The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-09-18
INTO THE PROMISED LAND.
How the Rush Was Maidstone Disgrace
full Scenes.

Guthrie, OF, September 16.-At dawn
| a vast wilderness, at shutdown a complete
| settlement.
The rising sun today looked down
upon 6,0O0,0 900 acres of virgin soil devoid
of a single inhabitant, and setting cast
| it's rays over 100, 900 established homes.
The wilderness has now been conquered.
A half score cities have been born during
a single passage of the sun from the
zenith to the horizon. Civilizatin has
ceased it's slow march, and tone bound
| is master of the ground, and frontier and
| frontiersmen, in the eyes of the world are
| no more.
This was the real day in the history of
| a coming great state. Texans, Kansans,
| Missourrians, Arkansans, white men,
| black men and red men all acted we'll
| their parts in making a great and
| glorious place in the Cherokee strip
country invaded today.
| Two hundred thousand people camped
| upon the border of the land last night,
| and early morning trains brought many
| thousands more. A large force of clerks
bad registered everybody in line last
! night, and this morning new corners had
no trouble in getting certificates. The
| greatest number of certificates issued
| at any one place on the southern line of
| the strip was 33, 200 at Orlando. Hennessy
| came next with close to 10000, and
Saltwater with II, 900.
| The largest crowd today was at Orlan-
| do, and four-fifths of the 20, 600 people
| massed there were bound for Perry, the
county seat of Perry county, and tonight
it is the largest city in all Oklahoma.
The scene on the border during the
night was one long to be remembered.
| The tops of prairie schooners, fires of
| camping boomers, and tethered horses
gave the scene decidedly military aspect.
AT high noon these thousands in rail-
| way trains, on foot, in wagons, on ponies
| and on race horses went over the line in
one mad, wild rush, scattering over the
country like cloud of grasshoppers.
| They ran as though for life over gullies
| and bridges and the wonder is hundreds
were not killed.
| The soldiers at no place had any trouble
with the crowd. 1t was an American
gathering, and acted as a check upon it
self. The crowd was in line long before
| IL O'Clock, and waited anxiously.
The greatest struggle of the day took
place in the mad rush of $1,000 people
attempting tc get aboard the first train,
! which could carry but few over 1000. The
thousands of people had stood and sat
along the track all night, SO as to be
trains made up and thousands more
crowded in upon them during the morn
ing.
When the trains arrive at Orlando from
the South scene was enacted which
was a disgrace to the national govern
ment Scores of deputy United States
marshals entered the cars and drove the
peoplesout swearing, cursing, waving clubs
and guns. Men were pushed off upon the
ground, women jostled rudely, aud the
cars cleared of all save a few favorites
in the ring. The people in the first train
were told that everybody must go up to
the line to get on the trains, and hun
dreds walked mile in strangling dust
to the line only to find the train from
which they had been elected go by them
without stopping.
The first train was filled with people
who had been given inside information.
The thousands of people who had obeyed
the order of Secretary Smith, to wait up
on the line for the train were left stand
ing there until the third train came
along and lost all chance of getting any
property.
When the train pulled up to the line the
terrible struggle began. Women had
their clothes torn off and were trampled
under foot. All decency, self
respect, manhood and womanhood was
laid aside, and the great crowd fought
and pulled, shouted and struggled like so
may wild animals.
At last the train were full, and when
they pulled out many badly injured
people were left behind.
Long before night business houses
were doing business, and the inhabitants
of the new town were talking about
electing city officers The eople on the
first train secured residence lots ON the
outskirts. but those upon the second and
third secured nothing, and when the
first train from the Kansas line arrived
at 8 O'Clock the crowd had spread out and
were stalking off adjoining claims for
town lots
Boomers Killed by Thieves.
Guthrie, o. T., September 17.-At the
town of Perry on the Cherokee strip
thieves and gamblers were thick last
night and people were robbed right and
left. Two men were badly hurt and one
was killed by thieves. The number of
fatalities will be much more than at first
supposed, but nine tenths of those killed
or injured are victims of accidents due
to the crush.
Ex-Boomers Going Home.
Kansas City. Mo-, September 17.-Over
1000 ex-boomers passed through Kansas
City today en- route to their homes in all
parts of the country from the Cherokee
StriD.