Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1893-09-22
CHEROKEE STRIP FORMALLY OP-
ENED FOR SETTLEMENT.
RUSH PELLrNELL.
Wild Border Scenes-Trains Loaded
and Every Sort Of Vehicle Repre-
sented-Sooners ON the Ground
First-The Vast Strip Settled in a
Twinkling.

+ Arkansas City, kas., Sept. lG-At
five minutes before noon today 100000
men were gathered upon the north and
south boundaries Of the Cherokee strip.
aWaiting brea thlessly the signal which
should announce to them the arrival of
the hour when the land passed from
the ownership Of the United States GOV
! eminent into the possession Of it's indi-
vidual citizens
AL expected fortunes, and all were
ready for the race for lands Some
were mounted on thoroughbred racers,
some on the less feet but sure footed
COW ponies some bicycles Others
made the race in buggies and wagons.
An air Of strained expectancy pervad-
ed the throngs and each was eager
for the signal.
Bang! bang. The reviewers of the
United States army officers who have
the affair in charge gave the signal to
start and the race for homes is on
Seventy-fiye thousand men and women
rush over the boundaries and into the
coveted land as if their very lives,
rather than the mere possession of a
farm or town lot depended upon their
going.
The shouting of the men, the scream
ing Of the women, the neighing Of the
frightened horses, the cracking of
whips, the creaking of prairie schoon-
ers, the rafting Of wheels, the CHATTER
of hoofS and the explosion of firearms
combine to make a confusion of sounds
in bn
of the start and to render the scene
one Of indescribab-e pandemonium.
After the line is crossed and the
racers spread out over the strip, ex-
citing contests take place. Here is Il
neck and neck race between horse
men who have all selected a certain
lot III certain town site as the only
thing worth having in the whole coun-
try. The stake is alluring and each
horseman puts forth every effort TO
snatch the prize. Here a choice ia I'm
is the stake and the race is equally
exciting.
Here the racers come upon a gully
over which they cannot urge their
horses. They abandon their animals,
trusting to luck to find them again
and make for the goal on foot, stumb-
ling over rocks, wading streams and
climbing precipitous banks in the mad
race. Here women engage in a race
for a prize and there men and women
are chasing over the prairie for the
; same piece of land.
Along the railroad tracks the boomer
trains loaded to the guards with town
siters are creeping along at a snail 5
pace, it seems to the anxious passen-
gers, while feet animals outstrip the
mighty iron horse, handicapped by be
ing forbidden to exceed twelve miles
an hour. The horsemen shout deri-
sive-y as they pass the trains, and some
of the more hotheaded passengers pile
) off of the cars forthwith, scamper a
distance into the prairie and squat upon
the first vacant patch of 16O acres
which comes in their way.
AS Il train pulls into town site or
county seat it disgorges its load and
. the toWnSiterS swarm over the land
Ike an army Of ants. The plot OF
: ground which fifteen minutes before
was nothing but a surveyed patch of
prairie with not an inhabitant be
4 comes a populous community. Inntm-
cradle disputes, many alterations and
: some fights take place.
There are no officers of the law to in
: terfere and lot seekers are too busy
with their own affairs to mix in with
: other peoples business 50 the fighters
fight it out until one is incapacitated
while his victor captures the prize
Immediately a lot is claimed, stakes
are driven, in some cases tents are
: erected and in few instances town
meetings are held, officers elected and
before the thing seems possible mu
nicipality has sprung into existence.
In the meantime out on the prairies
low more leiswely in the prairie
homestead prescriptions. The head OF
family and his sons Of legal age make
the race on horses or on foot if the
horses are not numerous enough to &C
round, while the women folks fol
the farmers continue their race fol
schooner which pitches and rolls abou
ON the broken prairie like a sure enough
schooner in rough sea.
From the line south of Arkansas City
: a number of young men make the race
!. on safety bicycles, They need safeties
They had practiced for days riding
over the rough prairies in preparation
for the race. A deep gulley. minia
ture canon parallels the north line Of
the strip about three miles interior
Across this it is impossible for the
cycler to ride, and those who had out
stripped the horsemen are obliged K
dismount and take what they can tnC
north of the gulley.
: Enough people made the run to fur
n;sh each one of the $1,000 homestead
with an occupant and give every coun
j. ty seat and town site at least 1,500 in
: habitants. 1t is estimated that 45.0ot
people made the race. It is know
: that over $4,000 certificates wer,
! issued from the various registration
booths but the majority Of the pros
.pectiye settlers took out both home
stead and townsite certificates SO TIT
number of certificates does not repre-
sent the number Of settlers.
1t is estimated that 10000 peopl
made the race from Arkansas City
5000 frnaa Caldwell: o50o0 from Or
9 lando: 10000 from Hennessy; 10.oa
e from saltwater: 5000 from kiowa
|. 1000 from HunneweE and from 500;
5 TO 5000 from other points. The tota
I number nearly doubles the GROVE
Il which raced into Oklahoma when tia