, 1889-06-30
new LAW INTERPRETED
A Ruling on the Land Statute Pro-
viding for Absence.
1t is very Rigid and Must be OBJ
served to the Letter.
The Case of Harry Seward, a Set
tier near Lusk.

Harry G. Seward is a Wyoming settler
who established himself on a pre- emption
claim near Lusk, Converse county, March
81, 1883. His capital was small and to
support his family and improve the prop
erty required extraordinary efforts. Ac-
cording to the record he became quite
discouraged this spring, having barely
survived an adverse winter. April 90 of
the current year Seward availed himself
OF the subjoined section of an amendatory
public domain act approved March 2,
1889:
That whenever it shall be made to APP
pear to the register and receiver of any
public land Office, under such regulations
as the secretary OF the interior may pre-
scribe, that any settler upon the public
domain under existing law is unable by
reason of a total or partial destruction or
failure of crops sickness, or other una
voidable casualty, to secure a sup
port for himself, herself, or those
dependent upon him or her upon
the lands settled upon. then such
register and receiver may grant to such a
settler a leave of absence from the claim
upon which he or she has filed for a pc
rod not exceeding one year at any one
time, and such settlers so granted leave OF
absence shall forfeit no rights by reason
of such absence: Prouiaed. That the
time OF such actual absence shall not be
deducted from the actual residence re-
quired by law.
The claimants affidavit set forth that
he had expended all funds in sinking a
well to a depth of thirtY-six feet. The
bottom of this well was. singularly
enough, quite dry, and he was compelled
to haul water five and a half miles. Sew
ard declared that under these circum-
stances he was unable to support himself
and family on the ranch and asked the
permission of Register Wilson to leave
the claim for a year and seek employment.
He was. he said unable to secure work in
that vicinity. This application was sup
plemented by the afidavits of a couple of
neighbors in support of the purported
facts.
May ., 1889. the local land office re-
jected the application and the decision
WAS lOIWdiutu W dsLllRIOu. " WAS
affirmed, notification OF approval having
been received here yesterday. This is the
judgment of Acting Commissioner Stone.
Under the statutes to entitle a person to
the leave there must appear. Qst) an ma
bility to secure a support on the land, and
(2d) this must be the result of ~causualtY.
The statute mentions as examples destruc-
ton OF crops, failure ofcrops, or sickness,
and by the expression or other I'M
avoidable causualty' must be understood
other circumstances of like character. The
fact that Seward cannot obtain work with
out going away from the land does not
prove that such inability results from
causualtY. The disadvantage of being
obliged to haul water from a distance,
causing expense, is not the result Of any
causualty of the character indicated in the
act. = n \ That while the ex-
traordinary relief provided by the act is
afforded only in the particular class Of
cases there specified, yet in cases gener-
ally, the temporary absence of a settler
from the land for the purpose of obtain
ing employment, will not invalidate his
claim, when good reason therefor appears
and he is found to be seeking, in good
faith, to make his home on the land.