The Washington herald., 1920-06-20

him. He could not endure the
presence of a child. Often when
a clattering youngster belonging
to one of the clerks would come
chattering into the big business
room adjoining his little apart
ment the commissioners would
steal softly and close the door.
He would always cross the street
to avoid meeting the school
children when they came dancing
along in happy groups upon the
sidewalk, and his firm mouth
would close into a mere line.
1t was nearly three months
after the rains had washed the
last dead fower-petals from the
mound above little Georgia when
the "land-shark" firm Of Hamlin
and Avery filed papers upon what
they considered the latest"
vacancy Of the year.
It should not be supposed that
all who. were termed land
sharks" deserve the name. Many
of them were reputable men of
good business character. Some Of
them could walk into the most
august councils of the State and
say: Gentlemen, we would like to
have this. and that, and matters
go thus" But, next to a three
years drought and the boll-worm.
the Actual Settler hated the lands
shark. The land-shark haunted
the Land ONCE, where all the land
records were kept, and hunted
"vacancies"-that is, tracts of un-
appropriated public domain. gem
orally invisible upon the official
maps. but actually existing upon
the ground" The law entitled any
one possessing certain State scrip
to file by virtue of same upon any
land not previously legally ap-
propriated Most of the scrip was
now in the hands of the land
sharks. Thus. at the cost of a
few hundred dollars, they often
secured lands worth as many
thousands. Naturally, the search
for vacancies" was lively.
But often-very often-the land
they thus secured. though legally
"unappropriated." would be occu-
pied by happy and centented set
tiers, who had labored for years
to build up their homes, only to
discover that their titles were
worthless, and to receive peremp-
tory notice to quit. Thus came
about the bitter and not unjusti-
fable hatred felt by the toiling
settlers toward the shrewd and
seldom merciful spectators who
so often turned them forth desti-
tute and homeless from their
fruitless labors. The history of
the State teens with their an
tagonism. Mr.. Land-shark sell
dom showed his face on "loca-
tions" from which he should have
to eject the unfortunate victims
of a monstrously tangled land
system, but let his emissaries do
the work. There was lead IN
every cabin, nodded into balls for
him; many of his brothers had
enriched the grass with their
blood. The fault of 1t all lay far
back.
When the State was young, sne
felt the need of attracting new
corners, and of rewarding those
pioneers already within her. bor-
ders. Year after year she issued
land scrip-Headrights Bounties,
Veteran Donations, Confederates;
and to railroads, irrigation COM
panies, colonies. and tillers of the
soil galore. All required of the
grantee was that he or it should
have the scrip properly surveyed
upon the public domain by the
county or district surveyor, and
the land thus appropriated be-
came the property of him or it. or
his or its heirs and assigns, for
ever.
In those days-and here Is
where the trouble began-the
States domain was practically in
exhaustiblc, and the. old sur.
veyor's, with princely-yes. even
Western American - liberality.
gave good measure and overflow
ing. often the jovial man Of
metes and bounds would dispense
altogether with the tripod and
chain. Mounted on a pony that
could cover something near a
'vara' at a step. with a pocket
compass to direct his course, he
would trot out a survey by count
ing the beat of his pony's hoofs,
mark his corners. and write out
his field notes with the COM
placency produced by an aok or
duty we'll performed. Sometimes
and who could blame the sur
veyor? when the pony was
feeling his oats" he might step
a little higher and farther. and in
that case the beneficiary of the
scrip might get a thousand or
two more acres in his survey tnan
the scrip called for. But look at
the boundless leagues the State
had to spare! However, no one
ever had to complain of the pony
under-steDping. Nearly every old
survey in the State contained an
excess of land.
In later years. when the State
became more populous. and land
values increased. this careless
work entailed incalculable trouble.
endless litigation, a period of riot
Gus land-grabbing. and no-iittle
bloodshed. The land-sharks vora-
ciously attacked theV excesses In
the old surveys, and filed upon
such portions with new scrip as
unappropriated public domain.
Wherever the identifications of the
old tracts were vague, and the
corners were not to be clearly es-
tablished, the Land Office would
recognize the newer locations as
valid, and issue title to the loca-
tors. Here was the greatest hard
ship to be found. These old sur
veys, taken from the pick OF the
land. were already nearly all oc-
cupied by unsuspecting and peace
full settlers. and thus their titles
were demolished, and the choice
was placed before them either TO
buy their land over at a double
price or to vacate IL, with their
families and personal belongings.