The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1892-04-26


the Cheyenne and Arapahoes. Upon
what was yesterday morning a waste,
barren of life, to-day are encamped
many thousands. All the stretch of
4,OOO,0 900 acres is dotted with tents and
white topped wagons. Towns have
sprung up in the wilderness. The rush
was set to start sharply at noon on the
firing of field piece sent out from
Fort Reno. AS matter of fact there
We're in this neigh borhood- at least two
great rushcs, and the first rushers are
liable to be rejected as sooners.
The boomers passed the morning
quite happily, talking about horses and
sooners. Every man had the best and
fastest horses in all the Indian country,
and every man knew there were coolies
of sooners over in the hills. Every
time a venturesome rider went into the
forbidden land a howl came from a
thousand Threats. The boomers kept
each other in line. Every now and
then a yellow striped trooper went
scuttling up and down the line viewed
by the boomers with much awe.
At Just 11:3s a thing happenened
which is going to make vast deal of
lIOuDlC III lhC ucW LUZ IIdSt,
notorious in Ell Reno as bad man and
q killer, had been making q holy show
of himself all the morning up and down
the line about three miles south of Ell
Reno. This rambunctious person had
attired himself in a suit of white
tights and velvet trunks, thrown a red
blanket over his shoulders and mount
ed on a prancing steed. In this re-
IL al J..
down the line making himself officious
and announcing the time every five
minutes.
About twenty-five minutes of 1s,
East and a certain Stewart were to-
gether on the line amidst a crowd of
waiting horsemen. A revolver shot
was fired into the air by one of these
two. Both broke across the line at
full gallop. The horsemen round
about followed pell nell. Up and
down the line the stampede spread.
People hearing the shot and seeing the
rush across the line thought the hour
had come.
The mob spread out all over the
prairies and as the dust clouds behind
the rushing horsemen faded away over
the nearest ridge myriads of pitch ing,
tossing wagon tops took their places.
Every now and then a wagon could be
seen to stop, man spring out and in
an instant tagged stake was flying.
Farmer Rice, a man from Kansas,
broke undoubtedly the first sod in the
new country. Mr.. Rice and his mule
team left the line in all good
faith at the false signal and
the old man and his lusty son dashed
the mules into terrific run for just
about 300 rods. That far from the
line Rice had fixed his eye on a claim.
Ten minutes after his mules had
jumped across the line, Farmer Rice
had a pillow cutting a furrow across
that quarter section.
Two or three troopers and sergeant
had gone down the line just an instant
before this wild riot began. As they
saw the charging of horses and wagons
they spurred their beasts into the mass,
and did all so small force could do to
drive the wild eyed runners back.
sect beyond that line, every man OF
you that wants a claim" they shouted.
Many people heard, and had sense
enough to turn back; others seeing
retreat turned. too, and within five
minutes there was as hard a scramble
to get back into the line as there had
been to get across it.
All the advance guard. however, the
fast horsemen, were beyond reach.
They had chased away in fancied sure
ty of getting a claim.
The returning boomers lined up
again with red hot curses against
Doc East. Those who had been
near enough to know who had started
the stampede swore that East should
hang if they caught him. Then they
all settled down to await the true sig
nal.
On ridge just outside of Ell Reno a
detachment of soldiers under Lieuten-
ant Almy, adjutant at Fl. Reno, had
placed early in the morning big Ma
poleon field piece, drawn from its place
on the parade ground at the post.
Fired the Cannon.
At exactly IL o'clock by the heuten-
ants watch Sergeant Fugit, ordnance
officer at the fort, jerked the lanyard
of this old relic and before the smoke
had foated off the country in the
neighborhood was full of boom
ers in full fight. The shot was
twice repeated. The sound of the piece
did not reach down the line to as far
as the place where the first rush had
been made and where were the great
est crowds, but the soldiers along the
line saw the puff of white smoke and
every man of them drew his six shooter
and saluted the new land.
The second rush along the 9Sth me-
ridian was not at all equal to the first;
many had failed to get back from the
false start.
Tents went up like magic and plows
were started in all directions. All the
wide West was alive.
Farmer Rice, who had got his pillow
into the soil first on the false start, got
back to his furrow and set at it again
when the authorized start was made.
He found stranger there sticking q
stake into one corner of the claim, but
he needed not the stake driver and
drove his plOw ahead.