Quite a number of the men had revolvers
buckled to them and now and
then you would see a woman with
one buckled to her, but for all this
show ot bravado they did not strike
terror into the heart of any. As fast
as the people got through registering
they began to scatter themselves
along tbelinc, or at convenient places,-where
they could get plenty of water,
for water was very scarce, owing to
the dry weather. Nearly all of the
water to be had had to be bought at
from 'five cents a dtink to five cents a
bucket full. The gathering on the
line kept going on until the morning
of the opening sawabout two hundred
thousand people gathered on the border
of the, long sought land. Of these
about; ope hundred and fifty thousand
were home seekers, and alt told there
was probably not more than homes
enough for seventy-five thousand of
libera, as there werg
seven thousand quarter 'sections ot
.1 J- ITT 1 ." A. 1 -
land in the- striprXBut there were the
n sues thatgave nomes to' neany
ipany or more than the part3"saght
arming;purposcs. out or this
tsfflBastM'ejlhome seekers, -.with
so fewfioweMiWbe ad( there "were
bound tobcquitcauumberdisaypolnt'
cd nnd your correspondent was one of
them. As the hour of openfng drew
ucarcrnnd nearer the great throng
grew more restless and they .were
hurrjing this way and that way, seeking
every- advantage possible to be
had in the start. You could see most
every kind of vehicle imaginable and
equally as many iHfTerentphrasesof humanity.
