The Cairo bulletin., 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 Ne
braska--Other Dirty
Tricks Played.

Omaha, Nov. s. Indictments re.
turned 'by the federal grand jury
Wednesday against nine ranchmen Of
western Nebraska wer made public
today. The indictments charge con.
IsEiracy to drive from their claims at
the points OF guns homesteaders who
took quarter-sect ons OF semi-afic
land under the kinkald Homestead
law by the defendants. Those in
dictel are Perry 3. Yeast of Hyan,
mis-, Neb, his son, Drank W. Yeas
Leslie e. Ballinger, M. G. Hubhel
Emil Anderson. Willmot q Emerson
Harry Sutton, Boone B. Hawthorne
and Dr. Harry III. 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 ranchers in the state, was
convicted two years ago of fraudu
lently securing title to homestea
land and paid fine and served q
Jail sentence.
There are four counts in the indic.-
menfs and the specific overt acts
mentioned indicate an unusual from
| tiee cond .tion.
According to the charges made II
the Indictment Yeast and his asso
| ciates carried their efforts so far as
to secure the incarceration in the In
sane asylum at Hastings, Neb,, of ont
of their alleged victims.
I Wien the Kinkaid homestead las
was passed many persons went =
Grant, Banner, Garden, Cherry anC
other western Nebraska counties an
looked up quarter sections The lane
Is in the Sand Hills country but con
tains many fertile valleys. Severa
Zig ranchers, among them Yeast anC
his associates. have heretofore dc
i pended on this valley land for the,
hay and winter feeding and the set
Ting of homesteadsss was resented
The indictment charges that ban.
OF about thirty persons, headed b,
Yeast went to the home Of man.
of these homesteaders, among then
Cashier j. Davasher, George Carpen
ter, Golba d. Graves, George Bah
cock, Henry s. Coulson and other
and by intimidation and threats o
taking their lives and those of thei
families forced them to leave thei
claims.
The specific case of Davasher i
mentioned in detail 1t is charge
that Yeast and the other defendants
accompanied by band of cowboy
visited DavasheSs home and afte
! Threatening himself and family wit
death If they did not leave the cour
TRY, destroyed his home, broke up hi
machinery, cut his harness to piece
and in other ways mistreated hin
Later according to the indiotmer
Yeast conspired with members of tn
county insanity board and secure
Davasher's incarceration in the as,
lam.
This latter act, according to tn
indictment, was committed in a higl
handed manner The insanity con
missioners, it Is alleged, went throug
a mock examination, declared Dart
sher insane and issued warrant fo
his arrest This was served on tn
, spot and within an hour he We
rushed off to the asylum whiting b
ing permitted TO have the advice {
counsel.
Davasher's case was brought to III
attention of the superintendent {
the Institution, who conducted on e
: animation into the case. He at ONT
decided Davasher was not insane az
!, 1.-THE later was released by habeas co
: pus proceedings.
According to an official of the /
y terror department the present indie
ment covers one OF the most remar
= able attempts at land grabbing whlc
!. has recently been brought to the /,
, tention of the department. A lett
y written by one of the victims
President Taft is said to have caus,
4 the investigation which resulted
the indictments being returned.
10 special grand jury was summoned
A., consider the eviednce.
al Many thousand acres OF giazIr
il land Is contained In the tracts
v question.