The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-09-19
AS OTHERS SAW 1T.

had the misfortune OF beng struck on
the wrong place with a beer bottle.
AS OTHERS sAwIT
Captain Billy Bolton of the Kiowa
County Signal was in the city yesterday
returning from the strip. He made the
trip south from Caldwell and describes it
as follows:
Did you ever see bin of wheat burst
and roll the golden kernels scattering over
the ground? Did you ever witness shour
of hail AS it battered on the pavement and
some of the glistening crystals rolled far
in advance of the others? Then you
know how it looked at Caldwell at noon,
Saturday when 20, 900 human actors with
spur aud whip and wheel made the 10th
of September 1888 into history.
AS far as the eye could reach on the cast
and west the "hundred foot strip" was
crowded with all sorts of vehicles whose
occupants were eager to gain COW
eted claim in the fertile valley of
the ''outlet." Away from the east came
the roll of the guns of the cavalry videttes
and the "start" was begun. The Rock
Island train of thirty five palace stock
cars was freighted with over 1000 strip
pers," every conceivable place where a
person could cling being occupied. The
tops of the cars carried an immense
Jhrong, the insides we're packed with
people, and the trucks and couplings
afforded accommodations for hundreds
From the top of the moving train the
view of the race was unexcelled.
The horsemen outran the train
and many light vehicles kept
even pace with it to Pond Creek, twenty
five miles down the line.
The train ran under the orders of Hoke
Smith all the way at a fifteen-mile rate
which gave opportunity to many to stake
valuable claims.
All the way down in fact people dropped
from the moving train, scrambled through
the wire fence which protected the right
of way and drove the stakes in an incredl-
bly, short time. Occasionally half dozen
would drop at once and then the foot race
for the other side of the fence was an OBJ
ject lesson to professional sprinters.
AT Bi DIS Point a young lady led the
race from the train and secured valuable
quarter section, while several hundred
found town lots good enough to hold
At Pond Greek the Wichita company
dropped off and secured lots outside the
plat of the TOWNSHIP which they already
owned and their boast that Pond Greek
will be the town seemed TO be founded Oh
toierably solid facts.
But il was at the government site three
miles below Pond Greek station that the
prettiest sight Of the day was witnessed.
Here over 5000 people dropped from
the moving train and charged stake in
hand, up The incline to secure corner lots
with well on each one.
The STOUT barbed wire fence was more of
an impeachment to the rush than brigade
of cavalrymen The fence caught all
alike. regardless of age or sex or life, and
a kodack fienG could have realized an in
dependent fortune taking views for use as
labels.
In twenty minutes the transformated
scene was completed. The train. which
did not make stop here, was out of sight;
the sauatters were sitting on the desired lot
the hot sun baked the dry dust into feath
cry fecks: canteens emptied their luke
warm contents down parched and thirsty
outlets and Round Pond, the seat of
county L., bloomed into u city OF seven
thousand inhabitants.
many vi iubSTeSl were uUbttl III
thr rush. Billy Reeves of Wichita, rode
into Pond creek in one hour and ten min
utes. Tom Shaw aud c. Z. Anderson fol-
lowed closely on their wheels. Near Med
ford, two cheering soldiers stood on the
railroad embaukmsnt with two tired
looking sooners.
Four miles above Pond Greek station
well dressed lady dropped her 5-year-old
boy from the moving train, followed him
off and crawling through the fence staked
one of the finest claims along the line.
Another lady was not SO fortunate; as
she jumped the car lurched and the dis
play of hosiery and understands rs she
turned double somersault in the atmos-
phere was an emphatic reminder that she
didn't propose to be outstripped by any
body else.
One man who had raced his horse to the
TOW ns;te was endeavoring to draw the
nails from his horses shoes with a pair of
dentists forceps.
The boosted civilization of the East
paled.and paralyzed before the resourceful
West, as was demonstrated within an
hour after the settlement at Round Pond.
The eastern men. with cracking tbroats,
lowered around the brackish water of the
government well, while the fellow from
Kansas, with few comrades and a spade
scooped out fine drinking water from the
adjacent draws. What the government,
with its weeks of time failed to provide,
the hardy western man found for him
self in two hours"
ONE OF THE INJURED