The weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1858-1860, 1858-05-11
Fra nd nlent land Nalex

The Investigations which have ensuad "a.
the disclosure Of the fraudulent land s.s
which. in our last, detailed report vas nv. |
have brought to light the existence Of An =
ganized band, the members composing wiz
are distributed throughout Northern Iowa n
Southern Minnesota. They DO not stop a, +
sale of bogus lands-they are bad Of ~.
,erfeiters.
1t has been shown by Records . m, sst
worth of land, to which no valid ;tle wasSs
has been sold, and the names % John g. Pa,
and b. y. Holbrook Of this y ace. and Samp. l
Frizzel, OF Floyd county have been n.
among the prime mover and actors in dir
pcndous piece OF siib ,iny. These men do /
constitute the ganY we are satisfied thai
forty persons are engaged in this nefarioa. y
mess, and we nave the names and loca.o,
many of thea.
As early as December last, an organiztiu
was etie" ted-regular lodges were ESTABLISH,
with o possible secrecy, and pass sorps, syn
and grips, were instituted to provide agaI,,
eS posure. The members were bound togs,..p
oy the most terrible ties, and the modss or
randi proves how we'll perfected were Ia
schemes.
Warranty deeds of tax lands were heapsa4
3
ed, in whose intricacies a victim was easily e.
tangled indeed. so fair upon the face Es,
these transactions, that purchasers were ",
satisfied of the validity OF the titles, after har.,
sent agents who had every access to the reecrs
/ to investigate the matter. Certificates purpr
| ing 10 have been signed by the Recorder Of II
! county-and We believe other counties ARE rs
exempt-were held by the swindlers, vhied a,
! known, and can De proved to be absolute tor.s
res These are supposed to have been obi,.
| ed through hesinstrumentality of one Crarir.
| who, report has it,-and we have but s@s
| doubt OF its correctness,-is a skilltul eoqae.
feter, and one Of the principal leaders Of Il
! gang.
Among the tracts sold, were sections one A.,
| two, OF township one hundred, in range seyes
teen, which land does not exist, as every one 1
all acquainted with land matters knows 0tss
titles were found OH warranty deeds. appearr.
| upon the records as from James +. Wyche i
! whose name the land was entered at tie p1ss
! land sales OF last MAY, and which was al boEA
to parties at that time, and which bond, hlr.
not yet expired. These deeds were obtaiati b.
the PRESERVATION of Wyche, by some man. bsiSa
A. d. GUSTS, Esq, Of Burr Oak, who took Il
acknowledgements, convinced, probably, OF ID
pretended Wyehe's identity.
/ About eight thousand acres were obtains
and thus, provided with abstracts OF titles Al
! forged certificates, they proceeded 10 Madi.or
Milwaukee aud Chicago, where it has b.s
found by the investigation SO far, that abO.
twenty thousand acres OF bogus lands were d
posed of. So shrewdly has the thing been ma
aged that nothing was known until the suHsrs
arrived from Chicago aud Milwaukee, when pa
tial disclosures were made. Upon their appe
rance, Bishop and Holbrook left for parts u
! anown.
! The spirit of the citizens of this town and
cinity is a determined one. The gang, or ID
part infesting this county, is TO be uprootei
legal means, if possible; but If by their IL famO
\ precaution they are not liable to legal prose-
ton, more strenuous and quite a. cffectr
means will be employed for their removal
II is expected that by our next Issue .aa dts
| closures will be made, and the public apytis
OF all the facts in connection, so well auther
! Gated, that there can be no doubt. Names a
will be given, and what We are well assured
namely: that there is agang of coante;isit
and swindlers infesting the northern part of d
State, and the southern portion OF the terrltO
will be made individually apparent.
North Iowan, oss 70