The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1909-09-10
LOOKS after
LAND TITLES
G.. w. Atkinson Conducting
Investigations in This Sec
ton of the Country.
refers 10 FRAUDS pRAcIIcED 10 GET LAND
He Is Looking Up Lands Under Des.
ert Act and Finds Several
Entries Unlawful.

Charles w. Atkinson, special
agent of the general land office in
Washington, is in Rapid City on his
return from five weeks investigation
in the Belle Fourche district. He is
here looking up the crediblity of
proofs offered by homesteaders in
proving up on lands. He has been
giving special attention to desert land
entries, and predicts that very few
people who have taken up such lands
will be able to comply with the law
when the time comes
Mr.. Atkinson has taken evidence
In some three hundred cases in the
Rapid City district and fifteen cases
in the Belle Fourche district. In Au-
gust he made 104 investigations, sixty
two Of which were found faulty and
will be reported to the authorities at
Washington. Desert land entries
have been found to be bad generally,
those having filed on them making no
attempt to reclaim them in many in
stances. In others only of a very SUI
perficial character, not warrantable
for patent issue. In some cases dams
have been constructed to conserve the
water, but they are of character to
be of little real value in practical use.
He finds that on a great many of
the desert land entries the entrymen
are raising good crops of all kinds of
grain on account of the sutficiency of
rainfall and that the entries are real
ly in the homestead class instead of
in the desert land entry class. This
condition is true especially of entries
made during and since 1907. Several
of the older entries are all right and
the entrymen will not be molested, as
they have complied with the law by
proving up and doing that which is
necessary.
Mr.. Atkinson finds there are several
instances where lands have been filed
on under the timber and stone law
which investigation shows were bet
ter adapted to grazing and agricult-
ural purposes, there being no timber
except few scrubby trees unfit for
use except as fuel. These, he says,
will be reported to the general land
office and absolute evidence will have
to be produced before title is legally
secured.
The investigation has brought to
light many schemes to evade the re-
quirements of the law, virtually to
secure the land fraudulently, some of
them so gauzy as seem almost incredi-
Die of belief. Some place in the south
ern part of the state homesteader
testified before the receiver that he
had plowed between ten and eleven
acres on his entry. Investigation
discloses he did so, but that in doing
it he measured off ten acres and plow-
ed on the line between the ten and
eleven acres measured. His evidence
was taken, forwarded to Washington,
and later the status of Improvements
was disclosed. Several cases of fraud
are cited by Mr.. Atkinson in this and
other states. An illustration is given
of a man in Oklahoma who proved up.
claiming to have built q house four.
teen by sixteen on his claim. The
supposition was the house was that
number of feet, yet investigation dis
closed q model shack of fourteen by
sixteen inches in size.
1t is such frauds as these that are
being looked after and all who have
perpetrated them upon the govern
ment will have the lands taken from
them. Last July the government de
clared 256, 600 acres of land in Plumu'
county, California, restored to thu
government. The land had beer
taken up by H. H. Yard of the Pa
ciflc road as mineral lands, but a.
q matter of fact they were timbe
lands.