The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-03-21
MILLION ACRES RECLAIMED
Kings Forced to Give Up Vas:
Tracts of Stolen Lands.
TO BE REOPENED TO PUBLIC

kNOOih AVA
tiers in Nebraska az Resul* OF
Dispossessing OF Realty Robbers-
The Work of L. G. Wheeler, o.
the Secret Service.
Omaha, Neb.-One million acres OF
land-good land-added to those sub
ject to homesteading in Nebraska is
the first fruits of the Investigations
Of the land and fencing frauds which
have been perpetrated in this State.
This vast body Of land upon Which sew
e-al thousand families can find homes
and farms, will be officially restored
to the public domains on July !, and
will then be subject to homestead entry
again.
For the last few years, while would
be settlers and homeSteaders have been
running about over Nebraska taking
UP the best lands they could find. these
1000, 900 acres have been within the
fences of the great cattle barons, and
4. was almost as much as mans life
was worth to enter their great in
closures and homestead any of the
land which they claimed as their
"range''-without one shadow Of law
full and legal claim thereto.
But this is now changed; Government
ferrets have gone over the State and
have hunted out those lands illegally
fenced, and even those upon which ille-
gal filings had been made, and as a re-
suit 100000 acres will be again Of
fered to the public, free, on July !.
This tract will be open to. the first
corners who make their filings, not, on
100 acres apiece, but on four times
that much-640 acres-a full square
mile of land-to settle down and live
on the land five years and thus secure
a clear title without the payment of
one cent other than the regular filing
fees of $14.
This is only the first result of the
land investigation, however, and after
the Government authorities Eaye con-
Guided their siftings. there will prob
ably be several more millions of acres
returned to the Government and again
opened to the public.
This work is being carried on from
the Government building in Omaha
under the supervision of L. G. Wheeler,
of the Secret Service. The public has
heard of the trails Of the great cattle
barons and Of the sentences doled out
to them for, practically. stealing hun
dreds Of thousands of acres, but moth
ing has been said of the efforts of the
department to cancel the claims these
barons have on the great bodies OF
lands that they have inclosed with
strands of wire.
One of the favorite methods was for
the great cattle man to have his COW
boys and other employees take up home
.steads, making the declaration in doing
so that the land was for their own use
entirely. But as Don as the final proof
was made, these homesteads have been
Immediately decided to the cattle man.
Another favorite method was to get old
soldiers and soldiers widows to make
these filings. Wheeler's agents have
shown that hundreds Of these eX-sol-
diers have been brought from the SOL
,diers' homes of Iowa, Illinois, Nebras-
la and other Central Western States,
haive been paid from $50 to $500 to
file on q certain piece of land, and
when the deed is received from the
Government to transfer this land to the
cattle people. Likewise, hundreds of
widows of Union soldiers have been
utilized to help defraud the Govern
ment and enrich the cattle kings. Two
years ago three cars filled with these
women were brought to Nebraska from
Iowa in a single day to Alliance, Neb.,
and each one filed on 100 acres Of land,
which land is now in the hands Of the
cattle men and will be claimed by the
Government as fraudulently held.
The "insiders' confidently expect
that when the Government finishes
with the cattle barons, at least 5000,
600 acres of good lands will be re-
turned to the public domain, and will
be subject to demonstrating by bonafide
settlers.