Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-10-30

New York Times.
The suspension Of Judge Vincent
for having appointed stephen W.
Dorsey q Com missioner Of Jurors III
New Mexico has caused the pubiica.
ton IN several journals Of extracts
from the interesting reports concern.
ing land frauds in that Territory. sub.
mitted to the General Land Office III
the Summer Of 1884 By inspectors
Hobbs and Greene, and printed last
Spring by order Of the Senate. These
extracts relate to the manner IL which
Mr.. Dorsey acquired portions Of his
great ranch, and we directed attention
to them in April last.
The inspectors made some curious
discoveries concerning the acquisition
of that part of the ranch which is oc-
cupied by the most successful Of living
infdels, Col. Robert G. Inrersoll, who
erected there, after the conclusion OF
the star route trials, a groupe OF or
nate log cabins that are among the
curiosities Of the southwest. It was
understood that Col. Ingersoll had be-
come n of the owners Of the great
ranch, and that he intended to spend q
part Of every year at this unique
country seat, upon which he had ex-
pended a large sum Of money. InspeC-
tor Hobbs, In obedience 10 his instruc-
tions, examined the history Of the
quarter section on which Col. Inger-
soils country house stands. and
reported to Commissioner Mcfarland
on June "a. 1884, as follows:
"No. LIS, BY Miguel Abeytia.
Proof shows residence from April,
1877. to April, 1883, and improve
ments consisting Of a house, corral,
stable, and two acres Of the land un-
der cultivation for Eve years; total
valuation, $500.
ION the 18th of April last I exam
ined this claim, and found that a log
house was in course of construction,
and in addition thereto there was a
frame shanty THAT it was perfectly
apparent had just been erected, and
probably for the use Of workmen en-
gagged on the house, and a small log
pen without roof. This log house in
course of construction, and the inn
provements now going on. /
am credibly informed, belonged
to r. G. Ingersoll, Esq. | am
also informed by unimpeachable
authority that there were no improve
ments made upon the tracks covered
by the Abeytia entry pryor to the time
the Ingersoll improvements were
placed there, except a log pen. without
door, roof, ~(probably the n above
referred toy No portion of the land
has ever been cultivated, as is clearly
indicated by the examination Of the
same, and from statements made to
me by parties who are in a position to
know | am convinced that no such
person as Miguel Abeytia ever lived
: on that claim or in the vicinity Of it.
The county records show that the land
was conveyed to S. w. Dorsey by war
} ranty deed May 3, 1888, for $780,
After completing his report concern
! ing a group Of claims, which included
/, this one, he added: II state emphati-
!, cally and without fear Of contradiction
from any quarter, that all Of said en-
tries are fraudulent; that all Of said
names are fictitious names, and not one
+ of said parties ever lived in Colfax
county"
We remarked in April last that Col,
+. Ingersoll, who has appeared upon so
many platforms as the champion Of
justice, moral perfection, and fair
dealing, would Of course be shock
; ed by these revelations, and
would, in company with his partner,
speedily appear at the Land Office,
there to make restitution for the bene-
6t Of honest settlers and a defrauded
Nation. But statements that have
recently appeared in the newspapers
Of Santa Fe and Washington force us
to the painful conclusion that he has
not taken this course.
Unless he can offer some good
excuse his failure to take steps for the
restoration of this land to the public
domain will have a depressing effect
upon many Of his admirers. The
most eminent in6del in the profession
may find that such sins Of omission
reduce the gate money.