Rocky Ford enterprise., 1893-09-21
AWAITING THE OPENING DAY.
Trying Experiences of Prospective Set.
tiers ON tho Cherokee strip.


A dispatch from Arkansas City on the l4th
says:
Tho boomers who own fast horses have
been bitterly opposed to the running of trains
into tho Strip Saturday. Officers have just
discovered evidence that number OF owners
Of fast horses here and at Guthrie have hired
gang Of sooners to 60 upon the Strip and
burn the bridges tho night before the opening
thus shutting on train transportation. The
marshal of Oklahoma has been asked for .
lot Of deputy marshals to guard the bridges.
All bridges will be watched from now until
after the run. The job, as planned BY the
horse-owners, was to divide all the lands Sc
cured by them with the "sooners" who fred
tho bridges The Santa Fo officials have been
ures to frustrate It.
DR.. Gallagher established two booths In
this city this evening, and registration will be
commenced At them tomorrow morning. In
the msantime registration at the old booths
south Of here will continue until the registra-
tion is exhausted. Kegistration will be kept
up all through the night II necessary. Whom
the last man receives his certificate the booths
will be moved to town, where drinking water,
food and shelter from the sun can be easily
obtained. This will In r great measure re.
lieve the intense suffering Of the people In
limo.
Last night tho Santa Fe train arrived sew
eral hours late and In 1--WE sections. Every
section was crowded with passengers and
nearly all stepped of here. At ten o'clock
hundreds Of men were securing the town
looking for lodgings. A larger number OF
men than ever were compelled to sleep on the
streets. This morning crowded trains came
in over all the lines It ID no exaggeration to
state that 10000 strangers are within and
about town.
At Orlando to-day over 5000 certificates
were issued and the number Of people de-
manding the opportunity to register was fully
10000. The force Of clerks At the booths
there was increased again to-day and = night
force will be put to work tonight. 1t ia be-
lieved all will be permitted to register before
noon Saturday. Tho suffering from the heat
and dust was intense again to-day, although
the thermometer did not reach the high
mark of yesterday. Early in the afternoon
tho wind got around to tho northwest and the
mercury did not register over ninety-fivc de-
grees.
At Caldwell plentiful water supply near
registration booths relieved the suffering Of
the men in line before the booths. A brisk
northwest wind came up In the afternoon
and somewhat tempered the heat. Out in
the line, with NO shelter from the suns rays,
the heat was dreadful and the suffering In
tense.
Fully 10000 people arc still waiting there
the opportunity to secure the precious certif-
cate, and hundreds Of people who are coming
In over every road are being added to the
number. Tho number Of certificates being
issued every ten hours reaches about 5000
now and IL ID believed all will bo accommo-
dated.
Certificates, all regularly signed and stamped,
were sold like hot cakes here to-day to pros
pective Strip settlers for $500 apiece. From
what source they como 10 not Just known,
but that they can be had is surety.