Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-04-23
LIKE A FAIRY CITY.
How Guthrie Gained a Population Of
$4,000 I'm An Afternoon.

ARKANSAS CITY, KAN. April 23.-Fifteen thou
sand home-seekers are camped on the grassy
upland of Guthrie, the pioneer city of Okla
homa. Their camp-fires gieam in the darkness
and their tents loom athwart the sky like an
army in bivouac. Guthrie. hitherto an insig-
nificant station in a wild and uninhabited
country, remote from civilization, has now a
population of more than 1900. All this was
gained In an afternoon.
When the first train arrived at Guthrie from
Arkansas City the embryo streets and lots of
the new city had already been laid out by en-
terprising citizens who had been early on the
scene. Hardly had the cars slowed down at the
station when
EAGER MEN LEAPED FROM THE CAR WINDOWS,
slipped from the roof of the coaches and
poured out of the doors in streams. In a minute
the slope leading up from the station was black
with men rushing head-long. eager for the
coveted town lots. In two minutes not one of
the men who had filled the train was left with
in speaking distance of the railway BY the
time this crowd had reached the top of the
slope near the land Office, men who had been
running parallel lines for streets and driven in
ST ukes for town lots were well on their way
alCpg the level strip of land east of the land
ofi,e. The crowd then rushed eastward at a
trem endous rate.
AN INPRoMPTU BANK.
The men who brought along a muslin sign
bearing the words Bank OF Guthrie were
compel ed to take up lot one mile back of the
station. The next train from Arkansas CITY
brought a thousand home-seekers about five
minutes Litter. The men in this train hurried
across the prairie like army charging the
wing of the enemy. They spread out north and
south with axes, spades and stakes and began
with wonderful energy the location Of lots and
streets. Tho third. fourth. fifth and sixth
trains from Arkansas City swelled the number
to many thousands. When the seventh
and eighth trains came in later in the after
noon the crowd had overfowed all
bounds On the east the streets and town lots
had been extended fully miles; on the north
a mile and a half and on the south nearly q
mile. No attempt had been made to Law out a
town on the west side of the track. This west
land had been all filed on for homesteads
Almost with the first rush of homeseekers
from the cars. the homeseekers who had
started across the Oklahoma north line at noon
in wagons and on horse began to pour into the
new city. Their horses were reeking wet from
the hot and furious drive. They took possess
sion of such town lots in the future Oklahoma
metropolis as they could lay claim to- Mean
while
THE LAND OFFICE WAS BEsIEGEp
by an eager and determined crowd Of men
waiting to file claims upon homesteads As the
afternoon wore on this crowd grew larger
until at closing time it reached in regular line
far down the street toward the railroad station.
Business in the land Office went rather slowly
The register and receiver did the best they
could, but the pressure upon them was tre-
mendous. The men who were waiting TO file
claims were forced into line two abreast.
Dealers in real estate began business before
o'clock in the afternoon. One enterprising
dealer had as a background for the safe trans
action of business stock Of rifles which had
been placed there by the government troops on
duty at the land Office. Near by was the tent
of United States Marshal Needles. The tent
was surmounted by large American flag.
EARLY REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS.
When the second and third sections of the
train had arrived nearly everything in sight
had been taken and the only recourse left to
those disappointed in securing lots was to buy
out such holders of lots as were willing to sell
Cr run the risk of taking outside the legal
limit. Both courses were adopted. and good
nl mber of Guthrie city lots changed hands,
Ths first sale was made by a man named r. G.
Ruf amels, who sold fine 25-foot front lot near
the ,and Office for S5 to an old doctor, q resi-
dent of one of the Indian reservations adjon-
ing Oklahoma. The purchaser refused $50 for
the lot five minutes later. Several transfers
were made and others, who were determined
to locaAs here, drove stakes outside the town
line. This is preparatory 10 the purchase Of
homesteaiers' rights and extension of the city
limits
Guthrie already has its Main street, its Har-
rison street. its Guthrie avenue and its Okla
homa avenue and yesterday morning Is IVES .