Mr. HART. I mean, he buys timber and sells for these sawmills-this kind of timber-and you know it, and you know he is just that kind of a man. Now, here is a letter to an old settler, who is dead, back in 1900. This letter was written by one J. A. O'Shee, who was a railroad agent. The letter reads as follows: Mr. G. G. POWELL, Morris, La. ALEXANDRIA, LA., May 6, 1900. DEAR SIR: Answering your letter of 28th ultimo, beg to advise you that the attorneys can not proceed more successfully than they have. You understand that these railroad claims have been pending for some 15 to 20 years. Hence, why should you expect action in less time than you have received it heretofore. The Supreme Court has decided recently in favor of residents on such lands, but the Government will not permit entries thereof until a final adjudication of the interests involved between settlers and the railroad and transferees of the railroad is finally determined by Federal courts. This appears to be the situation in the premises. Very truly, yours, J. A. O'SHEE. Now, I read this letter to show that those old fellows, those men not in suit 16-however, the letter was written before suit 16 was filed-and this man were in correspondence with the railroad's agent, who had enlisted more than 100 cases throughout Grant Parish to try to prevent their titles being filed. Here is another letter to the same man from Thomas J. Hickman, of New Orleans, La. [reading:] GEORGE POWELL, Esq., Ada Post Office, La. NEW ORLEANS, LA., September 5, 1900. DEAR SIR: In reply to yours of the 27th ultimo, which reached the office during my absence, beg to state that I can perfect your homestead entry to the southwest quarter of section 27, township 6 north, range 2 west, provided it has been continuously occupied since Danial White made settlement on the land. My fee for doing this work is $25 cash and $25 when the railway company is called upon to reconvey the land. After the reconveyance is made I will secure your homestead papers and final receipt without additional cost. Very respectfully, THOMAS J. HICKMAN, Now, that is one of those cases that has been compromised since, I think, for about $250. The old man died, and his widow, I think, the Goulds and Mr. Ball paid about $250. I want to say this, that we realize the fact that our case and the prospect for the passage of this bill rests on whether or not the act of 1896 applies to our land. We do not believe it does. I would like to have gone into that, but our attorneys have done that. We are of the opinion that our rights were vested rights before the railroad acquired any rights, and we do not believe that the Constitution would permit even the act of 1896 to take those rights away from our people, even if it was intended to apply. We believe if this present bill is unconstitutional, in so far as it affects the rights already now vested, that so was the act of 1896 in so far as it affected our rights. I thank you gentlemen for this opportunity of appearing before you, and I hope that you will give this bill consideration, which I feel you will, and give it a favorable report and give our people relief. (The affidavits filed with the committee by Mr. Hart are as follows:) STATE OF LOUISIANA, Parish of Grant, ss: Before me, the undersigned notary public, duly commissioned and qualified in and for the parish of Grant, State of Louisiana, personally came and appeared John W. Curry, of legal age, personally known to me, after being sworn deposes and says that he is the owner of all the settler's rights to the following-described lands, to wit: NE. of sec. 35, T. 6 N., R. 1 W.; that same was settled in the year 1879 by one Monk Boyett, and has been continuously occupied and cultivated since that time; that he purchased said settler's claims from W. DeLaney; that he made application for homestead entry, but same was refused on the grounds that patent vested in the New Orleans Pacific Railway Co.; that his money, which was sent with application for homestead entry, was kept and has never been returned; that he has been accosted by dozens of agents of the railway claimants and threatened, harrassed, and intimidated; that his timber was cut by said claimants. He was promised many nice things by different agents of the Gould heirs (railway claimants), even to a deed to the land, if he would not make objections, etc. Sworn to and subscribed before me at my office in the town of Pollock this 17th day of January, 1914. [SEAL.] STATE OF LOUISIANA, Parish of Grant, ss: W. W. WHITE, Notary Public. Before me, the undersigned notary public, duly commissioned in and for the parish of Grant, State of Louisiana, personally came and appeared Loyd M. Kelly, of legal age, personally known to me, and after being sworn deposes and says that he is the owner to all the settler's rights to the following land, to wit: SW. sec. 29, T. 6, R. 1 E.; that he settled said land in the year 1881 and has resided on said land, continually cultivating and occupying it since that date till the present time. Deponent further alleges that he made application for homestead entry twice, but his applications were refused on the ground that the said land was patented to the New Orleans Pacific Railway Co.; that the claimants under the above-mentioned patents cut his timber and injured his land and fences; that he was intimidated and abused; that he is entitled to the said land under the law and prays relief. Sworn to and subscribed before me at my office in the town of Pollock, parish of Grant, State of Louisiana, this 17th day of January, 1914. [SEAL.] W. W. WHITE, Notary Public. (Interior Department rendered decision in Kelly's favor.) STATE OF LOUISIANA, Parish of Grant, ss: Before me the undersigned notary public, duly commissioned and qualified in and for the parish of Grant, State of Louisiana, personally came and appeared R. G. Bardwell, of legal age and known to me, and, after being sworn, deposed and says, that he is the owner of all the settler's rights to the followingdescribed lands to wit: S. of the S. 1, sec. 7, T. 6, N., range 2 east; that same was settled by R. G. Bardwell in the year 1879, and has been cultivated and occupied continuously since that time by him; that he made application for homestead entry about the year 1891. or thereabout; and that he has never received his money back or a hearing. He further states that the reason he waited 20 years to file his application for homestead entry was because his neighbors who did not contest the patent held by the railroad company did not receive title to land; that the railway claimants came to him and told him that the land belonged to the railroad company and that he could not homestead it; that he was told by said railway claimants that if he would agree to let them come in and cut the timber off the land they would give him the land, but after agreeing to this, and the timber was cut, he got nothing from railway claimant but a quit-claim deed; but the railway claimants still claim the remainder of the timber on the land. He further states that he was intimidated and bluffed into giving up his timber to the railway claimants. Sworn to and subscribed before me at my office in the town of Pollock, Grant Parish, La., this 17th day of January. 1914. W. W. WHITE, Notary Public. [SEAL.] STATE OF LOUISIANA, Parish of Grant, ss: Before me the undersigned notary public, duly commissioned in and for the parish of Grant, State of Louisiana, personally came and appeared Columbus D. DeLaney, who is of legal age and personally known to me. After being sworn he deposes and says that he is the actual owner of all settler's rights to the following land, to wit: SE. of the SE. and the NE. of the SE. 1, and SE. of the NE. 1, sec. 27, T. 6 N., range 1 west; that same was settled in the year 1880 by one "Bill" Garlington and has been conitnuously occupied and cultivated since that time until the present date. Deponent further alleges that he made application for homestead entry to said land but his application was refused and his money never returned; that the claimants under the railroad land grant cut his timber in 1896; that one Robert Gillis came in and chipped his timber for turpentine, claiming to have leased same from one J. F. Ball; that he has been intimidated and harrassed by said railway claimants who hold patent to said lands under the land-grant provision. Sworn to and subscribed before me at my office in the town of Pollock, this 17th day of January, 1914. [SEAL.] W. W. WHITE, Notary Public. STATE OF LOUISIANA, Parish of Grant, ss: Before me, the undersigned, notary public, personally came and appeared Elisha H. Lewis, personally known to me, and of legal age, and, after being duly sworn by me, deposes and says that he is the bona fide and actual owner of all the settler's claims and rights to the following-described land, to wit: W. of W. sec. 7, T. 6 N., of R. 1 W. and all the improvements thereon; that he purchased same from James M. Lucas in the month and year of November 30, 1895, as evidence by act of sale of same date, duly signed by said Lucas. Deponent further alleges and claims that said land as described above has been continuously occupied and cultivated since the year 1872; that he did not make application to homestead the said land for the reason that the New Orleans & Pacific Railway Co. held patent to the land under the provisions of the Government land grant; that he deemed it best to await the settlement of or final outcome of the land-grant question rather than make application to homestead; understand that his application would be refused, as was many others, in his knowledge. Deponent further states that he again purchased the said described land from a man by the name of Florine Geouque, of Cincinnati, Ohio, who represented himself to be the rightful owner, and promised to make him a deed to the land, provided he would agree to allow the timber cut from the land, which he did; but deponent states that after the timber was cut he was given no title, and has never received a title to this day. Deponent further alleges that he was annoyed, harassed, and threatened at various times by people representing themselves to be agents or representatives of the claimants under the terms of the land grant, and that he has been hindered and prevented from the proper development of his home and improvement of the land by the claimants under the terms of the said land grant. Sworn and subscribed to before me at my office, in the town of Pollock, Grant Parish, La., this 12th day of January, 1914. W. W. WHITE, E. H. LEWIS. (Deponent's signature.) (My commission expires in 1918.) STATE OF LOUISIANA, Parish of Grant, ss: Personally came and appeared before me the undersigned authority, A. W. Faircloth, who, being duly sworn, deposeth and saith: That the following-described lands, W. of the SE., SW. of the NE. 1, SE. of the NW. of sec. 1, T. 7, R. 3 W., being my homestead claim, has been continuously occu 27939-14- -11 pied from the spring of 1880 until the present time, and that he made application for homestead, alleging this fact, and that he was forcibly removed from the land by the sheriff, and that his crop was seized for the cost of suit; and that it was during the time the crop was being cultivated that it was seized, and considerable damage occurred on this account. Also that the district court gave him a decision in his favor, but said decision was reversed on the plea of prescription by the Supreme Court. A. W. FAIRCLOTH. Sworn to and subscribed before me this 10th day of January, 1914. [SEAL.] ODUS WATSON, Notary Public. STATE OF LOUISIANA, Parish of Grant, ss: Before me, the undersigned, notary public, duly commissioned and qualified in and for the parish of Grant, State of Louisiana, personally came and appeared James H. Lewis, of legal age and personally known to me, and after being sworn, deposes and says that he is the bona fide and actual owner of all the settler's rights and claims to the following described land, to wit: W. of SE. 1, and E. of SW. 1, sec. 7, T. 6 N., of R. 1 W.; that the said described land was purchased by him from his father about the year 1903; that said land has been continuously occupied and cultivated until the present date, the same being land settled by one William Brister in the year 1873; that he made application for homestead entry in the year 1907, but his application was refused; that in the year 1907 the Gould heirs (railway claimants) filed an injunction suit against him, prohibiting him from making improvements or residing on the land; that the sheriff came to his home clothed with the authority to move him off the land; that he was not removed off the land for the reason that he (deponent) demanded an indemnity bond from the sheriff, which was refused. Deponent further alleges that he later accepted a compromise with the Gould heirs, through their attorneys, which was not complied with by the said Gould heirs (railway claimants) or their attorneys; that later the attorneys for the Gould heirs and a sawmill company plead prescription against him and defeated his claim in the courts, after which the sawmill company cut his timber over his protest; that he brought suit in the courts for recovery of the amount agreed to be paid by the Gould heirs, through their attorneys, the same being the amount of $630, but was defeated on the plea of prescription. Deponent further alleges that he has been threatened, harassed, and hindered by men who represented themselves to be agents of the said railway or Gould heirs and who appeared at his home from time to time, covering a long period, and that he considers that he has been persecuted almost beyond endurance; that he held out to the present time for the reason that he considered his claim a just one under the provisions of the original land grant, wherein it is provided that bona fide claims are to be excepted from the land grant; that he still believes and has reasons to feel that his claim is a just and equitable one under the law. Sworn to and subscribed before me at my office in the town of Pollock, Grant Parish, La., this 12th day of January, 1914. W. W. WHITE, Notary Public. J. H. LEWIS, (Deponent's signature.) My commission expires in 1918. STATE OF LOUISIANA, Parish of Grant, ss: Before me, the undersigned, notary public, personally came and appeared William M. Parker, personally known to me, and, after being sworn, deposes and says that he is the owner of all the settler's rights to the following described land, to wit: S. of SW. and W. of SE. 1, sec. 13, T. 6 N., of R. 1 E. Deponent further says that one George T. Ruddle, in the year and month of October, 1881, settled the above-mentioned land, and that said land was purchased by him (deponent) from the said George T. Ruddle. Deponent says that said land has been continuously occupied and cultivated since 1881 until the present date; and that he made application for homestead the abovedescribed land, but his application was refused, for the reason, as assigned by the Interior Department, that patent vested in the New Orleans Pacific Railway Co. Protection under the act of February 8, 1887; was refused, deponent says, by the Interior Department, for the reason as given that the act of March 2, 1896, prevented suit being filed for the cancellation of patents issued to the railway company and negligence on the part of applicant in delaying his application and allegation of occupancy. Deponent further states of his own free will and accord that the Enterprise Lumber Co., a sawmill concern operating a mill in the city of Alexandria, Rapides Parish, La., cut and hauled the timber of his land which is the above described, and that this was done after he demanded that same not be done. But, that they, paid no attention to him; and that the said company (understood and alleged to be claimants under the original railroad or backbone land grant) damaged his property by burning his fence and injuring his land, making no offer of restitution after demand for same. Sworn to and subscribed before me at my office in the town of Pollock, Grant Parish, La., this 10th day of January, 1914. [SEAL.] My commission expires in 1916. STATE OF LOUISIANA, Parish of Grant, ss: W. W. WHITE, Notary Public. Before me, the undersigned authority, personally came and appeared of his own free will and accord, W. V. Sandifer. personally known to me, and after being sworn, deposes and says, that he is the bona fide and actual owner of all the settler's rights to the following described land, to wit: The NW. (northwest quarter) of sec. 3, T. 6, R. 2 W., and that said land was purchased by him from Middleton Satcher in the year 1886. Deponent alleges that the above land was settled in 1882, and that same has been continuously occupied and in cultivation since that time and up until the present day. The Deponent further claims and alleges that he made application to homestead entry of the above-mentioned land and that his application was refused. reason given for the refusal was: That patent vested in the New Orleans Pacific Railway Co. Protection under the act of February 8, 1887, was refused for the reason assigned by the Interior Department, as follows: "That the act of March 2, 1896, prevented suit being brought for the cancellation of patents issued to the New Orleans Pacific Railway Co.; and negligence on the part of claimant of delaying his application and allegation of occupancy." Deponent further states and alleges that at the time he moved on the land he understood that it was exempt from the land granted to the railway company by the Government; that he could have homesteaded many other tracts of land with little trouble, but thought the land he bought was exempt according to the terms of the grant; that he was not molested by any one, either representatives or claimants of the land under the provisions of the grant until the last few years; that he has been hounded, bulldozed, intimidated, threatened, and otherwise disturbed by men, whose names he could not learn, claiming to represent the railway company; that he knows of many cases where the settler has been freightened off the land his timber taken; and that if he had been inclined to nervous excitement he would have been bluffed off and his home and timber taken from him. Sworn to and subscribed before me at my office in Pollock, La., this 10th day of January, 1914. [SEAL.] My commission expires in 1918. STATE OF LOUISIANA, Parish of Grant, ss: W. W. WHITE, Notary Public. Before me, the undersigned notary public, personally came and appeared Charles T. Allen, to me known, and of legal age, and after being sworn, deposes and says that he is the owner of all the settler's rights to the following described lands, to wit: N. of SW. W. of SW. 1, T. 6, sec. 27, R. 1 W.; that same was settled by the Widow Brazeale in the year 1880, and has been continuously occupied and |