# Looters of the Public Domain/Chapter 6

Chapter VI
DURING the Summer of 1902, Township 22 South, Ranges 15 and 16 East, Willamette Meridian, became subject to public entry, the official surveys thereof having been approved about that time. They are situated in the central portion of Oregon, about thirty miles south of Prineville, and twenty miles east of the Deschutes river, in Crook county, and having received information through Henry Meldrum, at that time a United States Deputy Surveyor, who had subdivided the townships, that they were covered with a heavy growth of timber, I lost no time in taking a trip out there, and discovered that there were more than 20,000 acres of vacant Government land covered with valuable yellow pine, lying practically in one body. The best timber extended through the center of the two townships, the eastern portion of range 16 being comparatively barren prairie land, upon which was a dense growth of sagebrush.
"Old Pard" Mays figured out a scheme to get hold of these lands without running much risk of bumping into serious trouble with the Federal authorities. He always impressed me with his wizard-like ways in that respect, and I never failed to consult him whenever I had a hard game on hand. In that regard he reminded me of the quack doctor who always gave his patients medicine to throw them into fits. When asked why he did this, the reply was always given, "because I am 'up' on fits!" Mays may not have possessed any great amount of legal ability, but he was certainly skilled in the art of running close-hauled to the law.
After explaining his plan, Mays assured me that if I followed his prescriptions carefully, that there would be no ill-effects from my shady operations in connection with the lands in question. His plan contemplated a charge of $150 against each entryman as a location fee, taking a mortgage on the claim as security, and any time after final proof had been made, to get some outsider to purchase, subject to the mortgage; but under no circumstances to have anything to do with suggesting a purchaser, or offering to buy the claims myself, and for me to caution the entrymen at the time I filed them on the lands that the only interest I had therein was involved in my location fee; also, that anyone desirous of paying for his claim with his own money, was at liberty to do so, by allowing me my location fee of $150, and that anyone who did not have the money to prove up on, could borrow a sufficient amount from me for that purpose by giving me a mortgage on their holdings for a year or so. I was also to warn them that in the event of any hearing that any of them had offered to sell their claims before proving up, that I would decline to loan them any money.
This scheme looked all right to me, so I agreed to divide the location fees with Mays, he stipulating to advance out of his share whatever money was required in securing the patents. I was to pay him his half, amounting to $75 per claim, as fast as he secured the patents. Any money that I might make as commission on the sale of the lands, he was to have no interest in.
​He then gave me a letter of introduction to A. W. Bell, the United States Commissioner at Prineville, the county seat of Crook County, my intention being to have all the filings and final proofs made before that official, the Lakeview Land Office, in which district the desired tracts were situated, being more than 150 miles away. Upon my arrival at Prineville I called upon Commissioner Bell, and in response to my suggestion that he place me in touch with some person who was familiar with the financial status of everybody in the county, he introduced me to a searcher of records named J. L. McCullough, with whom I entered into a contract based on my allowing him $10 each for all the locators he secured for me. It was the understanding that these persons were to file on a timber claim and make final proof thereon, and that all so procured should be free from any judgment or lien, as such an incumbrance would cast a cloud upon any title that might be obtained subsequently.
I likewise had a clear-cut agreement with each locator, whereby I was to charge them $150 as my filing fee, with the understanding that I would find somebody willing to loan $600 on each claim at the time of making final proof, the locators agreeing to execute a mortgage on their claims for that amount as security for the loan. This mortgage was to run one year at 10 per cent interest annually, and it was provided further that my location fee was to be deducted from this loan. As an evidence of good faith on my part, I also agreed to advance the $10 advertising fee on each claim, which was likewise to be refunded at the time final proof was made.
I was particular in impressing McCullough with the idea that under no circumstances whatever were the locators to offer their claims for sale before making final proof, and that neither the person advancing the $600 nor myself had any intention of purchasing the lands after the locators had acquired final title. In general terms, I sought to create the impression that good faith was to be observed all around in the transactions involving the acquisition of title to these lands, a personal inspection thereof by the claimants before filing being one of the conditions precedent to this idea.
After giving these instructions to McCullough, I drove out to the tract of timber, pitched my tent, and awaited developments. He was so well acquainted throughout Crook County that enough locators to file on each vacant quarter desired were soon secured, and within three days he arrived at my camp accompanied by a bunch of forty-five people, which represented only a comparatively small percentage of the total. These I gathered around me close enough for all to hear distinctly what I had to say, and repeated the instructions I had given McCullough, so as to avoid any chance of a hereafter. All present seemed to grasp the situation, and to be well satisfied with the conditions.
All hands were then requested to hitch up their teams and accompany me into the woods for the purpose of making a personal inspection of their prospective claims. This proved very easy of accomplishment, as the land was perfectly level, with no brush, fallen timber or rank undergrowth of any kind to contend with, and besides the whole tract had been surveyed the year previously. The lines were still freshly blazed, and corners set with four witness trees plainly marked, so that the lines were readily traceable.
The concourse of vehicles resembled a Sunday turnout in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, only of course the equipages were not quite so swell. Some had light buckboards, others good-appearing buggies, while express wagons and heavy farm traps of all sorts were in evidence, making an imposing spectacle as we sauntered leisurely through the beautiful timber, with its picturesque surroundings.
I experienced no difficulty whatsoever in making the locations. Arriving at the section corners, I would arrange four persons so that each could see the particular quarter section intended for him, at the same time giving each locator a slip of paper upon which was written the description of his proposed claim. Leaving them there, with directions to circle around over a space of about half a mile in order to be able to testify that they had been on each legal subdivision, as required by law, and could therefore be in a position to act as witnesses for each other when the final proof was made, I would proceed to another section, and so on, until the whole tract was thus taken. As fast as one group of locators had finished their inspection, they would take the back track, pursuant to my directions, and appear before United States Commissioner Bell at Prineville for the purpose of attesting their timber entries. In this manner the entire tract of 108 quarter sections was covered inside of a week after we left Prineville.
On my return I encountered several wagonloads of locators en route to my camp, intent on getting a claim, but they met with disappointment, as everything was gone. The 108 people whom I filed on these lands were all from Crook county, mostly residents of Prineville. Some of the families included from two to fifteen members, all eager to get hold of a tract of timber land.
Upon my return to Prineville I went to Commissioner Bell's office and was informed that he had recorded 108 filings, so I thereupon made arrangements to advertise the final proofs. The law requires that these notices shall be printed nine successive weeks in a newspaper nearest the land. The Deschutes Echo filling the bill in that respect, I requested the Commissioner to have the final proof notices sent to Editor Palmer, of that paper, and also paid him $1,080 with which to meet the necessary advertising charges.
The history of the establishment of the paper in question is both unique and interesting, as showing the mushroom growth of things in this Western country. Taking advantage of the requirements of the General Land Office that timber notices must be published in a newspaper nearest the land affected, Editor Palmer secured a second-hand printing outfit and established himself at Bend, Ore., in the very heart of the forest. His plant consisted of an antiquated Washington hand-press that had seen better days, and a few dilapidated fonts of type, besides the other paraphernalia incident to a cheap outfit of this sort. I doubt whether the whole plant cost him more than $50.
Felling a yellow pine tree, he leveled off the stump, and after spiking his press to this improvised foundation, was ready for business, and proceeded to grind out timber land notices at $10 apiece. The journalistic venture was a success from the start, the $1,080 that I paid him being a mere bagatelle in comparison to the aggregate earnings of the sheet. Within six weeks from the date of the first issue, to my certain knowledge the paper printed no less than 1,500 land notices, and nobody but a wooden nutmeg Connecticut Yankee would ever have devised such a money-making scheme.
The timber land business was booming in the Deschutes country around Bend, and now they have a city there of several thousand inhabitants. Following the march of progress, the Echo moved from its primeval quarters into more sumptuous surroundings, and soon had a splendid establishment of its own, being considered one of the leading newspapers of central Oregon, but I understand that it has since suspended publication.
People came rushing into the Bend country by scores in search of timber claims. From 100 to 150 came on one train quite frequently. Some of them hailed from Minnesota, some from Wisconsin or Michigan, while the Dakotas and other Middle Western states were well represented in the new immigration. They would get off at Biggs Station and take the Columbia Southern Railway ​to Shaniko, a distance of 80 miles, thence by stage or private conveyance to Prineville, 80 miles further on, and from there to the Bend, an additional 30 miles. Every vehicle or animal procurable was consequently pressed into service to supply the abnormal demands, and the hotels in Prineville and Shaniko were overflowing with guests. All summer long, in fact, the dusty roads between Shaniko and the Bend were lined with travelers, and it was soon evident that a large proportion of them were under contract to convey whatever timber rights they might acquire to syndicates of Eastern lumbermen. All their expenses had been borne by the various combinations of this character, and as several syndicates were in the field simultaneously seeking to secure control of these lands, the rivalry between them became so intense at times that timber claimants, or "dummies," as they were more popularly known, commanded a premium, and the rush continued without interruption far into the winter.
After making arrangements with the Deschutees Echo relative to advertising the notices of final proof, on the 108 entries, I took a trip East for the avowed purpose of securing financial backing in the matter of paying for the lands. I consulted several lumbermen on the subject, and finally closed a deal with William H. Bradley, a multi-millionaire lumberman of Tomahawk, Wisconsin, whereby I guaranteed to procure deeds in his favor to the entire tract embraced in the 108 claims within one year after final proof was made. In return he agreed to advance $600 a claim in order to enable the entryman to prove up, and to take a year-mortgage on the land as security. It was provided also that the entire body of timber should average at least 10,000 feet per acre of merchantable lumber, and that Bradley should have the privilege of sending his own cruiser into the woods to make the estimates. In addition, if the land was found satisfactory, he was to allow me a bonus of $6 per acre, payable upon presentation of deeds after final proof.
Although I had never intimated to the locators in any way, shape or manner that it was my ultimate purpose to purchase these lands after they had been proved up on, yet I intended doing so all along, as I was well aware that on account of their financial condition my $600 equity in each claim would make me master of the situation, and that by advancing them from $200 to $300 additional, they would only be too glad to execute a deed in favor of whomsoever I might designate. By pursuing this course we not only expected to secure absolute title to the land, but also evade any possibility of Governmental prosecution on conspiracy charges.
After closing the deal with Bradley, he sent out Ben Sweet, of the Log & Lumber Company, of Milwaukee, Wis., for the purpose of making an estimate of the timber on the tract, and it was while Mr. Sweet and myself were on this trip that I had the pleasure of first becoming acquainted with Colonel Alfred R. Greene, Special Inspector of the Department of the Interior, who figured afterward, more or less, in the prosecution of the cases against myself and associates in the famous township "11-7" transaction.
One morning while Sweet was out in the woods cruising the timber, I concluded to take my rifle and endeavor to kill an antelope, of which there were an abundance in those days. As I was wandering along the road I came across a man and his driver eating their luncheons at the edge of the timber I had located. It required no second glance to convince me that I was face to face with the distinguished Government agent, because a few days previously my friend Fred A. Kribs had told me in Portland to be on the lookout for him, as he was out here investigating alleged fraudulent timber entries. Kribs had described Greene so accurately that I felt right away as if we were old acquaintances, although he did not appear to recognize me.
"Did you see any stray sheep as you came along the road?" I inquired, assuming the aspect of a typical "Rube."
"No," answered Colonel Greene, majestically, "and besides I am not seeking to corral that kind of animals. It is two-legged beasts of prey of the land-grabbing variety that I am after, sir, and if you know of any bell-wethers of that class "around here, just trot them out, because they are my game."
At this he swelled up with as much importance as a bullfrog, until I almost thought there would have to be an explosion in order to relieve the pompous congestion. I realized at once that he mistook me for a sheepherder, and proceeded to encourage him in the belief. He proved to be a voluble conversationalist, and in almost less time than it takes to describe it here. Colonel Greene had imparted the whole secret of his mission, laying particular stress upon the fact that immense frauds were being committed against the Government by numerous large irrigation companies in the Deschutes region, and wound up his tirade against everything land-grabical by asking me point blank if I knew a person by the name of S. A. D. Puter.
"Puter—Puter—" I repeated, quizzically, "Appears to me that name sounds familiar. Who does he herd sheep for?"
"Herd sheep be d——d!" fairly snorted the Colonel. "He herds 'dummies' up here in the woods, and shears these forests of their pristine grandeur. Why, sir," he continued, growing radiant in expression under the inspiration of his eloquence, "a pine tree out here alone isn't any safer in that man's hands than a virtuous maiden in the harem of a Sultan!"
Pointing in the direction of the timber, Colonel Greene added: "That man Puter has located over 100 people out there under the timber and stone act, charging them $150 each as a location fee. I am satisfied it is a part of the game for him to get hold of the titles for some company, but thus far he has eluded every effort of mine to ferret out his scheme. At Prineville I interviewed a lot of people whom he located on these lands, but he has pulled the wool over all their eyes, making them believe that they are taking up land for their own use and benefit, as the law prescribes, although charging them this location fee of $150, besides agreeing to loan them $600 to pay for their land."
Whatever his other failings, I saw that Colonel Greene had the dope on me all right, so, after getting all the information I could from him on the subject, I took my departure, and circled around back to camp. Sweet finished his estimates a few days later, his computations indicating that the tract would average over 12,000 feet of clear lumber to the acre, so all I had to do was to abide the period of final proof.
Subsequent events, however, proved how uncertain the common affairs of life are. Just before the time for making final proof on the 108 entries had expired, Mr. Bradley died suddenly, leaving me up in the air so far as a financial backer was concerned, and as I did not have sufficient time in which to secure someone else to take his place along those lines, my only course was to have the entrymen readvertise their claims, involving considerable extra expense. However, I succeeded in compromising with the Deschutes Echo on the costs to the extent of securing an agreement that the paper would republish the notices at half price, so I personally assumed the additional expense of $540, and the entrymen were satisfied to let matters stand upon that basis.
After completing these arrangements, I once more proceeded Eastward in search of a new financial backer, and found him in the person of N. H. Withee, a retired capitalist of La Crosse, Wis., and already the owner of about 30,000 acres of fine timber land in Lane county, Oregon. He organized a company of local lumbermen, all of whom were willing to go in with me under similar conditions existing between Mr. Bradley and myself.
He appeared in the person of A. B. Hammond, a wealthy lumber dealer and railroad operator of San Francisco, who owns vast tracts of timber lands in Clatsop, Tillamook, Linn and Lane counties, Oregon, besides a controlling interest in the Astoria & Columbia River Railroad, and the O. P. R. R., running from Yaquina Bay via Albany to Detroit, Oregon. He also has immense red-wood timber holdings in Humboldt county, California, in addition to logging railways and sawmills too numerous to mention. In short, Mr. Hammond is considered one of the heaviest individual timber land operators on the Pacific Coast.
After discussing the situation with him in all its details, he agreed to go in with me on the deal and advance the money for making final proof on my 108 entries, and take a mortgage on the claims, providing, however, that I would agree to give him one-half the location fee of $150, and guarantee a perfect title to the land at a price not to exceed $6 per acre. We entered into an agreement to that effect, and Mr. Hammond sent Peter S. Brumby, his chief cruiser, with me, for the purpose of making a preliminary examination of the tract in order to see how the timber compared with Ben Sweet's estimates. Brumby reported favorably, and it began to look as if the hoodoo had vanished.
I thereupon called upon F. P. Mays and informed him of the changed conditions, and how the time was so short in which to operate that I was compelled to give up one-half the location fee to Mr. Hammond as an inducement for him to go into the deal. In view of the situation. Mays consented to make a new agreement with me upon the basis of accepting $25 per claim for getting the patents, this amount to be paid Senator Mitchell for his services.
In conformity with my arrangement with Mr. Hammond, Wm. G. Gosslin, his private secretary, caused to be printed two special sets of blank mortgages. The first was for the entrymen to execute in favor of A. B. Hammond for $450, the amount he was to advance in making final proof and payment, and was to run one year at the rate of ten per cent, interest per annum. The second mortgage called for $160 in favor of S. A. D. Puter, and covered the location fee of $150 and $10 for advertising the notices of final proof. As a matter of fact, there was a covert purpose behind all these red tape proceedings. It was obvious that the more densely we surrounded the various transactions with cloaks of this character, the deeper would be the impression of legitimacy, not only with the entrymen, but the Government itself was likely to be thrown off its guard in the face of such evidence of compliance with legal requirements.
Hammond's manager, Geo. B. McLeod, and myself then proceeded to Prineville, he bringing the blank mortgages, together with the money necessary for making the final payment. Upon his inquiry as to what arrangements I had made in reference to securing Mr. Hammond in his one-half interest in the $150 location fees, I informed McLeod that I was willing to leave that feature of it to himself, to fix up in any manner he deemed advisable. I also told him about my arrangement to allow Mays $25 each, to be paid Senator Mitchell for expediting the patents to the different claims, and to this McLeod objected, declaring that Hammond would not stand one-half of the amount when United States Senator Charles W. Fulton was getting patents through on other lands belonging to ​Hammond for a great deal less money, $10 each being his regular price, and where there were so many to be handled, as in this instance, he thought a joblot rate could be secured from Fulton. Upon this showing I acquiesced in the arrangement to have Senator Fulton attend to all future business of this nature, and whatever his charges might be, that I would gladly stand my share.
At this stage of the proceedings the entrymen refused to sign the two mortgages, and I was up against it once more. They based their objections upon the allegation that I had departed from my original agreement with them, and also because there were rumors that the Government intended to attack all the entries. In the event this proved to be case, they insisted that I enter into another agreement with them to defray all their expenses to the Lakeview land office, and to bear whatever costs were incurred by the proceedings.
This I declined to do, stating that I did not believe there would be any trouble, but that if there should be, that I would help out all I could, even to the extent of engaging an attorney to represent them at any hearing before the local land office. They also refused to sign an order requesting the Register and Receiver of the Lakeview land office to return the purchase price of $400 to the Bank of Prineville, subject to Mr. McLeod's order. The law requires that the public lands shall be paid for personally by the entrymen, and our intention was to have the Bank of Prineville issue drafts in the name of each locator for $400 at the time of making final proof, as the United States Commissioners are supposed to send the cash payments to the land office at the same time the final proof papers are transmitted. In case of the rejection of any of the entries, the money and title papers would be returned to the Commissioner, who was expected to turn the drafts over to the entrymen, as it was for the purpose of protecting Mr. Hammond that the idea was adopted of having the locators sign an order on the Commissioner for the full amount of their payments in favor of Mr. McLeod, as Hammond's representative.
The obstinacy of the entrymen had the effect of causing McLeod to abandon the idea of further efforts in the direction of acquiring title under the timber and stone act, and he suggested that we return to Portland forthwith and purchase forest reserve scrip with which to select the lands under the act of June 4, 1897. It was also apparent to McLeod that the entrymen, actuated by the belief that I was already out to the extent of about $2,000, were attempting to hold me up in the belief that I would accede to their demands rather than sacrifice that amount. I concurred with McLeod, both as to his deductions and remedy, and as only ten days remained in which to make payment and complete the final proofs before the lands would revert back to the Government and again become subject to entry, we proceeded to Portland with as little delay as possible.
About 20,000 acres of scrip were required to cover the selections embraced in the 108 entries alluded to, and we found that it was a most difficult matter to secure such a large quantity, as nearly all holders wanted the scrip for their personal uses. McLeod having failed to make good in this connection, and as there was no time to lose, I proceeded to seek another customer. I soon found him in the person of William R. Thorson, of the Manestee Lumber Company, of Manestee, Mich., who was at that time stopping at the Hotel Portland. He had 100,000 acres of available forest reserve scrip, and it required little effort on my part to convince him as to the feasibility of the scheme of securing the lands. He agreed to scrip the entire tract and pay me 50 cents an acre for all the lands that would estimate 10,000 feet of merchantable lumber per acre.
In conformity with this view of the situation, Mr. Thorson's attorney and myself started post haste for the Lakeview land office, via California and Reno, Nev., that being the most expeditious route on account of a lack of railway facilities in other directions. We were not a moment too soon, either, for within two days after we had filed our scrip on the land, 60 applications under the timber and stone act were received at the land office in one bunch from ​Prineville, and they all had to be returned, as. we had corralled everything in sight. As soon as I got back to Portland, Mr. Thorson paid me my commission of 50 cents an acre on the 20,000 acres, and later the lands were patented to the Manestee Lumber Co.
It all goes to show that Uncle Sam was a big loser by the operation, as under the timber and stone act the Government would have received $2.50 an acre for the land, or practically $50,000, while under the act of June 4, 1897, it got nothing except an equivalent area in the San Francisco Mountain Forest Reserve, of slight intrinsic value.
Had the original plan terminated in success, my profits on this one deal would have probably exceeded $25,000. Mays also would have come in for a goodly share of the proceeds by reason of his services in expediting the patents, as it will be remembered he was to receive one-half the $150 location fee, or a total of $8,100 for the 108 claims. No doubt he would have retained the lion's share of this amount, as that was second nature with him, although he doubtless would have been obliged to let go of some of it as a lubricant for the machinery at Washington for grinding out the land patents.
Although I netted about $7,500 by the transaction, I stood to lose at least $2,000 on account of the death of Mr. Bradley, my first financial backer. Had I not met with so much bad fortune, there is hardly any doubt that Mays' scheme, as originally planned, would have been carried out to the letter, and title to the entire tract, under the Timber and Stone act, would have been procured, and, so far as the Government was concerned, it would have been an utter impossibility to have secured convictions for conspiracy or any other criminal charge. My object in mentioning this is merely to show what an easy matter it would have been to defraud the Government out of this tract of timber, and at the same time avoid any possible chance of prosecution, either against those who made the filings, the purchasers of the lands from the original entrymen, or myself.