The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1879-10-03
Real Estate In Leadville.

All this excitement and influx O
masses of men and the consequent irreg
ular squatting anywhere upon unoccn
pied ground, began at once to produc
discOrd and a fever Of speculation il
real estate. A certain corporation
claimed to own the whole t0wn-site un
der patent from the Government, an,
tried to exact payment from ever,
tenant; but the illegality of this was as
serted, and pending decision, every bod,
not only laughed at the company bu
proceeded to buy and sell original squat
ter-claims as though no better title wa
ever in existence supposition proba
bly, true at that time. Town lots rOst
from nothing to fabulous prices in a day
and fortunes were made and OppOrtuni
ties neglected accordingly.
Next came period of "jumping, >
that is, getting forcible or fraudulent
possession of property. Men would cal
with a paper having legal appearance
and politely inform some man occupy
ing the cabin they coveted that they had
bought the property from the owner.
You know, pard," they would re-
mark, affably, that you just settled
down here cause it was convenient like,
and nobody said nothing about it; but
now the owner thinks he orter have
some good from his property, and we've
bought it. We don't want to be on.
pleasant, but it looks like you'd have to
vamOOse.'
"That's all right-no offense," the
shaggy headed cOttager would reply,
quietly; ''but reckon eff the owner or
any body else wants this yere cabin
they've got to take it, and they've got
to hold over me, and get up right 'arly
in the mOrnin', too, and he lays allowing
hand upon the hilt of his six-shoOter,
while the would-be jumpers anathema-
tie their way out of the door.
There were, however, clear cases OF
tenancy of land where no title was held,
and here the occupant, if unruly, was
likely to find his cabin timbers falling
about his ears in the middle of the
night, under the vigorous stroke of a
band of citizens who proposed to see
the real owner put in possession then
and there. Needless fellows would
insist upon putting their trading shan
ties or dwelling-houses anywhere in the
streets and alleys set apart for public
use, and then down would come a squad
of police, hitch q span of horses to the
UNDERMINING and raze the obstruction
in ten minutes. Hard words were a
matter of course in all these little pub
lie and private transactions in real es-
tate, and every day or two a man was
shot or beaten half to death; but pub
lie opinion and the numerous witnesses
quickly and loudly decided the right of
the ease, and the Coroner's jury was very
likely to formulate the popular verdict.
Truth to say, the r0r poimH in these
cases was usually about right. Outside
of case of robbery by " bunko thieves, -
if man gets shot in Leadville, it is safe
to conclude that he has got his deserts.
Speculation in tOwn-lOts did not last
very long, however, and now real cs-
tate is down to a pretty solid basis of
value. The probability is that the flu
ture will see a decline in prices, as a
whole, rather than an enhancing Of the
value of real estate within the corporate
limits, rs no doubt Leadvillc has seen
her highest trademark of population
Scribner for October.