The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1893-09-20
MAP OF THE CHEROKEE STRIP.

MAI OF THE CllEROkEE STRIP.
And great consequences depends upon
its action. This invasion unlike the
invasion of any army was not directed
by the hand of any great general; no
man acted as leader and directed the
points of attack. Like the swarming
hordes Of Huns and Northmen they
came in bands, colonies and dozens, in
threes and fours, hundreds and thous-
ands acting individually for them
selves responsible to no one. Thous-
ands of honest home-seekers and spec
ulators, gamblers and confidence men;
thousands of professional land jumpers
who have exhausted their homestead
rights and have no honest claim what
ever upon the vacant Indian lands, the
sporting man with the fastest horse to
be bought or hired, all running for the
best claim or the best town lot.
All night Friday night the people on
the border were on the move or active
with preparations for the coming race,
and the sun looked over the eastern
hills upon a scene Of activity on every
side Of the great domain that was at
last to be possessed by white man.
Along the southern line were gathered
close on To a hundred thousand people,
the greatest number being massed at
saltwater, Hennessey and Orlando. At
the latter place fully $1,000 people were
gathered, two-thirds of whom depended
upon going into the land upon the
Santa Fe trains, and every one deter
mined to be upon the first train in.
The registering booths ran all morning
but were entirely out of business by II
o'clock, and the clerks packed up and
prepared TO make the run with the
rest. The objective point of the great
mass Of people in this vicinity was
Perry, where there is now a city of
1900 people on land which Saturday
morning was just as God created 1t,
save for few hundred stakes, a small
frame shanty and railroad track
All night the people stood or lay
along the railway track, each hoping
TO secure and hold place most favora-
bic for the getting upon the trains, and
trains TO start the struggle for first
place was hand-to-hand combat be-
tween 10000 people who fought like
wild animals TO get aboard the trains
TO get into the strip and hundreds were
injured, some fatally. Men forgot their
manhood, women lost their self-respect
in the wild struggle for advantage.
During the terrible struggle TO get up
in the first trains one man had his
shoulder broken, one leg dislocated
and woman an arm broken. Twenty
others were badly trampled upon. All
of the choice claims in the strip are
held by "sooners" and innumerable
contests are the result. One unknown
woman fell in the second train near
Wharton and was fatally injured.
Long before night scores of business
houses were doing business in Perry
and by night half thousand tents
were up and work commenced upon
many houses.
ARKANSAS CITY, Kan, Sept 1s,-At
high noon Saturday the carbines of a
hundred cavalrymen cracked in the dry
air and the greatest race for home
that has ever been run was com
menced. Massed on the border, south
OF this city, were fully $4,000 people,
all guided by one impulse and all eager
for the race. At noon every man, his
watch in hand and almost before the
starting gun was heard, the shrilllyip,
zip Of the cowboys was heard. Apat-
ter Of hoofs and the whole mass was in
way IL roared liked an express train
crossing trestle. Away in front was
irresistable motion. As IL got under
the fast horses surrounded by the cow
boys Soon, however, as they disap-
peared dense clouds Of smoke arose in
their rear and those following knew
that they had fred the prairie to re-
tard those following. A good many of
the settlers were driven back by the