Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1895-06-10

City, despite the great rush, wae q WON.
an, Lizzie Anderson, whose fame extends
all over Oklahoma. Sho 10 was who con-
cealed herself and family among some
freight and came into Oklahoma tho day
before the famous race at that opening
Keeping quiet in the Cur all night and un-
til noon, they then jumped out and raced
I'm the forefront Of the horde seeking foi
homes and secured one Of the best claims
In the territory. IL IL now worth %, 900
and Is being contested, for the little
scheme .of Lizzie's leaked out. Conse.
quently she was willing to try for anoth-
or, and although there are several other
claimants To tho well located piece OF bot
tom land on which she has filed she has
priority and IL likely 10 hold IL.
She was not quite 40 shrewd, however,
as the woman vino looked up the law pass
cd by congress- which provides that citi-
zens who have fragments Of claims In
Oklahoma proper, north Of the Deep fork
or the Cimmaron, may settle the balance
of their 100 acre allowance across the riv-
or In the Kickapoo country. This wom-
an, widow named Silverly, formerly OF
Iowa, was perhaps the only boomer who
saw the possibilities Of the provision. She
hunted up the Oklahoma survey and
found n half acre tract I'm n bend OF the
Deep fork which belonged to no other
claim. With all due formality she filed
on IL, paying charges, which made il cost
her S25, and then bided her time. When
tho Kickapoo opening came, she calmly
claimed 1917 acres of rich land across tho
river.
Probably the sharpest bit Of maneu-
vering was that in which woman was the
Vantt
too-not n representative Of big press
association nor even special correspond
ent Of n city daily. She was the manager
and proprietor Of an Oklahoma weekly pa
per and determined to send an eyewitness
report to 1t ahead OF all Others. She had
arranged with the driver Of the stage from
tho point on the Canadian side TO leave for
q telegraph station as soon as the rush had
started. But this was precisely what a
dozen active young men representing the
press associations and city papers wanted.
When she started for the wagon, they fol-
lowed and tumbled In behind. The team
was put on tho run, and the woman's
quick wit was put into use to serve her
purpose.
She had the advantage Of knowing the
country, and when she advised the driver
to take cut off he did so unhesitatingly.
They went on mile and then ended in
underbrush and a wire fence The woman
leaped out, and gathering high her skirts
started through the timber. They were
but few rods from IA telegraph Office but
tho bright young men did not know 1t,
and when Is minutes later they reached
the counter they found the slow motioned
operator deep in the mysteries of sending
the 300 word telegram to the weekly Okla
homa sheet with n circulation of 450. 1t
was long job but the reporters and cor
respondents waited because they had to.
1t was "A woman Miss Mary Abarr,
then with the Topeka Capital, who was
first at the telegraph Office at the Okla
homa opening. Like the others, she pre-
pared her copy while tho train carried the
correspondents back to Arkansas City;
but, unlike them, she did not wait for the
train to stop. She was on a front plat
form, and leaping off was ahead OF the
crowd at the Western Union window and
filed a long story in advance of the best of
the press representatives. Chicago Times
Herald