Omaha daily bee., 1906-01-13
OLD SOLDIER ON LAND DEALS
Veteran from Grand Island Tells How
Lambert Bought Filing&
HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS APIECE

Soldiers Were Required to Prove Up
ON the Land Before They Got
the Money for
Entries.
I'VE were to be paid at the rate Of $50
per quarter for our land when we proved
up on it, both for our first homestead
entries and for the other three-duarters
taken up under the Kinkaid law" said
John c. Blue Friday afternoon when called
to the stand to testify In the land con-
spiracy case wherein Rev. George G. Ware
of Lead. s. D., Frank w. Lambert and
Harry Welsh are Jointly indicted on the
charge Of eonspiring to defraud the gov
eminent out of public lands within the
u. B. L ranch enclosure in Hooker county.
Nebraska
The witness IL an old soldier having
his home at Grand Island. He said:
Il have been at the Grand Island Soldiers
Home for about seventeen years. l am
g. years old. ] am slightly acquainted
with the defendant Ware having first met
him at Deadwood last March and talked
with him about the claim and homestead
had fled on in Hooker county. The land
lies about thirteen miles southeast of
Mullen, Neb 1 told Ware it would be
impossible for to go on under the eircum-
stances, because of the newspaper talk
and the action of the government, and
that four Of US had decided to go in to-
gether and take the homesteads ourselves
and cut loose from the cattle company,
but We could not go on until we got those
leases back
Thought Leases Worthless.
II didn't think the leases were any good.
because we had no right to lease any
thing we didn't have. These leases were
on the lands we had filed on. l signed the
lease, but did not read II. The leases read
that were to lease the land to the
cattle company for ninety-nine years for
| the sum of 81. l did not see my land until
after had filed on IL. When we filed we
left the filing papers at the land Office at
Broken Bow, where we made the filings
never saw them afterwards
Prank Lambert was the man we dealt
/ with. He came to Grand Island i'm the
| spring OF 1903 and talked to us at George
| Rhodes house. He said he had come to
| get anyone to take up a homestead and
that we needn't be alarmed, as he had
! looked the matter up He said we were
! to get $50 per quarter when we proved up.
At that time 1 didn't know who was to
pay the money. We were to go up and
file. Our expenses would all be paid.
Nothing was said about leasing at that
| time. We went up TO Broken Bow that
or the next day and filed on the land.
Lambert took US TO the hotel when we
got to Broken Bow and he paid our rail-
road fare there and back. After we had
iled on the land we went to a lawyer
I lambert maid al he 1fs,o
wrftten Out and signed.
when we went 10 the lawyers office al
Broken Bow the leases were written ou;
ION typewriter and we signed them.
said l didn't think they would amount e
anything. as man couldn't lease anything
he didn't have. The lawyers name VIA:
Ledwich. We didn't go onto the land unit
two or three weeks afterward. Lamber
sent word 10 us at Grand Island 10 com,
UP and sent the money for the trip L
Rhodes We then went TO Mullen and pu
up at the hotel. They paid all the ex
penses and then team was furnished u,
and We were driven out to see our land
There were just some sheds and shack
on the lands. but there was nothing in tn
shacks at the time. ] put bed in m,
: shack long time afierward That wa
after we cut loose from the cattle com
pany. Lambert paid our hotel bills a
Mullen and for the team, too. guess.
know we didn't. Some time after this
: called meeting OF the boys, eighteen o
; twenty of them, al Grand Island who hat
) filed on the land, to talk over the matter
= went up TO the land once more at Lam
bert's request. He sent the money for u
D to Mr.. Rhodes
Meets Lambert Again.
E "Afterward l met Lambert and had
= talk with him about the additional fling
: on three more quarters He said he ha
o filed on the land for me. He was TO furnis
n all the money for all the expenses II
: was to do all the work and get US the slI
for each quarter when we proved up
n don't know that there was any talk abou
g selling the land, we were just TO lease
$ for ninety-nine years. The boys at I'll
e home thought IL they could get somethin
y out OF their filing rights that they hadn
used 1t would be all right. That sons
n thing was sl5O. We didn't expect TO 60 o
e to the land TO live"
10 The other witnesses of Friday afternoo
n were Register Whitehead of the Broke
n Bow land office. County Surveyor T. 4
!. Edwards Of Buffalo county. who testife
. to surveying the L. 2. I. ranch ercIosar,
in September. 1906; II. c. Boyer of Muller
who assisted Mr.. Edwards In the surve-
and o. F. Hamilton. a lawyer at Muller
who testified as to his knowledge of II
y u. B. I. ranch enclosures. and the numb.
Of cattle ne had seen on the ranch up
1904. These witnesses were excused ten
porarily and their cross-examination wi
be undertaken later in the trial.
IA Munger Reserves Decision.
h Judge Munger stated al the opening ,
~ tho trial of the Ware case Friday mornir
IS that he would reserve his decision upon Il
E. question of the admissibility OF the affidav
u In the proceeding OF a homestead enti
r until later.
he The hearing was resumed with Regist
Of James whitehead OF the Broken Bow lar
K once still on the stand Among the hlinl
Is introduced in evidence were the addition
Ill entries under the Kinkaid law of John
Bum. Sanford b. Brown. Max NJ. Lentz
Grand Island: George w. Stebbins. Geor
Y II. Rhodes. John B. Blue. Henry Lowry
Home; Thomas r Jones. George H. Lew
!. and others. Each of these had previous
made original entries OF homesteads In ls
a.. -