

r\ /: 







II s 



1*8 



WOODS 

 WATERS 



SOILS 

 ORES 



'II'IIIIIK 



Vol. XIV 



NOVEMBER, 1908 



Xo. 1 1 



THE FRAUDULENT HOMESTEADER 



By ALFORD L. THAYER 



PLAY mi the heart-strings of a man 

 until you strike the lost chord of 

 1m better self: that part of him 

 L;ro\\u indifferent and callous in the 

 -tni-x r lo of money making, ami he may 

 confess the weakness of his wrongs 

 upon which you attack him. He may 

 it'll \ou the secrets of years, buried 

 within him. and perhaps through tears, 

 may walk entirely out of hi- old mer- 

 cenary career into a decent, honorable 

 life. 



In making inve-ti^ati' >ns >f the fraud- 

 ulent h< 'ine-tead and timber claims 

 within the boundaries of tin- Xational 

 Forests in thr We-t. I have in almost 

 every district. di-co\vred two distinct 

 type- thr pcr-ou who deliberately 

 sets about to defraud tin- Governn 

 out <tt" I'MI acre- of land, and the party 

 who ha- been tin- victim of a pro! 

 -ional locator. \\orkiiiL; in tin- intrr. 

 'f Si >me lar-r corp. .rati m. The ( i. >v 

 i rnnu'iit ha- no room on it- public laud- 

 fof a timber thief; 1 "nclc Sam ha 



.it In-art that forgive- the man who 

 ha- been betrayed by cunning plan- of 

 tlio-e higher up who are playinc: the 

 "big timber Bailie " 



I recentl} called on a shingle weaver, 

 living with \i\> wife and five children in 

 a small house just outside of Everett. 

 I asked him whether he wa- the same 

 part}' who was attempting to hold a 

 homestead claim in the Cascade moun- 

 tains, forty miles from that city. He 

 -aid he was. and wa- very much a-ton- 

 i-hed when 1 explained to him the regu- 

 lations." Of course he had not complied 

 with the requirements of the homestead 

 law. and offered the usual 6XCUSC. 



"Why. hundreds of people in tbi> 

 country have taken up claim- back in 

 llle-e mountain-, and have never been 

 on the land." 



"But," I argued, "becau-e thou-and- 

 of acres of valuable timber have been 

 illegally acquired in the pa-t. i- it a 

 reason t""r continuing -nch a plunder- 

 ing -y-teiu in the futir 



"No, but I can't see \\h\ you pick 

 me out. M\ boss at tin- mill and hi- 

 lawyer -aid I c>uld wrk there, and 

 hold this claim down. They ought to 

 kno\v. for they have had experience 

 bef. .re in thc-e cas< 5." 



"1 lave \. .11 read the IT >; I i law ?" 

 I iin|iiired. s:.,ring in my memory what 



570 



