The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1858-05-06

The most extensive system Of swindling
by means Of fraudulent land sales, ever car
ried on, has just been discovered in the
northern par. Of this State. Usage, in
Mitchell county, appears to be the head
quarters Of a gang Of swindling land bro
kers and couutcrieiters, who have been i'm
posing upon and defraading the public for
nearly year past. They are a regularly
organized secret society, with all the pass
words, signs, grips and oa,hs required to
bind them together. The members 81 this
society Of robbers are said to be scattered
throughout Northern Iowa and in Southern
Minnesota.
Jons G. Bnnor and u. f.. HoLaRoog of
Usage, and SAMUEL Il. FRizELL Of Floyd
county, are mentioned az the prime movers
and head men in all the villaniys Of the
gang.
We are assured that TIE association Of
bogus land agents, and their plans jast ds.
covered, was the most complete aal
stupendous arrangement for regular sys-
TEN Of land swindling ever known in the
Wet. Nearly one haadred thousand dollars
pmtt Of land had been disposed Of by them
before they were detected. II was, Of course,
oil land TO which they hal no title whatever
and so skillully did they carry on their ope-
ratlons that il was impossible to discover
that they were itnposters. The Usage btrqa
Of the 10th thus describes their mode Of
operating;
Warranty deeds OF tax lands were heaped
upon eachother, until IL perfect labyrinth
was formed in whose intricacies the victim
was easily cntanglcd, indeed so fair upon the
face were these transactions, that purchas-
ers were well satisfied of the validity OF the
titles, after having sent, who bad every nc.
cess 10 the records to investigate the matter.
Certificates purportng to have been signed
by the Recorder of this county--nnd VIC be-
levc other counties are not exempt--were
held by the swiDders, which are known and
can be proved to be absolute iorgcrcs
These are supposed TO have been obtained
through the nstrumentality Of one, Craw-
ford, who, report he's it--and we have but
little doubt Of its cofrectness-is skillful
counterfeter, and one Of the principal lead
crs Of this gang.
About eight thousand acres were OBJ
tanned, and thus, provided with abstracts Of
titles and forged certificates, they proceeded
to Madison, Milwaukee aud Chicago, where
II has been found by the investigation, so
far, that about twenty thousand acres of boz
gus land were disposed Of So shrewdly has
the thing been managed. nothing was known
until the sufferers arrived from Chicago and
Milwaukee. and partial disclosures were
made. Upon their appearance Bishop and
Ho!brook left suddenly for parts unknown.
.E Among the tracts sold were sections one
and two Of township one hundred, In range
seventeen, which land does not exist, a. ev.
cry one in the last acquainted with land
matters IL aware. Other titles we're founded
on warranty deeds. appearing upon the re-
cords as from James f. Wyche, in whose
name the land was entered at the public land
sales Of last May and which was all bonded
to parties at that time. and which bonds
have not yet expired These deeds were OBJ
tained by the personation Of Wyche, by
some man, before A. u. Curtis, Esq, Of
Burr Oak, who took the Acknowledgements,
convinced probably Of the pretended
Wyche's identity.