The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-05-24
\ Hundred Claimants For Some
Quarter Sections.
TIE RACE AN EXCITING ONE.
A Good Many of the $4,000 Runners
Didn't Wait Till Noon.
Five Thousand Persons Locate the
Town of McLord ON the Cactus
ne>ert-Tents Are f.itched. saloons
Opened and the Lots Divided Among
the Boomers.

Oklahoma, q. T., May es-Sharply 40
noon today at least i5.0ea men. with largo
number of women. made a grand rush
from all sides or the Kickapoo reservation
for the 55o-odd claims open to white settle.
ment. In less than an hour there were
scores of contestants on each of these
claims, in aAfition 10 sooners who had al.
ready taken possession of the lands
Sweeney's bridge. on the north fork of
the Canadian river. in township L. was
one OF the principal points of entrance 10
the new land. There 500 men had gathers
ed. and just before noon there was sup
pressed excitement as the minutes licked
off nearer and nearer the hour Watches
were held in one hand and the lines tight
ly grRsped in the other. The scene thau
followed the shout go" was intensely
exciting. The first man TO dash across the
bridge was in little buggy drawn by q
pair Of bays. The driver brought his whiu
down. shouting at them, and the horses
bounded across the bridge and OF up tho
road with a good start. running away.
Following. eight horsemen tostled one an.
other on the narrow bridge. trying 10 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 reclSlessness OF the drivers whippinu
their horses down the hank and acrosa
has been seldom equaled. Horses would
go down. to be dragged to their feet again.
Men We're hatless. their faces set and thein
foreheads wrinkied with the strain. Tho
yard became clear the wagons and horse
men i'm 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 shouting mon.
and the rumbling OF wheels got fainter
and fainter up the road. About half a
mile northeast from Sweencys the road
passed through narrow lane of trees.
Here an awful Jam occurred. delaying tho
racers for ten minutes The jam was finals
ly yStraightened out. however, and the men
were OF again.
Last night IL was made evident to many
OF the boomers that all could not gat
claims. so IL was resolved TO organize in.
rs towns. About midnight big crowd
left Sweeney's for Dale. and as this pro-
cession went along large additions were
made to the ranks. Two towns lhaye all
ready been projected. Olney and Aurora.
A council was held, but the projectors
of both towns were interested In consol-
Idation of interests. The new town Is To
he called McLord. in honor OF the general
solicitor of the Choctaw road. The pro-
cession, 5000 strong, then took up tha
march to Douglass mills. at the section on
which McLord was TO he. At the head OF
the enterprise if Or. j. w. Gillett. OF Per-
~. who was chosen mayor: Green H.
Raum, 1r.. of Washington City. son of tha
ex-general pension agent, Is leading
member OF the town organization. The
site of the town is a sandy bank covered
with cactus and underbrush. At noon tho
crowd passed over the ford In very quiet
way and drew lots for positions on the
town plat corps OF surveyors 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 OPEN
ed and new town had been born
The Kickapoo opening was much In tho
nature Of a farce. Al 1910 nearly all ihe
claims had from ten to twenty claimants
on them, and those farthest from the line
were reached from the border IN twenty
five minutes In one section 100 claimants
who had run I'm from the south borders
are fghting for their claims.
At shawnee the crowd got restless be-
fore the noon hour arrived. Al three
minutes to II by some watches and pre-
edselv noon by others, there was a break
here nd there In the line, waverSng and
then all broke into run. The race across
the level plateau was very pretty sight
Guthrie o. r.. May 3.--Gov. Renfrow
this morning ISSUED proclamation oner-
ing 90 900 acres Of school land In tha
t<trkapoo reservation for lease for hya
years from October I. 1885, dds 10 be re-
ceived until June 10. This will give disaD~
r.ointed boomers a chance TO get some tine
land.