Volume 18 , Issue 44

Historical Oklahoma March, 1889

We found this in The Topeka State Journal, dated 5 March 1889, Tuesday, page 2: "Oklahoma." The magnificent domain in the Southwest soon to be opened to Public settlement. It is a Historical, Statistical and Descriptive of the Indian Territory (Oklahoma).

Found on Newspapers.com

They reported that Oklahoma was a word taken from the Choctaw language, meaning "Indian Country." By common consent it has been used to refer to a tract of unoccupied land in the very heart of the Indian Territory, containing 1,887, 805 acres. Its scope had much enlarged under the Springer bill, as it covered all that portion of the Indian Territory west of the lands of the five civilized tribes, including the Neutral Strip or No-Man's Land.

The new Territory of Oklahoma embraced nearly 24,000,000 acres, about half of which was not occupied by a single Indian, the other half being held in tracts or reservations by various tribes under treaty stipulations with he the United States Government. Under the provisions of the Springer bill the whole region being subject to entry and settlement under various conditions mentioned, a a description of the country, its soil, climate, topography, its Indian occupants, their numbers by tribes, character, claims, treaty rights, the development of the Territory by railroads, trails, and as much as can be gathered (in 1889) of general information, would be of interest to the public and particularly to those who intended to take up land, making their homes in the country.

We all know today it is bounded on the north by Kansas and Colorado; on the east by Arkansas, and west and south by New Mexico and Texas. The Indian Territory was situated in the highly favored altitude of Kentucky and Tennessee. The question of climate was of so much weight and moment in considering the homestead.

As to rivers and rainfall, the whole Indian Territory covered 64,090 square miles, exclusive of "No Man's Land," in which the whole water surface was set down as 600 square miles. To compare the Territory with some of the favored States, Missouri was traversed in a zigzag winding course by the great Missouri river with its widely spreading waters, and yet Missouri's water surface was no greater than that of the Indian Territory in 1889.

It must be borne in mind when considering the value of the water surface that no large, wide-spreading river traversed the Territory, nor was any of its water surface to be accounted for by stagnant lakes or ponds. Its waters were all running streams, fairly diffused over the whole country in 1889.

As that part of the country occupied by the five civilized tribes was not included in the law we would begin with the Arkansas river, which entered the Territory at Arkansas City, Kansas, and took a crooked course in a southeasterly direction, forming the western and southern boundary of the Osage reservation, and entering the State of Arkansas at Fort Smith. You could steer a course from Arkansas City, Kansas, in a southwesterly direction, aiming for the capital of OL Mexico, you would have to cross many streams of considerable volume and creeks innumerable back in 1889. You would also go straight through the public lands known as "Oklahoma proper," the coveted prize of the Oklahoma boomers.

The Chickaskia river, Phase creek, Bluff creek, Nescatunga river, Black Bear creek and the Red fork of Arkansas river, with many smaller creeks would be crossed before reaching Fort Reno, situated int he center of the Territory on the North fork of the Canadian river. The North fork, though only a branch of the main river, was quite a body of perpetually running water, having its sources in the Rocky mountain snows. It entered the Neutral Strip in the extreme western end and traversed eastward its entire length, then paralleled the Canadian river proper for over 400 miles, keeping from 20 to 50 miles from the Arkansas State line, the branches joined and inside the Territory empty their waters into the Arkansas river. The main body of the Canadian river entered the Territory about 50 miles south of the south line of the Neutral Strip and traverses the whole length of the country from west to east, receiving many small tributaries in its course.Its source was also the Rocky mountain snows. Thank goodness for the Rocky mountain snows.

The country north of the Canadian river is a gentle slope to the southeast, and consequently all rivers and creeks flow in that direction, feeding the Canadian and Arkansas rivers with their waters.

The country south of the main branch of the Canadian river was also well watered by numerous creeks running in a southeasterly direction and feeding the Red river, which forms the southern boundary of the Territory.

It was this influence of these running waters upon the rainfall and their value to the intending settler were a sufficient excuse for even a much more extended description. Water is an essential to man and beast, civilized or barbarian; but to civilized man and his industries it was as essential in rainfall as in rivers and springs. There was abundant evidence of spring water in nearly every part of the vast domain. Well water was also found in the various forts and Indian towns at a depth of from twenty to fifty feet of good quality and abundant. Many of the small creeks had their origin in natural springs of perpetually running water. But the rainfall was as of 1889 an unsolved problem. In the eastern district it had reached fifty-two inches per annum. At some of the northern and central forts it has been proven at about thirty-five inches per annum, and those Indians who had experimented in agriculture in the eastern and central parts of the Territory found the rainfall ample to water the land.

As to the Topography and character of the soil, the eastern portion of the Territory, occupied by the five civilized tribes, was the best, being well timbered and rolling, while the bottom land was a rich loam of great fertility. The timber extended into the country known as Oklahoma proper while the low lands surrounding the water courses through the center of the Territory were noted for their rich soil.

The land occupied by the Kiowa, Comanche and Apache Indians in the southwestern portion of the Territory, between the main branch of the Canadian river and the Red river, was, for the most part, mountainous, rugged, broken and somewhat rocky, and fit only, the greater part of it, for grazing purposes. Timber was abundant, but not of a valuable kind, in this part. The entire Territory was a slope from the northwest to the southeast, and, as a matter of course, the highest altitude was in the northwest. The center of the Territory and 3/4ths of all the rest, except as heretofore noted, was valuable agricultural land. It the Cherokee Strip, running south of the Kansas border and west of the Arkansas river, that was a tract of six millions of acres of fine rolling lands, 75% of which was wonderfully rich soil, and with the tract known as Oklahoma proper was best adapted to farming of any land in the Territory.

The vegetation of the Territory was very much like that of Northern Texas and the State of Kansas.
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