The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-11-20
HIRED A DESPERATE.
He THUS Gained IL Reputation as a
Bad Man and Made Money.
81 Ionis Glohe-Democrat

ST. Louis Globe-Democrat.
Judge Alexander no sooner crosses the
boundary into the Territory of Oklahoma
than all the desperadoes in that SECTION
take to cover" said F. G. Sparks. OF Kan
saS City. HE has the reputation OF being
a dangerous man down in that country, and
that means something in a place where
every other man one meets is likely to have
a record of half dozen notches on ms
gun One wouldn't take Alexander to be
as bloodthirsty as an Apache to look at
him, for he is a slim man, with sandy com
dresses stylishly, and always smiles like
man who had been married but forty
eight hours. He is of'middle age, and is as
active a panther. In Kansas City his
reputation as a mild-mannered gentleman
is superb-t is only In oklahoma that he
is considered bad man. When oklahoma
was opened for settlement in 1888 Mr.. Alex
ander was then, as now, in the lumber
business He was one of the. first boomers
to Jump into the new land of promise and
cop out his due portion of the milk and
honey by selling pine boards at 313 per
cent net profit. During those boom days
of 'sooners' and spectators in Oklahoma
whole towns Of 5000 people were LAID out IN
a single day. and the pinch board business
was better than half the gold claims in the
Klondike. Mr.. Alexander had lumber
yard in every city and town in Oklahoma-
he was, in fact the lumber king OF the
new Territory He traded In town Iots ana
even town sites on the side, and mixed in
politics. too For instance he headed
procession Of boomers that went INTO the
Cherokee strip, when that excitement was
on, and in one night they laid of town
of white tents, covered wagons and staked
lots.
Before morning mass meeting of one
thousand people in a circus tent elected
Mr. Alexander mayor and they chrstened
the town Willow Springs. The next morn
ing the United States troops came along
and notified the people that the President
of the United States had not yet given the
order for the settlement of the strip, and
that they would have to skedaddIe back
to Kansas. SO the first town OF Willow
Springs, with it's 200 inhabitants, 1900 dogs,
Mayor Alexander and the entire city Coun-
Gil was wiped off the map in jiffy.
"Au this time Mr.. Alexander was wear
ing high-topped boots, a spmbrero. brace
of six-shooters, heavy spursot ETC., and
was riding a broncho. When he wanted to
do so he could look more dangerous than
the villain in a Dutch drama In those
exciting times, Madam Run1or says, Mr.
Alexander was compelled, TO take shot
at two or three obstreperous men, but he
admits himself that he never caused an
increase in the population of cemetery
So far as Workmanship goes, Mr.. Alex
ander. take 1t. is something on the order
of Mark Twain's character in .Roughing
It. who shot at target and killed de-
the people of Oklahoma didn't know this
They said why, this Kansas City feller'l
shoot So they put Alexander down as a
bluff for aught know. ~
''But Mr.. Alexander did something that
few people We're aware of, and thereby
he could afford to be brave. He employed
a body guard in the person of a notorious