The San Francisco call., 1895-05-24
HOT RACES FOR CHOICE.
twenty-five Thousand Men Go
After Four Hundred and
Fifty Claims.
BOOMERS BUILD A BIG TOWN.
During the Opening Two Whisky
Peddlers Are Killed by Fed
eral Officers.

OKLAHOMA CITY, o. T., May 23.-
Sharp at noon to-day at least $4,000 men,
with a large number of women, made a
grand rush from all sides into the Kicka-
poo reservation for 450 odd claims open to
white settlement. In less than an hour
there were scores of contestants on each
of these claims, in addition to sooners
who had already taken possession of the
lands.
Sweeney's bridge, on the north fork OF
Canadian River, in township IL, was one
of the principal points of entrance to the
new land. There were three hundred men
gathered and just before noon there was
suppressed excitement as the minutes
licked off nearer and nearer the hour.
Watches were held in one hand and the
lines tightly grasped in the other.
The scene that followed the shout "Go''
was intensely exciting. The first man to
dash across the bridge was in a little buggy
drawn by pair of bays. The driver
brought his whip down, shouting at them,
and the horses bounded across the bridge
| and off up the road with good start, run
ming away. Following eight horsemen
jostled one another on the narrow bridge,
trying to pass one another. They whipped
their horses and struck at them, and at
each other, and at last got across and
scattered, racing like mad.
The recklessness of the drivers whipping
their horses down the bank and across has
seldom been equaled. Horses would go
down to be dragged to their feet again.
Men were hatless, their faces set and their
foreheads wrinkled with the strain.
AS the yard became clear the wagons
and horsemen in the road came on behind,
rushing pellmell, and in fifteen minutes
the last wagon had passed over. The air
was full of dust, and the sound of shout
ing men and the rumbling wheels got
fainter and fainter up the road.
About half mile northeast from Swee-
ney's the road passed through narrow
Cured, delaying the racers for ten min-
utes. The jam was finally Strengthened
out, however, and the men were off again.
Last night it was evident to many of the
boomers that all could not get claims, so il
was resolved to organize the towns. About
midnight big crowd left Sweeney's for
DaleS and as this procession went along
large additions were made to the ranks.
Two towns have already been projected
Olney and Aurora. A council was held,
but the projectors of both towns were in
terested in a consolidation of interests.
The new town is to be called McLord, in
honor OF the general solicitor of the Choc-
taw road. The procession, 5000 strong,
then took up the march to Douglass Mills,
at the section on which McLord was to be.
At the head of the enterprise is DR.. J. w.
Gillett of Perry, who was chosen Mayor
Green R. Raum Jr. of Washington, son of
the ex-General Pension Agent, is leading
member of the town organization. The
site of the town is sandy bank, covered
with cactus and underbrush.
AT noon the crowd passed over the ford
in very quiet way and drew lots for posi-
tions on the town plat. A corps of sur
veyors were on hand and at once laid out
the town. Wagons with liquors, groceries
and cots came in, tents were erected and
soon stores, restaurants and hotels were
opened and new town had been born.
The Kickapoo opening was much in the
nature of huge farce. AT 1910 o'clock
nearly all the claims had from ten to
twenty claimants on them, and those far.
thest from the line were reached from the
| border in thirty-five minutes. In one sec.
ton 100 claimants who had run in from
both borders are fighting for their claims
| AT Shawnee the crowd got restless before
| the noon hour arrived. AT three minutes
| to twelve by some watches and precisely
noon by others there was break here and
| there in the line, wavering, and then all
| broke into run. The race across the
level plateau was very pretty sight.