Mexico weekly ledger., 1889-05-16
THE LAND
Fails to Meet the Expectations of
the Boomers An Interesting
Letter.
Correspondence OF the Ledger.

Correspondence OF the Ledger.
GUTHRIE, l. t., May 1.-Two
weeks ago yesterday morning |
walked up from the depot to the
townsite of Guthrie, and the emily
signs of inhabitants in the vast ex-
panse of prairie grass were three
tents for the United States officials
and the land office. That night s.
600 human beings conformed THEN
bodies to the bumps ofthe locality
stretched in the first nights repose
upon the land where they ex-
pected to build their homes. Any
attempt at a description of the sight
would betray the ineificiency and
the poverty four language. To be
known it must have been seen,
and the sight was well worth a
year of any persons life. Your
readers have read fully of this in
the daily dispatches and l shall
not attempt it. Those luckless
enough to come on later trains just
stopped over on the adjoining quar-
ter section, formed municipalities
and elected officers of their own,
until now we have North Guthrie,
East Guthrie, South Guthrie and
Guthrie proper.
AS no official survey had been
made. nor is there any up to this
date, all locations were made in un-
certainty and no one knew whether
that which he had staked off and
Was guarding so faithfully was
street, alley or valuable property.
The Reno reserve is 90 marked
out and a general compulsory emf
grafton began from it yesterday.
There are from two to five claim
ants for ali of the principal lots,
and the hourly squabbles afford a
source of consideration merriment.
However, things are shaping them
selves and much trouble is antici-
pated among the rival claimants,
all of which could have been avoid
ed had there been an original sur
vey.
Last night your correspondent
saw one fellow chop another's foun-
dation down, and two others tear a
jumpers tent from their claim.
Knock-downs have been numerous
and many arrests have been made.
The population now consists OF
about 1000 souls and 14,00O specu-
lators. Gamblers are numerous,
and every variety of game, from
chuck-a-luck to monte, line the
thoroughfares. The water is poor,
but that will soon be overcome, as
wells are being put down all over
the site. The trains, both incoming
and ~outcoming, are still loaded.
Many who came by team are dis
gruntled, as they were too late to
get land and are going back to theiI
wife's people. l noticed one fell
low in particular camped in the
brush on the bank of the Cimarron.
His horses were poor, his children
ragged, the entire outfit dilapidated
and weather beaten, while with a
sense of grim humor and a piece Of
crayon, he had written this couplet,
which is probably mere expressive
than sublime, on his wagon cover;
"Good-by, Oklahoma l bid you adieu:
may emigrate to HI. but never to you
This town, which beats the
worlds record, still continues to
grow. Some forty houses are com.
pleted and more than three hun.
dred are in process of construction
AS | write, the noise of hundreds
of hammers, the rasp of as many
saws, mingled with shouts and cries:
the rumble of wagons, and the
tramp Of thousands of feet, which
have ground the prairie sod te
powder in the last week, form
Babel of sounds which predicts the
coming greatness of the infant me.
tropolis of the South and West.
R. f. G..