THE DIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE SOME ASPECTS OF LIFE IN THE "LAND OP THE PAIR GOD"; OKLAHOMA TERRITORY, 1889=1907 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OP PHILOSOPHY BY BOBBY HAROLD JOHNSON Norman, Oklahoma 1967 SOME ASPECTS OP LIFE IN THE "LAND OF THE FAIR GOD"; OKLAHOMA TERRITORY, 1889-1907 APPROVED BY DISSERTATION COMMITT If Jehovah delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it unto us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Numbers li^sS I am boundfor the promised land, I am boundfor the promised land; 0 who will come and go with me? 1 am bound for the promised land. Samuel Stennett, old gospel song Our lot is cast in a goodly land and there is no land fairer than the Land of the Pair God. Milton W, Reynolds, early Oklahoma pioneer ill PREFACE In December, 1892, the editor of the Oklahoma School Herald urged fellow Oklahomans to keep accurate records for the benefit of posterity* "There is a time coming, if the facts can be preserved," he noted, "when the pen of genius and eloquence will take hold of the various incidents con­ nected with the settlement of what will then be the magnifi» cent state of Oklahoma and weave them into a story that will verify the proverb that truth is more wonderful than fic­ tion." While making no claim to genius or eloquence, I have attempted to fulfill the editor's dream by treating the Anglo-American settlement of Oklahoma Territory from 1889 to statehood in 1907» with emphasis upon social and cultural developments* It has been my purpose not only to describe everyday life but to show the role of churches, schools, and newspapers, as well as the rise of the medical and legal professions* My treatment of these salient aspects does not profess to tell the complete story of life in Oklahoma. Rather, I have tried to show a general cross section* In doing so, I have drawn on a wide variety of materials, in­ cluding government reports, manuscripts, newspapers, early histories, and printed reminiscences, in addition to a considerable body of secondary works* iv I am particularly endebted to Mrs. Alice Timmons and Mr. Jack Haley of the Phillips Collection and the Division of Manuscripts at the University of Oklahoma Library and to the staff at the Oklahoma Historical Society for assistance in locating material. Moreover, I deeply appreciate the guidance of Dr. W. Eugene Hollon, who devoted many hours to reading and editing this dissertation and who also offered encouragement throughout my studies at the University of Oklahoma. Further appreciation goes to Dr. Donald J. Berthrong, Dr. A. M. Gibson, Dr. Arthur H. DeRosipr, Jr., and Dr. David E. Harrell of the History Department in the University of Oklahoma. In addition, my wife, Myma, has offered constant encouragement and assistance in typing this dissertation, and to her I am grateful. Finally, I would like to pay belated respects to the late Dr. Donnell M, Owings, a true scholar and gentleman whose superb lectures and friendship will forever remain an inspiration. TABLE OP CONTENTS Chapter Page I. THE PROMISED LAND................... 1 II. PILGRIMS ON THE PRAIRIE....... 29 III. SOD HOUSE SCHOOLS. .............. ^8 IV. OLD TIME RELIGION..;.................. 92 V. FRONTIER CHURCHES................... 111). VI. THE DEVIL'S PRINTERS................ 139 VII, SINGING OKLAHOMA'S PRAISES,......... 174 VIII. DOCTORS AND LAWYERS................. 199 IX. FROM DUGOUT TO OPERA HOUSE.......... 232 EPILOGUE. ....... 260 BIBLIOGRAPHY. ....... 269 VI NO MAN S LAN D CHEROKEE OUTLET reservation Added by Orgonlc Act May 2, 1890 Land: by Allotment Opened by Run Sept. 16, 1893 1906 OKLAHOMA TERRITORY UNASSIONED LANDS CHEYENNE AND ARAPAHO 1889 -1907 »UTHRIE4r I- Opened by Run Sept. 2 2 , 1891 Opened by Run 2. Tonkawo Londtby Allotment April 22,1889 INDIAN 3. Allotment, 1892 Opened by Run 4. Opened by Run May 23, 1899 April 19. 1692 CAOD 8. Opened by Lo tte ry, June 9 to Auguet 6 , 1901 AND 6. Poneo and Oto-Mleeourl by Allotment, 1904 WICHITA 7. Allotment, 1906 S COUNTY Attached to kCOMANCHE KIOWA AND Ç Spmllee Oklahoma by»-* APACHE deciilon of Ü. S. Supreme Court Opened by Lottery March 16, June 9 to Augutt 6, 1896 1901 TERRITORY SOME ASPECTS OP LIFE IN THE "LAND OP THE PAIR GOD": OKLAHOMA TERRITORY, 1889-1907 CHAPTER I THE PROMISED LAND The closing years of the nineteenth century witnessed the demise of one of the most significant forces in modem history~-the American frontier as it applied to the continental United States. For three centuries in America there had been a vast area of free land on the edge of settlement. Years of expansion had gradually diminished this national domain until settlement was extended from coast to coast, and only pockets of less desirable or unexplored land remained unsettled. Meanwhile, land-hungry whites focused their attention upon the Indian Territory between the states of Kansas and Texas. This general area had been set aside for the Five Civilized Tribes in the early decades of the nineteenth century, and a flourishing civilization sprang up in the eastern part of the present state of Oklahoma. Following I the Civil War, the Civilized Tribes were forced to cede their lands in the western part of the territory so that other tribes m i ^ t be settled there. But the inexorable advance of railroads and cattlemen, coupled with the growing shortage of free land, stimulated so much interest in the Indian Territory that white settlement became inevitable. The rise of a vigorous "Boomer” movement merely hastened the process.^ The term "Oklahoma" was first applied to the Indian Territory in 1666 by the Choctaw statesman, Allan Wright, Althou^ it was derived from Choctaw words meaning "red people," imaginative promoters later interpreted the name to mean both "fair god" and "beautiful land."^ In 1889, Hilton W. Reynolds, a romantic western newspaperman, ^it is not the purpose of this study to dwell upon the intricate events surrounding the transfer of this area to the United States government and ultimately into the hands of the American homesteader. This task has been ably performed by Roy Gittinger in The Formation of the State of Oklahoma. 1803-1906 (Rorman: University of Oklahoma tress, Ï939) and by Grant Foreman in A History of Oklahoma (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, l9i^)o featker, it is sufficient to note here that as a result of these developments millions of acres became available for settlement under the Homestead laws, beginning in 1889 with the opening of the Oklahoma District in the center of the present state. Also, see Solon J. Buck, "The Settlement of Oklahoma," Transactions, Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters, XŸ, i»art 2, 1907, p. 326, %Idwin C, McRejmolds, Oklahoma; A History of the Sooner State (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, l9$k), p. ^0, C, Seely, Oklahoma Illustrated : A Book of Practical Information iGutkrle: fke Leader Printing Co., I W T p T l T 3 referred to the area as "The Land of the Fair Godo"^ A year later the phrase appeared as the sub-title to Marion Tuttle Book's Illustrated History of Oklahoma. Indeed, it soon abounded in contemporary literature, ranging from news­ papers and magazines to official government reports, and would later appear in the reminiscences of many early Oklahomans. The comparison of Oklahoma to the biblical land of "milk and honey" drew a quick response from the agrarian- minded people who thronged to the new country in anticipation of a latter-day "shower of manna." Promoters further capitalized upon such allusions to attract still more immigrants, many of whom were convinced that Oklahoma was truly a promised land. Irving Geffs, the newspaperman who wrote an early history of Oklahoma City under the pen name of "Bunky," observed that Canaan lay before the waiting crowds on April 22, 1889.^ Nor did this fervor subside once the country was opened. Frank Snapp, -sdao cam® to the Kingfisher area in January, .1890, recalled that every ^Carolyn Thomas Foreman, Oklahoma Imprints (Normans University of Oklahoma Press, 1936), p. 301 . Reynolds reportedly used this phrase as he viewed the prairie on the morning after the first opening in 1889. Report of the Governor of Oklahoma Territory, 190k (Washington: Govern­ ment Printing Ôffice, 190k) > P« 8. ^"Bunky" ^rving Geffs] , The First Eight Months of Oklahoma City (Oklahoma City: McMaster Printing Goinpany, 1890), p. 7- one talked about "the wondei?ful land of promise. Subsequent openings engendered similar feelings among later pilgrims, althou^ many were: misled by over-zealous propagandists. The Gage family of Wisconsin, for instance, chose to remain in Oklahoma even thou^ they failed to get a claim in the widely publicized Eiowa-Gomanche lottery of 1901, "To those grown weary battling against twenty below zero weather," remarked Huth Gage, "this »Promised Land* of Oklahoma beckoned us on to further adventure.Invview of such spirit, it is not surprising that the early Okla­ homa historian, Luther B. Hill, considered his homeland O "the last fruit of American expansion." Oklahoma Territory appeared on the map as a large geographic region between the parallels of 3k- and 37 degrees north latitude and 96 and 103 degrees west longitude. Located in the physical region known as the Interior Plains, the Territory extended into the Central Lowlands on the east and the Great Plains on the west.^ "Experiences in Oklahoma and Early School System, " Echoes of Eighty “Nine (Kingfisher: Kingfisher Times and »ee Press, 1939), p. 132. ^Lucy Gage, "A Romance of Pioneering," Chronicles of Oklahoma, Vol. XXIX (Autumn, 1951), P» 2 92 .