Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-08-25
FRAUD.
Investigation Shows that the Practice Of
Illegal Fencing in and Max
ing Fraudulent
Entries Of Public Lands is Carried on TO
an Alarming Extent-Figures
That Speak Plainly.
$50 Fraudulent Entries and 100000
Acres Of Land Illegally Fenced
IN Colorado Alone.

since the commissioner of the general
land Office ordered survey of certain
public lands In Colorado aud Nebras-
Ka, with a view of bringing suits at the
next term of the court against the cat.
| tie companies that have illegally
fenced in large tracts of land In those
states. The special agent who has
been experimenting the surveying In
, Colorado, In his report
TO the commissioner says
that eight cases have been made
against the Prairie Cattle company,
composed of S totchmen. An examina
ton has been made of the tracts cou-
tanning respectively 100 square miles,
twenty-five square miles, sixteen
square miles, seventy-live square
miles, and the agent is at present
examining Il tract containing over
| 100 square miles. All of t.-ese are uu-
der the control of the Prairie Cattle
company, and the agent says are
illegally fenced In. The officials in
the land-oflice say that the practice of
illegally fencing in large tracts of land
aud making fraudulent entries has
been greater during the past year than
eve: before. They claim that between
five and six millions of acres are now
Illegally fenced, and that several mill
ion of acres are fraudulentiy entered.
Complaints from settlers are being re.
ceived daily by the agents, and at
the land Office here. The settlers say
f, that 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 continue the cattlemen will
have the entire control Of the best
public lands in the United States
within 20 years. Relative to the fraudu.
lent entries the land agent in New
Mexico informs the general land COM
missioner that Of the entries in that
territory ninety per cent. are fraudu-
lent, and another agent in Dakota,
writing upon the same subject, says
| that 20 per cent. Of the entries are
| fraudulent in that territory. The Ia
BILE completed yesterday for the forth
coming annual report of the land COM
missioner shows the number of fraudu-
lent entries that have been investi.
gated during the past year aud approx
imately the number of illegally
| fenced acres In the various states aud
| territories To be as follows:
Arkansas, 20 fraudulent entries; Da-
kota, 460 fraudulent entries; Colorado.
$50 fraudulent entries and . 500 900
acres of land Illegally fenced; Califor-
mia, l3H fraudulent entries New Mex
| leo, S27 fraudulent entries and ,500,-
900 acres of land illegally fenced;
Minnesota, 81 fraudulent entries;
| Washington territory, 100 fraudulent
entries; Idaho, % fraudulent entries;
Nebraska, 40 fraudulent entries and
800 900 acres. illegally fenced Montana,
"A fraudulent entries; Wyoming, 10
fraudulent entries and $50 600 acres IL
legally fenced: Alabama, 1873 fraudu-
lent entries; Wisconsin,, 10 fraudulent
entries; Florida, n fraudulent entries:
Oregon, SO fraudulent entries; Kansas,
Isl fraudulent entries and 200 900 acres
Illegally fenced Nevada, GO, 900 Illegal
ly fenced.
Besides the cases embraced i'm the
foregoing table there are about 1000
entries in which action has been sus-
pended until an examination can be
made by special agent. These en-
tries viii averape about one hundred
and fifty acres of land each.
The acting Commissioner, Harri-
son, says that no doubt there
are thousands of other fraudulent en-
tries, hut that the Office can only in
ves,igate those which are brought TO
It's attention by settlers and others
Among the cases of unauthorized
fencing specially reported to the land
office by agents, are those of the
Prairie Cattle company, n Scotch COM
pany, upwards of ,0O0,0OO acres; the
Arkansas Valley company. 900, 200
acres; III. III. Metoalf 200 900 acres;
John w. Prowers, 10000 acres: Me-
nnpInl a huuia ~
Ter e. Lamb ia, 900 acres; J. w. Frank,
10000 acres; Garnett & Langford, 30
900 acres; Il. G. Lane, $4,000 acres:
lewis, Bros, Is 900 acres; Veroman
" McFife, 10000 acres; Beatty
Bros, 10000 acres; Chick,
Brown Il Co., 10000 acres, and
the Reynolds Cattle company, 10000
acres, all In Colorado.
The Brighton ranch, 1854 acres;
Coe Il Carter, 10000 acres; }. w. VIII
son, $4,000 acres; Kennebec ranch, 40
O0Oacres, and j. w. Bosler, %, 900 acres;
in Nebraska.
VIM. Humphreys, 5000, and n ell
son Il Son, 20 900 acres, in Nevada.
Entire counties are reported rs being
fenced in In Kansas.
In Wyoming more than one hun
dred large cattle companies are re-.
ported as having fencing on the pub
tic lands. Some of these companies
are reported to be English and Others
Scotch.
Referring to the practice of
large companies making fraudulent
entries on land Illegally fenced, Mai.
Mckenzie of the land Office said:
"There entries are made along the
streams that run through the land.
The cattlemen will employ men to
herd their stock aud then will give
$50 or 800 To each one to make an
entry OF l6n acres. When he has Sc
cured his patents 1t Is understood that
he must transfer TO the party who adj
vanced the money. Many Of the cat
tie dealers will not employ men unless
they will agree to make entries. A
common fraud in New Mexico,
Arizona, California, Idaho, WV.
oming, Montana, Utah and
Nevada Is practiced by means OF the
desert land act. That act provides
that In selecting GAO acres Of desert
land twenty five cents per acre shall
be paid down and that the persons en-
terlng the land shall be allowed three
yearsin which to pay the remainder.
Instead of taking The desert land the
practice Is TO take the very best land,
The parties hold II and get the use OF
: II for three years for c0mparatiyelv
nothing. and For as much longer "a the
title Ia in dispute. Complaints from
settlers come from nearly all the
Western states aud territories, and
A0me of the com Dl ainta accnsa thu .y.,x,