Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1913-07-18
WHEN THE SQUATTER
GETS THE LAND

acres. The country was new and I'M
developed and Randall paid but slight
attention to his holdings. He and his
family lived many miles away and
carelessly paid slight attention to
their large holdings. Verne Fox
moved into the region with his fam
| lily seeking a new home in 1870. He
had a little money and desired to
buy a tract of land which he could
develop into productive farm, He
met two men who said that they had
back road, mere wilderness trail,
but the land promised well to Fox
and he paid $500 for eighty acres, re-
ceiving a deed from his new ac-
quaintances and taking possession
of the vacant property without max
ing any further inquiries. Fox built
home and year by year cleared and
developed his fields. He heard that
| the road on which he faced was re-
puted to be the boundary qf Ran
| dails tract, ana that he was there
| fore within it, but as no one inter-
fered with him. he troubled not
1t was 1892 before the Randall fam
| lily went into the region to care for
their holdings in person and see to
their development. They found that
Foxs farm Was within the boundar-
les Of their tract and that he had
paid his money and received his
deed from men having nc rights
whatever in the property. At this
| time Fox had put about sixty acres
under actual cultivation. or within
fences as pasture for his stock. He
had made little use of the back
twenty acres and had not developed
| it in any way. The Randalls took
immediate legal steps OF GUST Fox
from his holdings and recover the
property, but were defeated,
Although Fox had secured no good
title when he took the deed and en-
tered into possession of the proper
ty, his continued and open use and
possession of it as actual owner for
a period of over twenty years gave tc
him complete rights in it. This
right was based Oh what is known
as the statute of limitations. There
is such statute In every state and
they are generally much alike, usu-
ally providing that such use and
possession for a period of twenty
years gave good title to the prop
erty, even as against the rlghtful
owner. The failure of the rightful
owner to assert his rights for per-
iod of twenty years costs him his
title to the property. This is what
is legally termed title by adverse
possession"
Fox retained his control of the
original worthless deed under which
he had entered He had entered in
good faith under the deed, believ
ing that deed to be good and ex
pecting to possess the entire eighty
acres The court enforced his claim,
as his possession applied to all of
the property described in the deed,
he having taken general possession
and occupied it for twenty years.
Alex Phelps settled on the same
road at about the same time as Fox,
He verbally laid claim to an eighty
acre tract which he had roughly de-
scribed on several occasions. He
made no purchase from anyone, how
ever, had no deed, or any other reg
ular means of acquiring ownership.
He simply squatted on what he
viewed as a mo mans land" In
the Technology of the law he had
no color of title" as had Fox.
Phelps, too, cleared and cultivated a
part of the tract he claimed, but had
actually made use of but about six
| lowed Phelps to retain the sixty
acres he had actually cleared, fenced
and cultivated, because of his pos
session for twenty years, but as to
the rest he secured no rights. AS
Phelps had taken under no ''color of
title his rights rested solely on oc-
cupation and he could make no claim
as to parts of tract which he did
not actually occupy. Merely marking
out the boundaries of eighty acres
and occasionally walking over them
without making continued use was
ruled as not sufficient where Phelps
had had absolutely no color of right
to the land upon which he originally
settled.
I More frequently cases involving the
doctrine of adverse possession in
volve but a portion of tract of
land and the cause of the difficulty
lis a line fence that has been To-
Gated in the wrong place. Springer
and Carr owned adjoining places. An
ia ,oil fopoo Soparatod thair fields