The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1913-12-19
CLAIM HUNTING
Second Article Of the Series by Sam
s. Sherman

After ending nv trip to NJ cDOugall
Lake. where | went TO examine some
government land, which proved to be
OverflOwed by the water from dam
at the outlet Of the lake, | reluctantly
made up my mind that in spite of the
splendid opportunities for leading a
Robinson CrusOe life on the Stony
were, aside from the sterile and for
bidding character of the soil. the finest
/ ever discovered in all my many ram
bles," that it would not pay to look
further in that direction. as every mile
/ went only found the prospect looking
little worse, if possible, and l there
fore passed up the pleasure" of vast
ing any more time hunting for the
other unclaimed parcels Of land check
ed off on tile platS obtained at the
land office, and thought l would go
over TO Dreamer, in the extreme east
side Of the county, which as ohe crow
flies was only about twenty miles
across, but as man would have to go
through the brush over fallen logs,
and stumps galore, through bottom
lass muskeag swampS, and with no
trails except those Of the deer and the
moose, l concluded that 1.-The longest
way around was the shortest way
there" and so started back to Ely,
with the intention of going back down
the railroad until l intercepted the
Smith & Algers line, few stations
above Two HarbOrs, and taking that
line to Dreamer. in all some $50 miles
or more.
Leaving Old Camp 10 the next
morning with horse and buggy
which belonged to the head scaler of
a I'm no w a6
brought me and the head surveyor
TO that camp the day before, and the
latter having gone to another camp
with one of the teams, it came in
handy for me to get the free use of
the nag and accommodate the owner
at the same time by taking it back to
him at Headquarters Camp" which
is located about 26 miles out of Ely,
and from where the supplies for the
numerous camps are distributed as
needed, after being hauled in bulk to
that place, Headquarters Camp is
located on Slate lake, tributary to the
Stony. and comprises about a dozen
large log buildings, divided among
officers and company headquarters,
store room for supplies i'm bulk. labor
ers' quarters, cook and eating house,
horse barns, teamSterS' quarters,
blacksmith shop. etc.
These buildings show the ingenuity
of the woodsman to make the best use
of the facilities at hand, for. large tim
Der being scarce in the immediate vi
cinity when these buildings were
erected, saplings about as large around
as a stovepipe were used. and these
stood on end for walls, the cracks be-
ing "chinked' in the usual way of
log houses, and taken all in all, the
"effect" is not bad to the eye, and the
buildings are as serviceable as any.
Here, for some distance about the
camp, the ground lies we'll for farming
and the rocks are not so numerous but
that considerable areas can be cleared
for fields. Some years ago the old st.
CroiX Co. (since reorganized into a
new company under practically the
same name) had cleared several acres
and put it under cultivation to pro-
duce potatoes, vegetables, etc, TO sup
ply their camps. When the sale or the
company was made the deed called for
"all buildings. ETC., located on Sec
tion II. Town 6l," which was suppoS-
ed to cover all the Improvements in
and about this camp, but it remained
for an old timber cruiser" named
cultivated field and large share of
the buildings were actually located in
an adjoining section and on land which
had never been claimed by a home
steader, and was therefore subject to
the usual entry conditions.
With an eye to turning a trick for
himself, DUNCAN made homestead en-
try on this land and established resi-
dence thereon. and then called on the
lumber company to vacate or "come
across" but an investigation of the
laws developed the fact that home
steader has no resource against any
who have trespassed on land previous
to the homesteader's settling on the
land-he takes 1t as he finds it, and if
there is any redress coming it is Uncle
Sam who must 60 after the culprit,
and the homesteader has little or no