The great Osage pasture and grazing country had its entrance gate, where hundreds of thousands of cattle were turned in and fattened and shipped out, at the corner of the three Nations, East of Owens Park, including all of the Country Club District.

North and East of the Cherokee Nation was not a pasture, but open range, and it was hard for the farmer to keep Bill Halsell's cattle from eating all the hay out of his wagon while he was in the general store buying his sugar and coffee. I have seen thousands and thousands of longhorn cattle from Texas pass in and out of the gates of these pastures.

This is about the description of Tulsa at that time.

Red Fork and Catoosa were about the same size as Tulsa, and all were trading and shipping points for the rancher and cattle man of the Indian Territory.

The Arkansas River, having no bridge, and the ferry boat being on a sand bar most of the time, cut off and hindered our trade to the West greatly, only when we had our Spring June rise in the Arkansas River, which was then thankful for a few weeks from the melting of the snow on the East side of the divide of the Rockies.

Muskogee was the seat of Government for the Five Civilized Tribes. Okmulgee was the capital of the Cherokee Nation. All were much larger and more important towns in those days when Tulsa was a small Indian Village of but little importance.

Tulsa had some very strong influential Indian Citizens, who had located near Tulsa many years before, and they had strong influence in starting and maintaining the Village at that time.

L. C. Perryman was the Principal Chief of the Creek Nation, and was a wonderful statesman, a wonderful character, who had very strong influence among the Creek Nations.

It came to my knowledge that the Chief, L. C. Perryman, and his brother, George B. Perryman, had a store on the Star Route that was "Tulsa", South of the present Village, and, upon the building of the Frisco Railroad, they moved their store and post office to First and Main Streets just South of the Frisco rightofway, in 1881 or 1882.

This store and the post office, at that time, was the Village of Tulsa, and was operated by Josiah Perryman, who died in 1889, and it was bought and operated by R. N. Bynum.

Just South on the Frisco rightofway was the H.C. Hall and Company store. Just across the street North of the Frisco right of way, was Jeff Archer's hardware and implement store, who located in 1887 or 1888. South of Jeff Archer's store, across the street, was Dr. Newlin's drug store. West and on Second Street, was R.N. Bynum's merchandising store, the original store of Josiah Perryman.

North of Bynum's store was Dr. J.C.W. Bland's drug store and George McElroy's harness shop, and South of this shop were the McElroy, Smiley, Perryman, and Hall residences.

East of Boston Avenue belonged to Ed Crowell's farm. On Second and Boston, Pace Hefiflinger lived. M.B. Beard had an office closely allied with J.M. Hall, who were representatives of the Frisco Railway. Mr. Beard had a saw mill west of Hall's store. He bought and shipped walnut logs.

Just across the tracks, on the north side of the Frisco rightofway, was Aunt Jane Woolfe's hotel.

The Methodist Missionary Church was a little further North.

This Church was presided over by Reverend Mowbray. Going North a short distance, Tulsa to Bird Creek, and East of the Osage line to the Verdigris River. He grew immensely rich in the cattle business from his ranch, for years grazing free Cherokee range.

East of the Verdigris River was W.E. Campbell's Ranch, and he also grew immensely rich.

Other ranches around Tulsa were the Perryman, Forsythe, Appleby, Yeargen, Crance, Larmer, Wm. Blair, McElroy, Spike "S" and Three "D", all raising and maintaining from one to twentyfive thou sand head of cattle during the year.

LIFE IN THE INDIAN TERRITORY90

For Society and Recreation in the little Indian Village, we had Missionary Churches, the First Presbyterian on the South side, and the Methodist Church on the North side.

We had Indian ball games and Indian Stomp Dances, country dances, and straight track pony races. We had roundups for shipping and branding cattle at the different ranches. We would often visit the roundup on Sundays at the different ranches, enjoying the roping and the branding of the cattle and calves, and having well barbecued beef for Sunday dinners, and also attend the loading places, where there would be train loads of cattle, thousand of heads of fat beef shipping for the market.

THE OLD STOMP DANCES83

About July 1st, every year, the Indians of the Town or Clan held a stomp dance at their old stomping grounds about a mile South of the Frisco Depot, on what is now the Stonebraker Heights Addition.

The Indians of this Clan came for many miles, often from the Seminole and Kickapoo Countries, often as many as five or six hundred people. The dances and festivities were conducted by the town Chief, and the ceremonies were rigidly adhered to.

The first twentyfour hours were given to social intercourse, and then the medicine dance was pulled off, after which the medicine was then drank.

This medicine was made from roots and herbs by the Town Medicine Man in a large kettle, and each member of the Clan drank, putting their faces to the surface of the liquid. This medicine made them very ill, but, after recovery, the festivities really began.

Beeves had been barbecued, and every family had brought many luxuries and ample provisions, and camps were scattered all around. Much solemnity was manifested, and local tribal affairs were attended to by the head men of the Clan. Crimes were looked into, and their disposition arranged for future trial.

Marital troubles were often amicably settled at these gatherings, feuds were brought up, occasionally a cutting affair occurred, but they were generally arranged without bloodshed.

Log rollings and house building were also dated up, and notice of the dates were handed out by on of the head men. These notices consisted of a bundle of sticks, one for each day intervening, and were only handed to those who were present, and it was obligatory.

The poorer members of the Clan were also remembered, and notices were given for a gathering at their cabins, and assistance given them in their planting, cultivation and harvesting.

After the preliminaries of the meeting were disposed of, feasting and dancing were in the order of the day. Many varieties of dances were engaged in, some entirely by the men, but mostly alternated with women and girls.

The leader of these dances was nearly always a woman, who carried, concealed in her skirts, a gourd filled with gravel and shells, and time was kept by rolling "shells," as they were called.

These dances often lasted three, four or five days, occurring at night around a huge fire of logs and brush, and were always accompanied by guttural singing by every member of the dance, and their "Ohyahhay" and "Kiowanahay" are Remembered today by old fashioned timers, perfect time being carried by the "shells".

Other dances were called during the summer months, but they were of shorter duration. Crowds of white people visited these dances out of curiosity, and they were the subject of much wonder to these and conjecture, and very few really knew the real meaning attached to these gatherings.

Of course, whiskey occasionally made its appearance, and in one or two instances, dances were broken up by trouble from inebriated enemies, but they were generally arrested by the "Light Horse Police," tied and chained to a wagon wheel to sleep it off, and the festivities continued.

As the country filled up with white people, who did not understand the inner meaning, good fellowship, Christian spirit, and Tribal help with which it represented, there was much objection to the dance, even the United States Government took a hand in it. But it was to the Indians what our old fashioned camp meetings were, and in some localities still are, to us.

We always looked forward to the Creek Green Corn Annual Dance at the old Stomping Grounds at the edge of our Village, which lasted almost a week.

RECREATION OF OLD PIONEER

Living in the Age of Play and the great development ofSports of all kinds, with almost everyone taking a part. Reflecting back to the Pioneer Days of the Indian Territory, I find human nature has not changed materially; that they had their hobbies, fads and sports.

Those whom I met living in Tulsa the time that I came, had their hobbies, for instance: J.M. Hall's hobby was Church and Sunday School; R.N. Bynum had his, chewing tobacco; Jeff Archer making money as his hobby; the Senate horse racing; J.M. Morrows and duck hunting and foot racing; T.E. Smiley quail and duck hunting and telling stories; D.C. Shelton attending instruction classes in the Masonic Order; George McElroy making a good cow saddle and riding a bronco; Lorn Conroy quail hunting, persistently ah ead shooting hogging the game; Jim and Sam McBirney baseball stars; Lon R. Stansberry a boy fighting Indian boys and playing hookey from school; Sam Hunt sitting and whittling, talking about wrestling and sometimes engaging in the game; Old Man Bush catching cat fish on a trout line in the Arkansas River; Childers dear hunting; Lombard an expert hunter of deer, turkey duck and all game and fishing; H.C. Calhoun laughing and keeping all in good humor.

Our Public Sports were Shooting Match for Turkey, Christmas, Stomp Dances, by the Indians, greencorn, war dances, Town Ball, Pony Racing and SevenUp cards by all.

The annual Shawnee Stomp Dances in the forks of Hominy and Bird Creek was quite an affair for all to attend. It was usually held by the Shawnee Indians who invited the Osage, Pawnee, Kickapoo, Creek, Uchee, and Cherokee and who attended and held their regular war dance at that place for several days. They were attended by everyone in the adjoining community. They engaged in different types of dances. They all camped and continued for several days. Always pony racing and dancing until they were too tired to participate. At most every meeting there were some shooting scraps and one or more persons killed  which had no effect upon the progress continuation of the dances.

The Creek Nation Stomp Dances held at the Old Creek Stomping Grounds, now in the city limits, was an annual occurrence by the Creek Indians. They called it the green corn dance which most every Indian attended the affair as they had sacred ceremonies in connection, including their medicine dance.

W.R. (Bud) Wallace, an old cowboy, opened the first butcher shop in Tulsa. His great hobby and delight was to have more wild deer and turkeys, ducks and quails hanging in front of his shop than he had beef or pork.

At this time the Indian Territory was teeming with all kinds of game and wild animals. We also had the fur bearing animals.

The cougars and coyotees made music at night while the wild turkeys gobbled early in the morning. In many instances and in many places in traveling through the country to see patients, I recall once late at night while driving over Turkey Mountain, I had an angry and hungry cougar follow me in the buggy for several miles which frightened my team very much and nearly scared the Doctor to death because a short time before one had sprung from a tree on a ranchman, Burford A. Miller, who was in his buggy.

Having his gun to protect him he escaped. In my instance having no gun causing my fear, but I managed to get through the timber and upon the prairie whence the cougar disappeared.

THE SHAWNEE WAR STOMP DANCE

The Shawnee War Stomp Dance, twelve miles north of Tulsa on Hominy Creek, where they held their annual War Dance, was attended by many Tribes. The Osage, the Shawnee, the Ponca, and other Tribes, would gather and have a week's program, where they all camped, had their barbecued beef, lemonade stands, "hot dog" stands, merry-go-round, and dancing platform.

This annual affair was usually attended by all the cowboys and ranchers for many miles around.

On the Fourth of July, we held our celebration with a few flags and hay wagon filled with boys and girls, drawn by two or three yokes of cattle, driving up Main Street singing patriotic songs.

In our simple way, we all had a good time, and the life in the Indian Country and the little Indian Village was somewhat fascinating, with many thrills, and we soon learned to enjoy the conditions as they were, all being satisfied.

INCORPORATION OF TULSA

It appears that the Indian Territory was carved out of the vast domain of the United States of America, where principally the Five Civilized Tribes or Nations of Indians, Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Muskogee or Creek, and Seminoles, could preserve and live their Indian lives, saving their primal institutions, customs and habits, including their courts as established and develop from their racial foundation as existing when removed from their original homes. It was to be exclusively an Indian Country, and the White Man was to be kept out, except so far as necessary for him to enter in handling and preserving the relationship of the Government of the United States with them.

The same thing, however happened as always, the White Man came in, and finally triumphed, as he always has in every part of our vast National Territory, formerly the exclusive home and territory of the American Indian.

All this is illustrated and well established in the Proclamation issued by President Hayes on April 26th, 1879, warning white men to keep out of the Indian Territory, and pledging and assuring the use of every power, force and instrumentality of the United States, including the military, to enforce the rights of the Indians to thus preserve and keep the Indian Territory.

In this Proclamation, President Hayes said:

"It has come to me that certain evil disposed persons have, within the territory and jurisdiction of the United States, begun and set on foot preparations for an organized and forcible possession and settlement upon lands known as the Indian Territory, we st of the State of Arkansas, recognized and described by the Treaties and Laws of the United States, as Indian Country, and as such, is only subject to occupation by Indian Tribes, officers of the Indian Department, Military Posts and such persons as may be privileged to reside and trade therein under the exclusive Laws of the United States."

On February 20th, 1880, President Hayes again issued a like proclamation in like language. The tide of the White Man's penetration was weakened, but not stopped.

MEMORANDUM ESTABLISHMENT OF COURTS IN INDIAN COUNTRY83

We now have at hand a brief memorandum of the principal Acts of Congress establishing the White Man's Courts in and over the Indian Territory. The establishment of these Courts marked the beginning of the supremacy of the White Man, which are also including what is commonly known as the Springer Act, and other Acts primarily affecting the organization, growth, and development of  Tulsa. We now give a brief reference to them, enabling them to be conveniently examined in full, when so desired.

(1) Act of July 30, 1886

SPRINGER ACT, as commonly known. Twentyfour United States Statutes at Large, page 692. This was an Act prohibiting Territorial Legislatures from passing special acts, as for instance: granting specific divorces, corporate charters, and so forth.

(2) Act of March 1, 1889 Chapter 333, 25 United States Statutes at Large, page 783.

Formed a District in connection with certain Counties in Texas.

Court to be held at Paris, Texas, and Court at Muskogee for Tulsa Territory; not relieving Court at Fort Smith, Arkansas, of much jurisdiction.

(3) Act of May 2, 1890

Chapter 182, 26 United Statutes at Large, page 8 1. Organic Act establishing Oklahoma Territory, carving it from Indian Territory, and establishing Judicial Districts 1, 2, and 3 in Indian Territory as remaining, with Courts to be held at Muskogee, South McAlester and Ardmore, respectively.

(4) Act of March 1, 1895 Chapter 145, 28 United States Statutes at Large, page 693.

This Act divided the Indian Territory into three Districts, as follows: (1)Northern, (2)Central, and (3)Southern.

(5) Act of June 7, 1897

Chapter 3, 30 United States Statutes at Large, page 62.

This Act gave all ordinary Jurisdiction of causes to Federal Courts in Indian Territory, and also jurisdiction in Bankruptcy, Arkansas Laws extended to apply to all person, Indians or otherwise. This Act established full jurisdiction in the Federal Courts as to subject matter and persons, including Indians.

(6) Act of June 28, 1897

Curtis Act, as commonly known, Chapter 517, 30 United Statutes at Large, page 495. Following other Acts relating to incorporation of Cities and Towns as provided in Chapter 29, Mansfield Digest of the Statutes of Arkansas. The dominancy of the White Man rapidly followed this Act.

No attempt has been made to give the full import of any of these Acts of Congress. Noting the dates, however, it will be noticed how Congress rapidly stripped the Federal Court at Fort Smith, Arkansas, of its jurisdiction over the Indian Territory, and lodged all the judicial functions in Court established in the Indian Territory. After the establishment of the United States Court by the Act of March 1, 1889, it took but a brief span of eight years in which congress established full jurisdiction over persons and property in the Courts established in the Indian Territory, including all Courts in the Indian Territory, so swiftly carried to full fruition, began within a scant nine years from the Proclamation of President Hayes, in which the determination to keep the Indian Territory free from the White Man was so vigorously expressed.

INCORPORATION AND RECEIVING THE CHARTER FOR THE INDIAN VILLAGE

OF TULSA ON JANUARY 18, 1898

A provisional Committee of the following names: J.M. Hall, Dr. S. G. Kennedy, Col. E.E. Calkins, Rev. G.W. Mowbray, Sr., Tate Brady, R.E. Lynch, Prier Price, J.D. Seaman and L.M. Poe, appeared before William R. Springer, Federal Judge at Muskogee, Indian Territory, and received a Charter and order to call an election for organizing the City under the Charter of Incorporation. Tulsa was incorporated under Mansfield's Digest of the Arkansas Statutes, the Federal Courts having been given jurisdiction thereof in 1897.

In the Indian Territory, were the Five Civilized Tribes, the Cherokee Nation, the Chickasaw Nation, the Choctaw Nation, the Seminole Nation, and the Creek or Muskogee Nation. All had their own Tribal Laws, governing their citizens. The noncitizens living in the territory of the Five Civilized Tribes were governed by the Federal Law, the enforcement of which was established at Fort Smith, Arkansas, and Paris, Texas, and the Federal Courts there of the Federal Courts in the Indian Territory. The noncitizens of the Indian Territory had no civil law to govern them.

About 1889, as we have seen, Congress passed a law, commonly known in our District as the Springer Act, establishing a Federal Court at Muskogee. It also passed the Organic Act on May 2, 1890, organizing and governing the Territory of Oklahoma, and enlarging the jurisdiction of the Courts and dividing the Indian Territory into three United States Courts. One Court was at Muskogee, one at South Mcalester, and one at Ardmore. It also extended the Code of Arkansas Statutes to be adopted as far as practicable. This Code or Statute was established and was enforced by the Federal Courts of the Indian Territory.

Under this Statute the Village of Tulsa was incorporated by the Federal Court at Muskogee. An election was duly called, and Colonel E.E. Calkins was elected the first Mayor of Tulsa. Wess Cannady was the first Marshall.

After our Village was incorporated, and a City Marshall was elected, we had better order and protection than we had before, as the United States Marshall enforcing the Federal Law was at such a distance that he could not give us much protection.

The town, at that time and before, was infested by a great many bad men and outlaws, who made conditions in Tulsa almost unbearable. Tulsa, being near the center, made it a rendezvous for the outlaws and bad men from the Oklahoma and Indian Territory. Not many of the characters lived in Tulsa, but used it in maneuvering from one part of the Indian Territory to other parts of Oklahoma, and from Oklahoma to other parts of the Indian Territory.

These conditions in Tulsa, up until the time the town was incorporated, made it unsafe for the business men to keep lights burning in their stores or houses at night; fearing they would be shot out by these characters.

Judge Tollett, United States Commissioner from Tennessee, was so threatened, and became so in fear for his life at the hands of the outlaws, that he left Tulsa.

After the organization of our City Authority, and through the aid of our fearless City Marshall, conditions in Tulsa improved very much.

I now wish to describe the most hectic days that ever existed in Tulsa and the Indian Territory. These were days when the Indian Country began to be infested with, and became the hiding place and refuge of, ban men from other states. At that time, no law existed over the Indian Country except the Fort Smith Federal jurisdiction over criminal matters. The noncitizen, in those days, complied with the Tribal Laws, and secured licensed traders' certificates enabling them to stay permanently in the Indian Territory. The rapid increase in immigration before and at the time I*came here in 1891 were the most hectic days that the Indian Territory and Tulsa ever experienced. When Congress established the three Courts having jurisdiction in the Indian Territory in 1895, before and during that time up to 1897, were hectic days in the Indian Territory and Tulsa.

When only the Fort Smith Federal Court exercised criminal Federal jurisdiction, we had the protection in this jurisdiction of United States Federal Marshalls, and I wish to give the names of those who were acting under the Fort Smith Federal Court's jurisdiction: "Heck" Thomas, Bud Trail, Bud Ledbetter, Lon Lewis, Ed Chapman, and Grant Dalton. These men were the only protection we had in enforcing the Federal Criminal Law.

Under the Tribal Law, we had Indian Police to enforce the laws. These were: Bill Burgess, "Pough" Sunday, "Shawnee" Hasdred, and John Taylor of Claremore.

After establishing the Federal Courts in Indian Territory, we continued to have the high, wild days of train robberies, bank robberies, thievery and crime. Among some of the bad men, who infested Tulsa and the Indian Territory, were the Cook Gang, the Doolin Gang, The Star Gang, the French Gang, the Dunn Boys, the

Spencer Boys, Cherokee Bill, Tulsa Jack, Israel Car, "Bitter" Creek, Charley Pierce, "Arkansas" Tom, "Kid" Wilson, "Dynamite" Jack, and many others whom I cannot mention at this time.

These all were at their height when I lived in Tulsa before the Federal Law of 1897, which established jurisdiction over all persons, Indians or otherwise, both criminal and civil law, from the time that I have heretofore described.

In this connection, I will name the early Mayors of Tulsa, and those serving the City until the break of the World War in Europe, but will not continue the list further. As far as I shall now, go they are as follows:

NAME YEARS

E.E. Calkins 1898

R.N. Bynum 1899

L.M. Poe 1900

G.D. Blakely 1901

G.W. Mowbray 1902

H.R. Cline 1904

C.L. ReederC 1905

John O. Mitchell 1906

W.E. Rhode 1907

John O. Mitchell 1909

L.J. Martin 1910

F.M. Wooden 1912

I have given but a few of the colorful figures, events and characters of this epochal period of the history of Tulsa and the Indian Territory. The kaleidoscope of my memory reflects numberless pictures and images of the good, brave, noble and steadfast pioneer men and women of Tulsa and the Indian Territory, and of other events, struggles and achievements, through which we pioneers passed and wrought, but I do not now tarry to record them.

The Indian Territory, formerly also compromising Oklahoma Territory, and all that territory now the State of Oklahoma, was and is the last great Indian Country, and the last great Pioneer Country, of this pioneer Nation, and its history is full of the most variegated Human Romance in all the World's history. And Tulsa is the Romantic and Magic City, growing from a straggling Indian Territory Village to its present accomplishment, with its manifest destiny.

THE PASSING OF TRIBAL LAWS

President Cleveland on November 1st, 1893, appointed the Dawes Commission consisting of Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, Meredith H. Kidd of Indiana, and Archibald McKennon of Arkansas.

This Committee, known as the "Dawes Commission," was appointed to negotiate with the Five Civilized Tribes to allot their lands, and to abandon Tribal Courts. Their headquarters were at Muskogee in the Creek Nation, and was conducted there for several years.

They made a treaty for allotment with the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations on April 23rd, 1897, known as the Atoka Agreement.

On September 16th, they made a treaty with the Seminole Nation.

On April 8th, 1900, they made a treaty with the Cherokee Nation.

These treaties were made and signed at Washington, D.C., and the text and description of these separate Treaties are a matter of law.

Early in the sitting of the Dawes Commission, they started to sectionize and survey in quarter sections, the Indian Territory. These treaties and the Curtis Act, passed June 28, 1898, provided for the substitution of Federal Courts to take the place of the Tribal Courts in the Five Civilized Tribes of the Indian

Territory, governing and controlling all Criminal and Civil Law, and to both the Indians and Whites, and, at that time, the Tribal Laws were abolished, and the Indians became under the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts. The Treaty Agreements and the Curtis Act made provisions for the enrollment of the Indians, the surveying and sectionizing of their lands, and made allotments to the individual Indians In each Tribe, according to the Dawes Treaty with each Nation.

We had not only the Treaty Laws and the Curtis Act, but the Mansfield Digest, Statutes of Arkansas, was placed over the Indian Country.

These Acts made provision for the townsites in all the Five Civilized Tribes, and under these laws, we began to survey and locate towns, and the Townsite Committee was very busy in awarding and providing up titles.

During this time, the Dawes Commission was busy allotting the different Indian Citizens in each Nation. Under the Curtis Act, giving civil and criminal jurisdiction over the Indians and white citizens, they began to establish Courts in the Indian Territory, placing one at Wagoner, one at Vinita, one at Claremore, and one at Sapulpa, for the holding of all Courts, and operating conveniently for the different sections of the Indian Territory, while the seat of all records and Government, and of the Dawes Commission, was at Muskogee, and it was necessary for us to go to Muskogee to do all our business therewith.

Tulsa began to realize that it was left out in the "shuffle," and was very small "potato," and had but little prospect of making a good town, as other towns were getting all the "plums."

The Court Town began to grow rapidly, and Tulsa seemed to have but little future, and all of us felt very blue and much discouraged at this time.

Tulsa, being cut off from the West by the Arkansas River, having no bridge and no roads, we felt that the end was near.

With this condition, and all feeling alike and realizing our desperate condition, we all got friendly, and forgot our grievances, and began to consult with one another, and we did get together with a full determination to do something.

Right here at this desperate point at the low ebb, was the beginning of Greater Tulsa, we feeling that Tulsa had been discriminated against. Determination and fighting spirit emanated from every Citizen of Tulsa, and every Old Timer, and we organized one of the strongest Commercial Clubs in the Five Civilized Tribes.

In 1902, the Tulsa Commercial Club was organized in the City of Tulsa, in the year that the first deed was issued for real estate in Tulsa. From that day until this, the Commercial Club has advanced along practical lines in building the "City of Tomorrow." At that time, hope and determination constituted the chief work. The activity of the Dawes Commission in allotting the Five Civilized Tribes was in full stress.

The Railroads organized a campaign in 1893 to 1898 to construct and build railroads through the Indian Territory. The Atlantic Pacific, to the Frisco Railroad, in 1897 extended its line from Sapulpa to Oklahoma City.

Through the strong efforts of the Tulsa Commercial Club, we secured the M.K. & O. Ry., (now the M.K. & T. Ry.), our second railroad in Tulsa. It runs from Muskogee to Oklahoma City, connecting with its main line at Osage Junction.

Soon afterwards, the same Commercial Club and practically the same citizens secured and built the Santa Fe Railway from Owasso to Tulsa. A short time afterwards, the same Organization secured the A.V. & W. Ry., (a branch of the Frisco Ry.), from Enid to Tulsa. The same Organization and practically the same citizens soon afterwards secured the Midland Valley Railroad, which ran from Fort Smith to Wichita.

The Tulsa Commercial Club organization, and the spirit of the citizens at that time, still prevail in the building of the Metropolis of the State of Oklahoma.

After surveying all these Railroads, Tulsa began to grow very rapidly, and its Citizens felt a little easier, and some relief for the reward for their work.

The town kept growing rapidly, and, in a short time, oil was struck at Red Fork and in the Osage Reservation, and the oil men began to locate at Tulsa and Bartlesville, out troubles seemed to be over, and Tulsa kept growing, but our Citizens and Commercial Club never stopped pushing.

We advertised and organized the strongest Chamber of Commerce, and sent special trains to the eastern Cities, advertising the magic little City of Tulsa, the oil center of the West and perhaps of the world.

The location of Tulsa being on the highest east bank of the Arkansas River, with thousands of acres of alluvial soil in the valleys of the Arkansas River, Bird Creek, Hominy Creek, Delaware, Mingo Creeks and many others, the lands being allotted were placed in cultivation, and great crops of corn and wheat were raised, which was either shipped to the market or fed to the cattle and hogs at home. The harvesting and the gathering of the corn and wheat furnished employment to many of the old Oklahoma settlers or homesteaders, who came to the Indian Territory to secure employment an d earn enough money to prove up on their claims. With this agricultural condition, the country all around Tulsa began to grow.

OIL HISTORY IN THE INDIAN TERRITORY

OIL FROM SPRINGS AND WATER WELLS TO THOUSAND BARREL

After my arrival at Tulsa in the year 1891, in conversation with an exsoldier, the PostMaster at Tulsa at the time, Colonel W.P. Moore, he told me that, before coming to Tulsa, he had lived several years in the Hoffshuler District, north of Chelsea, Indian Territory, and that, in that District, oil seeped from the ground in places, and that often, when the creeks were low, the water was covered with a skim of oil. At that time, the water wells that were dug were never usable on account of the seepage of oil in these shallow wells.

In 1892, a man by the name of John Wells came to Tulsa from Western Pennsylvania, prospecting and looking over the Indian Territory. On arriving at Tulsa, he secured a permit from Chief Sam Brown, a Euchee Indian, living at Weolocka Mission, to drill a test well near Taneha, about five miles southwest of Red Fork, near the road leading to Sapulpa, in the center of the present Taneha field. He obtained his rig lumber from the forest, and built it out of native timber. Drilling there for several weeks or months, he moved his outfit toward Chelsea, Indian Territory.

His drilling created no excitement, and nobody paid any attention to his operations not his results. Chief Brown and other oldtimers were at the well when he bailed out plenty of oil.

Part IV