Rand-McNally Map of the Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache Indian Reservations, Oklahoma Territory

An uncommon handbook for the ‘Sooners’ flocking to Oklahoma.

“The majority of the Indians on the reservation understand and speak the English language, and all of them profess Christianity. They have, in the main, adopted civilized ideas, dress, and customs, but traces of savagery still remain to some extent, as is evidenced in their mode of eating, family living, pow-wowing, and dancing…Their principal besetting vice is gambling, and this Quanah Parker has been endeavoring to stamp out.” – p. 14

The summer of 1901 saw the opening of unallotted lands within the former Comanche, Kiowa, and Apache reservation to outside settlement. The event continued a broader process of federal land cessions and allotment that had transformed much of the region during the preceding decade. Rather than holding another traditional land run, the U.S. government used a lottery to allocate opportunities to claim land within the nearly three million acres opened for settlement. The process attracted thousands of prospective settlers and generated considerable controversy over access to the land.

This scarce booklet, printed by Rand McNally & Company in 1901, provided a practical guide for prospective settlers seeking to establish homesteads in the newly opened territory. Sixteen pages of text describe the region’s geography, summarize the laws governing settlement, and explain the procedures for claiming land. Illustrations include a cattle roundup, a mounted member of the Indian Police, and a portrait of Quanah Parker. A prominent Comanche leader and negotiator, Parker had sought to protect his people’s interests during federal negotiations over allotment and land cession, even as the U.S. government pressed forward with the opening of reservation lands.

The handbook concludes with a folding map of the region between the Red and Washita Rivers. Railroad lines and wagon roads show the transportation network through which settlers could reach the newly available lands. Fort Sill Military Reservation is prominently outlined near the center, surrounded by a network of roads and settlements. Other features include the areas identified as Lone Wolf’s Reservation and Quanah Parker’s Reservation, the Wichita Mountains depicted in hachures, and several Christian missions in the northeast. ources: https://archives.libraries.ou.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/25737