Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1897-02-04
Gates don't suspect that the men have

any tIl4HS 10 10 Win Us.
Its been pretty carefully worked,
so far. Portheroe's a sharp fellow. and
he knows how to keep his mouth shut.
He was the best man you could nave
found to handle the exploring party.
Where did you run across him?''
Out west, when ] was booming a
town for Nebraska syndicate. He
was the engineer for the railroad COM
pany, and spotted him. Did | show you
his last report?''
mo. What does he say?''
He says we're all right. The noun
tain on the other side of the Little Chi
wassee is full Of iron, and there's plenty
of coal in this one"-indicatine the
shadowy bulk of Johns mountain ris-
ing like black cloud bank above the
roof of the courthouse.
We'll, / guess that settles it. Wen
have to have Gates land before we make
another move. Have you fixed up your
map?"
Did that to-day the town-site will
take in the strip between the river and
the mountain, running down this way
as far as we can get options. Gates
farm covers the best part of the tract
mp there at the mouth of the Little
Chiwassee, and l suppose we'd better
buy that outright. Does he still want
two thousand for it?"
HE did yesterday, but l think I've
scraped together few details thatIJ
help him change his mind. You know
everything has a history, if you can
only get at the facts"
''Of course. What did you find out -
81 got the whole story of the property.
It seems that the place used to belong
to an old fellow by the name of Kill
grow, who lived on the mountain and
made moonshine whisky or apple bran
d3', or something in that line, that got
him into trouble with the revenue peo-
pie. Gates, who was fence for the
moonshiners, held the land as tenant
under Kilgrow for some years, and
never claimed it until after the revenue
officers had run kilgrow out of the
country. That was six years ago, and
after the old mountaineer was well out
of the way, Gates gave it out that the
land was his-that he bought it some
time before the raid. Nobody seems to
have questioned his title, though there
is no record of any transfer from Kill
grow"
Then Kilgrow is probably the right
full owner now?"
''He would be if he were alive; but he
died in Texas three years ago. and, so
far as / can find out, there are no heirs
in sight"
"Oh, then it don't make so much diff
ference, after all" said Fench
"No, except that it gives us a good
leverage on Gates. 1t leaves gap in the
title; but 1 guess we can doctor that
up"
YES, easy enough. Well go and see
Gates in the morning, if you're ready"
Lawyer Sharpless had not overesti-
mated the value of his discoveries.
When the leverage was applied to James
Gates on the following day, the farmer
promptly produced a witness who
claimed to have been present when the
purchase was made, and who confirmed
the rumor of Kilgrow's death by as
sorting that he had helped bury the old
mountaineer three years before on the
Texan frontier. Sharpless ignored the
witness, and pointed obstinately to the
faulty record, insisting that Gates
should produce the original deed. The
farmer declared at first that the docu-
meut was among his papers, and then
that it had been lost. Pushed to the
wall, he wayered, cut his price in half,
and disappeared from the valley as soon
as the transfer was made to the new
owners.
If Sharpless doubted the assevera-
tons of Gates and his opportune wit
ness, he made no sign; nor was he dis
turbed by the significant fact that the
witness vanished with Gates. The at
torney had assured himself beforehand
upon two points-the gertrude of Kill
grows title to the land, and the alb
sence of heirs who might become
troublesome future claimants. With
these two premises in reserve, he be-
lieved that the title acquired from
Gates could be made as good as valid.
After the purchase of the Gates farm,
Sharpless and Fench spread a report
that they were about to try an expert
ment in tobacco raising on large scale;
and with this ostensible object in view
they proceeded TO secure options upon
other tracts in the valley. Since they
offered good prices for poor land, there
was little haggling: and in few days
the required acreage was under con-
troll. This was the FIRST move in the
complicated game of evolution, and
when it was made the promoters cele-
brated their success with a fresh box
Of cigars and bottle Of rather sickish
native wine in their room at the Noun
tain house.
Were in great luck, SO far" said
Sharpless, examining the map spread
out on the table between them. You'd
better write them to go ahead in New
York with their articles of incorpora-
ton. wonder il Birkmore is ready to
begin on the railroad extension ?"
He ought to he; he was to send Ray