Omaha daily bee., 1896-12-27
TOWNS sPRINGING UP RAPIDLY
Many Of Them Have Prospects for
Permanent PrOsncriIN.


The Pittsburg & Gulf, like every new rail.
road, has experienced hard trials in obtaining
land that was highly desirable and in many
cases well-nigh essential TO the building Of
the road At one point in Polk county
Arkansas, not long since the work jof con
struction was brought TO a standstil and
several hundred men given a holiday by the
refusal of an old settler to allow the new
road to cross his farm unless his terms were
complied with. The farmer has four sons
and he pressed them all into service on this
occasion. The five armed themselves with
shotguns and threatened to fire at the
first man VINO trespassed on the farm
The women of the farm brought the three
meals of the day to the Ave guardsmen, and
as nghtfall came on 1t looked as though
the southern terminus of the road might
be there. None OF the railroaders appeared
anxious to get load of shot fired into
him. so no advance was made. That night
there was conference with the Polk county
gentleman. His terms were high, but they
were agreed to in every particular, and the
next morning saw the work of building across
his property begun.
Three hundred and eighty miles south OF
Kansas City the railroads found a splendid
plaCe LOT q TOWNSHIP. On nlSn ground ana
surrounded by a rich tributary country for
100 miles around this spot appeared to be
an ideal one for city. The company s
rght-of-way man wac at once instructed to
get hold of all the land In that part of the
woods. He secured quite little but when
he went to put his hands on a strip of land
near where the railroad would run and in
what would be the heart of the town he
found he couldn't touch IT. An option on a
large tract there had just been secured by a
native Of Arkansas. who has bothered new
railroads in the southwest for the past quar-
ter of a century. His name is Jim Thayer.
We met him while at Mena, and rough
shod fellow he is. For twenty-five years he
has made more than livelihood by antcl-
pating the routes of new railroads. He gen.
orally secures options on all available land,
and If his guess later proves wrong he mere
ly forfeits the sum deposited TO secure the
option. In this way he has made thousands
of dollars. Had he an ability to keep his
money once earned equal to his keen fore
sight he would be able to live in Omaha on
a lot facing Hanscom park and then sub
scribe literally to the exposition fund. But
Jim is too good a fellow. He and his money
soon part company.
Thayer's little trick of keeping tab on
the aivarce agent OF the railway line and
acting accordingly came very near locating
the division point of this part OF the Pitts
burg d. Gulf road seven miles south of where
the town of Mena is, Thayer obtained an
option on considerable section of ground
that was destined to be the division point
When the townsite agent came along for
the railroad he was surprised to learn Of
Thayers possession OF strip the company
needed In its business; he was more sur
prised to learn the high figure at which
fort was made to obtain the strip
Of land for an amount somewhere near what
Thayer paid for It, But the native told the
company he was not at jail anxious to sell
out, and kept his price mountain high. The
settlers for several miles around who had
hoped for a railroad for ID these many years.
endeavored to persuade Thayer to come 10
terms. They told him they would lose the
division point If he didn't heed their ad-
vice, but Thayer just gave snort. Finally
the railroad called its prospecting engineers
off and moved their camp seven miles fur
ther south and declared its intention Of
building the division point there Then the
community jumped on Thayer without
mercy But that individual remained obdu-
rate. He said he had a good thing and he
proposed to keep II, He was not proof
against every kind Of attack however, and
after a bacchanalian revel instituted by
interested parties. AThayer signed an agree
ment to sell the desired piece OF land to
the company for 5000 more than it had cost
him. II was at once decided to locate the
division point OF the road there. This is
Mena.
CUT THE NAME SHORT.
II gets ito name from an abbrevlatlon
OF Wilhelmina, the Christian name of the
wife OF a numerous sto,kholder In the new
railroad She Is said TO be the richest
heiress in Holland. Wilhelmina De Gocjen
is her fun name. hut that would have been
somewhat cumbersome and awkward for
common American usage, so they cut Il
short
Mena is one OF that numerous class OF
towns In the west and the south that has
had boom. In the aftermath OF the boom,
however. are seen evidences OF a material
and apparently steady growth. The popu-
lation Of the place now numbers between 2.
900 and $500 souls. There were upward OF