hen his watch and the sun both
told him that it lacked but a few minutes of noon, he emerged from his
hiding place, with a view to leisurely locating one of the best corner
lots in the town. To his chagrin he saw men advancing from every
direction, and he was made aware of the fact that he had no patent on
his idea, which had been adopted simultaneously by several hundred
others. He secured a good lot for himself, and sold it before his
disqualification on account of being too "previous" in his entry was
discovered.

As each train unloaded its immense throngs of passengers, the scene was
one that must always baffle description. The town site was on rising
ground, and men, and even women, sprang from the moving trains, falling
headlong over each other, and then rushing up hill as fast as their legs
would carry them, in the mad fight for town lots free of charge. The
town site was entirely occupied within half an hour, and the surrounding
country in every direction was appropriated for additions to the main
"city." Before night there were at least 10,000 people on the ground,
many estimates placing the number as high as 20,000.

Some few had brought with them blankets and provisions, and these passed
a comparatively comfortable night. Thousands, however, had no
alternative but to sleep on the open prairie, hungry, as well as
thirsty. The water in the creek was scarcely fit to drink, and the
railroad company had to protect its water tank by force from the thirsty
adventurers and speculators.

The night brought additional terrors. There was no danger of wild
animals or of snakes, for the stampede of the previous day had probably
driven every living thing miles away, with the solitary exception of
ants, which, in armies ten thousand strong, attacked the trespassers. By
morning several houses had been erected, and the arrival of freight
trains loaded with provisions not only enabled thoughtful caterers to
make small fortunes, but also relieved the newcomers of much of the
distress they had been suffering. Within a week the streets were well
defined, and houses were being built in every direction, and within six
months there were several brick buildings erected and occupied for
business and banking purposes.

The process of building up was one of the quickest on record, and
Guthrie, like its neighbor on the south, Oklahoma City, is to-day a
large, substantial business and financial center. Those of our readers
who crossed