Page 91 - 2020 Russell Catalogue
P. 91
113
JIM CARSON The Rush for Land oil
46 x 72 inches
$28,000–35,000
After the passage of the Indian Appropriation Bill of 1889, President Benjamin Harrison made the declaration that on April 22, at 12 o’clock noon the Unassigned Land in the Indian Territory would be open for settlement. At the time of the opening, which was indicated by cannon shot, the line of people on horseback and in wagons dispersed into a kaleidoscope of motion and dust. The chase for land was frenzied and much chaos and disorder ensued. The rush did not last long, and by the end of the day nearly two million acres of land had been claimed. By sundown both Oklahoma City and Guthrie had established cities of around 10,000 people. Harper’s Weekly reported, “At twelve o’clock on Monday, April 22nd, the resident population of Guthrie was nothing; before sundown it was ten thousand.
—Jim Carson, November, 2019
