The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1910-11-04
HOME SEEKERS
WERE M|SIREAIED
NEBRASKA cATTLEMEN ARE IN
DicTED ON EXTREMELY
SERIOUS CHARGES.
SETTLERS FORCED OUT.
Homes and Outfits Destroyed When
They Took Up Claims in Me-
braska--Other Dirty
Tricks Played.

Omaha, Nov. '3.-lndictments re-
turned by the federal grand jury
Wednesday against nine ranchmen of
western Nebraska wer made public
today. The indictments charge con
spiraey TO drive from their claims at
the points of guns homesteaders who
took quarter-sect ons of semi-arit
land under the Kinkaid Homestead
law by the defendants Those In
dicte.i are Perry 3. Yeast of Hyan
mis-, Neb,; his son, frank w. Yeas,
Leslie Il. Ballinger, NJ. G, Hubhe
Emil Anderson, Wlllmot q Emerson,
Hamy Sutton, Boone b. Hawthorne
and Or. Harry II. Huff.
Dr, HUFF, prominent physician,
and Sutton, county attorney of Gar.
den county, are members of the in
sanity board. Yeast, one of the
largest Ganchers in the state, was
convicted two years ago of fraudu
lently securing title to homestead
land and paid a fine and served a
jail sentence.
There are four counts in the indic.-
mems and the specific overt acts
mentioned indicate an unusual from
tier eond ton.
According to the charges made in
the Indictment Yeast and his asso
eiates carried their efforts so far as
to secure the incarceration in the In
sane asylum at Hastings, Neb., Of one
of their alleged victims.
Wien the Kinkaid homestead Law
was passed many persons went u
Grant, Banner, Garden, Cherry and
other western Nebraska counties ant
looked up quarter sections The land
is in the Sand Hills country but con.
tains many fertile valleys. Several
big ranchers, among them Yeast and
his associates, have heretofore de-
pended on this valley land for their
hay and winter feeding and the set
Ting of homesteads#s was resented
The indictment charges that a band
of about thirty persons, headed By
Yeast went to the home OF many
Of these homesteaders, among them
Cashier ], Davasher. George Carpen
ter, Golha d. Graves, George Bah
cock, Henry s. Coulson and others
ana by intimidation and threats Of
taking their lives and those of their
families forced them TO leave their
claims.
The specific case of Davasher is
mentioned in detail 1t is charged
tnat Yeast and the other defendants,
accompanied by band of cowboys
visited DavasheTs home and after
himself and family with
death If they did not leave the coun.
try, destroyed his home, broke up his
machinery, cut his harness to pieces
and in other ways mistreated him
Later, according to the indictment
Yeast conspired with members of tbs
county insanity board and secured
Davasher's incarceration in the asy
lum.
This latter act, according to the
indictment, was committed in hieh.
handed manner. The insanity com
missioners, ii is alleged, went through
a mock examination, declared Dara
sher insane and issued a warrant for
his arrest This was served on the
spot and within an hour he ives
rushed off to the asylum withing be-
ing permitted to have the advice OF
counsel
Davasher's case was brought to the
attention OF the superintendent of
the Institution. who conducted on ex
animation into the case. He at once
decided Dayasher was not insane aud
the later was released by habeas cor.
pus proceedings.
According to an official of the in.
terror department the present indict.
ment covers one OF the most remark.
able attempts at land grabbing which
mas recently been brought to the At.
fention Of the department. A letter
written by one of the victims to
President Taft is said to have caused
the investigation which resulted in
the indictments being returned A
special grand jury was summoned to
consider the eviednce.
Many thousand acres Of grazing
land is contained in the tracts 10
question.