I received a request from Diron L. Ahlquist
of Oklahoma City for information concerning forts and courts in Indian Territory.
A lot of the information he requested
can be found in History of Cowley County, Kansas, Volume II, THE INDIANS,
which was compiled and edited by Dr. William W. Bottorff and myself.
However, I never broke down items into
forts established in Indian Territory nor the complicated court system(s)
that were used in this time era.
I have hastily covered the following forts (Fort Reno, Fort Sill, Camp Supply, and Cantonment)
and covered for a number of years the court system in Indian Territory.
Wish I had more time to thoroughly cover these items, but I have numerous
projects that I am working on for those desiring more knowledge of these
early days.
My main project is still the early newspapers.
I am now working on the April 1886 issue of the Winfield Courier. If
I ever get through the microfilm roll I have, courtesy of the Winfield Public
Library, and get it returned, I will start again with the Arkansas City
Traveler, after it took hold in 1887 when the Arkansas City Republican
became extinct.
Dr. Bottorff and I would welcome information
concerning the above items if you care to share your knowledge of the early
forts, etc.
Inasmuch as I work with Word Perfect,
it is impossible to communicate directly with Mr. Ahlquist and others who
use other programs. As a result, Dr. Bottorff has put all of my work into
html so that it can be shared with everyone.
Some of the information in the different
files are repetitive inasmuch as more than one of the forts was mentioned,
etc.