The Cooperstown courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., N.D.) 1902-1913, 1905-11-23
when IN. o,,.,n., .nn,,c.t,on v,s

When the original application was
made 1t was customary to forward IL
to Washington, where . patent vas
made ont and sent back to the land Of.
nee of the district, where 1t was held
until the applicant appeared with
proofs of settlement and improve.
meut.
The graduation act was the out
growth of a peculiar physical condi-
ton. All early settlements of new
territory are made along its princi-
pal waterways. In Missouri the first
settlements were made along the Mis-
sfssippi river in Cape Girardeau, New
Madrid and Ste. Genevieve counties,
the land titles in this district going
back to the original Spanish grants.
The United States surveys of the ter
ritory lying west of this were made
in 1820-21, but the lands back from
the river had not proved tempting to
the pioneer. For a quarter of cen
fury they lay in their virgin condi-
ton.
Congress at that time reflected the
general desire for rapid settlement,
and as an inducement the "bit acre"
act was passed. AS far back as the
passage of this act there were men
who saw the possibilities for land
grating under it. Greer w. Davis,
a prominent resident of Missouri,
signed thousands of applications con.
trary to law before the war, and his
operations, with those of many others,
covered vast areas-so vast, in fact,
that large part of several counties
was covered. The patents correspond.
ing to these applications were sent
on from Washington to the land of.
fee then located at Jackson. In 1861
the land Office was moved to Ironton,
and with it thousands of patents is
sued on fraudulent applications.
Then came the civil war. In addi.
ton to the fraudulent applications
thousands of others had been made by
bona-fide settlers. Large numbers of
these applicants went to the war and
either were killed or settled elsewhere
when peace was declared. Their pat
ents were still pigeonholed in the
1ronton land Office. 1t is undoubtedly
true that some of these patents had
been stolen by Gen. Prices raiders
about the time of the battle of Pilot
Knob, but thousands of them remained
unclaimed in the Office. Such were the
physical and legal conditions in which
tho 0rno fock ooncpi roo xy of tho, nonaro.
ton had its roots.
In the early part of 1880 registered
at the primitive tavern at Ironton as
James Hall, of Chicago. Inquiry be-
fore my arrival had convinced me that
there was one man in the district
whom could trust implicitly, and he
was Bernard Zwart, United States
commissioner for the district, and as
"square-toed" a government official as
1t ever has been my good fortune to
meet. To him I revealed my true
identity; to others l was the repre-.
sentative of a Chicago land syndi.
cate.
"You have prodigious task, before
you," was Zwart's introductory re-
mark. mot only that, but you are
dealing with clique of men who are
deep in the mire Of fraud and who
will not submit tamely to being hauled
into the daylight by the government"
realized this fully. I asked Zwart
for such information as he could give.
II first became convinced that whole
sale fraud was being committed" he
replied, when, several years ago, Rob-
ert Lindsay offered to sell me all the
patents to 800 acres each wanted at
ten dollars apiece. l bought none Of
them, but have kept half an eye on
matters since. Recently Mrs. SAILS
bury, of Ironton, told me that she had
been hired by Robert Lindsay in the
writing of deeds in his Office in that
city. AS nearly as can learn, Lind
say has six or seven clerks employed
in making out deeds in his Ironton Of
flee, and l am convinced that these
deeds are not straight
A survey of the situation showed
me that when Grant in 1869 appointed
James Lindsay pension agent at st.
Louis he made Carroll r. Peck chief
clerk. The relationship between Lind
say and Peck was unusual in that
Lindsay's second wife was Peck's Sis
ter, and Peck's wife was Lindsay's
daughter, Peck. therefore, being James
Lindsay's brother-in-law and son-in-
law, and Robert Lindsay's brother-in.
law.
ITO Be Continued