The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1897-07-25
I !; ]. Z EAR Al /.
aIss sa|alJu|Il d b sMiaalieu, Colo
fad Ii, flIsa 81 1t sslnS 8Bs
Hf SOLDIERS H!onES1EADLA

shlERls .IHf S0LDl!E|:!R' H!OMESl FAD LAW.
s Ssesn PIE sc IN 81 sequired Lengtn of
Tintes Al interesting history OF
Case "A En.s.,l Ions Fortune in IL
ne Asost $Astonl,tlin.f Claim Ever
SssSxs sssInsie Fnttsovernnent Land ONCE.
3 EChicago Times Herald Correspondence
sssSs DR. bert g. Lewis, mayor Of Mani
& Eou will go to Wa shing ton within thirty
Il Rays ito lay claim to the top Of pixies
lea tn him Will Sbe a corps Of the
&bestz known lsild and title LAWYERS in
q the acou ntrs- VIE, will attempt to prevail
SuponSt the supreme court 70 acknowledge
Lewis as the rightful owner OF the south
& alaa fs5so of &| the @ southwest fourth and
!: {. the outh lial s Of the southeast fourth
s0fE SECTION township II, rangey6S west,
an ELI El 3Paso county, Colorado, which land
;ttaE and comprises the whole summit Of
fS khe famous Ynounta in
a5aS$S The claim is based upon n filing made
8 by Lewis under date Of February 2 1859
/! when at the Pueblo land office he filed an
4 old soldiers $declaratory statement upon
3 shealan In question This filing was
I made Immediately r. after President
q Gle proclamation transferring
4 partment to the interior.
& tsI 4eAY IL will. go to Washington loaded
b down with aft dayits OF prominent citi-
IS Eens OF 81 PaSo county. who will testify
40 his having legally taken possession
Il, of g quarter section on the very top OF
4 the mountain and TO his having lived
|: upon 1t the required length OF time and
=. made the necessary improvements stip-
I, sntated siby t he law for the proving up
II pf$ an old soldiers homestead.
sssssS The doctor will attempt to prove that
q he settled upon the land in good faith
s while It was yet part Of the public
4 Gomain and that he had established his
4 ownership to 160 acres there before the
4 peak was converted by the government
q into a, timber reservation
:s5 5tt This is the most astounding claim ever
4 made at the government land office. II
sSnDr. Lewis is successful It will put him
4 at once In possession Of property worth
& elmo t fabulous sums Of money. I will
3 give him control Of the most famous
y mountain peak in the world
Sit 1t would place at his mercy the tens
Il Of thousands OF tourists and sightseers
Y who make the top OF Pixies Peak the OBJ
Sjectiye point of their wandesings and
who annually give up their little quota
ii Of $5 each just to ride the nine miles
Ito its summit. He would have Mt his
Y mercy the capital invested in the cog
II exorbitant taxes for franchises and
ESrights Of every kind. The property to
(which The lays claim bears the dis,inc-
a2tion Of being the highest piece OF ground
rs ever ettled Hpon for homestead pur-
Il poses in: the United States.
s3 5gs At its highest point 1t is 14,170 feet
\, above the level of the sea and Is per-
9epetually white with snow. No desert
\ 1 was ever more barren Of vegetation. The
& place is wholly unfit for human habita-
AZ ton. and yetsDr. Lewis made his home
If there winter and summer for over three
V years, and now claims as his reward IL
IL government title 10 n strip of land, or
81 rock (forS Pixies Peak IS O solid mass of
4 granite),&a quarter of n mile wide and
A R8miie long. extending directly over the
3 summit of the peak.
sEt The disputed point In the controversy
4 Is as to whether President Ccvclands
4 proclamation actually and legally trans
4 ferred the land from the war depart
& nle1lt to the Interior department. Attor-
~ neys% liller, who served III the govern
& I1ent land office under Harrison, held
II That 1t did, las have Several other prom
- lnent land and title lawyers. Henry
II N. SCopp, author of "Copps Public Land
~ laws upon which the government.
+ bases all decisions In land matters. after
/. q thorough investigation OF DR.. Lewis
81 cl aims ait S;the general land Office ut
4 Wnshin gton, wrote IN part as follows
4 concerning the informa ton he had gain
& ed there: II was also stated that SGT
tiers In good faith on these lands would
Il be protected and be permitted to make
filings #orEentries when the land is SUR
viewed and opened 70 the public. l would
81 Therefore advise YOU to continue your
residence and improvements and there
can be little doubt OF your obtaining a
title to the la nd you occupy MI Copp
is still one OF the lawyers In tho case.
E5s5 The story Of the Doctors occupati ion
S{of the peak is an Interesting one and
{ contains much history Of value concern
4 ing the entire mountain. During the
& latter pant of CleVeland's first term anu
i for some time previous to the abandon
GSment of Pike Peak as q sigma, station
1T was known by the ignal officers on
E the peak that the station was soon to DO
II done %away3,with. 81 Several months before
Z. It's abandonment by the government one
Il of tho officials in the service on the peak
organized a society In Colorado Springs
Il known rs the meteorological Society, for
the purpose of obtaining twenty
years lease from the government for the
II en- tire reservation or mountain, which
a at this time consisted Of 40, 900 acres,
Y This society proposed to build on the
4 peak a large hotel, and erect an obscr-
= vatoTy there for the purpose OF making
yecientifc observations of teors nebu
8lae and comets. The society. prior 10
the aban donmen t of %8 TIL e 3aE reServa Ion
4 filed aibill in; Congress setting forth lis
$Teuuests. isS.5 SEE 552a#if;;5lsSSl 43t
Ss5 the latter part OF January, 1889.
y President Cleveland, among the last t>f
Z off clal acts OF his firstter by Dl,ocll-
nation transferred It to the department