^8o 



CONSERVATION 



he had just said, but ignoring the 

 statement. 



"No, I should say not. What do we 

 have attorneys for? My boss sent me 

 out with the company cruiser to see the 

 land, go over it, stay out there for a 

 couple of nights, and then the lawyer 



FRAUDULENT HOMESTEAD 



This 160'acre Claim in Washington Has Six Million Feet of 

 Red Fir and Cedar on It 



fixed up the papers and told me what to 

 say when I went to the land office. I 

 tell you right now, I ain't going to give 

 it up, for the boss has been to big 

 expense, and if I back down, he may 

 fire me." 



Poor wretch, led by the nose, har- 

 nessed into the cart of subjection, and 

 blindly violating the law, depending 

 entirely upon his "boss" and lawyer to 

 protect him in case of trouble. And 

 yet, hundreds of people have success- 

 fully made entries on public lands and 

 secured patents under just such pre- 

 texts of complying with the law. 



After a long and strenuous argu- 

 ment the man was finally compelled to 

 see his serious position with the Gov- 

 ernment, and relinquished his rights 

 and title to the land, with the under- 

 standing that I would make an effort to 

 prevent his "boss" from discharging 

 him. 



I called next morning on this timber 

 "king" in his beautiful private office, 

 looked him square in the eye, and said 

 quietly : 



"Your man Brown has relinquished 

 his homestead claim located by your 

 timber cruiser because he has failed to 

 comply with the law. He is afraid you 

 will become angry with him, and dis- 

 charge him from your employ. Please 

 do not let this happen. You are not in 

 position to take any such action against 

 him. Do you understand?" 



He glared for a moment into my face 

 as if he would gladly mutilate my 

 features, then slowly paled, and sat 

 forward in his heavy leather chair. 

 His voice was low and strained. 



"I understand. Brown shall keep his 

 place. I hope this is the end of the 

 matter." 



I bowed myself out without saying 

 much, for I knew this man would 

 sooner or later have to face a federal 

 grand jury, and I did not wish to com- 

 mit myself. To-day this same man is 

 spending his time in a United States 

 prison, thinking over some of the errors 

 of his ways. Such has been the end of 

 a busy, prosperous but unscrupulous 

 life. 



And now comes the story in brief of 

 one of the most noted and remarkable 

 timber locators and public land rob- 

 bers in the Northwest. There are but 

 few characters like this man in the his- 

 tory of fraudulent claims in this 

 country. 



Cascade Bill, omitting the rest of his 

 name for fear of offending him. is a 

 stoutly built, short, burly fellow with 

 one eye, steel gray, and a wealth of 

 fierce black whiskers. For twenty 

 years he has been a professional timber 

 locator in the Index. Washington coun- 

 try, the heart of the Cascade Alountains, 



