The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1905-06-10
NAVY queen aEl UEsTs.
Are Received 1t the Marquette
Land Onice--Old soldier De-
mands Homestead with
Fine Soil and Creek.

Almost all the business done at the
United States government land
Office at Marquette is transacted
through the medium OF the United
States mails. During the course OF
year, the register and receiver are
In receipt OF hundreds OF letters from
persons seeking homesteads and
timber claims, and from old soldiers
who desire to obtain government
lands under the law granting them
special privileges. The business Of
the Office is not confined wholly to
the mails, but the percentage Of peo-
pile applying for lands in person is
comparatively small. Letters OF in
quiry regarding government lands
located within the jurisdiction of the
Marquette Office are received princi-
pally from persons residing in the
state of Michigan, but applications
from adjoining states, and sometimes
from states hundreds of miles away,
are not infrequent. The officials and
clerks are called upon to decipher a
great aud sometimes perplexing
variety OF handwriting. Many of
the applicants write poorly, and it
is sometimes necessary to entirely
disregard letter because of impene-
trable chirography. Nearly every
applicant has special request to
make of the officers. These requests
vary in character, but the tenor OF
most of them is that the officers see
personally that the applicants get
the very best land the government
possesses. A letter was recently
received from an old soldier in Ohio,
and is most characteristic. 1t reads
as follows: First of all, l want 100
acres of good land-not all swamp
and sand, but land with good clay
subsoil to hold the moisture, with
top dressing of black muck. also
want creek running through it, as
my wife keeps ducks and geese, and
won't live on any farm where the
creek amt near the house. Would
not object to small lake, say three
or four acres, but no larger. i
don't want farm entirely covered
A
with water, for I ain t no sailor. !
am an old soldier and fought on the
Mnd. Also please see that l get
homestead that is about half-tim-
bersd with stove-wood, because /.
don't want to have to buy stove
wood up in that country while my
pension is so small. Please write at
once, telling me exactly what you
have that will meet my wants, so !
can make choice. want to come
up there this summer, before the
winter sets in, so can get i'm my
stove wood in advance. II you have
any claims left near town / want
one. The land officials, OF course,
do not know the character of soil,
nor the physical features of any land
in the public domain, and would not,
under the department regulations,
be permitted to give out such ip-
formation il they possessed it. Many
applicants write illtempered mis-
sives when their requests for Gin
side" Information are not granted,
and openly charge the officials with
collisions with their friends to COB
BILE up all the desirable homesteads,
and leave the poor and unproductive
lands for the poor people. Very few
prospective homesteaders ask credit
for the entry fees, but requests to
''hold me good homestead until !
get there" are numerous. So many
odd requests are received that the
officials regard the majority of them