Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1856-12-04
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Katraaa affairs.
The Land Sale 1t Leavenworte.

= CorrespoDdence Of the Cincisnan Os
The Land Sale At Leavenwof'.'
LAWRENCE CrrY, Kansas, Nov. ls.
The land sale commenced yesterday
morning al ten O'Clock, at rort LeaVeil-
worth. As many of your readers may no'
he f.m;,;or with the details of such sale,
will 5escribe it: The crying is done at
one Of the doors of the barracks, and the
b;dders crowd around it, all standing. Nc
nla,fonn is erected, or any other convent
epce provided, either for the officers or bid
defs-but the former have their tables in
side the room into which the door opens.
An immense crowd assembled sometime
before the hour of sale. Settlers were there
in their flannel shirts and homemade trow-
sers, manifesting great anxiety to know
whether squatter's claims would be respect
ed, or whether spectators would he per-
Initted to- enter into competition over their
homes.
At ten o'clock Mr.. Eddy-Commission
er, &c.-appeared at the door, and announ-
ced that the hour had arrived for the OPEN
ing of the sale. He then read the procla-
nation of the President announcing the
sale, and then the subsequent proclamation
postponing it to the 18th. The cryer then
offered for sale the southeast fractional
quarter of section 8, township Z, range
XIX, appraised at 81, so per acre-but be-
fore it was sold another announcement was
made in regard to the squatters. Mr.. Ed
dy stated that it vas the desire of the Gov
ernment that the squatter should have his
land at the appraised value. This was re-
ceived with rounds of applause by the
sountters, after which the sale went on
1t was put up by quarter sections, of l60
acres each. When lot on which there is
settler is offered, the squatter cries out
from the crowd, "Settlerr' The crver then
says, "Namew Squatter gives his name,
and the land is set down as sold to that
name. The settler is expected after the
adjournment of the sale for that day. it
adjourns at twelve o'clock, NOON TO come
forward and pay for his land. If he fails
to do so, it is put up sgain the next day,
and his name will then be refused, and his
squatter right is forfeited.
The sale commenced with the north
west corner of the tract, and the least valu-
able part oft. This part of it twenty-four
miles back from the river.
About half the land sold to-day Tues
day twas claimed by settlers. The unclaimed
part was bought by Col. Buford and Vim.
II. RUSSELL Mr.. Russell is q very promi-
nent pro-slavery man here-he is of the
firm of Majors & Russell-which has i'm
portant contracts with the government for
transportation Of supplies from Fort Leav-
enwoith 10 Forts further west. These con-
tracts are heavy, as you may Judge from
the fact that they keep 1000 yoke, or
fourteen thousand cattle, employed in haul
ing government supplies to military points
west Of this place.
The sale at the present rate of progress
will last three or four weeks, but specula-
tors are already beginning to return. Squat
ters are on hand to sell out their claims,
knowing enough 10 ask strangers enormous
prices, and they sometimes get them
Many Of the strangers soon use their pile,
and then their business here is done. The
fever Is raging tremendously just now, and
earstern men seem to think their lives and
fortunes depend on getting rid of their mon
ey, and getting some wild land for it as soon
as possible.
A young gentleman from Cincinnati,
Mr.. E., bought yesterday squatter's right
to forty acres, about mile from the river,
and near the town of Leavenworth, for
which he paid eleven thousand two hundred
dollars. 1t may perhaps in time be worth
the money. and might be regarded as Il
tolerable bargain, provided no better was to
be had, but up to the time of this sale,
such rights have been valued at about fif-
teen hundred dollars.
When these speculator's piles are out,
there will be good time for cool men of
small capital to buy.
The purchases made by Buford, are un-
derstood to be made with money raised in
the South for that purpose.