1890. The organic act was passed and became a law May 2, giving the land an organized form of territorial government.

1890. The population of the Indian Territory as reported by the federal census was 179,321, of which number 50,616 were Indians. The population of Oklahoma was given at 61,834. 1890. The reported coming of an Indian Messiah caused much unrest among the Indians west of the Mississippi and the Indians in western Oklahoma began holding a series of "ghost dances" which caused considerable excitement among the settlers. Apiatan, a Kiowa leader, exploded the story by making a trip to a remote part of Nevada, where he is reported to have found the reputed Messiah and ascertained that he was an imposter.

1890.-George W. Steele of Indiana was appointed territorial governor May 22.

1890.-First election for choosing members to legislature was held August 5.

1891.-A. J. Seay was appointed territorial governor October 18. 1891. The surplus lands of the Sac and Fox, the Iowa, and the Shawnee-Pottawatomie reservations were opened to settle ment September 22.

1893.-Governor A. J. Seay was removed from office by President Cleveland in May and W. C. Renfrow was appointed to fill the vacancy.

1893. The Cherokee Outlet and the surplus lands of the Pawnee and Tonkawa reservations were opened to settlement September 16.

1893.-President Cleveland appointed Ex-Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, Meredith H. Kidd of Indiana, and Archibald S. McKennon of Arkansas, members of the Dawes commission November 1.

1893. Dennis T. Flynn, delegate from Oklahoma Territory in Congress, introduced a bill in the Fifty-third Congress providing for the admission of Oklahoma and Indian Territories as a joint state.

1895. In May the Kickapoo surplus lands were opened to settlement. 1896.-Greer county was made a part of Oklahoma by act of Congress, approved May 4.

1896. A statehood convention was held in Oklahoma City, January 8. Two separate calls had been issued for the meeting, one by the supporters of the joint statehood movement and the other for the separate statehood idea. The meeting was disrupted soon after it convened. Two chairmen were elected by the rival factions and a wrangle resulted which was stopped only by the lights being turned out.

1897.-Cassius M. Barnes was appointed in April by President McKinley to succeed Governor Renfrow, whose term of office had expired.

1898. Spanish-American war broke out and many young men from Oklahoma and the Indian Territories answered the calls for troops.

1899. The Curtis bill was passed in February.

1901. The Crazy Snake "uprising" was advertised in a sensational manner by newspapers, when some of the Creeks refused to accept allotments. A faction elected Chitto Harjo chief and he called a special meeting of the National Council. He was later arrested with several of his followers, when much excitement had been stirred up, and was confined in jail for a time.

1901. Gas and oil were discovered in the vicinity of Tulsa, Red Fork, Sapulpa and other towns of the Creek Nation early in the spring.

1901.-William M. Jenkins was appointed governor April 15 to succeed Governor Barnes.

1901. The reservations of the Kiowa, Comanche, Wichita, Caddo, Apache of the Plains and the affiliated tribes were opened to settlement by registration July 9. The drawing began August 6.

1901. Governor Jenkins was removed from office by President Theodore Roosevelt and Thompson B. Ferguson was named as his successor November 30.

1902. The senate committee on territories visited Oklahoma in the fall. A bill providing for single statehood of the two territories was reported out by the senate committee when Congress met in December, but the bill became involved with the New Mexico-Arizona statehood question and action was deferred.

1905. The Sequoyah Constitutional Convention met in Muskogee in July. William H. Murray was chosen president. It proposed the formation of a separate state of the Indian Territory to be named Sequoyah.

1906.-Frank Frantz was appointed to succeed Governor T. B. Ferguson, whose term of office had expired.

1906. Congress passed the single statehood bill and it became a law June 14.

1906. Under the provisions of the enabling act, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention met in Guthrie November 20 and was in session almost continuously until the latter part of April of the following year.

1907. Election of first state officials was held Saturday, November 16. C. N. Haskell, democrat, of Muskogee, was chosen first governor, defeating Frank Frantz, territorial governor, and candidate of the republican party.

1910.-Lee Cruce, democrat, was elected governor, defeating Joe McNeal of Guthrie, the candidate of the republican party.

Sig. 19

Resources

OKLAHOMA AMONG THE SOUTHERN STATES

(By Chas. N. Gould, former State Geologist.)

You don't have to misrepresent Oklahoma; if you tell half the truth people won't believe you.

No equal area that the sun shines upon, during recorded history, has made such rapid material progress as has the state of Oklahoma, during the last decade. Her history reads like a romance. Those of us who have been actively engaged in aiding this development as well as those from other states who have watched the progress of Oklahoma, often stand aghast before the wonderful latent possibilities of the state.

Relative Rank.

It is not easy to attempt to condense into a single paragraph a statement of the wonderful resources of Oklahoma and their development. Some idea of conditions may be gained by reference to the government census reports recently issued, where it is shown that during the past ten years, among the sixteen states represented at the Southern Commercial Congress, Oklahoma ranks as follows:

First in percentage of increase of population of the state, 110%. First in percentage of increase of population of two chief cities, Oklahoma City having 549%, and Muskogee 494%.

First in percentage of increase of value of farm crops, 242%.
First in percentage of increase of wheat raised, 56%.

First in percentage of increase of cotton raised, 176%.

First in percentage of increase of railroad mileage, 154%.

First in percentage of increase in lumber cut, 901%.

First in percentage of increase in corn raised, 921%.

First in percentage of increase in bank deposits, 1033%.

First among the southern states in the amount of petroleum produced during the past four years.

First in the amount of natural gas in sight.

First in the total amount of available fuel.

First in the total amount of asphalt.

First in the total amount of glass sand.

First in the total amount of gypsum.

First in the amount of salt.

First in the total amount of mineral products.

First in the total amount of wi eat raised.

And first in the number of acres of fertile soil lying idle.

If you exclude Texas, our neighbor state on the South, with an area nearly four times our own, and Missouri, with an area nearly as large, and with nearly 100 years of development, Oklahoma ranks, First in corn.

First in oats.

First in cattle.