The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1884-08-25
BIG LAND GRABBERS.
They are Discovered In Gigantic
Schemes Throughout the West.
THE COW MEN AND UNCLE SAM,
How Big Cattle Companies have Gobbled
upthe Public Domain-Investiga-
tions shat Produced Surpris-
ing Developments, EtO,

WASHINGTON, Aug. q. -- Sometime
since the Commissioner of the General
Land Office ordered the survey of GER
tain public lands in Colorado and Ne
braska, with the view of bringing suit
ut the next term OF court against the cat
tie companies that have illegally fenced
in large tracts of land in those States. A
special agent who has been superin-
tending the survey in Colorado, i'm a
report 70 the Commissioner, SAYS: Eight
cases have been found against the Prni-
rle Cattle Company, composed of Scotch
men. An examination mas been made
OF tracts containing respectively
lUO square miles, TWENTY-FIVE
square miles, sixteen square
miles, and seventy-tive square miles
and the agent is at present examining II
tract containing over 100 square miles.
All OF these are under the control of the
Prairie Cattle company, and, the agent
says, are illegally fencedin. Officials in
the land Office say the practice of lille
gally fencing large tracts of land and
making fraudulent entries, has been
greater the past year than ever before.
They claim that between 5000 900 and
6,OO,OOO of acres are now Illegally fenced
and that several millions of acres are
traudnlently entered. Complaints FROM
settlers are being received daily bv
agents and Mt the land Office here Set.
tiers say the cattlemen are driving them
away and taking from them lands
which they have settled upon. one of
the land officials said that If the practice
is continued, the cattlemen will have
entire control Of the best public land In
the United States within twenty wears.
Relative to the fraudulent entries of
land an agent in New Mexico informs
the General Land ONCE Commissioner
that of the entries in that Tcrritoru 80
per cent. are fraudulent, and riLib, ar
| agent in Dakota, writing upon he ,he
| subject, says that 70 per cent A orEle
entries are fraudulent i'll that TerriiSry.
A table was completed yesterday for
the forthcoming annual report of the
Land Commissioners, which shows the
number of fraudulent entries Chat have
been investigated during the past year
| and approximately the number OF ille-
gally fenced acres in the various States
| and Territories to be as follows; Arkan-
| sas, seventy fraudulent entries; Dakota,
400; Colorado, $50, and 2S00,00O acres ille-
gally fenced; California, l39; New Mex
leo, S27, and 100000 Illegally fenced;
Minnesota, 81; Washington Territory,
| 100; Idaho, 92; Nebraska, 10,
and 30O,UO acres illegally
fenced; Montana, "a; Wyoming, IL;
and 2O,0OO acres; Alabama, l53; Wiscon.
sin, 10; Florida, II; Oregon, ~; Kansas,
l&; and 200,0O acres; Nevada, 10000.
acres.
Besides the cases embraced In the fore.
going table, there are about 1000 entries
in which action has been suspended un
Til an examination can be made by q
special agent. These entries will aver.
age about 100 acres of land each. Acting
Commissioner Harrison says that there
is no doubt that there are thousands o
other fraudulent entries, but that tho
office can only investigate those whicl
are brought to its attention by settlers
and others. Among the cases OF un
authorized fencing specially reported Il
the Land office by agents are those oi
the Prairie Cattle company, (Scotch
embracing upwards of l,OO0.O0O acres
Arkansas Valley company, l,0OO,O00; II
II. Metcalf, 2OO,OO0; John w. Prowers
2OO,OO0; McDaniels IL Davis, 5000
Routchlcr & Lamb, 10000; j.
W. Frank, 10000; Garnett a. Lang.
ford, 5000; f.. c. Lane, 10000
TewisV Bros, l50,00O Vroman
Il McFife, $4,000; Beatty Bros, 10000;
Chick, Brown n Co., 10000; and the Rev.
nolds cattle company 10000 acres, all In
Colorado; Brighton ranch, l25,O00; Coe q
Carter, $4,000; j. w. Wilson, 25,O0O; Ken
nebeck ranch, 10000; j. w. Bosier, 20, ,OOO
acres in Nebraska. VIM. Humphreys,
2i,OOO, and Nelson n Son, 20,0O0 acres in
Nevada. Entire counties are reported
rs being fenced In in Kansas. la wy
oning more than one hun lred large
clttle companies are reported as having
fenced IN on public lands. Some OF
tn 3se companies are reported to be En-
| giish and others Scotch. Referring TO
the practice of large companies making
fraudulent entries on land Illegally
fenced, Major Mckenzie of the Land
Office said: "These entries are made
along streams that run through the lan1
The cattlcmeu will employ men to herd
their stock and then will give $50 or $l0t
to each ono TO make an entry of lGl
patents, 1t is understood that he
must transfer IL To the party
who advanced the money. Many of the
cattle dealers will not employ men un
less they will agree to make entries. A
common fraud In New Mexico, Arizona
California, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana
Utah and Nevada is practiCed by means
OF the desert land act. That act provide,
that in selecting 6l0 acres of desert land
- cents per acre shall be paid down anC
that the persons entering land shall b,
allowed three years in which 10 pay fol
the remainder. Instead of taking des
ert land the practice is L
take the very best land. Par ie,
hold II and get the use of II for three
years for comparatively nothing and io
as much longer as the title is in dispute
Complaints from settlers come from
nearly all the Western States aud Terri
tories and some of the complaints ac
cuse the Government land agents o
collusion with the land grabbers.
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