established her residence on the land in October, 1892; that she had built a house of logs, 20×20 feet, with four rooms and a woodshed, and possessed chickens, a cow and good barn, worth in the aggregate $500. She testified further that she had resided thereon most of the time since the house was erected, and had never been absent more than three months at any one time, when she would go to Portland and work to make a living in order to earn sufficient money to make additional improvements to the homestead.
With reference to this claim, Mr. Barber testified that there was no cabin, woodshed, barn, or anything, in fact, to indicate that it had ever been inhabited, and went on to state that the land was near a creek, upon which four trees had been cut, of which he desired to make particular mention, as it was the only point on all the claims involved where there were any other marks than those made by the surveyors.
Heney next read the testimony of Frank H. Walgamot, who claimed that he had built a home in either September or October, 1892; that the house was a good one, made of logs, and 16×25, that he had constructed a good road leading thereto, and had also erected comfortable outbuildings, all of which he was pleased to value at $500. Through the hot and dusty summer months, Walgamot, who was a young dentist of Portland, with hands of such snowy whiteness as to indicate that he had never been guilty of any hard work, had declared that he earned a living in the harvest fields of the Willamette Valley, and during the winter had trapped wild animals while he made his mountain fastness his home. This recital brought forth considerable merriment from the crowd, and resulted in the stylish young dentist being given the sobriquet of "Leather Stocking."
Barber's testimony relative to the Walgamot land was similar in general characteristics to that in connection with the other claims: There was no evidence, he said, to indicate that anybody had ever resided on the place, or even slept there over night.
While the testimony of the different claimants was being read by Mr. Heney, and as rapidly contradicted by the Government witness, the scene enacted in the crowded courtroom was one that shall never become effaced from my memory. The defendants were visibly affected, as this was the first time they had been subjected to such a merciless grilling, and while they were writhing in the agony of their tortured feelings, the spectators as if with one voice proceeded to make merry at their humiliation, until the episode reminded me very forcibly of the antics of a band of cattle, whose beastly instincts prompts them to gore some stricken member of the herd.
Court adjourned at noon, and as we had arranged for a Thanksgiving dinner at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, we felt it incumbent to carry out the plan, although, as a matter of fact, it was anything but an enjoyable repast, haunted as we were by memories of the trial. We all endeavored to put on a bold front and appear jovial, but the presence of the "skeleton at the feast" was too much to overcome, and nobody raised any serious objections when it was suggested that we take our departure from the banquet hall.
Witness Barber was subjected to a rigid cross-examination by attorneys for the defense in the effort to trip him up on some of his statements, as well as to show the utter impossibility of his having covered so much territory by his investigations in such a short space of time; but on the whole the bombardment of questions had little or no effect upon the main facts, and his testimony was corroborated in every essential particular by those who accompanied him on the expedition.
In addition, John D. Daly, the United States Surveyor-General for Oregon, told how he had lived for a number of years, during the summer months, on his claim in Section 15, township 11-7, which he referred to as his mountain resort; that the Minto trail—the only one in the township, and over which would necessarily come all the travel—ran through his claim and directly in front of his cabin; that the claim was" located on a small prairie, where he had "squatted" Page 148
