Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-04-24

withering heat of the days. The rail
road is gorged with business, and is tenn
porarily inoperative.
UNPLEASANT CONDITIONS.
A townsite is changed every hour by
rival parties as each secures temporary
dominance. No buildings have beer
started, and but few more tents have
been reared. Nobody knows where the
streets are. and everyone is Just now
yielding all things else to the clamor fol-
food, drink and shelter, or means OF
light. To complete this tremendous ex-
citement, disastrous wreck occurred
just south of town during the forenoon
A freight and passenger train met heads,
and both engines went into the ditch.
No one was hurt, but the track was
blockaded for hours.
OLD SOL GETS A SURPRISE.
The sight at Guthrie, upon which the
sun rose this morning, was probably
never before witnessed in the history Of
the world. The majority of $1,000 peo-
pie lay blanketless upon the ground,
either guarding their claims or slurcb
iug where they had fallen of fatigue.
From the depot platform they lay as
close as corded wood ,and in the few tents
they were crowded in huddled masses.
Meagre shelter was afforded, but there
quickly came a limit to the capacity, be-
yond which neither tears or bribes
could prevail. Among the thousands
stretched upon the ground, many of them
of respectable quality, those who could
not sleep-and they were legion in the
stinging cold-were punched in groups,
swearing or weeping as suited their spirit.
THEY TAKE TURN AT ROASTING.
The sun fairly leaps out of the prairie,
and within two hours the cold had been
supplanted with Sahara heat. The
wind rose, but without any cooling effect,
blew hot sirroco that scorched the flesh
and filed the air with binding alkali
dust. To complete the general misfor-
tunes, the only large tent, accommodating
$50 people fell under the stress of the
furnace blast. 1t could not be repaired,
and the other tents could scarcely be
mounted.
SHORT OF WATER.
The climate provoked an Unsuitable
thirst, and the water was the first supply
to fail. There is little stream hard by,
but the water is strongly alkaline to
drink. The railroad tank that takes it's
supply by gravity pipe from distant
and elevated spring, afforded the only
possible drinkable water, and it is brack
ish. 1t was attacked by thousands of
people, until the railway officials called
military protection, under the pretense
that they needed the water to operate
the road.
AS DEAR AS WHISKY.
The tankman. however. sold water at
five cents tank pint thereafter, as did
the locomotive engineers from the tanks
of their engines.
THE RAILROAD HELPLESS.
The railroad seems to be completely
prostrated and does not deliver the bag
gage of the suffering throng. Pneu-
monia and sunstrokes are beginning to
claim their victims, but the sick have
neither refuge nor sympathy. The whole
scene, in its countless, varied and pain
full details, is simply indescribable.
Here stands big city out of doors and
without supplies. Only one train left
over the crippled road and it was crowd
ed beyond additional space for mouse
on the floor or sparrow on the roof.
Those who could not get on cheered de-
family as the train pulled out, and an
other, just as crowded, pulled in from
the north.
The Dailg Neaus' correspondent Sc
cured footing on the pilot of the loco
motive to reach Arkansas City, nearly
eighty miles north, with this dispatch. G
SOME TEAMS RETURNING.
Along the route, during the long hours
of the laggard ride, scores of boomers
wagons could be seen forging northward
across the Cherokee strip, retracing the
hard journey they had just completed.
Hundreds, and probably thousands of
them, will probably halt on the strip
and by force effect settlement. They
are strapped and desperate, and the
Government must yield this line of re-
gion now uselessly seque stered, or cause
great trouble.
GOOD HUMoR STILL MAINTAINED.
Good humor is splendidly maintained
in the face of these hardships. One
boomer was hailed from the train as to
whether he was northward bound, and
shouted. 81 am going back to my wife's
people," Everybody of whom inquiries
were made on the train declared he was
disappointed in the country, and would
not put up with the suffering for the
scant chance to gain home.
GAMBLERS FLOODING GUTHRIE.
Guthrie is filling up with gamblers,
thin ble-riggers and thieves, and the
shrewdest and most INSCRIPTIONS schem-
ing is practicei. The reports last night
that three men had been killed, settled
down to-day to one man killed, and his
name and location we're given.
The Daily Neaos representative rode
over to the scene about three miles west
of Guthrie, and found the facts to be that
two men had divided an equally disputed
claim, and were sleeping inside the tent.
Pistols were drawn twice last night and
to-day in town, but in each case the party
retired before forcing trouble. Some sub
stantial news of fatalities in other parts
of the Territory were brought in by Dep
uty Marshal Varnum. Fourteen miles
west of Oklahoma City, man named
Martin, was found by the patrol this
morning.
HE DIED FOR HIS HOMESTEAD.
A young man named Compss, who
had failed to secure lot in Gdthrie,
fled on a homestead claim about two
miles northwest of the town, this even
ing. He was accompanied by a friend,
name unknown. They had scarcely
driven their stakes when man, armed
with Winchester rife, issued from the
bush and ordered them off. Compes
showed fight, whereupon the man shot
him through the breast. The wounded
man was dragged into the timber by. his