Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-04-24
NOW COMES THE FUN
All the Land ill Oklahoma Al.
 ready Taken.
THE WORK OF MURDER BEGINS
One Man Tries to Jump Anothers Claim
 and is Promptly Killed.

| Shooting AfYnirs-Exciting Scenes Att | tendant Upon tho Founding of the Now.
 Town of Noble-settIers Suffering from
 Scarcity of Good Water.
 GUTHRIE, Oklahoma, April 24.-The first homestead entry filed at Guthrie was that of Mark s. Cohn, of Fort Smith, Ark. The first soldier to file declaration statement was Benton Turner, who was private in, Company l, Sixth Illinois cavalry. Three town site entries, those of Guthrie, Oklaho- ma City and Edmunds, and twenty-one soldiers declaratory statements have been filed
 At l2:15 o'clock yesterday William John son, heading the little procession at the land office, laid down rough chart of Guthrie and filed it as a town site This was the first paper presented.
 Four Land office clerks from Washington arrived yesterday, two to be stationed at | kingfisher and two here. Land Registrar Oille stated this morning that tho King fisher land office would not be open until to- morrow.
 THE FIRST MURDER IN OKLAHOMA
 About o'clock yesterday afternoon s. T.. Compis was shot and mortally wounded by an unknown man who claimed prior right to his claim. Compis lived half an hour and his story Of the murder is about as fol- lows: He and his partner had entered Guthrie on ponies. All the lots were gone and they had swan the Cottonwood and had staked a claim. As they were driving the last stake fellow was discovered in the bushes. This man said that he had already staked the claim, Compis and his partner offered to divide. To this the fellow objected and warned them that l ha1 ryO,,1I oh fhnx, I ,ct lao pis paid no attention to this threat and de- clared he should sleep on that claim.
 Half an hour afterward Compis was shot by the first claimant. The murderer got away before Compis' companion could re- alize what had been done. Compis' partner and sympathizing boomers gave the dying, man all the attention possible, and buried his remains in the bushes. Owing to the peculiar situation it is not likely the mur!! derer will be apprehended. | reporter claims to have heard the sshot and moment later to have seen man on
 horseback ride west over the hill at a break neck speed. Further than this evidence is . l wanting. The dead man was about 30 years old and
 had black hair and eyes. He wore gray
 flannel shirt, boots, and pants, and had his
 coat strapped to his pony. Compis' com panion took possession of the murdered } mans outfit consisting of a wagon and two horses. This was the only murder near Guthrie, up to midnight
 MT. J. a. Varnum, deputy marshal, who arrived here to-day says that Martin Col bert, a wealthy citizen of the Chickasaw F Nation, was killed in a quarrel over claim 1 by man named Noland.
 l About fourteen miles west of Oklahoma
 City man was found dead on a claim.
 Near the body was a man by the name of
 Martin who coolly informed the deputy that he had killed the man in defending him. self.
 :, About three miles west of Guthrie an in- vader shot settler In a dispute over a
 claim, seriously wounding him in the ab-
 domen.
 , LOCATING NEW TOWN. l On locating the new town of Noble. MT. Varnum says, the scenes were the most ex-
 citing he ever witnessed. Texas cowboys
 and Chickasaw half-breeds mounted on Q | fleet horses started on dead run with Win
 chesters in their hands. These men were employed by Texas colony, and within a :, l few hours after noon they had their town h government organized. L. l.. Stone was l. elected Mayor. The town has population . | of 1 800.
 Some of the overflow from Guthrie have VI gone over on sections in Range ? and or. ganized a town to be called West Guthrie l It is question whether this can legally be I ', There are already four or five contestants ', for this claim, and several boomers had al ready squatted on different portions of it. 5, A SCARCITY OF WATER. 1t After o'clock yesterday and during the ], night there was much suffering on account l. of the scarcity of water The water in the y Cottonwood is red with mud and famine
 seems imminent
 Hawkers went about the depot last night
 with buckets of water, charging five cent: 1. glass. The stuff was poor, but found { !. ready sale. The engineers were besiege6 l. by thirsty people for drinks from the en n zine tanks and many were accommodated |, The first sale was made by mau named s, R. c. Rummels of Malvan, Kan, who solo n a fine 25-foot lot near the Land office for s; al to an old doctor, a resident of one of the
 Indian reservations adjoining Oklahoma 2 The purchaser refused $50 for the lot five
 minutes later.
 o Several transfers were made and other. 70 who were determined to locate here drove ', stakes outside of the town ine.i This is preparatory to the purchase o1 ,a homestead rights and extension of the city ~ limits.
 7a Guthrie already has its Main street, it Harrison street, its Guthrie avenue and 1t
 Oklahoma avenue, and Monday morning i
 was wilderness where the antelope sportet
 and the jack rabbit Tapped it's ears in tn is sun.
 e. In the afternoon at o'clock the frs en municipal election occurred. Ill The election notice appeared in tn oi Oklahoma Herald, daily paper publishe, oi at Guthrie on the first day of it's existence et A council was elected at the same time.
 Nearly ten thousand votes were boiled
 as there are about that many men il
 Guthrie with the intention of becomin l citizens.
 ,;Ss The leading candidates for mayor were a Adjutant Reice, of Illinois; William Con stantine, of Springfield, Ohio, and T. |
 Sumner, of Arkansas City.
 A strong dark horse was T. Volney Hae
 gatt of Huron, Dakota.
 ar The Bank Of Oklahoma opened for busi he ness at Guthrie Monday with capital stoc n. of 1000. N. w. Levy, the Wichita banker (e in president; Geo. w. Robinson, the banke of inf Sxaad Of Ir