Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1889-04-25

uuuuClul emDufIubhmcnt.
If good newspaper man would only
start reliable paper at Au Train, Alger
County, it would be a boom to the peo-
pie in that region.
The broom shop at the School for
the Blind at Lansing is turning out an
average of eighteen dozen brooms a
week, and several dozen brushes.
William Rogers, whom Gov Luce
has pardoned from prison, where, after
spending eight years on the charge of
murder, he has been found to be inno-
cent, called at the Capitol at Lansing to
express his gratitude. He timidly en-
tered the executive office, and with trem-
bling voice poured forth to the Governor
his feelings on the matter. He said that
day after day, night after night, the fact
of his innocence and unjust imprison-
ment became more and more unbearable.
Hope at first held him up. AS months
and years passed his hope began to fail.
His appeals always met with the
u
him. He could not but real
izA that the circumstantial evidence
wabstrong against him. Still, honestly
and desperately, he protested his inno-
cence, and his plea was not needed.
When convicted he had wife and boy
year old. For q time his wife remained
true, and an occasional word came from
the little boy. Finally she changed, a
divorce was asked and secured. The
man broke completely down as he spoke
of his boy, and said that his only hope
was to find him and convince him Of his
innocence. Roger is now 4s years of age,
and hopes to remove the blight that has
has been cast on him, by leadingan hon
est life. A pair of shoes convicted him
of crime of which he was perfectly
innocent and ignorant.
A multitude of contests involving
title to much valuable land in Northern
Michigan are pending in the United States
land Office at Marquette. The property in
question is several Thousand acres of pine
lands valued at between $4,000, 900 and
$4,000, 900. Congress gave to Michigan
to aid in the construction of a railroad ten
sections per mile on each side, with the
right TO select indemnity within a fifteen
mile limit. Under State legislation the
Marquette, Houghton & Ontonagon Rail-
road Company tecame the owner of the
grant, which included 565, All acres. The
failure on the part of the company TO con-
struct the ell tire line resulted in an order
by Sec:e ary Lamar, restoring all of the
unearned land embraced in the original
grant. Upon receipt of this order home
stelders poured in and pre-empted the land
which is principally in Ontonagon Coun-
ty. The time for filing claims in the land
Office expired Oct. 30. 1887. Land lockers
and locaters were in great demand. Many
men who were entirely ignorant of the
surveys came forward claiming to be
competent to locate the land. The result
is innumerable conflicting entries, some
sections of land having as many as four
contestonts. Many. pine dealers had ac-
quired large number of soldiers addi-
tional homestead scrip, upon which they
had entered the land in 1885. Under
the order restoring the land they prompt
ly fled their renewal applications the
morning of Oct. 10, thus antedating, as
their attorneys claim, the homestead en-
tries of the same date. These soldiers
nddit;onals cover little over 5000 acres
of the finest pine lands in the State,
every acre of which is claimed by
from one TO five homesteaders. The
question to be decided is this: The
land having teen opened to settlers
by order of the Land Office at Washington
Aug. Is, 1887, and for actual filing in the
land Office Oct. 10. could the soldiers ad-
ditional homestead entries give any rights
prior to making the actual filing Oct. 10
under that order? If not the actual set
tier between Aug. 10 and Oct. 10, 1887,
would have prior right which would su-
persede any claim of the others. A
peculiar feature of the contest is seen in
the fact that there has as yet developed
but little proof that the homesteaders
settled upon the land in good faith. A
ridiculous feature appears in the fact that
the farmers, in their rush to acquire
possession of the fertile soil, passed. over
nearly 200. 900 acres of the finest farming
land and lit upon the pine sections, with
out knowing it themselves. 1t will take
twelve months to pass upon the claims
already before the local land office.
-washtenaw County has been the
scene of another tragedy. David Lind
sey, farmer over 60 years old, living
near Bridgewater Township, shot his son
David twice, resulting in the latter
death within n few minutes. Young
Lindsey's last words we're that his father
shot him. The old man was arrested,
but claims the shooting was accidental.
He says his son and he were quarreling,
and that the former drew o revolver and
attempted to shoot him, the revolver
being discharged accidentally. Both we're
of Incorporate habits.
Thomas Egan, an employe of Cum
mer q Sons lumber camp, near Cadillac,
was taken to Big Rapids Hospital with
a broken foot, which got caught under
the runner of moving sled.
There Is a very considerable amount
of building already under way at Mar
quette, and it is entirely safe to predict
that there will be larger number of