and at the slow
rate of progress they were compelled to make, it was necessarily a long
and arduous task. Some few of the women were a little nervous, but the
majority had thoroughly fallen in with the general feeling and were
enthusiastic in the extreme. The food they had with them was sufficient
for immediate needs, and when they camped for the night, the younger
members of the party generally succeeded in adding to the larder by
hunting and fishing.
We have all heard of invading armies being allowed to proceed on their
march unmolested only to be treated with additional severity on arriving
at the enemies' camp. So it was with the colonists. They got through
with very little difficulty, and no one took the trouble to interfere
with their progress. Men who had been in the promised land for the
purpose, had located a suitable spot for the formation of the proposed
colony, and here the people were directed. One of the party had some
knowledge of land laws, and after a long hunt he succeeded in locating
one of the section corners established by the recent Government survey.
This being done, quarter-sections were selected by each of the
newcomers, and work commenced with a will. Tents and huts were put up as
rapidly as possible, and before a week had passed the newcomers were
fairly well settled. They even selected a town site and built castles in
the air of a most remarkable character.
That they were monarchs of all they surveyed seemed to be obvious, and
for some weeks their right there was none to dispute. Then by degrees
the cowboys who were herding cattle in the neighborhood began to drop
hints of possible interference, and while these suggestions were being
discussed a company of United States troops suddenly appeared. With very
little explanation they arrested every man in the colony for treason and
conspiracy, and proceeded to drive the colonists out of the country. The
men were compelled to hitch up their horses, and, succumbing to force of
numbers, the colonists sadly and wearily advanced to Fort Reno, where
they were turned over to the authorities. After being kept in
confinement for five days they were released, and told to get back into
Kansas as rapidly as possible. Government officials saw that the order
was carried out, and then left the colonists to themselves.
The men lost no time in making up their minds to organize a second
attempt to establish homes for their families, and once more they made
the march. A bitter disappointment awaited them, for they found that
their cabins had all been destroyed and they had to commence work over
again. This they did, and they had scarcely got themselves comfortable
when another small detachment of troops arrived to turn them out. The
men were tied by means of ropes to the tail-ends of wagons, and driven
like cattle across the prairie to the military fort. For a third time
they conducted an invasion, and for the third time they were attacked by
Government troops.
A spirit of determination had, however, come over the men in the
interval, and an attempt was made to resist the onslaught of the
soldiers. The Lieutenant in charge was astonished at the attitude
assumed, and did not care to assume the responsibility of ordering his
men to fire, as many of the colonists were well armed and were
undoubtedly crack shots. He, accordingly, adopted more diplomatic
measures, and, by establishing somewhat friendly relations, got into
close quarters with the settlers. A rough and tumble fight with fists
soon afterwards resulted, and the hard fists and brawny arms of the
settlers proved too much for the regulars, who were for the time being
driven off.
The result of the boomers' victory was the sending of 600 soldiers to
dislodge them, and it being impossible to resist such a force as this,
the colonists yielded with the best grace they could and sadly deserted
the homes they had tried so hard to build up. Some of the men were
actually imprisoned for the action they had taken, and the colony for a
time was completely broken up. The example set was followed by several
others, and for some years a conflict, not particularly creditable to
the Government, went on. No law was discovered to punish the boomers and
thus put a final end to the invasions. All that could be done was to
drive the families out as fast as they went in, a course of action far
more calculated to excite disorder than to quell it. Sometimes the
soldiers displayed a great deal of forbearance, and even went out of
their way to help the women and children and reduce their sufferings to
the smallest possible point. Again, they were sometimes unduly harsh,
and more than one infant lost its life from the exposure the evictions
brought about. The soldiers by no means relished the work given them,
and many of them complained bitterly that it was no part of their duty
to fight women and babies. Still they were compelled to obey orders and
ask no questions.
While the original colonists, or boomers, gained little or nothing for
themselves by the hardships they insisted on encountering, they really
brought about the opening for settlement of Oklahoma. About the year
1885 it began to be generally understood that the necessary proclamation
would be issued, and from all parts of the country home-hunters began to
set out on a journey, varying in length from a few hundreds to several
thousand miles. The Kansas border towns on the south were made the
headquarters for the home-seekers, and as they arrived at different
points they were astonished to find that others had got there before
them. In the neighborhood of Arkansas City, particularly, there were
large settlements of boomers, who from time to time made efforts to
enter the promised land in advance of the proclamation, only to be
turned back by the soldiers who were guarding every trail. The majority
of the newcomers thought it better to obey the law, and these settled
down, with their wagons for their homes, and sought work with which to
maintain their families until the proclamation was issued and the
country opened to them.
It was a long and dreary wait. The children were sent to school, the men
obtained such employment as was possible, and life went on peacefully in
some of the most peculiar settlements ever seen in this country. Finally
the Springer Bill was passed and the speedy opening of at least a
portion of Oklahoma assured. The news was telegraphed to the four winds
of heaven, and where there had been one boomer before there were soon
fifty or a hundred. In the winter of 1888, various estimates were made
as to the number of people awaiting the President's proclamation, and
the total could not have been less than 50,000 or 60,000. Finally the
long-looked-for document appeared, and Easter Monday, 1889, was named as
the date on which the section of Oklahoma included in the bill was to be
declared open. There was a special proviso that any one entering the
promised and mysterious land prior to noon on the day named, would be
forever disqualified from holding land in it, and accordingly the
opening resolved itself into a race, to commence promptly at high noon
on the day named.
Seldom has such a remarkable race been witnessed in any part of the
world. The principal town sites were on the line of the Sante Fe
Railroad, and those who were seeking town lots crowded the trains, which
were not allowed to enter Oklahoma until noon. All available rolling
stock was brought into requisition for the occasion, and provision was
made for hauling thousands of home-seekers to the towns of Guthrie and
Oklahoma City, as well as to intervening points. Before daylight on the
morning of the opening, the approaches of the railway station at
Arkansas City were blocked with masses of humanity, and every train was
thronged with town boomers, or with people in search of free land or
town lots.
The author was fortunate in securing a seat on the first train which
crossed the Oklahoma border, and which arrived at Guthrie before
1 o'clock on the day of the opening. It was presumed that the law had
been enforced, and that we should find nothing but a land-office and a
few officials on the town site.
But such was far from being the case. Hundreds of people were already on
the ground. The town had been platted out, streets located, and the best
corners seized in advance of the law and of the regulations of the
proclamation.
There was no time to argue with points of law or order. Those who got in
in advance of the law were of a determined character, and their number
was so great that they relied on the confusion to evade detection. One
of their number told an interesting story to the writer, concerning the
experience he had gone through. He had slipped into Oklahoma prior to
the opening, carrying with him enough food to last him for a few days.
He found a hiding place in the creek bank, and there laid until a few
minutes before noon on the opening day. When his watch and the sun both
told him that it lacked but a few minutes of noon, he emerged from his
hiding place, with a view to leisurely locating one of the best corner
lots in the town. To his chagrin he saw men advancing from every
direction, and he was made aware of the fact that he had no patent on
his idea, which had been adopted simultaneously by several hundred
others. He secured a good lot for himself, and sold it before his
disqualification on account of being too "previous" in his entry was
discovered.
As each train unloaded its immense throngs of passengers, the scene was
one that must always baffle description. The town site was on rising
ground, and men, and even women, sprang from the moving trains, falling
headlong over each other, and then rushing up hill as fast as their legs
would carry them, in the mad fight for town lots free of charge. The
town site was entirely occupied within half an hour, and the surrounding
country in every direction was appropriated for additions to the main
"city." Before night there were at least 10,000 people on the ground,
many estimates placing the number as high as 20,000.
Some few had brought with them blankets and provisions, and these passed
a comparatively comfortable night. Thousands, however, had no
alternative but to sleep on the open prairie, hungry, as well as
thirsty. The water in the creek was scarcely fit to drink, and the
railroad company had to protect its water tank by force from the thirsty
adventurers and speculators.
The night brought additional terrors. There was no danger of wild
animals or of snakes, for the stampede of the previous day had probably
driven every living thing miles away, with the solitary exception of
ants, which, in armies ten thousand strong, attacked the trespassers. By
morning several houses had been erected, and the arrival of freight
trains loaded with provisions not only enabled thoughtful caterers to
make small fortunes, but also relieved the newcomers of much of the
distress they had been suffering. Within a week the streets were well
defined, and houses were being built in every direction, and within six
months there were several brick buildings erected and occupied for
business and banking purposes.
The process of building up was one of the quickest on record, and
Guthrie, like its neighbor on the south, Oklahoma City, is to-day a
large, substantial business and financial center. Those of our readers
who crossed Oklahoma by rail, even as lately as the winter of 1888, will
remember that they saw nothing but open prairie, with occasional belts
of timber. There was not so much as a post to mark the location of
either of these two large cities, nor was there a plow line to define
their limits.
In no other country in the world could results such as these have been
accomplished. The amount of courage required to invest time and money in
a prospective town in a country hitherto closed against white citizens
is enormous, and it takes an American, born and bred, to make the
venture. The Oklahoma cities are not boom towns, laid out on paper and
advertised as future railroad and business centers; from the first
moment of their existence they have been practical, useful trading
centers, and every particle of growth they have made has been of a
permanent and lasting character.
But if the race to the Oklahoma town sites was interesting, the race to
the homesteads was sensational and bewildering. All around the coveted
land, anxious, determined men were waiting for the word "Go," in order
to rush forward and select a future home. In some instances the race was
made in the wagons, but in many cases a solitary horseman acted as
pioneer and galloped ahead, in order to secure prior claim to a coveted,
well-watered quarter-section. Shortly before the hour of noon, a number
of boomers on the northern frontier made an effort to advance in spite
of the protests of the soldiers on guard. These latter were outnumbered
ten to one, and could not attempt to hold back the home-seekers by
force. Seeing this fact, the young Lieutenant in charge addressed a few
pointed sentences to the would-be violators of the law. He knew most of
the men personally, and was aware that several of them were old
soldiers. Addressing these especially, he appealed to their patriotism,
and asked whether it was logical for men who had borne arms for their
country to combine to break the laws, which they themselves had risked
their lives to uphold. This appeal to the loyalty of the veterans had
the desired effect, and what threatened to be a dangerous conflict
resulted in a series of hearty hand-shakes.
A mighty shout went up at noon, and the deer, rabbits and birds, which
for years had held undisputed possession of the promised land, were
treated to a surprise of the first water. Horses which had never been
asked to run before, were now compelled to assume a gait hitherto
unknown to them. Wagons were upset, horses thrown down, and all sorts of
accidents happened. One man, who had set his heart on locating on the
Canadian River near the Old Payne Colony, rode his horse in that
direction, and urged the beast on to further exertions, until it could
scarcely keep on its feet. Finally he reached one of the creeks running
into the river. The jaded animal just managed to drag its rider up the
steep bank of the creek, and it then fell dead. Its rider had no time
for regrets. He had still four or five miles to cover, and he commenced
to run as fast as his legs would carry him. His over-estimate of his
horse's powers of endurance, and his under-estimate of the distance to
be covered, lost him his coveted home; for when he arrived a large
colony had got in ahead of him from the western border, and there were
two or three claimants to every homestead.
In other cases there were neck and neck races for favored locations, and
sometimes it would have puzzled an experienced referee to have
determined which was really the winner of the race. Compromises were
occasionally agreed to, and although there was a good deal of bad temper
and recrimination, there was very little violence, and the men whose
patience had been sorely taxed, behaved themselves admirably, earning
the respect of the soldiers who were on guard to preserve order. The
excitement and uproar was kept up long after night-fall. In their
feverish anxiety to retain possession of the homes for which they had
waited and raced, hundreds of men stayed up all night to continue the
work of hut building, knowing that nothing would help them so much in
pressing their claims for a title as evidence of work on bona fide
improvements. They kept on day after day, and, late in the season as it
was, many of the newcomers raised a good crop that year.
The opening of other sections of the old Indian Territory, now included
in Oklahoma, took place two or three years later, when the scenes we
have briefly described were repeated. To-day, Oklahoma extends right up
to the southern Kansas line, and the Cherokee Strip, on whose rich blue
grass hundreds of thousands of cattle have been fattened, is now a
settled country, with at least four families to every square mile, and
with a number of thriving towns and even large cities. At the present
time the question of Statehood for the youngest of our Territories is
being actively debated. No one disputes the fact that the population and
wealth is large enough to justify the step, and the only question at
issue is whether the whole of the Indian Territory should be included in
the new State, or whether the lands of the so-called civilized tribes
should be excluded.
The lawlessness which has prevailed in some portions of the Indian
Territory is held to be a strong argument in favor of opening up all the
lands for settlement. At present the Indians own immense tracts of land
under very peculiar conditions. A large number of white men, many of
them respectable citizens, and many of them outlaws and refugees from
justice, have married fair Cherokee, Choctaw and Creek girls, and these
men, while not recognized by the heads of the tribes, are able to draw
from the Government, in the names of their wives, the large sums of
money from time to time distributed. Advocates of Statehood favor the
allotment to each Indian of his share of the land, and the purchase by
the Government of the immense residue, which could then be opened for
settlement.
Until this question is settled, the anomaly will continue of
civilization and the reverse existing side by side. Some of the Indians
have assumed the manners, dress, virtues and vices of their white
neighbors, in which case they have generally dropped their old names and
assumed something reasonable in their place. But many of the red men who
adhere to tradition, and who object to innovation, still stick to the
names given them in their boyhood. Thus, in traveling across the Indian
Territory, Indians with such names as "Hears-Something-Everywhere,"
"Knows-Where-He-Walks," "Bear-in-the-Cloud," "Goose-Over-the-Hill,"
"Shell-on-the-Neck," "Sorrel Horse," "White Fox,"
"Strikes-on-the-Top-of-the-Head," and other equally far-fetched and
ridiculous terms and cognomens.
Every one has heard of Chief "Rain-in-the-Face," a characteristic
Indian, whose virtues and vices have both been greatly exaggerated from
time to time. A picture is given of this representative of a rapidly
decaying race, and of the favorite pony upon which he has ridden
thousands of miles, and which in its early years possessed powers of
endurance far beyond what any one who has resided in countries removed
from Indian settlements can have any idea or conception of.