Oklahoma by rail, even as lately as the winter of 1888, will
remember that they saw nothing but open prairie, with occasional belts
of timber. There was not so much as a post to mark the location of
either of these two large cities, nor was there a plow line to define
their limits.

In no other country in the world could results such as these have been
accomplished. The amount of courage required to invest time and money in
a prospective town in a country hitherto closed against white citizens
is enormous, and it takes an American, born and bred, to make the
venture. The Oklahoma cities are not boom towns, laid out on paper and
advertised as future railroad and business centers; from the first
moment of their existence they have been practical, useful trading
centers, and every particle of growth they have made has been of a
permanent and lasting character.

But if the race to the Oklahoma town sites was interesting, the race to
the homesteads was sensational and bewildering. All around the coveted
land, anxious, determined men were waiting for the word "Go," in order
to rush forward and select a future home. In some instances the race was
made in the wagons, but in many cases a solitary horseman acted as
pioneer and galloped ahead, in order to secure prior claim to a coveted,
well-watered quarter-section. Shortly before the hour of noon, a number
of boomers on the northern frontier made an effort to advance in spite
of the protests of the soldiers on guard. These latter were outnumbered
ten to one, and could not attempt to hold back the home-seekers by
force. Seeing this fact, the young Lieutenant in charge addressed a few
pointed sentences to the would-be violators of the law. He knew most of
the men personally, and was aware that several of them were old
soldiers. Addressing these especially, he appealed to their patriotism,
and asked whether it was logical for men who had borne arms for their
country to combine to break the laws, which they themselves had risked
their lives to uphold. This appeal to the loyalty of the veterans had
the desired effect, and what threatened to be a dangerous conflict
resulted in a series of hearty hand-shakes.

A mighty shout went up at noon, and the deer, rabbits and birds, which
for years had held undisputed possession of the promised land, were
treated to a surprise of the first water. Horses which had never been
asked to run before, were now compelled to assume a gait hitherto
u