1914 . 
THE RURAL NEW-VORKER 
1479 
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The Land of Fulfillment 
A Story of Homesteading 
fltllllHIIIIII By Rose Seelye-IWilIerinruimmi 
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T HE despatching of the letter, and the 
shale, was followed closely by the be¬ 
ginning of harvest, and as Nate and 
Norm worked with several others in this, 
they were kept busy for many days both 
.■ar'ly and late. The time came for Making 
their final proof upon the land at the 
time specified in the advertisement which 
had been running in the local paper for 
the allotted time required by law. It 
seemed to them, and in fact was to most 
of the settlers a mere form. There was 
rarely any contesting of claims, and wit¬ 
nesses to prove that the land had been 
held according to the government law, 
were accepted without question or demur 
usually. 
Nate and Norm, accompanied by Jim 
Maynard and ITank Jones, started for 
Wetasket in high spirits bent upon ful¬ 
filling the last requirement, which should 
entitle them to the patent of the land 
filed upon. Both boys felt that they had 
complied faithfully with every require¬ 
ment of law. and even more, for they 
had relinquished their pre-emptions filing 
upon the same land as tree claims, in or¬ 
der to hold them according to the whole 
law. The Land Office was not yet open 
when they arrived in Wetasket, so Nate 
ran over to the postoffice, and came back 
with consternation written large on his 
sun-bronzed face. 
“See here!” and Nate thrust an offi¬ 
cial looking document into Norm’s hands. 
“What do you make of that?” Nate was 
as near incoherent as his friends had ever 
seen him, for he was invariably, serene 
and even tempered. 
Norm read the notice dazedly, then 
Hank took it and exploded. 
“Why the mean, low-down cuss! That 
ornery land jumper, James, has filed a 
contest on part of your land, taking the 
ground of your non-fulfillment of the fed¬ 
eral law.” 
“That’s it,” Jim Maynard agreed suc¬ 
cinctly. “There'll have to be a hearing, 
but we can witness for you, and you can 
go on and make your final proof just the 
same. He can’t prove anything—he 
can’t.” 
“Leave it to me.” Hank urged hotly. 
“I’ll go back and fetch the township to 
testify in your behalf. I'll get back here 
before two o’clock this afternoon, the 
time set for the hearing.” So Hank 
dashed for the livery barn, where the 
horses had been so recently stabled. 
Hank started briskly westward, hut as 
soon as he was well on the country road, 
he wound the lines over the dashboard, 
and took from his pocket a slip of pa- 
per. It was the government requirement 
for settlers. Hank read it over, carefully 
noting each item, “Frame dwelling—Land 
broken,” then he stopped to comment— 
“Who knows which land is whose, and 
whether or not the cultivated land is all 
on one fellows claim or on all of them?” 
Hank inquired of the atmosphere in gen¬ 
eral. “A well.” he read. “I'll bet they 
haven’t any well, they've always watered 
at the creek! Hmm!” and unwinding 
the lines again, he sent the young dapples 
dancing homeward. 
Hank rallied the men he wanted for 
extra witness, and all cheerfully turned 
from work to help out these friends who 
were in trouble. 
“It's blamed queer that fellow wants 
that land so bad. it’s the poorest land in 
the country. Probably wants to be 
bought off with a few hundred,” Hank 
mused. 
“Ike,” said Hank to a hulking fellow. 
“You get your little spade and go down 
rhe valley, and dig a well. Dig it until 
the water runs into it. good and plenty— 
it won't need much digging for all that 
low land is water soaked from the creek. 
Then hike over to my claim and take my 
old windlass, and weather-beaten well- 
top. and put it up on the new well, and 
do it quick. Don’t say a blamed word to 
anyone.” 
“Depend on me,” Ike responded hearti¬ 
ly and went to do Hank’s bidding. 
Hank then went to the settlers on the 
west, and set some of them to making an 
impromptu survey of the cultivated land 
to determine whether or not each quarter 
section had at least the required num¬ 
ber of acres. “If it lacks an acre or two 
on any one of the quarters, then set to 
work and plow it. Set as many teams 
to work as you like, hut have it done.” 
The whole township seemed wrought 
up over the contretemps of Nate and 
Norm, for the settlers in those days stood 
by each other tooth and nail, and the 
would-be claim contester or claim jumper 
met with no uncertain reward. 
True to his word Hank was back in 
Wetasket at two o’clock in the after¬ 
noon, and ready for the hearing. There 
was a formidable array of complaints 
arrayed against Nate and Norm. 
“Absence for a period of four weeks 
the first year of settlement.” 
A second absence of some weeks in 
Winter, and non-residence during one 
Winter. Nathan Lee living wholly on 
the Norman Duane tract of land.” 
“That Nathan Lee and Norman Duane 
were holding two quarter sections of land, 
each with but one residence.” 
“That the improvements had prac¬ 
tically all been put upon only one of the 
four quarter sections, instead of divid¬ 
ing up the holdings and improvements.” 
“That the breaking and cultivation had 
been done almost exclusively upon only 
one of the quarter sections.” 
“And furthermore, while the law re¬ 
quired a well, no well could be found 
upon any one of the four quarter sections 
owned, or claimed by said Nathan Lee. 
and Norman Duane." 
The complaint was taken up clause by 
clause and sworn to. The first clause, 
was explained away, because of the ne¬ 
cessity for earning a living the first Fall 
of settlement. The second absence was 
explained as absolutely necessary to all 
the settlers of that section, when Nor¬ 
man Duane had gone into Edmonds Coun¬ 
ty to bale and ship hay to save the live 
stock from starving. The third charge, 
that Nathan Lee and Norman Duane 
were both holding two quarter sections 
of land with but one residence, and ille¬ 
gally, was waived, because the tree claim 
required no residence. 
The fourth, that the improvements 
were mostly upon one quarter section, 
was admitted, because of convenience in 
attending to live stock, etc. All claims 
having the needful improvements required 
by law. 
The fifth charge: that the breaking 
and cultivation of land had been done 
principally upon one quarter section to 
the exclusion of the others, was met by 
the counter—that the other land was un¬ 
til la hie. having a heavy deposit of shale. 
There were twenty men to corroborate 
all this, but the last and final clause re¬ 
ferring to the well. Hank Jones begged 
to say that a well existed. It might 
not be known to all the witnesses, but 
that he knew and would make affidavit, 
that a well with plenty of water, was 
located in the valley plat of the con¬ 
tested land. That the well, as far as 
reasonable survey could make it do so, 
touched all four quarter sections being 
located centrally in the valley plat, that 
constituted a part of all four quarter 
sections under discussion. That the well 
while not entirely curbed had a top and 
a windlass and said top would show use 
and weathering. 
This point was duly sworn to although 
some of the witnesses were mystified, 
still they believed that Hank would not 
swear to anything untrue. 
Mr. James, sturdy, stubborn and very 
much the same as he had been five years 
earlier, when he had tried to jump the 
creek claim, was fuming and almost 
foaming at the mouth, to witness the 
ease with which all his points of contest 
were met and sworn against. 
The final proof papers were signed, 
and they were ready to be sent to Wash¬ 
ington from whence should come the pat¬ 
ent which should entitle Nate and Norm 
to the land beoynd all cavil and all con¬ 
test. 
“You lied about that u r ell.” Mr. James 
said rancorously to Hank as they met on 
the street afterwards. 
“You lie yourself, if you say I lied. If 
you want to see it. all you have to do is 
to follow us out and use y-ur eyes. If 
I find you sneaking around that land in 
the dark. I'll shoot you as I’d shoot any 
other skunk. Moreover, I'm of the opin¬ 
ion that you were hired to do some other 
man’s dirty work and that he is beaten 
in his low-lived, game of sneak-thief.” 
“What sort of gaff was you giving 
about that well?” Norm inquired, as they 
were going homeward. 
“No gaff at all,” Hank replied non- 
chanantly. 
“We won’t make anything in the long 
run to swear to a lie,” put in Nate. “I 
think we’d got our papers just as quick 
—and I’m in for a square deal.” 
“So'm I.” Hank agreed. “And if I’d 
sworn that there wasn’t any well, and if 
you’d sworn there wasn’t any. we’d all 
sworn to a lie. You’ll see. and you’ll see 
the windlass shows some wear. Can’t 
you trust your Christian Aunt, in a 
little matter like that?” and Hank 
laughed infectiously. 
“We’re mightily indebted to you fel¬ 
lows anyway,” Norm said, when the pro- | 
cession drove up to his shack. 
"Mightily indebted, now and forever,” 
echoed Nate. 
“Come on in. boys,” invited Hank. ; 
“And I'll make you some lemonade, with ! 
water out of the best well in the town¬ 
ship.” Hank took a milk can and trailed j 
off down the hill, followed by an interest- I 
ed crowd. He stalked along until he 
came to a bend in the creek bank, and 
there true to his word, stood the weath¬ 
er-beaten windlass, over a well of spark¬ 
ling water. 
"More miracles and mysteries,” cried j 
Nate. “Here’s to Hank, the beatinest 
one of all!” and a cheer went up for 
that gentleman, a cheer neither limited, i 
in numbers nor noise. 
It was late when the party broke up 
and then Hank, meandered down the j 
creek bed, and along the bank, until he j 
came to the weather-beaten windlass, 
swung over the very shallow well below. ! 
He scanned the landscape thoughtfully, 
It was after one o’clock, when he 
heard the sound of wheels upon the 
prairie road and then the sound grew 
more muffled as though the wheels were 
rolling over sod. Back and forth the 
wheels seemed to go, and finally came to 
a standstill. Hank waited in expectant 
silence. 
“We’ve driven about all over the land,” 
said a low voice. “And if there’s a well, 
it’s hard to find.” 
"It’s probably just a hole in the creek 
bed,” came Mr. James’s voice. “I know 
the valley plat, and I’ll go down and 
see. If there isn’t a well it will impeach 
the whole testimony.” 
“If we can get hold of this land,” the 
other voice asserted, “we can get a good 
round price for it.” 
There followed the crunching of shale, 
as somebody, let himself down carefully 
half the precipitous way, to the valley, 
and then there came a tumbling rush, and 
the valley had been reached, rather too 
quickly to suit Mr. James middle-aged 
anatomy. In fact, he rolled nearly to 
the feet of Hank Jones, who merely 
drew himself up in a tight knot and 
waited developments. He was truly en¬ 
joying himself. 
James swearing and rubbing his 
bruised places, rose and contemplated, 
viciously, the weather-beaten windlass. 
"It’s all a bluff.” he stormed, half aloud, 
hut he swung the bucket high, and bent 
far over the curb. It was too dark to 
see, and he dropped a lighted match into 
the depths, this light revealed to him, 
instantly the pool below with the water 
rising within three feet of the top of the 
well. 
“Hades!” he ejaculated, but before he 
had lifted himself up, Hank Jones with 
a deft shove, thrust him coppling over 
the edge of the framework, where he 
hung for a breath and then lunged into 
the water below. There was a terrible 
splashing and gurgling, mingled with im¬ 
precations in the well. 
“Are you satisfied that there’s a well 
on this land?” Hank asked suavely. 
“I’ll have it on you for this,” Mr. 
James growled, fairly gnashing his teeth. 
“You’ll have to get out first,” Hank 
mildly suggested. 
“I’ve had enough of this, now get me 
out.” Mr. James stormed angrily. 
“If you'll call this deal off, once and 
for all, and tell who the critter is who’s 
bought you on to it. I’ll leave you and 
you can get yourself out. But I won’t 
stir a step till you do.” Hank said pleas¬ 
antly. but decisively. 
“Haul me out of here,” he shuddered, 
his teeth chattering, and hashing his 
words up into pieces as he tried to" talk. 
“Who’s your backer?" Hank was grim. 
“Give me the rope, I guess my life’s 
worth more to me, than Measman's 
money.” 
But Hank did not give him the rope, 
instead, he gave a piercing whistle, and 
then called, “Measman, Measman.” But 
no answer came. Then he gave another 
piercing whistle and several “halloos.” 
“I guess he’s left you,” Hank said 
cheerfully. “Curs don’t fight much for 
each other.” 
{To be continued next month.) 
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