The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-08-05
CONTEST FOR ARGENTINE.
Townsite Is Involved In a Suit In the
Federal Court.

H. J. Bone, assistant United States
district attorney. has returned from
Kansas City, where he has been for
several days taking testimony in a civil
action brought by the federal govern
ment against William j Isaacs. Of
Kansas City, Kan, and other parties.
The suit involves the title to much
of the most valuable real estate in the
city of Argentine About 40 acres in
the heart of the city, which is now cut
up into about 200 different tracts of
land, is in dispute, and the government
is trying to establish the rights of
those who are now in possession of the
property
The story which leads up to the suit
dates away back to the days before
Kansas was even a territory-when the
land around the mouth of the Kaw was
allotted to the Wyandotte Indians. Ac-
cording to the treaty between the fed
eral government and the Indians no
deed given by an Indian was to be valid
without the approval of the secretary of
the interior. This was to keep the In
dams from dispOSing of their lands
without receiving a due equivalent for
Nancy Whitefeather, a Wyandotte
squaw. owned part of the land which
is now the tOwnSite of Argentine. She
sold it, but through some cause or 9TH
er the deed was never approved by the
secretary of the interior. Years went
by, and as no one made any trouble
about the defect in the title, it was not
noticed The country became thicI1Iy
settled and the city of Argentine was
built on the land purchased from Nancy
Whitefeather. Business blocks and res
licences were erected on the greater
portion of it.
Two or three years ago some one dis
covered the defect in the title to all this
property. 1t is charged that ISaacS,
who is q carpenter, and others went
down to the Indian Territory, hunted up
the heirs of Nancy Whitefeather. and
after esta ablishing their identity. easily
secured their signatures to a deed to all
the property formerly owned by their
maternal ancestor around the mouth of
the Kaw. Then they went on to Wash
ingtOn, and the federal authorities
claim that they represented that the
deed had been secured for the purpose
of quieting the title to the property on
account of the defect in the original
deed The secretary of the interior ap-
proved the deed, and then the trouble
began.
AS soon as Isaacs and his partners
returned to Kansas CITY thew placed
parties in possession of all the vacant
property, and then began ejeetment
suits against a large number of people
who had been enjoying peaceable pos
session of their property for many
years. Among the others who were in
terested in the proceedings were Judge
T. p. Anderson, Eliza beth Benns. c. NJ.
Campbell, d. NJ Doubleday, Thaddeus
FitZhugh, r. r. Dunbar. Thomas Payne.
Ambrose Key and Nellie Key. Some of
them were in the original scheme and
others have acquired an interest in it
by obtaining deeds to various pieces of
real estate. and all are made defendants
in the action brought by the govern
ment.
The reason for the governments in
terfering in the matter is because the
Indians are wards of the government
and it is the duty of the government to
protect them The suit is to set aside
the recent deed which Isaacs procured
he f7aiT of
on the ground that it is fraudulent, and
that the signature of the secretary of
the interior was obtained through
fraud.