But such was far from being the case.  Hundreds of people were already on the ground.  The town had been platted out, streets located, and the best corners seized in advance of the law and of the regulations of the proclamation.

There was no time to argue with points of law or order.  Those who got in in advance of the law were of a determined character, and their number was so great that they relied on the confusion to evade detection.  One of their number told an interesting story to the writer, concerning the experience he had gone through.  He had slipped into Oklahoma prior to the opening, carrying with him enough food to last him for a few days.  He found a hiding place in the creek bank, and there laid until a few minutes before noon on the opening day.  When 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.