Before the Founding of Lawton
Land Lottery and Auction
Game
Teaching Materials
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The actual drawing took place in the town of El Reno. The drawing took four days.
“A platform 32 feet square was erected
in one of the streets of the city fronting the high school grounds, which
rose gradually from the platform, affording ample space for those desires
to witness the drawing. A canvas roof covered the platform, and canvas
curtains were provided with which to enclose its sides in case of a storm."
in his report to the Secretary of the Interior
| Over 100,000 people were at El Reno on the first day of the drawing. |
| A box for the El Reno district was placed on the platform. Another box for the Lawton district was put there, too. Both boxes had iron bars running through them. With the bars, the boxes could be turned around and around. All of the registration slips were mixed up in the two boxes. The officials tried very hard to make sure the drawing was fair. |  |
Ten boys under the age of 18 drew the envelopes
from both of the boxes. The boys had no relatives, so they could
not help anyone cheat. The boys' eyes were blindfolded. Then
they were turned around and around and around. The boys took
turns drawing the registration slips. First they drew from the El
Reno box. Then they drew from the Lawton box.
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