Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-08-10


in finding boards with which to stake
: their lots. No lumber yards had beer
established and there was no lumber
in the country. Pieces split from the
top Of an egg case sold at $40 each
A man offered Jones $25 for a cheaI
shovel.
The coming Of the first train attract
ed no attention from those already or
the townsite. AS train after train I'M
loaded and thousands of persons ran
with all their speed to the townsite
to stake the choicest lots they found
the best lots already occupied, and, moi
knowing that they were held by soon
ers, kept running east and north until
they found other and less desirable
lots, or until they fell from exhaustion
The disappointed ones began coming
back; and jumping the staked lots.
The territory was without law, the
organic act not passing until May
1890. There were no territorial laws
until members Of the legislature had
been nominated and elected under the
organic act.
The people became law unto them
selves. They organized a provisional
government In the municipalities and
life and property received as good pro-
lection as they enjoy at this day.
Restaurants were the first kind OF
business established. Shortly after
ward gambling was started, and every
game known In the United States was
in sight The gamblers played their
games in the streets in the open air.
Jones by accident found himself In
the restaurant business before he real
lied what had happened. The hastily
lmprovised eating booths were serving
a small tin cup of coffee without cream
or sugar, q slice or two Of bacon, q
fried egg and a few slices Of bread at
81 a chance. Jones had several boil
which he had brought in a trunk for
his own use.
hungry man with pocketful OF
money stopped at his tent and asked
for a sandwich, which Jones gave to
him with his compliments. The strang-
er threw down dollar and said that
the sandwich was a better meal than
the one for which he had paid dollar
at a restaurant.
He told his friends of his discovery
and they sought out Jones's tent. In
an hour he had made $50, ard In a
week he had saved $500. His sole cash
assets amounted to $3.50 when he sold
his first sandwich.
i He ordered 1000 loaves Of bread at
Kansas City. They were packed hot
and when they reached Guthrie each
loaf had shrunk to about the size and
Ifirmness Of hard boiled egg. He sold
all of this bread at % cents loaf
Including freight, each loaf had cost
him about two cents.
Though selling at exorbitant prices
during the first two or three days, gro-
ceries were cheaper In a week than
they were at Kansas City. There was
an oversupply and no buildings in
which to store them. Carloads Of POI
tatoes were piled on the ground, and
hundreds Of bushels were carried
away, the owners knowing that they
could not be sold before they decayed
Lumber yards were open for business
the third day, and lumber sold on a
basis of about $1,000 thousand feet,
though the price was much higher In
smaller quantities.
The first postmaster was Dennis T.
Flynn, afterward delegate to congress,
and the postoffice a small frame shack.
After standing in line all day, man
would be within two or three numbers
of his turn when the postoffice closed
at 6 o'clock p. m, and then lie would
lie on the ground all night to be at the
head of the line next morning.
There were probably 10000 persons
in Guthrie then. Stamps were peddled
in the streets at 10 cents each by spec
ulators.
Water was hauled from the Cotton
wood and sold at cents a glass, rs
cents a bucket and 81 barrel.
Prior to the organic act, Intoxicating
LIQUORS could not be sold or brought
into the territory, which was still un-
der the federal laws applying to Indian
reservations. Bootleggers did profit
able but dangerous business, and many
were sent to the penitentiary.
When the organic act became law
anybody who could pay for govern
ment license could start a saloon. A
hnx tX,hi fn hto q NJ w
or three glasses were the sole fixtures
of many saloons that ran openly in the
streets.
In three of four days dance halls and
disorderly houses were running. The
largest was In tent 30X60 feet. There
was a bar in front, and back Of that a
dance hall large enough for two quad
rifles.
There were few women in town, and
when the big dance hall gave a grand
lopening practically all the men in town
were in attendance. The crowd grew
so large that 25 cents was charged for
lgoing inside the tent. This merely
whetted curiosity and soon the dance
hall was so densely packed that dane
ing was impossible. Probably the first
piano brought to Oklahoma during
the rush was in this dance hall.
There were no Federal statutes
ldBdlIlSl duu thS eStth
tory made its own laws gambling was
controlled by ordinances Of the provi-
sional government. Each gambler al
Guthrie paid SIS a day to the police
Judge, and 1t Is estimated that for a
long time the daily cash receipts OF the
police judge amounted to $4,000.
The first religious service was held
on what was known as the government
acre, set aside by the government for
the land Office. On the third or fourth
night a cowboy evangelist, riding a
calico pony, came in and held meet
ling.
He talked from his saddle, and
warned the people against their sins.
While he was speaking Jim Masterson,
now dead, a brother Of Bat Masterson,
came out Of the Long Branch gambling
house and threw hoky-poky Carbon
bisulphide) on the calico pony.
The calico pony began performing
at a creased lightning gait, and the
cowboy evangelist was thrown. AS he
mounted and rode away he turned and
said, with a grin:
There's some damned smart fellows
in this crowd"
The first funeral was that Of Skin
ner, a gambler from Dodge City, Kan,
who died at st. AIMS Rest. gambling
house. There was no public cemetery,
and his grave was dug on school land
south of town.
All tho gamblers and number of