PAGE
[Became number one in the opening]56
[Everybody for miles around had journeyed thither to celebrate] 113
[Made a declaration that he would build a town] 128
[Although the valley could not be surpassed in the production of grain and alfalfa, the highlands on either side were great mountains of sand] 133
[On the east the murky waters of the Missouri seek their level]140
[The real farmer was fast replacing the homesteader] 145
[Everything grew so rank, thick and green] 160
[Had put 280 acres under cultivation]177
[Bringing stock, household goods and plenty of money] 192
[Were engaged in ranching and owned great herds in Tipp county] 209
[As the people were all now riding in autos] 241
[A beautiful townsite where trees stood] 251
[Ernest Nicholson takes a hand] 256
[The crops began to wither]289
[The cold days and long nights passed slowly by, and I cared for the stock] 304

LIST OF CHAPTERS

PAGE
I[Discontent—Spirit of the Pioneer] 9
II[Leaving Home—A Maiden] 18
III [Chicago, Chasing a Will-O-The-Wisp] 24
IV[The P——n Company] 34
V["Go West Young Man"]48
VI["And Where is Oristown?"]54
VII[Oristown, the "Little Crow" Reservation]61
VIII[Far Down the Pacific—The Proposal]67
IX[The Return—Ernest Nicholson]72
X[The Oklahoma Grafter]74
XI[Dealin' in Mules]79
XII[The Homesteaders]86
XIII[Imaginations Run Amuck]91
XIV[The Surveyors]94
XV["Which Town Will the R.R. Strike?"]104
XVI[Megory's Day]108
XVII[Ernest Nicholson's Return]117
XVIII[Comes Stanley, the Chief Engineer]123
XIX[In the Valley of the Keya Paha]126
XX[The Outlaw's Last Stand]132
XXI[The Boom]134
XXII[The President's Proclamation]140
XXIII[Where the Negro Fails]142
XXIV[And the Crowds Did Come—The Prairie Fire]148
XXV[The Scotch Girl]153
XXVI[The Battle]164
XXVII[The Sacrifice—Race Loyalty]168
XXVIII[The Breeds]175
XXIX[In the Valley of the Dog Ear]182
XXX[Ernest Nicholson Takes a Hand]186
XXXI[The McCralines]193
XXXII[A Long Night]201
XXXIII[The Survival of the Fittest]208
XXXIV[East of State Street]216
XXXV[An Uncrowned King]233
XXXVI[A Snake in the Grass]241
XXXVII[The Progressives and the Reactionaries]251
XXXVIII[Sanctimonious Hypocrisy]265
XXXIX[Beginning of the End]273
XL[The Mennonites]280
XLI[The Drouth]284
XLII[A Year of Coincidences]294
XLIII["And Satan Came Also"]297

The Conquest

CHAPTER I

DISCONTENT—SPIRIT OF THE PIONEER