The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-01-08

8kIahoma City Okla, Jan s---kEhe statement in a recent Issue of 2 Cor deil paper to the effect that there is q large amount Of Russian thistle on the public square in Cloud Chief, which should be removed before the seeds are scattered over the country, has brought to Cloud Chief, once Eourfshing comnunity, it's first news paper notice for many years, and re- calls the fact that it has practically dropped back into Okiahomass list Of slogts' towns The list is a rather long one, in view of the brief space covered by Oklahomass history, but includes number of towns which were once of decided historic inter-
 Cloud Chief was once a promising county seat of a western Oklahoma county, back in the days when the plains were dotted with range cattle. the railroad passed it by for it's more enterprising rival CordeIls and was compIeted when CordelI, with the ad- sdidonaI leverage afforded by. being a railroad .towns wrested from it the county seat honors-
 The fight was a bitter one, both be- fore and after the county seat elec- ton The sole physical claim that Cloud Chief had in the county seat fight was large frame coMrt house, and in the latter stages of the war a force of Cordem men went to Cloud Chief one night and moved the frame building bodily to the successful county seat The Cloud Chief people fought the removal in the courts, which finally sustained it's validity.
 Another of the old Territorial coun- ty seats. was wiped off the map by the constitu tutional. convention That was Grand. the county seat of Day county. the scene of many pictures z que occurrences in the early days, and which will always be remember ed by lawyers and court attendants who had business there as a place where Justice was administered in typical frontier style. In making the new county map the constitutions Convention wiped Day county out eomplstely dividing it's territory be tween the new county of Ellis and old Roger Mills. Practically the only ex- cuse for Brands existence had been the fact of it's being the county seat. and with that honor gone the town melted away, some of it's buildings being moved to farms or ranches and others gradually going down with the crunb1ing banks of the Canadian riv- CT, on which the town was situated.
 Four Of the old county seats have still survived in spite of their lack of railroad facilities and are still nak- ing a gallant fight for railroads which would he1p 10 p puLs them on the map Both Beaver City and Taloga have had many prospects, but no re- suits so far. Both of them, along with Cheyenne and Arapahoe, are however. still fighting and hoping.
 Towns Railroads Passed By
 One of the most interesting Of the towns which have entirely disappear ed from the map of the State was Reno City, where the first Repubfi- can Territorial convention in Okla homa was held on Jan. 2. 1890. Al that now remains to show that there was ever q town there is the fact that a number Of farm houses are grouped quite close together. It was at that time one Of the most flourish ing towns in the Territory. dividing honors with Oklahoma City and Guthrie, and claimed once a popula- ton of 5000
 But 1t was one of the towns wI1icl the railroads ruined. When the Rocl Island Railroad was built througf citizens Of Reno City thought that tn, railroad could not afford to pass III their town and when a bonus of $4e 900 was demanded they took 1t as