The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1910-10-27
AGED REDSKINS ALLEGED m
HAVE BEEN or
THEIR LAND FOR SMALL
SUMS.

eo5oS VIII pe rough TO light alto
gether, but at the present hearing
four separate complaints are entered,
each one alleging that aged and In
firm Indians, mentally and physically
i%competent, have been deprived of
land ranging from a half section to a
full section, by a coterle of shrewd
and unprincipled men. the total land
secured from the Indians in this
fashion aggregating several thousand
acres. and a%ggregating in value many
thousands of dollars.
Wagner Signs Complaints.
The complaints are signed by Ed
ward e. Wagner, United States dis
trict attorney for South Dakota. One
complaint is the United States against
E. j. Debell, William II. Lynn and
the Royal Union Mutual Life Insur-
ance company. and alleges that IN In
dian woman known as big Old Wom-
an" was assigned by the Indian de-
partment a quarter section of land In
Meyer county South Dakota, under the
terms of the law dividing the Sioux
reservation into separate reservations,
and tina ! on$June 1, 1908, Edward B.
k1felley, thenSsagent on the Rosebud
reservation, sent to the Indian bu-
ireau an alleged application purport-
Ing to be signed by Big Old Woman,
asking that the land in question be
lset aside for her use in fee simple,
Kelley in a communication accom-
panying the petition, recommending
that the patent be issued. represent
ing to the commissioner of Indian af-
r. ~ that DS~ 0JI yET@xoo, rro. r,o1I
TODD ad COMPETENT to manage her own
ahars and take care of herself. Ac-
eordingly the patent was issued. on
Septeber 8, 1908, and the complaint
alleges that on September %, 1908,
Debell presented for record in the re-
lister Of deeds ofic in Trip county,
South Dakota. what purported to be
"a warranty deed. in which Big Old
Woman transferred the land to e. j.
Debell for the sum Of $500, the deed
%purporting to have been made out be-
fore ". G. Curtis, a notary public in
the employ Of Debell. The complaint
states that the land instead Of being
worth 1880 is worth $4,000. but
that no sum was paid to the Indian
Woman; that she never knew of the
transaction, and was metally a wreck,
totally uneducated, and entirely un-
able to comprehend the nature Of
the Transaction IL one had been made.
Property M0Etgaged.
After Debell had secured possession
OF the property under the fraudulent
transfer, ho Is alleged to have trans
ferred It to w. H. Lynn, who in turn
mortgaged the property to the Royal
Mutual Life Insurance company. Lynn
and the insurance company are made
parties to the suit, the latter to pre-
vent 1t from foreclosing on the mort
gage 1t hold. The estate of Big Old
Woman is valued at $4,000, and the
suit Is for the purpose of compelling
the defendants either to return the
quarter section of land to the right
full owner, or to pay over the $4,000.
Another suit Is against E. ]. Debell,
w. G. COURTS, w. H. Butterfeld,
Harm johnson and John Moritz, and
is similar to the first. except that an
Indian man known as High Scar"
was the victim, and the conspirators
are accused Of securing title by fraud
for the alleged price of $4,000, 63S.S0
acres Of land, the actual value of
which is over $4,000. It is stated
in the complaint that High Star is
more than IS years of age, mentally
incompetent and physically decrepit,
.uneducated and totally incapable of
executing a valid instrument.
Clown Woman Alleged Victim.
In another case, e. ]. Debell and
w. G. COURTS are defendants, and
the alleged victim Is Clown Woman,
also aged, decrepit, uneducated and
incapable Of executing a conveyance
who was defrauded of 321.O2 acres of
land by a pretended sale for $4,000,
of land claimed to be worth $1,000.
A fourth complaint makes E. J..
Debell and w. H. Butter1eld defend
ants, and in this case an Indian nam
ed Yellow Hair, the possessor of $40
acres of reservation land, to which
patent was granted through the alleg-
ed false representations of Indian
Agent Kelley, as in the other cases,
was de frauded of the land through a
pretended sale for $4,000 of the
land, which is placed at a valuation
of $4,000. Yellow Hair, too, was ov-
|er Is years Of age, physically decrep-
|it and mentally incompetent, and &C
cording to the complaint, did not ap-
pear before Notary Courts as alleged
in the purported deed transferring the
property, and had no knowledge Of
the alleged transaction.
In all the cases Debel Is the princi-
pal defendant, the other named mere
II being his associates in one form or
another. Kelley, the Indian agent
mentioned in the complaint, went out
of office about a year ago.