The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-05-25
npartment Of tia Ints1ior D.
cides a Land Case.
sToRy or 4 LONG sTsuooLE.


sspspubsics are ever uneratefui While
- nation is buying Admiral Dewey .
hundred thousand dollar mansion. which
- deserves. the government is taking
awsy from poor people in Whascom coura~
u the house II once gave them In VII
iaeness ard which they have made baczs
oom like the rose i wonder II some day
8hey won't want Dewey's home back
again
The speaker was an old pioneer, and be
nd lust read in the United States land
eftce Tor this district = decision forward
q BY the department Of the interior. ra.
oa1yed yerterday, which gives the state
q Washington the lands cleared by q
pteneer in 1853. improved by two soldiers
u the civil war. one Of whom gave his
Me for his ch.idren's home. or what he
thought and believed would be their home,
aed which the legislature Of this state
o1ce declared to be their home.
Section III, township - north. range
1Ast. was first taken up In this thsn viii
lerness by James Munro and BY him the
hnd was brought under partial cuittva.
ton. lie was hunter, trnder and farm
e. as well. and more than all was loyal
70 the government. 20 that when Uncle
Sam came along years after Munro had
sQuatted On tbs land and demanded II. he
gave IL back without word. believing he
vas doing right. and disappeared.
Then. just nj the close Of the war. came
and David De2ly.
They had served their country we'll. and.
turned sar,e lose Without support: hunted =
land cleared by Munro attracted them.
They settled on II under the homestead
act, took out thar papers and put Ina.
pr0veinents on IL worth 1S.00o.
They built their hosses emily To nnd that
At last the government claimed part OF
their land ~ \ portion Of an Indian reeer-
walton for the siwAsh and the state Of
sd he Aornf -
school land grand act.
They were not men to give up easily.
They had faced shot and shrspnei AZ
ehilch and In the Wilderness. They had
been with Grant before vicksburg and
they se3d we own this land We homa.
stssded Il. X we had no right TO Il. II
right to II. why. why has not the gov
ernlnent said so before this" And then
they made their protest.
The great decentralization bureau at
washington received the protest and
handed II to clerk who put . piece OF
RED tape around II and handed Ii TO an,
other clerk. who tied another piece u
red tape around II and handed 10 another
clerk, who likewise put red tape ON II
and hled II away In = pigeonheio labeled
cempi ANTS district of Oregon" for
far as Washington. d. c.. waa concerned,
and the spiders buiit their neata and
caught flies with section Is. township Is
nansr fsnx n,a h east ,. even a. poor old
same net and after him the veterans Of
tho civil war; Moses Younkin and David
Dealy.
It's hard to fight spiders but Yeunkin,
determined nat to lose his histhrixht. did
night and one day a sswash Indian put q
bullet through hiEa.
The siwash had = relative who believed
No could get the land III Younkin was OUT
OF the way. and hence he was removed.
The government mourned, In its records.
the loss Of the gallant soldier and tho
siwash murderer was acquitted by y jury
Of his peers.
Dave pesiy did not long survive his
the two men took up the fight to retain
possession OF the land which the govern
ment had one@ allowed their fathers to
homestead and cali their own.
But the great state Of washington
fought them because years and years
after tho land had been settled by the
old soldiers. the United States govern.
ment had taken the land and It's 1S.u8o
worth of improvements and given II TO
She new state as school lands, and what
yhe great government had given the state
II must have. said It's sof0nx,
But IN 1894 the legislature Of the state
OF Washington realised the injustice being
February TO- Isss. passed an act restoring
the disputed property 10 the widows 81
Moses Tounkln and David Deaiy and
agreed 10 take other lands In its place.
This bill was vetoed by the governor
upon the advice OF the attorney general
OF the state aud the heirs once NOR. are
psaied 10 the government 1T Washington
1t has taken months and months to TN
Wind the red tape, but At last the depart
mens Of the interior has decided.
The state of Washington will keep
section H. township ~ north range z
east and Its 81 go worth OF improvements
- school lands and the heirs at law can
build . new home.
Somehow Ii seems 10 me-" said the cid
settler who Knew the history OF the strug.
lie. that I wouldn't want a little red
school house on land c.imsoned with Moss
Younkin's blood. Mehhe Tn, aupers!ttous
out tt | live long enough I'm going TO
watch that patch af land an see what
comes of II. Hewed out by pioneer
nosnestead~d by cid soldiers and stolen By