The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1897-07-10
Error In Amending Bill May
Affect the Timber Sale at
Marquette Last Week.
CONSIDERATION, $4,000.
Berglund, of Milwaukee, Bid that
Amount for the Timber Oh
Less Than Two Sections.

The following account of the tim.
Der sale held in Marquette Friday OF
last week is taken from the Mining
Journal of Saturday;
To all appearances Deputy United
States Marshal John Manning did a
S30,0 stroke of business yesterday
for the contesting owners of nearly
two sections of timber land in
Houghton county, but as the matter
now stands the sale is a nullty, and
the purchaser of the stumpage has
no claim at all to the pine he sup
! posed he bought.
The sale which was held yester-
day is similar to several that have
been held in the past six or eight
months, on an order of the court to
get the money out of the timber be-
fore it shall be destroyed by forest
fires, and to hold il in trust for the
/ parties contesting the title.
The list of parties interested in
the case are the Marquette, Hough-
ton " Ontonagon railway, The Mich
igan Land u Iron Co, Henry c.
Hager, George H. Houser, William
Mcdonald, William J. Grooms. Rich
ard f. Kunze John Girioux, Alex
ander Mercia. Charles Cook William
Mcdonald, Isidore r. Goulette,
James Dalton, William S. Booth,
David II. Whitney and Dennis Rey-
nolds. IN the case all these parties
figure as defendants against the
United States, but it is really the
settlers opposed to the companies
named.
All the opposing factions joined in
asking Judge Severens to make a
decree and have the timber sold be-
fore it should be destroyed by forest
fires, 50 that in the end the victor
would .aave something to pay him
for his trouble. The Judge issued
the decree as prayed, and set July .
as the date when the pine should be
sold at public auction at the door OF
the federal building in Marquette.
The sale was advertised in the
newspapers and as result eight or
ten firms had representatives on
hand to bid There was no Slow
bidding and the marshal had no
sooner announced that he was ready
to receive bids than(W, S. Prickett,
the young operator of Sidnaw,
startled the veterans by bidding
$40, 900, first shot. No one had
imagined the bidding would start
above $50, 900, if it did there, and
this oold offer right at the beginning
was surprise to the old hands.
Though a surprise it was not q set
tier. The veterans had no intention
of coming here to bid and then ly-
ing down. Raises on the bid were
heard from several quarters, and
none Of them less than $500. From
here on the bidding was spirited,
each bidder advancing the last offer
$500 or better. The price shot up
so fast that one bidder, who had
stepped back to take advice from his
principal, was unable to get up 10
the auctioneer before the limit
which had been given him, S41 900,
was passed.
One OF the highest bids made was
received by telegraph from an Oconto
concern. which offered to pay S47,
800 for the timber. This was a good
bid, but it wasn't high enough. The
price kept coming up by $500 jumps
till the Nesters bid so. 100
G. A. Berglund, Milwaukee S mil
lionaire lumberman, made the next
bid. $50. 900 flush. No one cared to
90 him better, and the timber was
knocked down to him.
II is generally admitted that the
stumpage brought a good, round
price, The pine sold stands on a
little less than two sections, and
has been variously estimated at
from seven to thirteen million. Some
OF the bidders professed to doubt his
ability TO come out good on the
transaction, but Mr.. Berglund said
he had no desire TO get rid of his bar
gain and promptly sealed it by max
ing cash deposit in the form of u
certified check for one-fourth of his
bid.
After the sale il became known
that there was an irregularity in the
transaction, which may make it
necessary to go through the entire
proceedings again. However, it
may be possible to correct the error
even at this late date
Attention was called to the trouble
by protest from d. ]. Norton, who
said that he and possibly others,
were misled as there was quarter
section more of timber sold than
was listed in the bill OF equity or
ordered by the decree.
The error came about in this way.
Before the order was made the Mich
igan Land g. Iron Co. discovered