The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-09-17
AFTER THE RACE.

GUTHRIE, O. T., Sept. 16-After tho race
was over, and when the settler looked
around to see where he was at" he was
sore, very sore. The man who had taken
Up homestead found himself located
npon about as apparently undesirable a
patch of land as could we'll be found in the
whole breadth of Uncle SANS domain, ex-
:epting. possibly, portions of the Ameri-
can desert. Prairie fires had swept great
tracts of land and left them black and uu-
inviting. Other tracts had been cut clear
of hay by men who have made living
and some of them fortunes gathering the
prairie grass. What hay had been left by
The fires and haymakers WAS parched 10 Il
crisp by the recent hot winds and matted
on the ground by the same agencies. The
prospect was dreary one-a prairie ex-
lending rs far as The eye could reach, re-
ieved by no signs of human life excepting
those brought into the desolate land by
the settlers themselves.
Few of the homeSteads were provided
With natural water. The lack OF water
y i'll be he great obstacle in the way of the
homesteader's comforT and that of his
Hocks and herds. The season has been I'M
usually dry, even fer this dry climate.
But little rain has fallen for a full month
and none for the past two weeks. The
creeks have run dry, and the Arkansas
and Cimarron rivers have reached a
condition OF stagnatinn, so that what
little water Is obtainable is of bad quality.
There are very few springs in the Snip,
and the digging Cf well in the sandy soil
is "A long and arduous process. 1t must be
sunk at least 100 feet, and In some cases
$50 feet, before water is found. Pending
The digging of wells or a fall OF rain, the
settlers VIII experience great difficulty,
uud in many cases actual suffering IN pro-
vidiug water. In many cases they Will be
obliged TO haul it long distances from the
rivers, and then 1T will be Insufficient III
QUANTITY and undesirable III quality. Most
of the settlers have taken with them to
their claims an ample supply of food, aud
Do inconvenience will he encountered on
that score.
The towrsiter was also disappointed
man when he fonnd himself the possessor
Of much coveted lot. In his dreams and
faucieS he had pictured TO himself town
at least. When he got his lot he found
lac had 25-foot piece of land in the open
prairie. exactly similar TO a thousand
other pieces divided from each other only
~ imaginary lines. AT the government
,ownsites only the blocks hai bseR sur
reyed aud 1T va, impossible for a man TO
tell just where MS lot was even after he
had got il. The fact that the lots were
not surveyed led 10 endless confusion and
numerous disputes, for IN q given block
more men would claim lots thHn there
were in block, and some would get left.
The first buildings that went up on the
lots were OF canvas. They were tents
erected by shopkeepers, who soou stocked
Them with their wares aud were doing
thriving business before sunset.
THE SETTLERS.
The people who settled to-day upon the
L-fa ~ rlp a ut .ii
in point of numbers. from tue boomers who
. have taken possession of public lands on
former similar occasions. lt is estimated
that fully 100000 people have prs-empted
homestead claims or town lots. Estimtt-
ing the number in families at one and a
half to each clalmer, the number of people
POW camping on the strip is about 200, 600
far exceeding the number which raced
into Oklahoma when nearly twice the
number OF acres were thrown opea to set
fienent in that territory. Sneculators
tow lotters, gamblers anu confidence men
compose greater portion of the papula-
zion than when Oklahoma WAS opauea
The tpwnlol fers are especially numerous.
They are mostly men who have been
thrown cut OF employment By the recent
financial distress, aud who hope 10 make
= stake by selling their claims. Amoug
,bem, however. Is the professional town
lotter IN Kansas and Oklahoma, who IS
All the county-seats aud townsltes have
them in numbers, but they also boast
their fuu quotas of mechanics, mer-
chants, smae tradesmen, and nen
OF the professions Doctors are
present toe administer TO the
physical needs of settlers. lawyers to the ir
legal needs, and newspaper men 20 their
mental requirements. Every county seat
will have "A newspaper which hopes to
obtain the county and government print
ing, and every townsite has one TO boom it
es the Peerless Priacess of the Plains"
Carpenters and masous are plenty. There
has rot been much building in the cities
during these hard times, and they have
taken the opportunity 10 seek employment
ar big wages IN putting up The new towGs,
besides securing town lot or "A farm.
Many OF the gamblers and confidence mer
quit the game" when the race began.
Their golden opportunity WAS while men
were idling the heurs away waiting for
ihe opening Some OF them. however.