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to
The Commoner.
&
Opening of Indian Lands.
Injunction Proceedings.
A special to the Kansas City Times
from Oklahoma City, Okla., says:
An injunction will bo brought boforo
Judge Irwin at El Reno in a few days
for an order restraining the register of
the land office here, the receivers, the
surveyors and all other persons from
proceeding with the opening of the
lands of the Kiowa, Comanche and
Apache Indians, according to the proc
s lamation of the president and the act
of congress under which ho proceeded.
The suit will be brought by C. Porter
Johnson of this city, who has been en
gaged by Judge William M. Springer
to act as the attorney for the Indians,
who aro affected by the opening of
the lands. The bill of particulars is
being prepared and action will bo
asked upon it -so that the order can bo
effective and the injunction, if granted,
will prevent the registration of the
homeseekers in the Kiowa country.
If there is a court with jurisdiction
at Lawton, in the Kiowa country, a
case will be commenced there in a sim
ilar manner.
BASIS OF THE PLEA.
The bill of particulars tot the in
junction will contend that the lands
of the Indians are being illegally and
unconstitutionally wrested from them
against their wishes. It will try to
show that the organic act creating the
territory of Oklahoma made the laws
and the constitution of the United
States applicable to the territory. Pro
visions were made in the act whereby
f.e Indians could Invoke, the aid, of tho
courts for their protection. Under tho
constitution of the United States "no
person shall be deprived of life, liberty
or property without due process of
law."
It will be contended that Lone Wolf
is a "person," and that the opening of
the reservation will deprive him of
his landed rights and will do the same
Injustice to the other Indians affected.
A Washington special to the Repub
lic says:
Tho long expected proclamation by
the president declaring the Kiowa-Co-manche-Apacho
and Wichita reserva-.
tions in Oklahoma open to homestead
settlers was 'signed by M'r. McKinley
on Friday and given to the press to
day. By this proclamation all unreserved
lands in these tracts will be open on
August 6. There will bo no rush. The
opening will bo by lottery drawing.
Tho preliminary registration begins
at El Reno, and at Lawton, near Fort
Sill, on the morning of Wednesday,
July 10, and continues until the even
ing of Friday, July 2G.
The order in which, during tho first
sixty days following the opening, the
registered applicants will be permitted
to make homestead entry of the lands
opened hereunder, will be determined
by drawings for both at El Reno and
Lawton districts, publicly held at the
United States land office at El Reno,
Okla., commencing at 9 o'clock a. m.,
Monday, July 29, and continuing for
such period as may be necessary to
complete the same.
HARD TO' BKUAK
But tho Coffee Hiiblt Can be Put Off.
I was a coffee user from early child
hood, but it finally made me so nervous
that I spent a great many sleepless
nights, starting at eyery sound I heard
and . suffering with a continued dull
headache. My hands trembled and I
was also troubled witti shortness of
breath and palpitation' of tho heart.
The whole system showed a poisoned
condition and I was told to leave-off
coffee, for that was the. cause of it.
I was unable to break myself of the
habit until some one induced mo to
try Postum Food Coffee.
The first trial, the Food Coffee was
fiat and tasteless and I thought it was
horrid stuff, but my friend urged me to
try again and let it boil longer. This
time I had a very delightful beverage,
and have been enjoying it ever since,
and am now in ' a very greatly im
proved condition of health.
My brother is also uiing Postum in
stead of coffeeand a friend of ours, MV.
W., who was a great coffee user, found
himself growing more and more ner
vous and was troubled at times with
dizzy spells. His wife suffered with
nausea and indigestion, also from
coffee. They left it off and . have been
using Postum Food Coffee for some
time and aro now in a perfect condi
tion of health." Grace C. M., Cuya
hoga Falls, Ohio,
Put a piece of butter in the pot, the
size of two peas, to prevent boiling
uvur,
President's Proclamation.
All the details of the settlement are
contained In tho president's proclama
tion, which is as follows:
Whereas, by an agreement between
the Wichita and affiliated bands of
Indians on the one part and certain
commissioner.s of tho United States on
tho other part, ratified by act of con
gress, approved March 2, 1895 (28 Stat,
876, 894) the sa.id Indians ceded, con
veyed, transferred and relinquished,
forever and absolutely, without any
reservation whatever, unto the United
States of America, all their claim, title
and interest of every kind and char
acter in and to the lands embraced in
the following described tract of coun
try now in the territory of Oklahoma,
to-wit: ,..
BOUNDARIES OF WICHITA LANDS.
Commencing at a point in the middle
of the main channel of the Washita
river, where the .nlhdty-eighth merid
ian of west longitude crosses the same,
thence up the middle of the main chan
nel of said river to the line of 98 deg.
40 min. west longitude, thence on said
line of 98 deg. 40 min. due north to
the middle of the channel of the main
Canadian river, thence down the mid
dle of said main Canadian river to
where it crosses the ninety-eighth
meridian, thence due south to tho place
of beginning.
And whereas, in pursuance of said
act of congress ratifvlncr nnlfi fiwo.
ment, allottments of land in severalty
have been regularly made to each and
every member of said Wichita and
affiliated bands of Indians, native and
adopted, and the lands occupied by
religious societies or other oreranten-
tions for religious or educational work
among thos Indians have' been regular
ly allotted and confirmed to such so
cieties and organizations, respectively.
THREE. OTHER RESERVATIONS.
And, whereas, by an agreement be
tween tue uomanche, Kiowa and
Apache tribes of Indians on the ono
part, and certain commissioners of
the United States on the other part,
amended and ratified by act of con
gress, approved June G, 1900 (31 Stat.,
672, 676), the said Indian tribes, sub
ject to certain conditions which have
been duly performed, ceded, convoyed
transferred, relinquished and sur
rendered, forever and absolutely, with
out any reservation whatsoever, ex
pressed or implied, title and Interest of
every kind and character in and to
the lands embraced in the following
described tract or country now in the
territory of Oklahoma, to-wlt:
Commencing at a point where the
Washita river crosses the ninety
eighth meridian west from Greenwich
thence up the Washita river, in the
middle of the main channel thereof,
to a point thirty miles by river, west of
Fort Cobb, as now established; thence
due west to the north fork of Red riv
er, provided said line strikes said river
east of the one hundredth meridian of
west longitude; if not, then only to
said meridian lino, and thence due
south on said meridian line to' the said
north fork of Red river; thence down
said north fork, in the middle of the
main channel thereof, from fhA nntnf
where it may be first intersected by tho
lines above described to the main Red
river; thence down said Red river, in
the middle of the main channel thereof
to its intersection with the ninety
eighth meridian of longitude west
from Greenwich; thence north on said
meridian lino to the place of begin
ning. LANDS HELD IN RESERVE.
And whereas, jn pursuance of said
act of congress ratifying the agreement
last named, allottments or land in sev
eralty have been regularly made to
each member of said Comanche, Kio
wa and Apacho tribes or Indians; the
lands occupied by religious societies
or other organizations for religious or
educational work among the Indians
have been regularly allotted and con
firmed to such societies and organiza
tions, respectively; and the secretary
of. the interior, out of the lands ceded
by the agreement last named, has reg
ularly selected and set aside for the use
in common for said Comanche, Kiowa
and Apache tribes of Indians 480,000
acres of grazing lands.
.HOMESTEAD LAWS APPLY.
And,, whereas, in the act of congress
ratifying the said Wichita agreement,
it is provided:
That whenever any of the lands ac
quired by this agreement shall, by
operation of law or proclamation of
the president of the United States, be
open to settlement, they shall be dis
posed of under the general provisions
of the homestead and townsite laws
of the United States; provided that, in
addition to the land office fees pre
scribed by statute, for-such entries, the
entltyman shall pay $1.25 per acre for
the land entered at the time of submit
ting his final proof; and provided. fur
ther, that in all homestead entries
"where the entryman has resided upon
and improved the land entered in good
faith for the period of fourteen months
he may commute hfs entry to cash
upon the payment of $1.25 per acre;
and provided further, that the rights
of honorably discharged union soldiers
and sailors of the late civil war, as
defined and described in sections 2304
and 2305 of the revised statutes, shall
not be abridged; and provided further,
that any qualified entryman having
lands adioininc the lands herein ceded.
whose original entry embraced less
than 160 acres, may take sufficient land
from said reservation to make his
homestead entry not to exceed 160
acres in all. said land to be taken
upon the same conditions as are re
quired of other, entry men; provided
that said lands shall be opened to set
tlement within one year after said
allottments are made to the Indians.
MINERAL PROVISIONS EXTENDED
That the laws relating to the mineral
lands of the United States aro hereby
extended over the lands ceded by the
foregoing agreement.
And whereas., in the act of congress
ratifying the said Comanche, Kiowa
and Apache agreement it is provided:
That the lands acquired by this
agreement be opened to settlement by
proclamation of tlie president within
six months after allottments aro made
and be disposed of under the general
provisions of the homestead and town
site laws of the United States; pro
vided, that in addition to the land of
fice fees prescribed by statute for such
entries the 'entryman shall pay $1.25
per acre for tho land entered at the
time of submitting his final proof; and
provided, further, that In all homestead
entries where the entryman has resided
upon and improved the. land entered in
good faith for the period of fourteen
months he may commute his entry to
cash upon' the payment of $1.25 per
acre; and provided further, that the
rights of honorably discharged union
soldiers and sailors of tho late civil
war as defined and described in sec
tions 2304 and 2305 of the revised stat
utes, shall not bo abridged; and pro
vided further, that any person who,
having attempted to but for any cause
failed to secure a title in feo to a
homestead under existing laws or who
made entry under what is known aa
the commuted provision of the home
stead law, shall be qualified to make
a homestead entry upon said lands;
and provided further that any qualified
entryman having lands adjoining the
lancl3 herein ceded, whose original en
try embraced less than 160 acres in all,
shall have the right to enter so much
of the 'ands by this agreement ceded
lying contiguous to his said entry as
shall, with the land already entered,
make in the aggregate 160 acres; said
land to be taken upon tho same con
ditions as are required or other entry
men; and provided further, that the
settlers who located on that part of
said lands called and known as tho
"neutral strip," shall Have preference
right lor thirty days on the lands upon
which they have located and improved.
That should any of said lands al
lotted to said Indians, or opened to
settlement under this act, contain val
uable mineral deposits, such mineral
deposits shall be open to location and
entry, under the existing mining laws
of the United States, upon the passage
of this act, and the mineral laws of-the
United States are hereby extended over
said lands.
And whereas, by the act of congress
approved January 4, 1901 "(31 Stat.,
727), the secretary of the interior was
authorized to extend, for a period not
exceeding eight months rrom December
6, 1900, the time for making allott
ments to the Comanche, Kiowa and
Apache Indians and opening to settle
ment the lands so ceded to them.
COUNTIES AND COUNTY SEATS.
And, whereas, in. pursuance of the
act of congress approved March, 3, 1901,
(31 Stat.. 1093), the secretary of tlie
interior has regularly subdivided the
lands, so as aforesaid, respectively ced
ed to the United States by the Wichita
and affiliated bands of Indians and the
Comanche-, Kiowa and Apache trib.es,
of Indians into counties, attaching
portions thereof to adjoining counties
in the territory of Oklahoma, has reg
ularly designated the place fdr the
county seat of each new county, has
regularly set aside and reserved at
such county seat land for a towndte
to be disposed of in the manner pro
vided by the act of congress last named
and. has regularly caused to bo sur
veyed, subdivided, and platted the lands
so set aside and reserved for disposir
tior. as such town sites. -
TO AVOID CONTESTS.
And, whereas, by the act of cohgress
last named, it is provided:
The" lands to be opened to settle
ment and entry under the acts of con-'
gress ratifying said agreements, re
spectively shall be so opened by proc
lamation of the president and to avoid
the contests and conflicting claims
which havo heretofore resulted from
opening similar public lands to set
tlement ' and entry, the president's
proclamation shall prescribe tho man
ner in which these lands may be set
tled upon, occupied and entered by
persons entitled thereto under the acts
ratifying said agreements, respective
ly; and no person shall be permitted
to settle upon, occupy or enter any 'of
said lands except as prescribed in such
proclamation until after the expira
tion of sixty days from the time when:
the same are opened to settlement arid
entry.
And, whereas, by the act of congress
last named, tho. president was author
ized to establish two additional United
States land districts and land offices
in the territory of Oklahoma, to in
clude the lands so ceded, as aforesaid,
which land districts and land offices
Great Stock Country.
No better cattle and sheep country
in America. Cheap lands, pure running
water, and flowing wells, fine climate,' no
malaria, plenty of buy. Write for infor
mation to
J. O. MORROW,
O'Neill, Nek
VI