Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-09-16
RUSH FOR THE STRIP
Scramble to be First on the Cherokee
Lands.
JNEQUALED SCENES ON TIE BORDER.
There Was No Sleep for Thousands
All Night.
SOLDIERS USE THE BAYONET.

ARKANSAS CITY, Ark, Sept. 16-At IL
o'clock the bars that have SO long inclosed
5000. 900 acres of public land were let down.
and over 100000 men and women joined I'm
the mad rush for land. Men who had the
fastest horses rode like the wind from the
border, only to find other men with sorry
looking animals ahead of them. Fast teams
carrying anxious home seekers were driven
at breakneck speed only to find men on the
land, who had gone in afoot.
Every precaution had been taken to keep
out the sooner element, and yet that
same element, profiting by former expert
ences. had captured the land. All night the
rumble of teams could be heard as they
moved out to the strip. At the depots the
men stood In line at the ticket office wait
ing the slow movement of ticket sellers
who could not sell over 1000 tickets an
hour. The great jam. however, was at Or
lando. where there gathered 10000 Perry
citizens, all anxious for the time to come
when they could start on their ten mile
race. At the meridian hour the start was
made. For an hour before the borders OF
the strip were black with men. horses and
teams.
From the elevation at Orlando the line
could be seen for a distance of eight miles
east and ten miles west. In each direction
the line was crowded until there appeared
but a black ribbon outlined on the gray
surface about them. Half a dozen times
some one would shout the hour Of noon and
fifty to a hundred horsemen would draw
out of the line only to be driven back by
the cavalry men who were patrolling the
strip in front of the impatient throng.
The Hour of Noon.
At last a pun Of smoke was seen out on
the plains to the north and soon dull re-
port of a cannon was heard. A dozen
carbines along the line were fired in response
to the signal and the line was broken.
Darling out at breakneck speed. the racers
soon dotted the plains in every direction.
Following them came light vehicles driven
with a madness that disregarded every OBJ
struction, the drivers yelling and urging
their horses with whip as well as voice.
Then followed heavier wagons erveloped in
clouds Of dust, the noise made by their
wheels resembling long-continued rolls Of
thunder. Behind these came anxious foot
men carrying blankets. water and stakes.
regardless of the heat and dust. Before
them was the unknown. behind them were
all the discomforts of that hell upon earth,
Orlando. The trains were loaded rapidly.
At first there was an attempt to examine
the EcSlSudtiou CSEuhCdtcS, DuS thAS was
soon given up. as the rushing thousands
pushed those ahead of them, the trainmen
giving all their time to collecting the tick
cts. The first train Of twelve cars pulled
across the line at noon. crowded as trains
never were before. Platforms and roofs of
cars were black with human life, as were
the insides. Following this train, with an
interval of only two or three minutes. went
another and another, until the last, consist
ing of fiat cars and coal cars. all crowded,
had pulled across the line, followed by at
least 5000 disappointed painting men, who
were determined not to be deprived of their
rights.
The run to Perry was made in three-quar-
tiers of an hour. Before the train stopped
men began climbing out of the windows
and jumping from the platforms.
AL night there was a hurrying to and
fro. and but. few of the 10000 boomers
upon the border of the promised land closed
their eyes in sleep. With prairie fires rag
Ing in front of them and with mind and
body strained by the pent up excitement of
the coming struggle there was no room for
sleep, no inclination to rest.
Over 1890 people wanted to go in on the
first train which had a capacity for less
than 1000, and all were anxious to get the
place to get aboard. At IL o'clock the first
first train. which had capacity Tor less
came right behind II. There were at least
half a dozen trains. but everybody wanted
to ride on the first one, and as far forward
In that as possible.
A Terrible Rush for the Cars.
With a wild shout the crowd rushed for
ward. The soldiers on the ground were
swept from their feet and for a moment it
as though the mob would capture
the train for men and women were around
and over the engine and tender, upon and
under the platforms and even upon the
roofs of the coaches. The blue-coated
guardians soon recovered, however, and
with fixed bayonetS cleared the train and
compelled everybody to show his or her
certificate before entering. But on every
side people fought and struggled to get
near the cars.