The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-06-23
A RACE FOR COIN.
How a Western Senator Got Ahead
of a Sharp Real Estate Lawyer.
A Romance Of Early Life in Sioux Falls-A
Speedy Locomotive Was Used to
Checkmats Neat Scheme.

"You never heard how I made use of
locomotive TO secure a valuable piece of
property, did you?" said Senator from
one of the new States TO Washington Star
reporter the other day. well, it's rather
curious sort Of story. and dates back
about thirteen years. to a time when things
out on the frontier were comparatively
primitive. / had invested all the
money that l had in the world in
half section of land on which the city of
Sioux Falls now stands, only to find sub
Sequently that my title to the property was
weak, owing to deed recorded after | had
made the purchase, the person who made
the sale to me having meanwhile died. On
the strength of this deed suit was brought
against me to recover three-fOurths OF the
| land, and it looked as though l was
| going to lose it. But there was a
mystery about the case somehow. l could
not find out for some time in whose
behalf it was that the suit was Instituted,
but finally discovered. that it was man
named Jones, living four miles out of Min
neap0ls on farm. Without delay | took a
train for Minneapolis and went TO see
Jones, who said that he could not be the
man sought, for the reason tnat he had
never owned any land IN Dakota. Never
theleSs made up my mind that he was the
person who actually had the title, although
ne was not aware of the fact.
The lawyers III Sioux Falls through whose
firm the suit against me had been instituted
were simply attempting swlndle with
view to getting hold of the land without
notifying the holder of the title to the prop
erty that he had any such ownership. That
was all clear enough to me when | learned
the fact that one of the firm of lawyers In
Sioux Falls was Jones' uncle. SO l made
up my mind that | must obtain from Jones
title.
TALKING TO JONES
Il got ex-Judge Sanders of Minneapolis,
an old friend of Jones, to go with me TO
see Jones, and l explained to Jones the
matter in detail-the precise value Of the
land, the manner in which l came into pos
session of it, the validity of his own title,
and all the details. Even had | so de-
sired it would not have done for me to
disguise anything, because any misrep
resentation on my part would render my
title invalid. | merely urged that, on the
strength of certain circumstances which
gave me a moral right TO the land, he ought
to give me title and so place me In posses
sion OF my own again. His own friend.
the Judge, urged a like argument, and Jones
finally agreed to give me title for the noml-
nal payment of $40. The papers were drawn
and went on my way rejoicing, with my
full and clear title to the property,
Which was then worth $4,000. I'm
luckily Jones had communicated with his
uncle, the lawyer in Sioux Falls, during the
interval between our two interviews, and L
didn't have time TO get out of Minneapolis
before Jones turned up at the hotel and de-
manded the deed back. This meant that
he had received word from his uncle to hold
the land at all hazards, because it Tightfully
belonged to him. OF course | would not
give up the deed, and then enSued most
extraordinary contest.
THE RACE TO SIOUX FALLS.
although had the deed. my title to the
hat
recorded at Sioux Falls. Jones might make
the transaction naught by simply execut-
ing another deed and placing it OH record
first. The only thing for Inc to do was
to anticipate any such action on his
part by getting to Sioux Falls my
first train for Sioux Falls and after | got
on board kept sharp lookout. The only
person who excited any suspicion in my
mind was a deforlned little man whom |
knew to be lawyer, and who approached
me before we had got very far on our go
mile journey. Conversation followed, dur
ing which | allayed his suspicion that
was wide awake and confirmed my own no.
tion that he was an agent OF the enemy.
Indeed, l became satisfied that lie actually
had deed IN his pocket which 1t was his
purpose to have recorded before mine,
Several times he got off at stations and tele-
graphed ahead to Sioux Falls, as L man
aged to learn, for team OF fast horses and
q carriage 10 meet MIN at TIE uepOl on Ills
arrival. | saw that at that rate was likely
to be beaten unless | could devise some
scheme. set my wits to work and an idea
presently occurred to NE. l left the de-
formed man and went to have ii little talk
with the conductor, the result of which
did not appear until we had got within three
miles Of Sioux Falls. At THAT point the train
came to full stop and the locomotive,
from which it was detached, went on to
the depot. | was on the locomotive, which
the other passengers all supposed had gone
for water, including the deformed lawyer,
VINO thought that | was in the rear car and
was chuekiing already over his anticipated
victory. When | had been landed in the
city the locomotive went back to the train
aud the defOrmed man upon reaching the
depot jumped into a carriage and was
driven as quickly as possible to the court
house, where he threw down his deed, saying
that he wanted it recorded at once. But the
clerk said that he was just finishing the
record of another deed handed to him half
an hour before for certain half-sectlOn of
land. The lawyer took look at the record
and saw that lie was beaten, though he
could not imagine at the time how it had
been done. Jones' uncle, who engineered
the attempted swindle, afterward voted for
me when | ran for the Legislature. because
he said that | was the only man who had