The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1885-11-26
NO DEFINITE ACTION TAKEN.

HdIu lO1 JllC 10 w. ~ JIlC SCllllS UlllC,
l say, the experiment. is worth trial
in the hands of prudent men, not
Withstanding the civil athoritieS, as
now constiJuteG in the grazing sec
tions, are against us.
SttSEQey~Ganeral IempletOn-4oW
pconflict?
I'VE try to force men away
lands they will appeal TO the
pleton-Suppose an enclosure
kcross public as well as private
&?
1cC.-They would resort to the
will authorities, if any at command.
Ex-GoY. Luhbock-Are the lines Of
he school lands so marked that par
Ties having fences across them know
it? Ii another party claimed pos :es-
sion of the same land, could he not
make affidavit against them as in
truders, and get Il writ TO stay that
proceeding?
McC.-l think not, unde" the press
ent law.
Col. Swain-That would be a vio-
lent presumption.
Lubbock am no lawyer, but l
would bet my bottom dollar On it that
the judge would grant the writ.
Swain-Hes, if ne was in with them.
McC.-(to Luhbock) | know Of no
cases Of robbing the mining lands, or
sending away bullion from ithe lands.
Lubbock-Well, that complaint goes
by the board.
TempIeton-You say, General, the
authorities there
ARE AVERSE TO THE LAW.
on account Of being interested. In
what way are they interested2
McC.-Well, in one county, for in
stance, the sheriff and district attor-
ney are both largely interested in
these lands.
Swami thiok they have right to
turn their cattle loose upon the COM
mons.
Walsh-They can use the lands by
line riding.
Swain-What we want to prevent
is their using the land to the exclusion
of others who have equal rights tG
the commons.
WalshrIf yon weo- cut there With
hundred head of cattle and drove
them into ranch Smith was using
free you would be subjected to sys-
tenn of annoyanc
McColloch-They would refuse me-
/ heard two large stockmen say, eff a
man came and squatted down here
where we are we would drive his eat
tie to hell" l never heard any man
say this who had any claim to stand
upon. One of the two men alluded to
had some school land and some rail
road sections.
THE TIMBER DEPREDATORS
cut about as much from the school as
from other lands; (to Walsh) they
have cut about all the
timber that is valuable.
Walsh-This matter had been re-
ferred to the general of the United
States federal department. and then to
the port commander, and the reply
was that the United States had leased
some land for the timber, and they
were trying to confine parties cutting
for the government forts to these
small surveys. The fact was, how
ever, that they had cut about fifteen
miles square.
McC.-There has been a great deal
of cutting outsi ie these limited sur
veys. The post officers are strangers
to these things. They say they were
done before they come there, and they
had no personal knowledge of them.
One man. Jay l. Case (owner of the
celebrated horse "Jay-Eye-See, has
not paid for any land for four years
till he lately bought fifteen sections.
Suit was brought against his agent,
but the evidence was that his land had
not been pointed out. and as
he owned land all about, the
verdict was for the defendant.
As there was prejudice against the
agent.
CONVICTION WAS POSSIBLE
in such cases. He had charged men,
it was said, ten GEMS head for cattle
grazing on free grass! One county
surveyor seemed to be interested as a
partner of Case in buying and selling
lands. There is not as much obstruc-
ton to actual settlers in some sections
as might be supposed, for the reason
that many large cattle nan have lands
both to lease and sell. Surveyors
have not marked lines and corners of
surveys and not disposed to give in
formation to applicants for actual
settlement, because 1t would lessen
their chances for fees for re-surveyS,
and because. as they say, thsre is no law
to make them mark the
lines and corners. 60 Templeton)
There are a good many actual set.
tiers among the cattlemen, especially
around watered localities. But there
are good many Sn-called actual set~
Elements which are entered merely for
speculation. A good deal of the land
is taken up in Presid4o county by men
who have never been on the land, but
hold it by having plow boys or clerks
living in town 10 claim it as their
homes foS them.
Lubboek-That ought to fail. l
don't think we have authorized men
to live in town and hold the land as
actual settlers. We may nave made
some exception where the applicant
lived in foreign country and claim
ed he would soon be here, but certain
ly we never intended to allow a man
living, for instance, in Austin, to claim
land in Presidio as his homestead. He
asked the secretary of the board to
make minute of this for future in
quiry by the board.
McCulloch-There are some of them
holding land that way, claiming they
had a given time in which to lease or
sell.
Walsh-It was the understanding
they should not be allowed to sell.
toNany enc, EXCEPT to some one who
would carry out the contract of the
original applicant.
MeCulloch-Sell or lease
Walsh-That word rent was never
in the original resolution.
rempleton (reading the oath for ac-
tuai settlers)-It pledges that they
won't sell or rent to any man who
won't carry out the contract of the
original applicant.
Walsh-These men have done lust