Wichita eagle., 1889-04-24
MUCH EXCITEMENT.
The Town Site Problem Causes Great Dis
cord-The Situation.

GUTHRIE, Ok, April 23.-In defiance of
the fact thatno town was supposed to exist
until noon yesterday, the Several hundred
interlopers held an organization meeting
at 10 o'clock. H. A. Pierce, one of the
Topeka crowd, secured the presidency, but
when he attempted to foist his plat upon
the meeting he was beaten amid cries of
| "Down the Topeka outfit" The railway
runs southwesterly past the town and it
was proposed to lay out the streets on
direct angles with the track but plat
with north and south and east and west
sections was adopted. This was proposed
by George H. Clayton, of Arkansas
brother of Congressman Powell Clayton
and of the lately assassfnated congress
sional candidate. 1t was decided that a
town lot shall be 3Ox14O feet and that the
streets shall be eighty feet wide except two
100 feet intersecting avenues which We're
named respectively Mumford avenue for
DR.. Mumford. of Kansas City, and Harri-
son avenue for the president.
| Meanwhile the whole town site was
homesteaded repeatedly. Forty applica-
| tions under this right of public domain
were filed at the laud office and some beau
tifully complicated law suits will follow.
| 1t looks only fair that those who were
here in advance of the authorized hour and
who grabbed the land for the corporations
that back them should be disposessed and
the whole town site placed in the fair and
even reach of all. 1t is almost certain,
however, that for all its present prestige,
for everything is going to Guthrie, there
can never be town OF any importance
there. The surrounding country is sterile,
and with the exception of small pieces of
bottom land can grow nothing but buffalo
grass and cactus. The adjacent stream is
small and alkaline and well water is deep
and scarce. The temperature bounds
from fighting cold to whitening heat and
there are long periods of drought and &C
casions of floods and hurricaus.
As the sun went down little tents and
unsheltered men dotted the region over an
area large enough for An eastern metropo-
lis. There is covering for about one thous-
and people on a liberal estimate and the
nights after warm days are absolutely
chilly. Whether 1t rains or not great suf
fering would be endured by the thousands
OF unsheltered.
Arkansas City is filed up with great
crowds from northern trains that will de-
scend upon Guthrie in the morning.
A break out Of here will be sure to be
the event OF the next few days, as there
are many thousands more here than can
be supplied with food and shelter. Mean
While the rush continues and the excite
ment is at a very high pitch on the Okla
homa boundary.
Lieutenant Foster who started the pill
grims Saturday coming via the Arkansas
City trail estimates that at least 40, 600 out
fits and 10000 people ranged along the bor-
der of his trail started at the sound of the
bugle. Lieutenant Waite, nephew of the
late Chief Justice Waite, started those en-
rtering at the Caldwell trail. Colonel Ware
started those on the Hunnewell trail, he
being in charge of this territory.
entering by the Black Bear trail. 1t seems
like fairly tale but there is scarcely
doubt that from 10000 to 80, 600 entered by
| these trails while the six trains that came
i'll from Arkansas City TO Guthrie brought
at least 5000 people. The wagon road
runs within 100 yards OF the railroad ali
the way.
The Cimarron ford on the Cimarron
river is just three-fourths of mile from
where the railroad crosses that stream
near the old site of Camp Russell. All
along the route were to be seen deer, ante
lope, prairie chickens ana quail. Two
deer were within 100 rods of the train and
at least fifty shots were fire at them from
the car windows and those on the roof
without. The prairie chickens and quail
that were near enough to the train to
sight were treated to similar salute
w hen the train crossed the last stream,
Cottonwood creek, just before entering
Guthrie, the passengers began jumping off
and rushing up hill ON the east side of the
track towards the land Office where town
site is TO be laid out. One fellow became
so excited that he jumped through car
window. When the train stopped at
! Guthrie station there was an lndlscrimi-
nate rush of men and boys running over
each other to get to the land office first or
squat on a claim.
The scarcity of water will cause suffer-
ing until wells are dug unless the water in
the Cottonwood creek can be filtered. An
enterprising real estate man had carry
all at the depot when the train arrived
and offered to carry people to his lots over
on the east side and sell lots at 81 a piece.
The crowd around the land office Is too
great to be numbered, and those who did
not get in to file their claims last night
slept where they were in the line to be on
hand this morning. Five miles each way
from Guthrie station town sites are st2ked
of and there was not a section between
there and Alfred that did not have one or
more frter sections staked of. People
here are dumbfounded and look at the
vast multitude crowded into the country
10 silent wonder
Returning on the train hundreds OF
prairie schooners were passed still wind
Yrsfy tboir 70 he prOniSAn land AZ