Provin' Up

The main characters and the stories are fictitious. The historical timeline, the lands claimed in Logan County, the names of the surrounding settlers, and local businesses are real. In 1887, two cowboys fresh off a cattle drive on the Chisholm Trail realize the days of the cattle drives are almost over. They decide to start their own ranch by leasing land in the Cherokee Strip. When the Unassigned lands are opened to settlement in 1889, they decide to participate in the Land Run. This book covers the period from 1887 to 1895, and describes the hardships, trials and tribulations of making a living on the Oklahoma prairie for five years in order to gain title to the land. Each year lists events around the country that emphasize just how hoard and desperate these settlers were as there was easy living elsewhere. They were sometimes forced to eat armadillos and rattlesnakes just to survive. Some settlers proved up their land and their descendants own it still. Others didn't last. The toll was too great.