Volume 18 , Issue 38

1889, On The Line In Indian Territory

It was in The Atlanta Constitution, dated 22 April 1889, Monday, on page 1, gives us a brief sight into the Indian Territorial Run of 1889 with the following headlines: "On The Line." This is a story of the correspondent looking over into the promised land.

Found on Newspapers.com

On the line of Oklahoma, I.T. (by train to Arkansas City), April 21 (1889) -- Standing on what might fairly be called a Mt. Pisgah, they had a good view of the promised land. The view is most discouraging.

This end of the Oklahoma country was not a farmer's paradise by long odds. The soil is light and sandy. The grass very scarce, and what little timber there was had no great value. The northern end was said to be much worse than in the interior, and men who were passing in and out say the lands got gradually better, until when the Cimarron was reached the soil was black and exceptionally deep.

The north bound Santa Fe train was stopping on the border, owing to a slight mishap, and this enabled this despatch to be sent up the road to Arkansas City, about fifty-seven miles distance. The military guard at the point just where the railroad passes the boundary was ridiculously inadequate.

Nine colored boomers, with their families and wagons, passed in the day before, and had located about four miles down the railroad track. Over road other men had gone over. These would all be turned out in the morning. The soldiers with patrolled right up the railroad track and made a final effort to clear out the squatters.

The railroad was too e carefully guarded, especially at the bridges, owing to alleged threats of train wrecking and telegraph wire cutting. A dispatch was received by Captain Hayes, who was stationed a few miles west of here. It was said that this was one of a series of duplicated order to every military commander in the territory to search wagons and travelers and take away all arms and whisky. The authority for this rumor is good, and there are enough soldiers on hand to carry out the order if given, but the delay would be great and the process of admitting the enormous army one at a time would be tedious in the extreme. The woods of Oklahoma were swarming with boomers.

The advance of the army of wagons from Arkansas City had reached the state line of the Ponca's trail west of here. The boomers said that the wagons were lost and at least three men drowned in the Cimarron, but the names of those lost was not known. One man named Ernest Hart, from Doniphan county, Kansas, was on the line. He attempted to ford the river and his wagon was overturned. He and his son swam ashore and climbed the precipitous bank many feet below the regular ford. The wagon and mules were lost, but some of the outfit was recovered. Hart and his son had come the balance of the day on foot. This was the only actually authenticated case of loss, though there are many reports.
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