The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1896-01-18
The Dispute Among Stockmen at
Steamboat Rock.
WAS A WEIRD SORT OF TRIAL
Came OFF at Coulec City by Night. and
Numerous SiX-sho teIs Were
in Evidence.


attorneys who returned recently from
Coulee City brought accounts of a court
scene there Monday night that would
have made a fine setting for one of
Frederick Remington's paintings.
The case was the elimination of a
iOng-standing feud, chiefly between cat
tlemen around Steamboat rock. Steam
boat rock is one of the wonders of the
west 1t is in the Grand Coulee, about
rs miles from Coulee City. At that
point the coulee is six miles wide, and
the rock stands out in the center of
that great fissure in the earth. 1t re-
sembles a huge steamboat, and is near
ly as high as the coulee walls, and upon
its top there is a pretty little lake.
1t is stock country, and the lead
ing stOckmen are a man named Fleet,
the Osburn brothers and Leahy broth
ers. Old man Fleet is a character, and,
from all accounts, is capable of stand
ing off the combined opposition. He is
said to be active with a gum cutting
in his remarks about some of his neigh
bors, and ready for a row or a fight at
any hour in the "a.
The feud has been long standing, and
originated in a dispute over a big
spring. Fleet watered his stock from the
flow of this spring. Some time ago the
Osburns announced their intention of
starting a sawmill and using the flow
of the spring for water power. Fleet
was up in arms against this invasion
of his riparian rights. A lawsuit fol-
lowed, and the matter was determined
at Waterville, where Fleet came off vic
torious. The mill was not started.
The spring rises on the desert land
claim of man named Scribner. 1t is
claimed that Scribner is merely the rep
resentative of the Osburns, and Fleet
says they are using him as a tool At all
events Scribner took the land and the
spring under the desert land laws, and
had for his witnesses one of the Os-
burns and man named Scist. Fleet
declares that the land is not desert. and
caused the arrest of Scribner and his
witnesses on a charge of perjury. The
United States court having jurisdic-
ton, the matter came before Commits
sioner James Odgers of Coulee City,
but Mr.. Odgers was disqualified from
serving as commissioner by reason of
the fact that he was to appear as a wit
ness, having advised Scribner, in reply
to inquiries made by the latter, that
the land could be taken as a desert
claim. Justice Rice of Coulee City was
deputized to serve as commissioner at
the preliminary examination, and the
! hearing came off in his hall Monday
night
The United States was represented by
United States District Attorney Brink
er. The defense had n. e. Nuzum as
their representative. Deputy United
States Marshal Vinson was there in his
official capacity, Register Logan of the
Spokane land office appeared as a wit
ness and Receiver Chamberlain of the
Central Washington was in court as
spectator.
Il noticed an expression of awe upon
the faces of some of these" said spec
tator yesterday to a Spokesman Review
reporter. "And it was a scene out Of the
usual. The hearing came off at night.
There were but two dim lights, and the
| hall was full of shadows and strange eff
fects. The audience was large, and to
/ accommodate number, a big two-seat-
ed sleigh was brought in and used as
sort of gallery. Some Of the Christ
mas decorations were still visible and
the word welcome worked in big let
ters Of evergreens, was there, although
little dilapidated
"All the members of the feud were
there, and also others from the Steam
boat Rock neighborhood. and when
they took seats you could hear their
six-shooters go whack on the edge Of
the benches. I was particularly inn
pressed with the air of cold and stud
| led politeness maintained by the parties
! in interest 1t was OminOus.
There was subdued excitement when
old man Fleet took the stand In the
dim and Pickering light he seemed a
dime novel character of the west. Tall
raw-boned hollow checked, sharp of
! tongue bitter-he made a distinct i'm
preston on all, and it struck me that
the opposition were all afraid of him.
| Cross-eXamined by Mr.. Nuzum. he said
! he had called the Osburns thieves be-
cause he believed them to be such, and
he had not changed his mind about
! them either"
After three witnesses had been ex-
amined for the prosecution. the defense
moved that the matter go over to the
April term of the United States court
at Spokane, and that the witnesses for
! the defense be bound over. 1t is said
this motion was received with approx
al, not only by the commissioner, but
many of the audience, and being al
| lowed by the acting commissioner, the
! audience dispersed, and the rivals went
their ways without displaying a sim
! gle weapon. 1t is believed though. by
many, that the feud has grown so bit
ter that fight will ensue before the
| April term of court.