The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-02-12
OKLAH0MA'S PREACHERS.
,,ry FULL or zEAL VINO COULD ALSO
HANDLE WEAPONS.

hAEDb- VG CN
-
Rspuise of the Dodge City Gang by the Rev.
tobn UolIis-RoliGious Debates Whore
pistols and Fists Were Used-AttRck by n
I,nIvsrsaIIst on the Doctrine Of n Rell.
c,-pp1r. Oklahoma. Feb. 9.-In the settle-
Sor, NJ Oklahoma the preacher played a
.nominent part. At2 p. NJ. on April %, 1870.
,bo day Guthrie was born. the Rev. John Hollis.
pontist. had to hold Il corner lot with the help
~ Winchester against the Dodge City gang.
Tho rrnacher was one OF the first legal settlers
or ,be townsite. He had crossed the Cherokee
s,rir with the mighty army OF boomers who
i,a tho Kansas border three days before the
.no,inp and spread themselves out along tho
uor,heru Oklahoma frontier in n line nearly
Az, hundred miles In length from east to west.
I'm tho furthest outpost OF the invaders to
rbere the townsite OF Guthrie lay was q little
more than ten mites.
rho rreacher had a roam horse which had
.i,o, the dust to everything IN Cowley county.
Ran. 1t could leap the irrigatinE ditch at Win
rald and had been known to cross the
Arkansas River below Arkansas City by jump
inc from one sandbar to another and landing
nm the opposite shore without wetting it's feet.
AZ for running, II had taken a prize at Wichita.
and Marsh Murdoch. the boss boomer. had re-
MARKED that such a nag would be worth a for
tuna to a man who wanted to be In on the
sround floor Of tho Oklahoma boom. Preacher
Hollis was not looking for fortune. but he
wanted a corner lot In Guthrie to build a church
IN He went In without a dollar In his rocket
IN huild a church with. but he trusted to Provi-
dence and the gamblers TO raise II. He was
,nre. In any event, that the church would never
be built unless he could get the ground where
on to build 1t. A thousand dollar lot would
noat a loan for the building.
The preacher made an easy winning over
everything on the north line. He forded the
Cimarron River while other boomers were rum
ming their horses up and down the bank and
cursing. There were some "sooners" on the
townsite when Hollis got there. but they were
not many. for the sooner" hardly dared camp
INV nearer the townsite than the army OF
boomers on the north. He found a vacant lot
on the brow OF the rise just east OF the Atchi-
,on station and drove his stakes there.
Hall an hour later the leader OF the Dodge
City gang found him In possession. with all the
signs Of preHmp t'on and occupancy In full
view. Evidences Of priority were not. how
ever. a restraining influence on the Dodge City
gang. 1t had found business bad in Dodge
City after the Atchison terminal had been
moved on to Liberal and the cowboys Of the
Panhandle took another trail in getting to
market. oklahoma presented an inviting
field for such enterprises IA the Dodge City
gang engaged in. and Guthrie was picked as
the metropolis Of the new Territory. An agent
Of the gang was IN the Territory on the morn
ing Of the opening and got one Of the best lots
IN the site before 1890. but the gang wanted
more than one location to do the rushing bust
ness it anticipated. When Wash Reardon. the
boss Of the gang. reached Guthrie on
the afternoon train. with the gaming outfits
and l~ayouts. he decided that another location
was necessary and started out TO find It. That
Is what brought hin into collision with the
BAPTIST preacher and some OF the first citizens
ofGuthrie.
Reardon accused Hollis Of being a "sooner.Y
Every man along this Capitol avenue" said
ReRrdon. got in ahead Of time. and none O.
your claims Is worth a damn"
Il don't want trouble with anybody" said
the Rev. Mr.. Hollis. as he reached for the
Winchester in a corner OF the little dog tent.
"but | am here to stay. Get off the lot"
Reardon raised what the Guthrie people
learned afterward was the warcry Of his gang.
He had half a dozen men with him and they all
responded. 1t would have gone hard with the
preacher had not Volney Hoggett. one of the
earliest Mayors OF Guthrie. Leen passing at the
moment. Hoggett. a man Of herculean stature
and iron nerve. who hal been in at the booms OF
Cheyenne and Deadwood and knew how a bad
man 5 gang naO 10 lie uealJ WIN. calleu on the
bystanders to help him and drew his own re-
volver. Doc Thompson. founder Of one OF the
first Guthrie newspapers. unlimbered his artil-
lery, and two or three others stepped up to the
help OF the preacher. 1t was n little handful OF
game men against one Of the most desper-
ate gangs in the West. There was not a man
In It cooler or less disinclined to shoot it out
than the preacher. For perhaps n quarter OF a
minute the men in the opposing ranks. about
equal as TO numbers eyed each other. II one
ofthem had raised his weapon to a sight the
history OF that first day of Guthrie would be
even more sanGuinnry than it is. But the moral
influence OF right over wrong seemed to pre-
vail. for Reardon edged away and growled:
If yer a Baptist yer can stay. but 1 wouldn't
Tow no damned Methodist round here"
Hollis he'd the lot against heavy odds for
nearly six months. The Dodge City gang
wanted the corner lot on which he erected the
little frame shack he called the Tabernacle. 1t
was the unwritten law OF Guthrie. in the days
when the community was without much
written law. that II the domicile was removed
the title to the ground was extinguished. The
holder Of a corner lot on which he had
put improvements was in danger OF hay
Ing the building overturned any night
while Guthrie remained a city OF tents and
frail board houses. under which a crowbar
might be easily inserted. and against the walls
OF which the strong arm Of three or four able
bodied men must surely prevail. Hollis
wrapped the Tabernacle in coils OF
barbed wire about four inches apart
all around. to prevent the building from
being pushed or the lot. The visitor to
Guthrie at that time saw many houses sheathed
in armor OF this kind. and at night the crash OF
falling timbers often told how ineffective was
such a method OF defence. The lever was the
thing most 10 be feared, and 1t was to guard
against this that Hollis kept the Tabernacle
open every night. There would be service until
eorlOo'clock and afterward the preacher and a
rev OF his partisans would hold the lot against
al corners. Reardon never saw an opportunity
70 overturn the Tabernacle. and abandoned all
hope when the Rev. Mr.. Hollis raised the means
Wherewith to lay a substantial brick foundation
and put up a strong frame building on the
claim. And about that time Mr.. Hollis. having
finished his mission In Guthrie and built a
HI M = 49, Nl-. " "a In