Show A TRIP TO THE LAND OPENING JJJJJJJ In the summer of 1001 Uncle Sam indulged in the lottery business and many people especially from the southwest took chances at his wheel A large strip of land formerly the reservation of the Kiowa and Comanche Indians was being opened for settlement and prospective homesteads were the prizes to be drawn I was then only a few hours ride by rail from the land oflice So with a number of young men from the same village I decided to take part in the drawing At this time we were engaged in threshing but a good soaking rain delayed the work and gave us the opportunity we desired Early the next morning we were taken to the railroad station As the railroad company had more business in the passenger traffic line than they could handle they had wisely decided not to run excursion rates Their business was so heavy in fact that they did not attempt to move any freight at all during the “rush” but used both passenger and freight trains to carry passengers The train we boarded was already crowded and several slightly intoxicated passengers were swaying about in the aisles imagining that th y wished to fight A party which sat Immediately in front of me consisted of a judge and some lawyers from Wichita having what they evidently considered a “time” and the judge was showing the effects of liquor by behaving in a manner very unbecoming to his judicial dignity The train traveled very slowly and stopped at each station where it found many more home seekers awaiting passage Soon after leaving Caldwell Kansas we arrived in the “Strip” which was opened for settlement several years ago Here a few years before the Indian grazed his ponies over the broad prairies now it is a country of flourishing farms Homes of settlers dotted the landscape and as far as the eye could see on all sides stretched fields of wheat Late in the night we arrived in El Reno Oklahoma Territory a single glance at the surroundings told us that it was useless to look On the platform for hotel accommodations of the station as thick as they could comfort- ably lie were large numbers of men and some women and children Some cars were stand-o- n k the with human beings stretched out on the roof on the floor inside and even on the cinders underneath In the town people were lying on doorsteps and porches and in the yards Some enterprising persons fenced off portions of the side-waland sold the privilege of sleeping in blankets on the stones After searching in vain for a better place our party finally found a freight car which had no occupants and retired for the night Although we were very tired and sleepy I do not think many of us secured much refreshing We rose early next slumber that night morning procured some coffee and sandwiches at one of the numerous lunch stands and then went to register We had a notary public write out our papers for us These notaries by the way must have made a great deal of money during the period of registration as cents from each perthey received twenty-fiv- e son and about two thousand persons registered The papers which were procured from the notary public stated whether you wished to register in fche Lawton or El Reno district — the two districts into which the country was divided for convenience in opening — that you had given oath that you did not possess one hundred and sixty acres of land and that you desired to take up the land for the purpose of faiming You then turned in your papers at the office Your name post office address etc were put in an envelope and when the drawing commenced the envelopes put into side-trac- ks w-er- e |