The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1905-10-20
WESTERN CATTLE
MEN BEFORE COURT
\ Large Number of South Da.
kotans Charged With
illegal Fencing.
BUSY FEDERAL COURT
|sY FEDERAL COURT
over seventy-Five Cases Will Como
Before 1t in Session at Sioux Falls
Two Hundred Witnesses
Have Been Summoned.

Sioux Falls, S. D., Oct. 1S.-The most
important term of the United States
court to be held in South Dakota this
year is in session here, With Judge
John Il. Garland presiding. There are
between seventy-fve and eighty cases
to be disposed of during the term,
which promises to last for several
weeks. About 200 witnesses have been
summoned to testify in the various
cases.
The term will be the most important
held in the state this year for the rea-
son that not since the April term in
this city has u federal grand jury been
summoned.
Perhaps the most important cases to
come before the grand jury are those
against the following cattlemen and
ranchers of Stanley county, who are
charged With the illegal fencing of
government land: Henry Schacht, Will
liam Cation, Floyd ID. Headlee, Oscar
T. Lawrence. Mrs. Esther j. Currie,
George Porch, Albert Scovel. II. A.
Scovel, John Meeker, Charles Smith,
F. Edward Olney, Fred II. Sears, Rich
ard w. Matheson, Cyrus HI. MolyneuX,
John H. White. A similar case is pend
ing against George Is. Mcpherson, a
We'll known stockman of Pennington
county.
The cases were instituted in the ma
ture OF tests of the law prohibiting the
illegal fencing of government land, and
are the result of painstaking efforts on
the part of special agents of the gen
eral land office, who for more than a
year have been visiting all parts of the
ceded Sioux lands, between the Mis-
souri, river and the Black Hills, in west
ern South Dakota, for the purpose of
securing evidence against those who
might be found With fences surround
ing land which belonged to the govern
ment
1t is understood that in the event
the government succeeds in securing
convictions in these cases thirty or
forty more cases of similar character
will be instituted by the United States
authorities for South Dakota. who
eral authorities at Washington to put
a stop to the practice of fencing gov
ernmant land in the western part of
South Dakota.
Another interesting case is that
against Joseph Doody, who is charged
With perjury. The defendant made
homestead entry No 5000 at the United
States land office at Rapid City. He
submitted final proof on the entry, the
proof showing that Doody had resided
on and cultivated eighty acres of the
land. An investigation was made by
Special Agent w. Z. H1ntze, OF the
general land office, who made a report
to the effect that Doody had never re-
sided on the land and that he had no
cultivation.
There are two counterfeiting cases
to be disposed of by the grand jury.
In one of them a man giving his name
as Andrew j. Sharp, and who is sup
posed to have come to South Dakota
from some point in Iowa, is the defend
ant He was arrested by the United
States authorities at Yanliton on the
charge of passing spurious half dollar
silver coins.
The other counterfeiting case is
against Levi Clark, a former resident
of Charles Mix county, who already
has served several terms in the Sioux