The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1905-11-03

; The ingenuity and audacity of the
men who have been and still are en-
gagged in defrauding the United States
out of public lands are equaled only
by the absolute observation-disclosures of
this class of swlndlers. Every pos
sible device is resorted to by the men
who have sought to acquire illegal
title to the public domain, and even
the startling examples of United
States Senator sentenced to a peniten-
tiary term and numerous 'land kings
struggling in the tolls Of the law have
not apparently served to diminish the
attempts to prepetrate similar frauds.
An instance of this character which
has just come to light was found in
Idaho. A single contractor had err
rected on order of land company, "a
cabins on as many homestead entries
tone hundred and sixties" they are
called In the Land ,Office-had furn-
ished them with the usual meager
furniture of the genuine cabin, had
actually built fires in the little sheet
iron stoves, in order that the cabins
might appear to have been occupied,
and had hung from the rafters of each
a fragment Of fitch OF bacon. On
each tone hundred and sixty" about
a quarter OF an acre had been actual
lily titled and planted to potatoes.
| Entries were made in the name Of
thirty-four individuals, the work
done by the contractor performed
the following summer, and when the
legal fourteen months had expired the
alleged settlers appeared before a
United States commissioner, each
made affidavit that he had lived upon
and cultivated his claim for fourteen
months paid down the nominal price
of $I.25 an acre as prescribed by law,
where the Communication clause Of the
homestead act is availed of, and Final
proof" having thus been made title
was granted, subject to final Iatifica-
tion by the land Office In Washington.
It was just then that something
aroused the suspicion Of the special
agent charged with passing on the
claims, and lie began an investigation,
which revealed the fact that no one
i of the claimants had ever resided on
the land, that the cabins and the cul-
tivation had all been performed by a
single contractor, acting under orders
from large land company, and that
each of the fictitious settlers was un-
der contract to sell his homestead as
soon as the title was perfected to the
land company for nominal sum.
/ Had the scheme worked in this in
stance, as it doubtless has in numer-
Gus others, the land company would
have acquired tract Of $40 acres at
a cost of little less than $1,000, and
this tract would have been worth at
the calculation s55, 900, would probab.
lY have yielded double or treble that
sum In timber, and then the denuded
land would have been left in the hands
of the land company, to be sold as op-
portunity offered for grazing purposes,
Another fertile source OF fraud Is
the provision of the land law which
entities the soldiers or soldiers wild
ows to deduct from the FIVE years nee
essary to free homestead entry the
term Of army service OF such soldier.
For instance, land or cattle COM
pany desiring to secure title to a
large tract will scour the country for
Iindigent widows of old soldiers. When
a sufficient company has been gath
erred together each will be ''located''
on homestead entry. These women
are generally ignorant OF the character
of the transaction in Which they are
asked to participate. They are only
Uniformed that they can secure their
living and from $50 to s75 in cash by
j living for six months In each year in
a little cabin which will be furnished
4 them without expense.
j LII soldier mas served throughout
the war, four years, his widow can
"prove up'' after one years residence
on the claim. and this "year" is apoc.
ryphal, for in practice, it is reduced
to six months, generally in the sum.
mer season. When the time comes te
"prove up the widow is escorted tc
the local land office, or tile United
States court, and there told to swear
to certain papers, which she does
. without knowing their contents. AS
soon as her title is approved In Wash
ington, she deeds the land to the com
pany which employed her, receive.
her bonus and disappears.
4 In Oregon an instance was recent,