Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 22, Number 87, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 July 1901 — SETTLERS IN TORTURE. [ARTICLE]

SETTLERS IN TORTURE.

Oklahoma Registry P sts Scenes of Heat and Exhaustion. The first day of the opening of the registration for the waiting thousands of prospective settlers of Indian lands at Fort Sill and El Reno was a day of dissatisfaction, of fearful heat and of numbers of cases of exhaustion from those unable to bring their camping outfits with them and were compelled to stand in the long line day and night in order that they may not lose their chance of following out the rigorous conditions imposed by the government. The force provided by the government could not register onetenth of the people. At the six different filing places the men to file first were from Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Wisconsin and California. All night thousands stood in line. The temperature was 100 in the shade, but those in the line had no shade and water was scarce and food poor in quality, exorbitant in price and hard to get. The certificates issued to the applicants will be sent to Washington and passed upon, then returned and the drawing of land will begin. As each legal settler’s claim is called he will be allowed to file upon the land of his choice at the local United States land office. Many hifd waited on the border of the new country for two years or more and the last night of their long vigil wag the most trying they had experienced.