Evening star., 1902-02-22
LATEST CIVIL WAR
A Lake Michigan District
Wants to Come In.
THE"CAP" AND HIS WIFE
THE sQUATTERs ON A sANDBAR
STRIP
The Claim Not on Government Maps,
but the Colony
Grows.
THE" E"CAP" AND HIS WIFE
Copyright, 19O2.l

Copyright, 1902)
Written for The Evening Star by John l.. Mathews
Few are aware that we are engaged in a
civil war today-a war between states in
which hundreds Of men have been engaged,
forts have been captured shots exchanged
and all the elements Of a comic opera ex-
cept the music, provided One of the states,
to be sure, is not yet on the government
maps. but 1t is struggling hard for recog-
milton, and 1t Is this struggle which has
led to the great war between the state
of Illinois. through it's chief city Of Chi
cago, and the Independent district Of Lake
Michigan, better known as Cap Streeter' 3
'Deestric" The war Of the rebellion was
fought over rights" SO is the present
war
DO you know what them felers claims?"
Captain Streeter demanded one day of a
reporter. "Lemme tell We what they
claims. They claims ripairin' rights, that 8
what they claims
What is ripairin' rights? Lemme tell
ye what they is Ripairin rights is the
rights to ri-pair yer shore where t's wore
off by the water. Don't gi'en ye no more
right to fill in the lake an own the film
an 1t docs me to dig a hole in yer front
yard an own tn hole"
And acting on his belief In the correct
ness of that statement, Captain Streeter
has seized 1S8 acres OF the choicest lands
in Chicago, lying along the lake front north
Of the river, and has there organized the
'Independent District of Lake Michigan
The leaders in its government have ap-
piled to Congress for recognition as one OF
the sovereign states OF the Union, ana
meanwhile they are struggling by force or
arms with the Chicago police for the life
of their commonwealth.
This strange affair is the direct fault or
well meaning and Industrious surveyor
named John Wall, who was sent by the
Washington authorities In 1871 to survey
the ground they were about to buy from
the Indians. A town site was desired at
the mouth of Chicago river. and Wall was
ordered to survey a strip twenty miles
along the lake shore north from the Calu-
met river, and running thence southwest
erly. ALL would have been we'll had he
bounded 1t on the east by the waters OF
Lake Michigan" but instead he "meander-
ed the shore line. surveying each little
crook in it, and describing in his maps and
field book a definite number OF miles and
acres bounded on the east not by the lake.
but by the meandered shore line as 1t then
existed When this land was put on the
market Robert Kinzie bought the north
half Of fractional section ten of township
80, range ii east Of the third principal
meridian. consisting Of 1927 acres, defin-
itely bounded.
Riparian Rights.
Out tside Of the shore line was sandbar,
sometimes appearing above the water.
That sandbar gradually grew. was by fill
ings connected by the shore. and as Robert
Kinzie's holdings became divided UP those
who had them gradually came to look upon
the "accreted" land as their own. They
set up. for the rest of the city to worship
at. fetch called riparian rights" which
gave them ownership Of all land outside OF
their shore line. But they were hindered
from giving title by an early government
decision that they held only a definite num-
ber Of acres secured under the Kinzie grant
and In total could never exceed 1O3N.
This was the situation in 1886, when
Streeter frst appeared.
This George Wellington Streeter, mariner
and fighter. is a doughty little man. full of
SCRAP to the top Of his head. red whis-
kered, decorated with freckles that resem-
Ele blotches Of red. equipped with endless
argument. and always ready to take up