Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1906-05-16

sas yesterday IN the Wood case, IN
volving title TO about l26 acres of
river front land near kaw Point, will
make some men rich who did not
expect riches, and several large for
tunes are considerably reduced by its
effects
Mrs. Anna b Wood, whose name
appears first in the proceedings, is on
ly one of a number of benefciaries
of the decision. Sol James, assistant
general superintendent of the Net
ropolitan Stree railway, will receive
share worth al reasonable esti-
mate 100000. He is one of five
heirs of David K. James, who are to
divide equally nearly third of the
property. They are Mrs. Jennie M.
James, Lewellyn E. James, Sol James,
Mrs. Virginia E. Fennell and Mrs.
Anna Fennell Mrs. Anna Fennell
is the wife of James Fennell. of the
Armour Packing company. Mrs. Vir-
ginia Fennell is the wife of Daniel
Fennell, who manages the Macon
county coal mines Of the Armour
Packing company.
Mary j. Wise, who is mother SUI
prior of the Loretto academy, Is
another whose interest is large.
c. +. Hochstetter. formerly Of
Kansas City, is holder of a consider
able interest, part belonging to a re-
lative, and part acquired by purchase.
There are many other persons whose
interests vary from thousand or
two thousand dollars to $4,000 or
more
In this class are three families of
Wyandotte Indians, the Mud Eater,
Rabitaille and the Buzzard families,
most of whom live on the reservations
in the Indian Territory and care ht-
tie and know little about their new
wealth
The case which resulted in this de-
cision has been in the Kansas supreme
court six times in one form or other.
1t appears from government records,
ords that in 1S45, Silas Armstrong,
an Indian of the Wyandotte tribe,
living at Upper Sandusky, Ohio, un-
dertook to locate for himself tract
of government land and came west
to the present site of Kansas City.
He was an Indian, but not an ignor-
ant one. and after viewing the coun-
try, he chose for his tract the land
west of the state line of Missouri to
the Kansas river for his brethren of
the Wyandotte tribe. In 1855 he re-
ported to the general land office at
Washington his selection of land.
His patent was issued in 1857. In
the meantime Kansas land had been
opened to settlement by pe-emption
and homestead. and not knowing any
thing of the claim of the Indian, Will
lis Wills. Priscilla Ragan, James Me
on different parts Of the tract. Dr..
b. Wood and David +. James filed
on different pats Of the tract. Dr.
Wood and Mr.. James filed on the
same ground. Being white men and
citizens, they had to file their claims
at the land office, then located at Le-
compton, Kansas. They did not know
of Armstrong; claim till he had the
patent and law suit resulted.
Mr.. James was practicing attor-
ney. and the Others constituted him
their attorney to fight Armstrong 5
claim.
A settlement was agreed upon by
which Armstrong decided to james
for himself and all the others, where
BY James was to receive three-eighths
of the land in the north section and
one-half of the rest Armstrong had
previously agreed to sell one-half of
his land to Thomas ii. Swope and had
made some other contracts, one ef
them being with John Calhoun, sur
veyor general of the territories OF
Kansas and Nebraska Under another
contract Armstrong decided to Vim.
Weir an undivided one-fourth inter-
est in his lands. The Indian seems
never to have mastered the question
of fractions. as he appears to have
had contracts to sell several more
quarters, halves and eighths of his
land than there were i'll the whole
tract.
Armstrong died in December, 1860,
and after his death the various claim
ants sued each other. BY this time
there were enough interests to make
seven plaintiffs and twenty-five de
PENDANTS. They disposed of the south
err part of the tract and fought ovel
me part nearest the Missouri river.
While the ease was on trial n
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