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OKLAHOMA (a Choctaw Indian word meani...
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See also:OKLAHOMA (a See also:Choctaw See also:Indian word meaning " red See also:people ") , a See also:south central See also:state of the See also:United States of See also:America lying between 33° 35' and 370 N. See also:lat. and 94° 29' and Io3° W. See also:long . It is bounded N. by See also:Colorado and See also:Kansas; E. by See also:Missouri and See also:Arkansas; S. by See also:Texas, from which it is separated in See also:part by the Red See also:river; and W. by Texas and New See also:Mexico . It has a See also:total See also:area of 70,057 sq. m., of which 643 sq. m. are See also:water-See also:surface . Although the extreme western limit of the state is the Io3rd See also:meridian, the only portion W. of the See also:moth meridian is a See also:strip of See also:land about 35 M. wide in the See also:present See also:Beaver, Texas and Cimarron counties, and formerly designated as " No See also:Man's Land." Physiography.—The topographical features of the state exhibit considerable diversity, ranging from wide treeless plains in the W. to rugged and heavily wooded mountains in the E . In See also:general terms, however, the surface may be described as a vast See also:rolling See also:plain having a See also:gentle See also:southern and eastern slope . The elevations above the See also:sea range from 4700 ft. in the extreme N.W. to about 350 ft. in the S.E . The southern and eastern slopes are remark-ably See also:uniform; between the See also:northern and southern boundaries E. of the moth meridian there is a general difference in See also:elevation of from 200 to 300 ft., while from W. to E. there is an See also:average decline of about 3 ft. to the mile . The state has a mean elevation of 1300 ft. with 34,930 sq. m. below See also:I000 ft; 25,400 sq. m. between I000 and 2000 ft.; 65oo sq. m. between 2000 and 3000 ft.; and 3600 sq. m. between 3000 and 5000 ft . The western portion of the Ozark Mountains enters See also:Oklahoma near the centre of the eastern boundary, and extends W.S.W. See also:half way across the state in a See also:chain of hills gradually decreasing in height . In the south central part of the state is an elevated tableland known as the Arbuckle Mountains . In its western portion this tableland attains an elevation of about 1350 ft. above the sea and lies about 400 ft. above the bordering plains . At its eastern termination, where it merges with the plains, it has an elevation of about 950 ft .
Sixty See also:miles N.W. of this See also:plateau See also:lie the See also:Wichita Mountains, a straggling range of rugged peaks rising abruptly from a level plain
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This range extends from Fort See also:Sill See also:north-westward beyond See also:Granite, a distance of 65 m., with some breaks in the second half of this area
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The highest peaks are not more than 1500 ft. above the plain, but on See also:account of their steep and rugged slopes they are difficult to ascend
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A third See also:group of hills, the See also:Chautauqua Mountains, lie in the W. in See also:Blaine and See also:Canadian counties, their See also:main See also:axis being almost parallel with the North See also:Fork of the Canadian river
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With the exception of these isolated clusters of hills the western portion of the state consists almost entirely of rolling See also:prairie
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The extreme north-western part of Oklahoma is a lofty tableland forming part of the See also:Great Plains region E. of the Rocky Mountains
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The prairies N. of the Arkansas and W. of the Neosho See also:rivers are deeply carved by small streams, and in the western portion of this area, where the formation consists of alternating shales and See also:sand-stones, the easily eroded rocks have been carved into canyons, buttes and mesas
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South of the Arkansas river these ledges of See also:sandstone continue as far as Okmulgee, but the evidences of erosion are less noticeable
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See also:East of the Neosho river the prairies See also:merge into a hilly woodland
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In the N.W. four large See also:salt plains See also:form a striking See also:physical feature
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Of these the most noted is the Big Salt Plain of the Cimarron river, in See also:Woodward See also:county, which varies in width from i m. to 2 m. and extends along the river for 8 m
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The plain is almost perfectly level, covered with snowy-See also: The other saline areas are the Little Salt Plain, which lies on the Cimarron river, near the Kansas boundary; the Salt See also:Creek Plain, 3 M. long and too yds. wide, in Blaine county; and the Salt Fork Plain, 6 m. wide and 8 m. long, so called from its position on the Salt Fork of the Arkansas river . Following the slope of the land, the important streams flow from N.W. to S.E . The Arkansas river enters the state from the N. near the 97th meridian, and after following a general south-easterly course, leaves it near the centre of the eastern boundary . Its tributaries from the N. and E.—the See also:Verdigris, See also:Grand or Neosho and See also:Illinois—are small and unimportant; but from the S. and W. it receives the. See also:waters of much larger streams—the Salt Fork, the Cimarron and the Canadian, with its numerous tributaries . The extreme southern portion of the state is drained by the Red River, which forms the greater part of the southern boundary, and by its tributaries, the North Fork, the Washita and the Kiamichi . See also:Fauna and See also:Flora.—Of See also:wild animals the most characteristic are the See also:black See also:bear, See also:puma, prairie See also:wolf, See also:timber wolf, See also:fox, • See also:deer, See also:antelope, See also:squirrel, See also:rabbit and prairie See also:dog . See also:Hawks and See also:turkey buzzards are See also:common types of the larger birds, and the wild turkey, prairie chicken and See also:quail are the See also:principal See also:game birds . The total woodland area of the state was estimated in 1900 at 24,400 sq. m., or 34.8 % of the land area . The most densely wooded See also:section is the extreme E.; among the prairies of the W. timber is seldom found beyond the See also:banks of streams . The most common trees are the various See also:species of the See also:oak and See also:cedar . The See also:pine is confined to the more mountainous sections of the E., and the black See also:walnut is found among the river bottom lands . These four varieties are of commercial value . Other varieties, most of which are widely distributed, are the ash, pecan, cottonwood, sycamore, See also:elm, See also:maple, See also:hickory, See also:elder, See also:gum, See also:locust and river See also:birch . The prairies are covered with valuable bunch, grama and dropseed See also:grasses; in the extreme N.W. the See also:cactus, sagebrush and See also:yucca, types characteristic of more arid regions, are found . See also:Climate.—The climate of the state is of a See also:continental type, with great See also:annual See also:variations of temperature and a rainfall which, though generally sufficient for the needs of vegetation, is considerably less than that of the See also:Atlantic See also:Coast or the See also:Mississippi Valley . The western and central portions of the state are in general cooler and dryer than the E., on account of their greater elevation and greater distance from the Gi.lf Coast . Thus at Beaver, in the extreme N.W., the mean annual temperature is 57° F. and the mean annual rainfall 18.9 in.; while at Lehigh, in the S.E., these figures are respectively 62° and 35.1 in . At Oklahoma See also:City, in the centre of the state, the mean annual temperature is 59°; the mean for the summer (See also:June, See also:July and See also:August) is 78°, with an extreme recorded of 1040; the mean for the See also:winter (See also:December, See also:January and See also:February) is 38°, with an extreme recorded of -1a° . At Mangum, in the S.W., the mean annual temperature is 61'; the mean for the summer is 81° and for the winter 41°, while the highest and lowest temperatures ever recorded are respectively 114° and -17° . The mean annual precipitation for the state is 317 in.; the variation between the E. and the W. being about 12 in . Soils.—The prevailing type of See also:soil is a'd'eep dark-red See also:loam, some-times (especially in the east central part of the state) made up of a decomposed sandstone, and again (in the north central part) made up of shales and decomposed See also:limestone . Not infrequently there are a See also:belt of red sandy loam on uplands N. of a river, a See also:rich' See also:deposit of black See also:alluvium on valley bottom lands, a belt of red See also:clay loam on uplands S. of a river, and a deposit of See also:wind-blown See also:loess on the water parting . Loess, often thin and always containing little humus, also covers large areas on the high, semi-arid plains in the western part of the state . See also:Agriculture and Stock-raising.—For some See also:time before the first opening to See also:settlement by white men in 1899, the territory now em-braced in Oklahoma was largely occupied by great herds of See also:cattle driven in from Texas, and since then, although the opening was piecemeal, the agricultural development has been remarkably rapid . By 1900, 22,988,339 acres, or 52.1 %, of the total land surface was included in farms, and 8,574;187 acres, or 37.7 %, of the See also:farm land was improved.' The farm land was divided among i08,000 farms containing an average of 212.85 acres; 26,121 of them contained less than 5o acres, but the most usual See also:size was 16o acres; and 48,983, or 45.35 %, contained from 100 to 174 acres . A considerable portion of the larger farms (there were 2390 containing 500 acres or more) were owned by See also:Indians but leased to white men . Much land as See also:late as I90o was held in common by See also:Indian tribes, but has since been allotted to the members of those tribes and most of it is leased to whites . In 1900, 59,367 (or a little more than one-half of all) farms were worked by owners or part owners, 33,347 were worked by See also:share tenants, and 13,903 were worked by See also:cash tenants . Indian See also:corn, See also:wheat, See also:cotton, oats and See also:hay are the principal crops, but the variety of farm and See also:garden produce is great, and includes Kafir corn, See also:broom corn, See also:barley, See also:rye, See also:buckwheat, See also:flax, See also:tobacco, beans, See also:castor beans, peanuts, pecans, See also:sorghum See also:cane, See also:sugar cane, and nearly all the fruits and vegetables common to the temperate See also:zone; stock-raising, too, is a very important See also:industry . Of the total acreage of all crops in 1900, 4,431,819 acres, or 68.64 %, were of cereals; and of the cereal acreage 56.45 % was of Indian corn, 34•.15 % was of wheat and 7.15 % was of oats . The acreage of Indian corn increased from ' The See also:statistics in this See also:article were obtained by adding to those for Oklahoma those for Indian Territory, which was combined with it in 1907.2,501,945 acres in 1900 to 5,950,000 acres in 1909; 2 between 1899 and1go9the yield increased from 68,949,300 bushels to 101,150,000 bushels . The acreage of wheat decreased during this See also:period from 1,704,909 acres to 1,225,000 acres, and the yield from 20,328,300 bushels to 15,680,000 bushels . The acreage of oats increased from 317,076 acres to 550,000 acres, and the yield increased from 9,511.J40 bushels to 15,950,000 bushels . The hay See also:crop of 1899 Vitae grown on 1,095,706 acres and amounted to 1,617,905 tons, but nearly one-half.of this was made from wild grasses; since then the amounts of See also:fodder obtained from See also:alfalfa, Kafir corn, sorghum cane and See also:timothy have much increased, and that obtained from wild grasses has decreased; in 1909 the acreage was 900,000 and the crop 81o,oco tons . Except in the W. section, where there is See also:good grazing but generally an insufficient rainfall for growing crops, cattle-raising on the range has in considerable measure given way to stock-raising on the farm, and nearly everywhere the quality of the cattle has been greatly improved . The total number of cattle decreased from 3,236,008 in 1900 to 1,992,000 in 1910, but at the same time the number of See also:dairy cows increased from 276,539 to 355,000 . The number of horses increased from 557,153 in T900 to 804,000 in 1910; of mules from 117,562 to 191,000 ; of See also:swine from 1,265,189 to 1,302,000; and of See also:sheep from 88,741 to 108,00o . Winter wheat is used extensively for pasturage during the winter months with little or no damage to the crop . No other See also:branch of agriculture in Oklahoma has advanced so rapidly as the See also:production of cotton; the culture of this fibre was introduced in 1890, and the acreage increased from 682,743 acres in 1899 to 2,037,000 acres in 1909, and the yield increased from 227,741 See also:bales to 617,000 bales (in 1907 it was 862,383 bales) . There was only a very small crop of broom corn in 1889, but in 1899 the crop was 3,565,510 lb . The state has risen to high See also:rank in the production of sorghum cane and castor beans also; in 1899 16,477 acres of the cane yielded 40,259 tons, and 14,070 acres of castor beans yielded 77,409 bushels . Two crops of potatoes may be grown on the same ground in one See also:year, and the acreage of potatoes increased from 15,360 acres in 1899 to 27,000 acres in 1909, and the yield from 1,191,997 bushels to 1,890,000 bushels . Oklahoma is already producing large crops of apples, peaches, grapes, water-melons and See also:musk-melons; and many large See also:apple and See also:peach orchards and vineyards have been. planted . See also:Pears, plums, apricots, cherries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, currants, gooseberries, cabbages, onions, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and cucumbers are grown in considerable quantities . The cereals and most of the fruits and vegetables are grown throughout the greater portion of the See also:middle and E. parts of the state, although the soil of the N. middle section yields the best crops of wheat . Kafir corn and sorghum cane are the most common in the W. sections, where the climate is too dry for other crops . Some cotton is grown N. of the middle of the state, but the S.E. See also:quarter takes in most of the cotton belt . Broom corn grows best in See also:Woods county on the N. border, and castor beans in the central and N. central sections . About 3000 acres (nearly one-half in the narrow See also:extension in the N.W.) were already irrigated in 1909, and surveys had been made by the Federal Reclamation Service with a view to irrigating about 1oo,000 acres more—10,000 to 14,000 acres in Beaver and Woodward counties, under the Cimarron project, and 80,000 to 100,000 acres in Kiowa and See also:Comanche counties, under the Red River project . See also:Lumber and Timber Products.—The merchantable timber is mostly in that part of the state which formerly constituted Indian Territory, and consists largely of black walnut and other valuable hard woods in the bottom lands, of black See also:jack and See also:post oak on the uplands and of pine on the higher elevations S. of the Arkansas river . The manufactured See also:forest products of Indian Territory increased in value from $189,373 in 1900 to $588,078 in 1905, or 205.78 % . Minerals.—The See also:coal-See also:fields extend from Kansas on the N. to Arkansas on the E., and have an area of about 20,000 sq. m . The principal See also:mining centres are See also:McAlester, Wilburton, See also:Hartshorn, Coalgate and See also:Phillips . In quality the coal varies from a See also:low grade to a high grade bituminous, and some of the latter is good for coking . The output increased from 446,429 See also:short tons in 1885 to 1,922,298 short tons in 1900, and to 2,948,116 short tons in 1908, the output for the last-named year being much less than for 1906 or 1907, when it was over 3,500,000 tons . The range of hills extending from the centre of the state N.W. to and beyond the Kansas border . are composed chiefly of great deposits of See also:rock See also:gypsum . A similar but See also:minor range extends parallel with it 40 to 50 m . S.W . There are also deposits in Greer county in the S.W. corner, and some gypsite in See also:Kay county on the N. middle border . For working these extensive deposits there are, however, few See also:mills; these are in Kay, Canadian and Blaine counties .
Some See also:petroleum was discovered in the N. part of Indian Territory near the Oklahoma border as See also:early as 1890, but there was little development until 1903, when several See also:wells were drilled in the vicinity of Bartlesville
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Then wells were drilled to the W. on the Osage See also:Reservation, and to the S., until in 1906 about to wells were drilled into the famous Glen See also:Pool near Sapulpa
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One of these wells has a flow of about moo barrels a See also:day, and the total product from the Oklahoma oil-See also:
Among the manufacturing centres are Oklahoma City and See also:Guthrie, and the combined value of their factory products increased from $1,493,998 in 1900 to $4,871,392 in 1905
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Transportation and See also:Commerce.—The navigable waters in Oklahoma are of little importance, and the state is almost wholly dependent on See also:railways as a means-of transportation
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The first railway was that of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas, which completed a See also:line across the territory to See also:Denison, Texas, in 1872
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The railway mileage was slowly increased to 126o m. in 189o, and on the 1st of January 1909 was 5829 M
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The Missouri, Kansas & Texas railway crosses the E. part of the state, and somewhat parallel with this to the westward are the St See also: 
In 1890 the Indians and negroes constituted 33'3% of the total population, but in 1907 they (with the Mongolians, who numbered 75) constituted only 13'2% of the total . The only Indians who are natives of this region are a few members of the Kiowa, Comanche and See also:Apache tribes . The others are the remnants of a number of tribes collected here from various parts of the See also:country: See also:Choctaws, See also:Chickasaws, Cherokees, Creeks, Seminoles, Osages, Kaws, Poncas, Otoes, Cheyennes, Iowas, Kickapoos, Sauk and Foxes, See also:Sioux, Miamis, Shawnees, Pawnees, Ottawas and several others . Until 1906 the Osages lived on a reservation touching Kansas on the N. and the Arkansas river on the W . (since then almost all allotted) ; but to the greater portion of the Indians the See also:government has made individual allotments . Only about one-See also:fourth of the so-called Indians are full bloods . A large portion are one-half or more white See also:blood and the Creeks and some others have more or less negro blood . In 1906 there were 257,100 communicants of various churches in Oklahoma and Indian Territory, the Methodist Episcopalians being the most numerous, and next to them the See also:Baptists . The population in places having 4000 inhabitants or more increased from 29,978 in 1900 to 140,579 in 1907, or 368.9%, while the population outside of such places increased from 760,413 to 1,273,598, or only 67.5% . The principal cities in 1907 were Oklahoma City, See also:Muskogee, Guthrie' (the See also:capital), See also:Shawnee, Enid, See also:Ardmore, McAlester and See also:Chickasha . See also:Administration.—The constitution now in operation was adopted in See also:September 1907, and is that with which the state was admitted into the See also:Union in See also:November of the same year . Amendments may be submitted through a See also:majority of the members elected to both houses of the legislature or through a See also:petition signed by 15% of the electorate, and a proposed See also:amendment becomes a part of the constitution if the majorityof the votes See also:cast at a popular See also:election are in favour of it . The legislature may also at any time propose a See also:convention fox amending or revising the constitution, but no such convention can be called without first obtaining the approval of the elector-See also:ate . An elector must be able to read or write (unless he or an ancestor was a voter in 1866 or then lived, in some See also:foreign nation) and must be 21 years old, and a See also:resident of the state for one year, in the county six months, and in the election See also:precinct 30 days; and See also:women have the See also:privilege of voting at' school meetings . General elections are held on the first Tuesday after the first See also:Monday in November in See also:odd-numbered years and party candidates for state, district, county and municipal offices and for the United States See also:Senate are chosen at See also:primary elections held on the first Tuesday in August . The See also:Massachusetts See also:ballot which had been in use in 1897–1899 was again adopted in 19oo . Oklahoma has put into its constitution many things which in the older states were See also:left to legislative enactment . The See also:governor is elected for a See also:term of four years but is in-eligible for the next succeeding term . The number of See also:officers whom he appoints is, rather limited and for most of his appointments the See also:confirmation of the Senate is required . He is not permitted to See also:pardon a criminal until he has obtained the See also:advice of the See also:board of pardons which is composed of the state See also:superintendent of public instruction, the See also:president of the board of agriculture and the state auditor . He is a member of some important administrative boards, his See also:veto See also:power extends to items in See also:appropriation bills, and to pass a See also:bill over his veto a See also:vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each See also:house is required . A See also:lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, examiner, and inspector, See also:commissioner of labour, commissioner of See also:insurance, See also:chief mine inspector, commissioner of charities and corrections, and president of the board of agriculture are elected each for a term of four years, and the secretary of state, auditor and treasurer are, like the governor, ineligible for the next succeeding term . The See also:law-making bodies are a Senate and a House of Representatives . One-half the senators and all the representatives are elected every two years, senators by districts and representatives by counties . Sessions are held biennially in even-numbered years and begin the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January . The constitution reserves to the See also:people the privilege of rejecting any See also:act or any See also:item of any act whenever 5% of the legal voters ask that the See also:matter be voted upon at a general election; and the people may initiate legislation by a petition signed by 8% of the electorate . For the administration of See also:justice there have been established a supreme See also:court composed of six justices elected for a term of six years; a criminal court of appeals composed of three justices appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate; twenty-one district courts each with one or more justices elected for a term of four years; a county court in each county with one justice elected for a term of two years; a court of a justice of the See also:peace, elected for a term of two years, in each of six districts of each county, and See also:police courts in the cities . The supreme court has appellate See also:jurisdiction in all See also:civil cases, but its See also:original jurisdiction is restricted to a general See also:control of the See also:lower courts . The criminal court of appeals has jurisdiction in all criminal cases appealed from the district and county courts . The district courts have exclusive jurisdiction. in civil actions for sums exceeding $1000, concurrent jurisdiction with the county courts in civil actions for sums greater than $500 and not exceeding $r000, and original or appellate in criminal cases . The county courts have, besides the concurrent jurisdiction above stated, original jurisdiction in•all See also:probate matters, original jurisdiction in civil actions for sums greater than $200 and not exceeding $500, concurrent jurisdiction with the justices of the peace in See also:misdemeanour cases, and appellate jurisdiction in all cases brought from a justice of the peace or a police court . See also:Local Government.—The general management of county affairs is intrusted to three commissioners elected by districts, but these commissioners are not permitted to incur extraordinary expenses or See also:levy a tax exceeding five mills on a See also:dollar without first obtaining the consent of the people at a general or See also:special election . The other county officers are a treasurer, clerk, See also:register of deeds, See also:attorney, surveyor, See also:sheriff, See also: |