The weekly north Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1857-1867, 1858-09-29

own expense made improvements and cultiva.
ted farm on said premises the previous year,
that Lockwood. when the said claim should be
confirmed and surveyed by competent authority
was 10 have one hundred and sixty acres in a
reasonable, convenient, and compact farm, 70
as to include said Improvements, that Burnett
was to convey his right and title to the same to
said Lockwood, and that as q return or COM
pensation therefor, Burnett was to have the
privilege OF selecting the same amount any
where else on said tract in like convenient and
compact form. And that founded upon this
agreement, the said James McGregor, and one
Duncan Mc3regor, in 1897 obtained a partition
Of the one hundred and sixty acres in the
South East corner of said tract, to which parti
ton suit G(e unknown owners of the balance OF
said Giard claim were made parties. 1t is fur.
ther shown that cause is now pending in the
Dubuque District Court, between James L. Alex.
McGiegor, wherein the said James claims title
to said l6O acres under and through the said
Thomas P. Burnett
After this suit was commenced, Marie Chen
evert departed <his life, and in February 1855,
Francis Chcnevert signed the following pa
pers.
Il have nepcr authorized any person or per-
"sons to commence a sua against James H.
Lockwood, the heirs of Thomas P. Burnett,
sand the heirs of Peter Powell, or either of
"them. nor have I ever consulted or had the
"slightest intimation Of a suit being instituted
"until the present time" A duplicate of this
was also signed by Dussaume and wife. as is
shown from the testimony. At the same time
it ia shown that Dussaume and wife, executed
another instrument which read as follows:
Son or about the eth day of April, 1896,
James H. Lockwood called at our residence, at
or near Warsaw, Hancock county, State of
Illinois, to purchase our interest in certain
tract of land for James II. Lockwood and
Thos.P Burnett, my wife, Felicite Dussaume,
being one of the legal heirs of BAIL Giard, in
a certain tract Of land called the Giard's claim
or grant, being on the West bank of the Mis-
sissippi River nearly opposite Prairie du Chen.
now Clayton county and State of Iowa. That
we did bargain for the same with the said
Lockwood for the sum of hundred dollars, DC,
($lOO,0O) which was paid to us at the time by
said Lockwood, by cancelling our indebtedness
to him, the said Lockwood, aud we executed to
them deed, according to law, all our interest
in and to the said claim, and we then considered
it to be an absolute sale Of all our interest in said
claim, and that VIC never asked the advice of
either James H. Lockwood or Thomas P. Bur-
nett, rs counsclors at law, abont the institution
OF said claim.' A substantial duplicate of
this was also signed by Chenere1 at the same
time.
In January of the same year, the attorneys
of McGregor wrote to Chenevelt, that they
were about to commence this suit, that in acccr-
dance with McGregor's agreement with him,
they were also to act in his behalf but of course
did not look to him fr pay. They then pro-
cced to say, "that we hope you ,csH neither sav
or 10 1nsshin5 sooafrae case pAile II is going on,
out wait with patience untiit is finally decided.
1t is oery nmporsnt that you should be carcfu
rs to Uhat you 40 or say, ard if at any time you
10 talk about the case. you will of course be
rise enough to talk as If you pere going to be sue
'e"sful, for as We have said before, we are very
confident of winning the case if we get fair
'hance If you are DESTROYS of seeing COPY
If the bill against the Burnetts' & powells'. we
SIl send you copy, and if at any time you
want any further information about it, you will
'!ease to send us letter.
The deposition of Chenevert is taken by res
'ondents. and he swoars distinctly that he and
lis wife always considered the sale made in
o36 fair one, that they never claimed nor
'retended to claim, since that time, any interest
n said land. nor had they up to 1852, any hope
II expectation of getting anything beyond
What they received from Burnett. He further
wears that he never authorized nor gave his
consent that McGregor or any other person
hould institute any suit in his name for the re.
ovrry of the said Giard claim. that when the
gent of McGregor applied to him and wife for
heir deed. he told him that they had sold their
interest," Or all that they pretended to have,
ong belme that time, and had got what was
considered the full value of the same, that said
gent seated in order to get said deed, that said
NcGregor had some difficulty with Ills brother,
hat the deed given to Burnett or Lockwood
vas not gsod for anything and that if McGreg.
II recovered, he tchanevert) should have
PORTION, for which he gave hirn the writing be-
ore referred to. The record also shows that
liter signing the instruments of February, 1855,
aid Dussaume & Chencvcrt in sworn replica
ion to the answer Of one of the respondents,
tated substantially that McGregor had not
cted fairly by them and that said instruments
Tere obtained by threats and fraud. The de-
osition OF Chenevert, portions of which we |
ave before given, was taken after this, to wit !
q January 1856, in which We have seen that |
e again re-affirms in effect what is contained
4 these papers, and in this deposition he fur |
her states that the greater part of the matters
.ated in said replication are lies, aud that he |
AS deceived by the person or persons who
anslated or interpreted the same to him, he |
efng unable to read and understand with facil- /
y our language. And it is proper to state
lat this same want Of knowledge of our
nguage obtains as, to Dussaume and wife,
rom this reference to the testimony, We think
is not difficult to understand the true posi-,
on OF the complainants, in this case. And
lould we ever grant that under ordinary cir
instances, McGregor, though purchasing
it'll notice, by his deed acquired all the rights
nd could claim to take advantage of all the
elects which the wife Of Dussaune could, VIC
70 far from belieyinr that he can fo q, pnder