The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1907-09-06
CRATER WEEKS HIS
HEARING At ]. 5.
LAND OFFICE
MONDAY AND TUESDAY CRATER
WEEKS TRIED CASES AND
LOST OUT.
.R0PE-.IRR AND FEATHERS TALKED OF
He Has Failed to Win Case but
Continues His Rotten Deal
Settlers Indignant.

Land CRATER Weeks and his gang
are busy this week at the United
States Land Office in this city. Recent
mention was made of this notorious
outfit and their graft. They filed a
large number of contest cases against
the settlers of this section without
Discrimination. After this paper
called the public's attention to them
they got scared and withdrew a large
number, but a number still remain
on the docket.
In our mind the Weeks gang is
nothing but a set of grafters and.
well a skunk is gentleman in COM
parson with the ring-leader. We
ant think of words strong enough
to express our contempt and disgust
'or the outfit and their nefarious
work.
Their contest cases have no merit
and they have lost every case tried
so far.
On Monday they made bluff to
contest and deprive Mrs. Eugeina
Ccons out of her claim, but when
they saw that the lady was prepared
to fight for her rights the slippery
outfit withdrew the contest. On the
same day they had case against
Harry Spear. This case was dis
missed by Register Bennett on account
of imperfect affidavit made by the
grafters. On Tuesday the contest
against Harry w. Jones claim was
dismissed for the same defect as in
the Spear case.
They are wiley and crafty set
of grafters as their procedure shows,
for in the affidavits referred to above
the oily outfit crossed out the words
"on OATH SO that the contestant
Esimply made a statement and not an
oath of their case.
| We have no hesitancy in stating
that we believe they did it for the
purpose of eliminating the chance of
wearing stripes for perjury.
The people are getting thoroughly
aroused and becoming more and more
indignant at the outfit, and if they
are wise they will 'vamouse" before
they suffer personal violence On
all sides we hear talk of rope, tar
and feathers, and various other
modes of entertainment for them
and we would not be at all sur
prised if we had some such event to
chronicle in the near future if they
continue their graft.
Just to show the injustice worked
on the settlers, we again call atten-
ton to the cases Of Monday and
Tuesday. The lady, Mrs. Eugeina
Coons, is widow, and her claim
is east Of Rapid City several miles
She was compelled to go to the ex-
pense of hiring a lawyer also OF
bringing five or six witnesses here tc
testify besides the loss of time and
trouble on her part. All this ex,
pense she had to pay and there is
no way of avoiding it.
Besides his lawyer, Mr.. Spear had
the expense of twelve witnesses, anC
Mr. Jones' expense account was nc
small amount. Thus you can see al
a glance the rottenness of the deal
and there doesn't seem to be any
law by which the grafters can be
made responsible for the expense
their graft incurs. But one thins
is sure, and that is, that the settlers
of this section will not stand for The
Weeks imposition much longer, ant
we are afraid that if the people
can't find law on the statute book:
covering his case, they are liable t.
make one.