The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1909-06-28
FAMOUS WATERS CONTEST
CASE IS NEARING END
Practically Decided Friday and is a Signal
Victory for Kinita AttOrneys---CGse Had
Been Heard, Reversed and Decisions
Set Aside Several Times---FinGl
Decision Expected Shortly

Washington, ID. c., June 2S.-The
famous contest over the Eva Waters
leave of fifty acres of oil land in the
heart of the Flatrock oil pool was prac
tically decided Friday by Assistant
Secretary of the Interior Frank Pierce,
who set aside his order of May 10th.
approving the sale of the tract to the
Alpine Oil company and the Los
Angeles Cherokee Oil & Gas company
for $25,000.O0, The matter came up
on a motion for review and final judg-
ment coupled with two offers by the
Olympus Oil company, of Vinita, Okla,
offering a bonus of $26,OO0.00 and guar
anteeing the royalty to pay $26,OOO.OO
making a total of royalty and bonus
guaranteed to be $52 100000 the second
offer was to guarantee the royalty to
amount to $75,O00O0 for Eva Walters.
The final judgment being against the
Alpine and the Los Angeles-Cherokee
Oil and Gas companies. The question
of accepting one of the offers of Olym-
pus Oil company is to be settled within
a few days.
Eva Waters seven year
old girl, one sixty-fourth Chero-
kee on her mothers side and lives at
Westville, Okla She owns two tracts
of oil lands aggregating fifty acres and
is estimated to be worth S500,000.00
There are sixteen oil wells ON the
edge of her tract of land producing
81 10000 worth of oil daily. Her father
is a white farmer and the land was To-
Gated and furnished to the child for
allotment by Starr & Patten of Vinita
who secured an oil lease on the land in
favor of Olympus Oil company of Vim
ita, corporation, owned by ]. c. Starr
and Guy Patten of Vinita, and A. f.
Ault of Tulsa and w. e. Ross of
Grove. When the Oil strike was made
in the Flatrock pool section near Tul-
sa, r. X. Kellough and C. S. Avery,
representing some oil men, it is claim
ed, made a deal with the father of
Eva Waters to confess judgment on
the thirty acres of land so the child
would lose out for $250.O0. The land
allotted to Eva Waters had been con-
tested. Thirty acres had been contest
ed by Herman Knight of Vinita and
the remaining twenty acres had been
contested by William J. Twist of Tul-
sa Kellough and Avery made deal
with Waters to confess judgment in
favor of Herman Knight on the thirty
acres and agreed to pay Waters s25O.OO
Starr & Patten learned of this deal
and informed Waters of the great
value of the land and when they got
to Muskogee found that Commissioner
Wright had approved the confession of
judgment and then the attorneys for
Waters filed a motion to set this con-
fession of judgment aside on the the
ory that the true situation had been
misrepresented to Waters. Commits
sioner Wright promptly denied this
motion and Starr & Patten appealed
to the commissioner of Indian affairs
where Commissioner Wright was re-
versed. J. w. Zevely then appealed to
the secretary of the interior where the
Indian Office was sustained Then Mr.
Zevely filed a motion for review which
the department denied and the Knight
VS.. Water case was sent back to Com
missioner Wright for trial on its
merits The Twist vs.. Waters case
was in the meantime tried on its
merits and Commissioner Wright de-
cided it in favor of Twist. Starr &
Patten appealed to the Indian Office
where Commissioner Wright's decision
was reversed and the land awarded TO
Eva Waters. Mr.. Zevely then appeal
ed to the secretary of the interior
where the case was pending on appeal
when Mr.. j. P. White of Tulsa acting
for the lessees on both tracts Of land
made a deal with c. w. Waters TO con- /
fess Judgment in both cases for sf2.-
10000 so that the land would be award
ed to Herman Knight and w J. twist
and the oil companies holding leases
under knight and Twist would GET the
and Starr a partau .narnaH of fhf. 7
n April and protested and carried the /
natter before the secretary of the in
.erior and forced the lessees under the /