St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-04-23

gathered together II groups on the level
prairie or in the little Yallays which
diversity the face of the country. 1t
was at once noticeable that the teams
were not TO be seen in any of these
camps and it was plain they
had been taken out of the harness to be
ridden across the border by the hard
riders who were to locate claims. A
little further on and this conclusion WAS
proven to be the correct one. for the en-
tire face of the country, as far as the
best field glass could carry the sight.
was overrun with horsemen
GALLOPING TO THE SOUTHWARK.
Their fleeteSt horses had evidently
been picked for the work and they we're
carrying their riders rapidly to the
longed-for goal. The ride of Paul
Revere dwindles into Obscurity beside
the feat of horsemanship performed in
Oklahoma to-day. Rides OF fifteen
or twenty miles were made in
an incredibly short time by old
boomers familiar with the country and
who knew where desirable land was 10
Gated. The day was clOudleSs. and far
away on the horizon, both to the east
and west, clouds of dust could be seen
ascending from the hoOfs of horses
rushing toward different destina'
tiOns in most cases. but some
of them toward lhe same. One
race for goal could be easily
distinguished. The riders were ap-
parently evenly mounted. they were
neck and neck for mile or two along
the trail as far as they could be seen,
and their eager and intense looks and
mercileSs slashing were sufficient evi-
dence OF the prize they were running
after. One Saddled but riderlesS horse
was seen galloping along the trail.
an ominous sign of some accident or
fatality which had befallen the rider.
Some men were in charge of the horses.
and were evidently riding relays to-
ward the goal. Out Of the dust which
arose toward the east could be seen
after the train had reached the summit
of high siding,
A WAGON CARAVAN
fully two miles in length, and which
was being sped to the utmost speed of
its horses. These caravans were plainly
Outdistanced by the horseback riders.
and after several miles of the territory
had been traverSed it was seen that the
best riders were securing the best
prizes. One homesteader, VINO had
secured a magnificent Quarter-sec-
ton of trolling land. had dug
hole two or three feet deep at that
corner OF it where the surveyors sec
ton was located. and where he had
driven his stakes. Not looking upon
these evidences of possession as suff-
cient to confirm his title, he seized
Winchester as the train ran by,
and fired out all of its contents,
and then emptied his revolver. Yell
ing like a cowboy Or a Comanche Indian
all the time. Not only the yells, but
the shots were responded to from the
train, and a vOlley went up into the air
1 from the entire length Of the SETON.
which proved cOnclusively how we'll
| the party was armed iii expectancy
! of what might happen a few miles
! the other side of the line. The train
! stopped at the military post. where the
I white tents OF the soldiers and the Off
| GERS tents, surrounded by the ma
| tlonal cOlOrs. were gratifying evidence
/ of a power sufficient TO maintain order.
| Troop D. of the Fifth regiment of cav
| airy of the United States army, was
/ quartered there. and the officers said
| that at the sound of the bugle at high
| noon. there had been a movement
! among the boomers camped along the
| border. which had extended across the
! entire frontier line. and that the riding
| had been fast and furious ever since,
! some of the prospectors running to
! Guthrie to file their entries. 1t was
! twenty minutes after II o'clock when
| the first section of the great Atchison
train reached the line. and its progress
| from that point onto Guthrie was
NOT RAPID ENOUGH
for the rapid men who wanted to get
there in hurry before all the cream
was SKINNED off the milk. Neverthe-
! less. it lacked but a few minutes of l
| o'clock when the train stopped in
| front of the Guthrie depot, a hand
some and substantial edifice, which
has been greatly Hbeled by the
numerous newspaper artists which have
| drawn upon their Imagination for its
pictures since this excitement begau.
Before the train came TO a stop it was
seen that somebody was already there:
in fact, the town was already well popu-
lated. Tents were numerous on the
eastern slope and stakes were sticking
up out of the ground like poles in a
| bean patch. There was nothing to do
/ but to take what was left, and it was in
the scramble TO get these that the
MOST LUDICRoUs SCENE
of the day was presented. Falling over
each other in the effort to get out of the
cars. every variety of man along the
| frontier made an army which charged
the land office at the top of the knoll,
not in a body. but in detachments. The
land Office was not the point of their
destination. though it stands at the
corner of the section. and is.
therefore, the present center of the
town. But it was to secure the lots
nearest to it that the rush was made
there was little left near it. Stakes had
already been driven almost the limit of
the half section of $40 acres allowed for
a town site. AS the law now stands.
there was but small margin. and this
lsaTrl ID Itr~x ~ ~
same men who had already
appropriated nearly everything in
sight. Il was but few minutes until
the line was reached and the back
action movement of taking up the lots
which nobody wanted before began.
They were not long on the market.
after the ebb of the tide set in. and
when the second or third sections of
the AtchiSon train arrived and found
everything cornered. the air was blue
for miles around the metropolis.
FIRST MUNICIPAL ELECTION
occurred. The election notice ap-
peared to-day in the Oklahama Herald,
daily paper published at Guthrie on
the first day of its existence. A coun-
ell will be elected at the same time.
Nearly ten thousand votes were poIIed
as there are about that many men in
Guthrie with the intention of be-
coming cltlZens. 1he leading candidates
for mayor were Adjutant-generaI
Reice. of Illinois; William Constantine.
of Springfield. o.. and L. L. Sumner. of
Arkansas City. A strong dark horse is
T. VOlney Haggatt. of Huron, Oak.
The Bank of Oklahoma opened for bus
iness at Guthrie to-day with capital
stock of $4,000. The new
city is flooded with business cards
Of all descriptions. representing every
line of trade and business, every pro-
fession and every occupation imag1-