The Raymer enterprise., 1910-11-17

when the homesteaders were held al
the point Of q gun while their property
was destroyed, were returned by the
grand jury Wednesday.
Those indicted were Perry s. Yeast,
Hyannis, Neb.; Frank Yeast, his son;
Leslie E. Ballinger, M. C. Hubbell,
Emil Anderson. Harry Sutton. Wilmot
G.. Emerson, Boone B. Thorne and
DR.. Harry H. Huff.
The indictments mark the barring Of
a series of alleged outrages hardly
eqnsled in frontier days. Besides SUBJ
hitting the homesteaders to petty per-
secution, ending in an armed raid, one
Of the cattlemcn is charged with hav-
ing railroaded c. j. Davasher, a home
steader, to the insane asylum after he
had resisted attacks with a gun.
Until they finally appealed to Attor-
ney General Thompson of Nebraska,
the homesteaders were helpless. Re-
peated complaints made to County At
torney Williams of Garden county
proved of no avail and he even went so
far as to defend the actions of the cat
tlemen in a public letter to a state pap
er which had printed a story of the al
legged outrage.
When the Kinkaid homestead law
was passed, claims were taken up by
persons in Banner, Garden, Cherry and
other western Nebraska counties. This
land lies in a semi-arid region, which
had been used by the cattlemen as graz
ing grounds and to supply their winter
hay.
The cattlemen encouraged the settl-
ing Of certain types of homesteaders,
known as cattle homesteaders. but re.
scented the presence of those who de-
sired to till their lands. The majority
of homesteaders lived in tents and were
therefore an easy prey to the cattle
men.
The indictment charges that last
spring an armed mob of thirty men
swooped down upon the homesteaders
and while three or four held them al
bay. the balance ripped up their har'
ness, trampled their crops and destroyed
their haying rakes. Then. by threats
of death and injury, so frightened many
that they left their claims. c. J. Dav'
asher, George Carpenter. Golba D.
Graves, George Babcock, Henry S
Coulson and others we're among those
raded.
Davasher, who was sent to the in
sane asylum at Hastings, Neb., told thu
raiders that when they came again h,
would meet them with gun.
Yeast, then, it is charged, swore ou
warrant for Davasher and had hin
brought into court. The judge, refus
ing to do more than put Davasher un
der peace bonds, it is claimed that Yeas
conspired with the insanity board t
have him sent to the asylum.
Yeast, it is said, secured the pres
ence of the insanity commission. who
after a farcial examination, committe'
Davasher to the asylum, where he wa
rushed Immediately, without chanc
to get hearing.
The superintendent Of the asylum
who was absent at the time of Dava
sher's incarceration, had the cas-
brought to his attention, and after sc
curing the services of an expert, decides
that Davasher was sane and assiste'
him in securing the habeas corpus pa
pers. At an examination later. Dava
sher was discharged.
A letter written by one of the vic
tins to President Taft is said to hav,
started the investigation. Specia
Agents Harry r. Durham and William
Neff. who have been working on tn,
case, furnished evidence against tn,
cattlemen.
The cattlemen's defense was that tn
land belonged to them and that tn
homesteaders were usurping. A sur
veyor, however, who was sent into tn
disputed territory, declared that tn
lines were drawn correctly and tina
the land on which the homesteader
had settled was their own.
The trials of the cattlemen have no
been set.