Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1904-10-19
IN THE BOOM TOWN DAYS
Flow Resourceful Promoter Worked
Off a Western City on
Paper Basis.

How a Resourceful Promoter Worked
Off Western City on
Paper Basis.
Before the days OF the town BOOM
er were ended in the Indian territory
a promoter bought quarter section,
six miles east of Hobart, on the Chica-
go, Rock Island & Pacific railroad, and
christened it Komalty, after an Indian
Chief" remarked William English,
postmaster at Hobart, o. T., to Kan
sas City Star writer. "Then he plated
his farm, planned boulevards, located
alleys, parks and residence 'places,'
showed where the government build
ing, bank, depot, etc., would be, and
went out after his game.
"A man who wore blue goggles
could see that there wasn't any more
hope of making another town so close
to Hobart than there was to enthuse
wild Indian. But this modern Col.
Sellers had way of making men see
things whether they were there or not.
He went to a German settlement IN
northern Kansas and stayed week
painting rainboWs for the thrifty citi-
zens who used to 'Hoch der Kaiser!'
Glorious country, and plenty of it, he
told them; soil peculiarly adapted for
raising cotton, corn, wheat, rye, oats,
hay, turnips, onions, potatoes, cab
bage, babies, Indians-anything a
Christian had right to want, and
right in the midst of this land of milk,
honey and sauerkraut he had located
the city of Komalty-high, dry and
healthfNl.
''They filled up their pocketbooks
and piled into his special train. Their
idea wasn't to locate at Komalty, but
| simply buy town lots as an investment
and sell them at advanced figures to
those who would come after and build
the town. The train went through
Komalty in the night and the invest
ors were unloaded at Hobart The en-
gineer of the enterprise had his band
out on the street at break of day, and
from that on peace and quiet took
wings and flew out to the woods
Every saloon in town had been char
tered for the benefit of Komalty's
| prospective owners. They would be
marched into one, where they would
camp while the band outside told of
The Watch on the Rhine and the
brave sons that stood a hundred thou
sand strong
Before the round of the taverns
was made it was unanimously agreed
that Komalty was the best proposition
before the American public and the
travellers were clamoring to be led out
there. They felt able to- buy three
Komaltys just at that time, and, after
the baggage car was loaded with a
few kegs Of enthusiasm the train
pulled out for the metropolis-t to- be.
The engineer was enabled to find the
place by mail crane near the track
There wasn't anything else man had
| done there. But there was the ground,
just as the promoter had said, and his
map to prove it had been laid out. And
there was the country all round about
as far as the eye could reach and the
railroad and the brass band and the
kegs in the baggage car. Nothing had
Ueeu mlSFepTeSonCeQ.
"And so they bought town lots as
fast as the auctioneer put them up, at
prices hanging from $25 to $500 each.
according to the proximity to the fed
eral building the courthouse or some
other important municipal edifce cal
culated to attract traffic Business was
good. The operator regretted that he
hadn't bought two quarter sections.
He saw he could have sold both just
as easy, and Komalty would have been
twice as big a tOWn-On his map 1t
was too bad. After everything had
been knocked down the train was run
back to Hobart, where they had some
more, and everybody turned in feel
ing richer than the day before.
'The dealer cleared $4,000 after pay
ing for his train, beer and music.
This was year and half ago. The
mail crane, like ghost of the prairie,
still shows where Komalty is, and on
some days the sacks contain as many
as three pieces. Sometimes the In
dams have war dance out there, and
sometimes the cowboys chase a coyote
through the Streets With these ex-
ceptiOns, primitive solitude reigns.
II met one of the investors in Ho-
bart recently, and rather sympathized
with him for the way he had been
taken in. But it was wasted.
"'Vl,' he said. We gets big railroad
rite. a key of beer apiece, some fine
moosick an We gets to see der gun
try, all fer huntret tolla. It was wort
| IT. >"