Omaha daily bee., 1892-03-17
WILLING TO QUIT
Men Who Rushed to 0'Neill in Search of
Land Are Going Home.
STEWARDS LITTLE GAME PLAYED OUT
He Located His Colony on School Lands
Away Up in Boyd County.
NOT SUBJECT TO HOMESTEAD ENTRY
Register and Receiver of the Land Office
Give the Settlers Some Information.
INCLINED TO KICK JUST A LITTLE BIT
Some OF the Delegates Think that stewart
Sort of Coniidenccd Them-What
the Day in Holt County
Brought Forth.

gram to The BEE.i-Although somewhat out
of the season for successful angling, as
pretty string of suckers as was ever seen
was landed in this city today. There were
some sixty land seekers who snapped up the
bait and on their way home they wondered
what they got for their pains and their
money.
At an early hour this morning j. II.
Stewart established his headquarters at the
Potter house and sent out notice that he was
ready to deal out land as per the program
as printed in THE BEE this morning. Like
lot of boys about sugar barrel, the men
who wanted block of Uacle Sans domain
gathered. First come first served, was the
rule, and as soon as they had deposited the
money to pay for the information which Mr..
Stewart proposed to sell homestead papers
were executed
mindIy Assailed the Land ONCE.
When the land office opened some fifty of
the men were in line to present their papers
None of them had taken time to examine
maps or plats and consequently they knew
little or nothing where the land on which
they had bought chances was located. All
they knew was that tho applications called
for filings on sections l6 and SO. AS liegis-
ter Glllispie and Receiver Towle cast their
eyes ovec the first application they remarked:
'rhs application states that you desire to
file upon school section, and you know that
you cannot do that"
The attorney for Stewart, who stood in the
front row, was equal to the occasion, and he
at once pulled the law on the land office. He
read from land Office reports ana cited the
officials to ths treaty with the Ponca In
dians, by which the lands of their reserva.
tlou were to revert to the United States and
become subject to homestead entry.
The land officials admitted that such was
tho case, but denied that sections rs and 36
followed the rule. Those sections passed to
the state for the benefit OF the public schools
and could only DO disposed of in accordance
with the laws of the state.
Merely Accepted the Papers.
The attorney held to different opinion
and maintained that by the treaty with the
Poncas all school sections on the reservation
became public land and subject to homestead
entry. The land officials stated that that
was a question that had never been raised
and for that reason they would not pass upon
the papers without a thorough investigation.
They would accept the papers, note the hour
when received and pass upon the legal point
when they mad looked up the law in the case.
All of the papers passed over the land Office
counter and Stewards mission had ended.
II 1e had performed his part of the contract
and was entitled to the deposit, which was
estimated at from 81, 900 to $4,000.
Among tho Sioux City people who bought
were J. S. Browning, B. $. Elliott, secretary
and treasurer of the Short Line; j. d. Dun
kleberg, w. S. Merrill, Harry Mcdonald, Il.
II. Cox, l.. T.. Wakefield, j. w. Flack, John
May, Judge Weaver, Fred Gunke, Fred
Heizcr and +, II. Allen.
From Pomeroy, Ia, there were A. A Hor
ton, G.. b. Peterson. M. II. Wallace, w.
Keifer, f. +. Lisco, E. L. Lisco, w. E. Dan
geriield, A. q. Maxwell S. N. Maxwell, A.
De Trau, M. Randall and w. o. White. 0.
l.. Willis of Washta and G. T.. De Giraffe of
Fonda were also among the purchasers.
Dakota City furnished party of twelve,
headed by Atlee Hart of the Dakota City
Eagle, Attorney Neil G. Jay and Deputy
County CLERK G. s. Holman.
They Were Beautifully Stuck.
After it was NIL over they commenced to
wonder where the land was located, and the
land district map was consulted An inves-
tlgation showed that the place where they
had located was on the old Ponca reservation
in Boyd county, and from thirty-tve to fifty
miles from railroad, city, town or hamlet.
Then there few walls that went heaven
wards. as most of the men had been given to
understand that the lands were close to
towns
The famous land classed as AA was close
to town, but the town was Butte City, the
county seat of Boyd county, but what a
town. Men who had visited the burg stated
that a contest was pending against the town
Site On some of the lands, as previously
stated, the lawyer SAID there We're settlers,
but no cbeered tho own-hcarted ones by
telling them that those settlers were men
who had exhausted their homestead rights
and were just holding onto the land hoping
to sell ont.
But the worst packset the prospective
milllonaires got was when the land office Off
cials poured large quantities of cold water
over their hopes, convincing them that they
had paid exorbitant prices for their whis-
Ties. The officials volunteered the informa-
tion that in tho whole of Boyd county but
4 had hanp hnm aCtn cd ~,
there remained 100000 acres subject to
entry, and that by simply paying the sum of
$l4 any man could secure quarter section,
providing he had not exhausted his home
stead right.
With this information wrapped in their
breasts the disconsolate II oux Cityans
nursed their sorrow, wished Tor the money
that they had blown in ana hurried to the
Short Line train that had been held for their
accommodation.
They simply Trusted Stewart.
Before their departure some of tho men ex-
pressed themselves in regard 10 the manner
in which they had been handled. Before
leaving Sioux City Tuesday evening, Stew
art stated that the land was close TO towns
and markets. He also stated that 1t was
valuable, being worth from 500 TO 81 900 per
quarter section. AT theNsame time he told
them that wnen once aboard the tram he
would show all or the plats and give the
exact location of each tract. This he did not
do ana tney knew noIhlng ABOUT the location
until after they had paid over their money.
Parties in this city who were on the ground
floor state that the deal has not turned out
as they were given TO understand IL would.
The idea was helu out TO them that some
striking Irregularities had been discovered in
proofs that were made some years ago. that
the entries were TO be set aside and they
were 10 have been located on lands along the
line of the Short Line road in the eastern
part of this county, They admit that they
have been taken in aud that Stewart has
grossly misrepresented the facts. They state
that il was generally known that there was
any amount Of vacant land IN Boyd county
| and they now wonder why they paid their
| cash for Knowledge that was already in their
| possession
Could Easily Have Learned the Truth.
| Both the receiver and register of the land
! office, while they do not denounce the stew