The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-10-03
NOTES FROM PERRY.
A NOVEL WAY OP SETTLING A CON
TEST OVER A TOWN LOT.
A House Built in a Day-A Legislator
Playing Fiddle in Saloon Orchestra.
A Choir Leader Playing for Gaiety
GirIs-A Few Items About the
Wichita Contingent

The Santa Fe excursion train which left
! here Sunday for Perry was not very well
| patronized, Notwithstanding the low fare.
About two dozen persons went from here
and possibly fifty from Arkansas city.
| The journey was made on schedule time
| and the smaIlness of the crowd made the
| riding correspondingly more comfortable.
Everybody wanted to see Perry and cared
| only for that, hence very little interest
| was taken in other towns except at Kirk
| where the train did not stop, although
| there is quite large city there and good
! deal of life. Perry is truly wonder for a
| baby two weeks old. AS one enters it it
bears a striking resemblance to Yelling
ton the kay after the cyclone. Every
thing is topsy turvey looking from the
train and one does not begin to notice
anything like order till be drives leisurely
into the city when he then observes wide
and straight streets. The building of
Perry is like the building of Babel so far
as confusion of tonges and everything
else is concerned. The Sabbath did
not deter them from building aud the
noise of the hammer, yes, Thousand
hammers, couid be heard in every direc-
ton. The rapidity with which they put
up buildings there is truly phenomenal.
At o'rlock Saturday evening the probate
| judge left town and in his absence the
Fred Helm Brewing company began
| erecting an immense building 2-stories
| high. about 100 feet deep and twenty-five
| feet wide This building was fully conf
pleted ia twenty-four hours including the
| interior wainscoating. In fact 1t was
| ready for occupancy AS nothing was lack
| ing but the paint. Now then it should
| not be inferred that n city could not be
| built while the probate judge was in town,
| but at the same time his absence OCCASION
ally is very desirable TO contractors. There
are good many lots at Perry for which
there are good many contestants and If
| the probate judge absents himself Que of
| the sllckest of the contestants, If he has
| the money, can put up a building without
any fears of an injunction rs that official
| is the only one at Perry who has the
| authority to issue restraining orders. This
was the reason Fred Helm was so busy on
| Sunday with about fifty carpenters. and it
| was stated that there were many more
but one frame building at Perry; now
about two.thirds of the town consists of
frame buildings and it is, estimated that
in two weeks more every tent will be
folded up and laid away for the next open
| ing.
There are some excellent stocks of goods
in the city and the prices prevailing are
| about the same as they are in Kansas after
considering the extra freight paid. Meals
can be had for from % to so cents and
they are generally good and in most in
stances clean and wholesome. Water is
now abundant and good. 1t is found at
thirty feet and we'll digging is quite an
Industry. 1t will be remembered that the
water found in the government we'll on
opening day was pronounced not fit for
use, and such was the case for it has since
been ascertained that some scoundrels
poured two sacks of salt into it SO as to
create q boom for water that had been
brought in there by spectators. The
government square is still occupied by
| those who settled on it by mistake on the
day of opening but the county sheriff has
issued proclamation for everybody to
move off of it by next Wednesday and the
| intention is to obey the proclamation.
| People do not hesitate TO say, however,
| that the building of the land Office on the
| wrong block was scheme" gotten up in
| the interest of a few government pets. 1t Is
| openly asserted that frauds are committed
every hour in the day by officials and that
| for a certain price any m an will be admit
| ted to the land Office to file. The corrupt
officials, whoever they are, do better than
the corrupt officials at Enid, however.
for at Perry poor devil may buy his way
! into the land Office for from $40 to $50,
while at Enid the same privilege costs
from $50 to $50.
There are many contests on lots. and 1t
is wonder that more blood is not spilled.
And, talking about Understanding, a
good many of tie reports of lawlessness at
Perry are simply falsehoods. Few violent
fatalities have occurred there, in fact.
Last Saturday contest was nicely
settled, the story of which Is worth
relating. Two young men claimed one
of the best lots III the city One
of them, Mr. Hol,ingsworth was from
Kansas and the other, Mr.. Hoffman, was
| from Texas. Each was positive that he
was on the lot first, but being square
young fellows their contest was quiet
one. Each sat in the lot day after day to
protect his interests and rights, but at
| last they came together, not to fight but
| to reason, and agreed to run the race over
again from the same point. on the same
horses and at the same time. One being
from Kansas and the other from Texas
| they selected q gentleman from Arkansas
/, for starter, and on Saturday morning they
rode to Orlando.
| At noon the Arkansas gentleman fired
his revolver and both contestants galloped
! away furiously in the direction of Perry.
| This was not q blind race. On the 10Th
1 they did not know what they were riding
| for exactly, but this time they knew that
| the prize was good one, aud their efforts
| to win it were increased accordingly. For
/. distance of 81 miles they ran almos,
neck and neck and then the Texas mans
| horse gave out while the jayhawker made
the ten miles in ssh minutes and was
greeted by the popuiace who shouted
themselves hoarse and tossed their
hats in the air. When the Texas man ar
rived he acknowledged he was beaten
fs,riy. walked over to the Probate Judges
office with the kansan and made him a
quit claim to the lot without word OF
complaint or regret.
There are sixty-nine saloons at Perry
| aud not few of them are from ksns
| Two or three OF these are typical frontier
institutions such as Wichita had twenty
Years ago. They are combination gin
mills dance houses and gambling Gens.
An ex-member OF the Kansas Leg.
islature plays the fiddle in the
orchestra of one of these places. while
al ex-choir leader of Wichita church