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Show "Bt BK Rapid Growth of Eagle City, I Oklahoma Town That Rose from the Prairie Practically to A 1 TwentyFour Hours Now Flourishing 1 and Prosperous. I Somo tlmo between midnight and sunrise on Dec. i, 1902, a now town was placed on the map of Oklahoma. Its namo Is Englo City, nnd It has sov-rral sov-rral thousand peoplo by this tlmo. What was a stretch of vacant prnlrlo on tho evening of Dec. 3 had many residences and business houses In courso of construction at sunrlso on tho 4th. It had a dally newspaper, tho Eaglo City Star, In operation on tho latter day, with several lumber yards, restaurants, hotels, a long-dlstanco tol-ophono tol-ophono system, a big city hall, with other accessories and accompaniments of civilization. A city government will soon bo nt work there. Unclo Sam's mails aro delivered In It with as much regularity as ln any other pnrt of tho west. Another namo will bo added to tho country's gazetteers. In tho politics and social economy of Oklahoma territory ami Etatc, henceforward hence-forward Eaglo City will have to bo reckoned with. What would Boone, Harrod, Logan, Robertson, Sevier and tho rest of tho founders of Kentucky and Tenncsseo havo thought If they had heard of tho establishment of a town ln a fow hours, with connections with overy other community In tho United States, and with most of tho conveniences of civilization? What even would tho founders of Kansas, who camo on tho scone two-thirds of a century after Boono nnd his compatriots had dono M their work, hnvo thought of this fOa of tho citizens of Eagle City? ln Knnsns' case many towns wero estnb- II llshed after laborious preparation H which disappeared In quicker time H than they wero created, and havo long slnco dropped off tho gazetteers and tho mnps. Somo ambitious Kansas towns with Imposing names back In tho 'GOs nnd 'GO's nro now corn fields. History has forgotten thorn. Even tradition Is a llttlo dubious as to tho spots on which they stood. But no such fnto Is likely to como to Eaglo City. Lawton and severnl other towns ln Oklahoma In iccent years had ns swift a rlso as this latest tho latest except Snyder, which was born a day afterward accession to that territory's mnp. All aro on tho map still. All aro flourishing. In fact, Oklahoma Itself was a lightning crea-tlton. crea-tlton. Tho placo that wo call Oklahoma, Okla-homa, which, at a certain noontime In April, 18S9, had not a single Inhabitant, Inhabi-tant, possessed a permanent population popula-tion of 50,000 befoie sunset on that day, with residences, hotels, restaurants, restaur-ants, stores, banks, printing offices and the general equipment of a modern mod-ern community. Its 01,000 peoplo In 1890 wero found by Unclo Sam's con ' sus takers In 1900 to havo incrcnaod to 398,000. Probably thoy number 450,000 or 600,000 now. Exchnngo. |