Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1878-07-12
Immense Land Grab in CalifOrnia-Oyer
One Million Acres of the Best Lands
in the State StOlen-Murder
and LynchIBg as Western
Pastimes.
Incest Punished with the Whip and Out.
rage with a $50 Fine-An Insane
Woman Burned TO Death-A
Bigamist's StOry-Fearful
Calamity.


great seal of the State of California, and its
application to prodigious hemes of thievery.
The main object to which this daring vlllalny
has been designed has been the wholesale
seizure Of the public lands under guise of le-
gal sanction, and on a scale compared with
which the brief period of desert land
grabbing was a mere spasm of petty larceny.
1t is known that information of the fraud has
been In possession of the State authorities for
some weeks past but the reason that 1t has
been withheld from the public is not ex-
planned, unless it may be attributed to the
cause of Justice In facilitating the ferretlng
out of the guilty parties For what period
and to what extent this fraudulent lnstru-
ment has been IN use, outside investigation
has not determined, but it is quite certain
that many thousands, mayhap millions of
acres of land, including some of the best im-
proved and valuable land in the State, are
held under fictitious titles, devolving upon the
employment of this counterfeit. 1t is further
intlmated that men of prominence and hith-
erto esteemed integrity are concerned In this
fraud, and that its preparation will IN due
time solve the mystery Of many an easily ac-
cumulated fortune in various quarters. From
the extent to which fictitious titles to land
are held under this counterfeit seal in all parts
of the State it is evident that hundreds have
been directly or indirectly connected in the
villainy, while The victims may De estimated
by thousands. 1t seems no less assured that
public officials IN some quarters have been
implicated IN the business and shared In the
guilty spois. The manner in which the
counterfeit seal has been employed appears
to have been varied. Thousands of school
land warrants have been forged and sold on
its authenticity. An immense amount OF
land has been taken in the same manner of
forged or illegal Indian scrip and soldiers
warrants. Special swindles on a gigantic
scale have been accomplished by taking up
large tracts of lands and parceling them out
to settlers, involving IN some instances clear
steal of a million or more. And the audacity
of the vlllainy has even extended to the man
ufacturing of fictitious titles, by which many
a settler has been robbed outright of his good
improved homestead, or made to pay roundly
for the dispersion of the cloud on his title.
BY the peculiar nature of the fraud in its ap
plication to the courts, the unfortunate farm
er, whose title is disputed by the remorseless
thieves, is placed at a fatal disadvantage.
The worthless deeds, based upon the coun-
terfeit seal, are put upon record in the sever
al counties, and in case Of suits affecting title
the records, and not the patents, are pro-
duced In courts. Many lawyer has thus
lost his case from the records alone, whereas
if he could have reached the original itself
and have been advised of the existence of the
counterfeit seal, he might have reached a
favorable result. lie what manner the en-
ployment of this counterfeit seal was dis
closed Is not stated, but it is impossible that,
from the points developed in continuous land
litigation in the State for some years past,
the practice Of some gigantic system of fraud
should have been unsusp ected. An impress
sion of the counterfeit seal received at the
Chronicle Office shows that the work has been
skillfully executed, but there are variations
from the genuine which are easily described,
hrrxr II, fhn ho
detected. There is a variation in the head of
the bear in the counterfeit amounting to a
manifest disproportion. The ship in the dis
lance In the genuine yields to the pressure of
the breeze, while in the counterfeit it stands
erect and becalmed. The pick In the hands
of the miner is sharply cut In the original,
while in the counterfeit it bears more the re-
semblance of a caulker's hammer. The front
end of the rocker In the genuine partially
conceaIs the leg of the miner, while in the
counterfeit it barely reaches him. There are
like variations in the drapery of the female
figure, the outlines of the hills ETC., that
might also serve to detect the counterfeit from
the original. 1t is appalling to contemplate
the amount of litigation that may attend a
thorough sitting of the frauds that have at
tended the use of the counterfeit seal; the
hardship that will befall the thousands of
holders OF fictitious land titles, and the in
famous downfall of not a few of the high in
estate. A proper dispensation of justice in
the matter would largely increase the colony
Of San Quentin, the counterfeiting of the seal
in itself being made felony punishable by
not less than five nor more than fourteen
years Imprisonment. Already the finger of
suspicion has been pointed in various direc-
tons, and startling events may be looked for
speedily, If some unwholesome influence does
not impede the progress of investigation.
The fact OF this enormous crime, with the
widespread and prodIgious wrongs attending
it, having gained publicity, the people will
look anxiously for immediate and energetic
action on the part of the State authorities for
the correction of the evil and the punishment
of the guilty.
An Arkansas Tragedy.
Special to the Globe Democratl
LITTLE Rock, July S.-Last Saturday, at
about four o'clock in the evening, Henry A..
Thomas was shot and killed by man known
as "Bucksnoot" Thomas. The shooting &C.
Cured seven miles south of the city, on the
Sheridan road, near Hymns mill. The re-
mote inception of the crime is not known,
bat it is supposed to nave been family
troubles. Bucksnoot's son married daugh-
ter of Henry 2. Thomas, which brought
about an intimacy between the two families.
On the evening of the killing Bucksnoot
started out with double-barrelled shot gun
for the purpose, he stated, of killing a squir-
rel. On the road he met Henry P. Thomas
and son, coming from town. Upon meeting
the parties stopped and entered into CONVEX
sation, Bucksnoot standing leaning on mis-
gun. and tine others sitting on their horses.
Henry produced a bottle and asked Buck
snoot to drink, which he did, still talking
pleasantly. Finally Bucksnoot remarked
You have been talking about my wife and
son, and | want you to understand that my
son is credit to all your other sons-in-l law y
Henry replied 10y saying: "You are a
liar. Bucksnoot sprang back quickly,
cooked his gun, and fred both
barrels, loaded with squirrel and buck shot,
at Henry, one load taking effect in his Shout
der, and the other in the right thigh, sever
ing the main artery. As Henry fell over his
son caught him, held him up, and started
both horses in the direction of home They
hadn't proceeded far before Henry exclaimed,
Hes killed me- His son tried o hold him
on his horse, but he fell to the ground. The
young man dismounted and held the dying
mans head up. On looking around he saw
Bucksnoot loading his gun. This alarmed
the young man, and mounting his horse he
rode away. Bucksnoot ran across the cutoff
and tried to intercept him, but failed. When
he reached the road he saw several parties
coming toward him, and, dropping on the
ground and cooking and presenting his gun,
he demanded a halt whats the matter ?''
Nothing" arose and ran away.
Kentucky Vengeance for Incest.
WINCHESTER, KY, July S.-For some time
past ugly rumors have been floating around
to the effect that one John Warnke, a poor
but hitherto respected citizen of the extreme
upper edge of the county, has been living in
criminal intimacy with his daughter. He is
almost seventy years of age, and for time
his age and previous standing caused the out
ragged people of the neighborhood to hold
aloof from furnishing the old reprobate. and
he was simply warned to discontinue his
heinous practices under the severest penalty.
Paying no attention to these admonitions, he
was visited by party some months ago, who
were upon the eve of carrying out the threat,
but his pleadings and promises induced them
to release him. For time it was thought
that he had really reformed, but several days
ago rumors were rife TO the contrary, and cul-
minated IN his being visited again at night by
a party in disguise, who took him some dis
lance from home and whipped him until life
was nearly extinct. He was then turned
loose in the mountains near his home, and
was found by some neighbors and carried