Local Fraud – 1899
How to make a quick $100 bucks in Western Montana in 1899
Testimony given in United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States of America vs. William Clark filed June 29, 1904
Upon Appeal from the United States Circuit Court for the District of Montana.
Defendant’s Exhibit No. 348- (p307)
CHAUNCEY L. GRISWOLD, called, sworn, testifies as
follows
:
Q. Where is your residence?
A. My residence is in Missoula, Mont.
Q. What is your occupation?
A. I follow the timber and real estate business.
Q. On the 22d day of May, 1899, Mr. Griswold, you
entered into a contract with Mr. R. M. Cobban, relative to
the location of timber lands in Montana in Deer Lodge
and Missoula Counties?
A. I did.
Q. State what you did under that contract?
A. I worked for Mr. Cobban in selecting timber lands
in both Deer Lodge and Missoula counties, and did select
for him to the extent of about 145,000,000 or 150,000,000
feet of standing timber.
Q. Mr. Griswold, look over these lists and say if these
are among the locations made by you or those employed by
you?
A. Yes, sir, myself or men in my employ, and others
beside these.
Q. Tell us the modus operandi in making these selec-
tions and locations?
A. I went on and made selections according to contract
with Mr. Cobban himself, made May 22d, 1899.
Q. Mr. Griswold, among the list of selections made by
you, is one for L. T. Bryan, the N. W. q. of Sec. 24, tp. 15,
rge. 14 ; is that a man or woman?
A. It is a lady.
Q. Did you locate for her?
A. No, sir, but I went on this land with her and her
brother, who was here yesterday.
Q. What did you tell her to do?
A. I gave her $35.00 of the money that Mr. Cobban
left in my possession for the purpose of paying expenses
to Helena for making application.
Q. How much did you give her?
A. I gave her $35.00, ten dollars of which was for filing
fee.
Q. What else happened about that claim?
A. The land was advertised in the “Garnett Mining
News,” the paper printed nearest to the land, and at the
expiration of the specified time, sixty days, she went to
Helena and made final proof with her witnesses.
Q. Who went with her?
A. Miss Belle Bryan, Edgar Lehman, Thomas B.
Bryan, John B. Catlin and myself. I am under the im-
pression, however, that it should be Mrs. Belle Gillis in-
stead of Belle Bryan as she was married about that time.
Q. What happened when you got there and who bought
the tickets for these people to go to Helena from here?
A. I am not sure who paid the expenses of the trip to
Helena.
Q. What did you say to Miss Bryan, when you was on
this land by way of inducement to her to make this entry,
if any thing?
A. I told her it was a desirable piece of timber.
Q. Do you know who instructed her to make applica-
tion for this land?
A. Mr. Thomas Bryan.
Q. Did you have any conversation indicating what pay
she would get for doing this?
A. She knew about that. It was the general talk
among every one that they would get $100.00 over and
above expense.
Q. What else?
A. We got into Helena in the evening and stayed at
the hotel until about nine o’clock in the morning, and we
went to the land office, and Miss L. T. Bryan, Bell Bryan
and Edgar Lehman, made final proof. I was with them at
the land office. They did not pay any money and I did
not pay any money for filing. At this time Belle Bryan
was married to one Gillis, but having filed under the name
of Bryan it was necessary for her to complete the filing un-
der that name.
Q. Did they get final receipts?
A. I think not.
Q. Did you get them?
A. No, sir.
Q. Where did they go from the land office—I mean the
receipts?
A. To the best of my knowledge the final receipts was
to be sent to R. M. Cobban at Missoula, Mont, by mail.
Q. Who did pay the money on this final receipt?
A. Mr. J. B. Catlin. He went there for the purpose of
paying this money. As I came out of the land office he
met me on the corner and asked me if we were through
with the proofs; I replied that we were; and he said to
come to the hotel with him and he would get the money.
He said I left it in the safe in the office of the hotel as the
lock on my room door was not in very good order, and I
did not feel safe in keeping it with me.
Q. Was this money paid for Mr. Cobban?
A. It was Cobban’s money, I suppose so; that was my
understanding.
Q. After these three persons made final proof, what
became of them; did you have anything further to do with
them?
A. They were not paid that day, but they came to Mis-
soula. Miss L. T. Bryan was teaching school at Potomac,
in Missoula County, Mr. Lehman was working in a saw-
mill at Bonner, and Belle Bryan was living with her hus-
band at Clearwater; there was no deeds signed at that
time.
Q. When were they signed?
A. Mr. Cobban came to me on my return from Helena
and asked me why these people did not come and sign
these deeds. I said, “I do not know,” and he said he
wished I would look them up and have it done; and I
hitched up my team and drove to Potomac and got Miss
Bryan and brought her to Mr. Cobban’s office in Missoula,
where she signed her deed conveying the land to Mr. Cob-
ban, and he then gave her a check on the First Nat’l Bank
of Missoula for $100.00. Mr. Lehman was working at
Bonner and Mr. Cobban spoke to me about him, and I went
to Bonner and Mr. Lehman refused to come; and I then
came back to Missoula and got Mr. Bryan and we went
back to Mr. Lehman and induced him to come to Missoula.
He came and I went with him to Mr. Cobban’s office and
Mr. Cobban demanded the deed, and he refused to give it
as the pay of $100.00 was too small, and they had some
words in regard to Mr. Lehman giving Mr. Cobban secu-
rity if he did not want to transfer the land. The result
was Mr. Cobban gave him $25.00 more, or $125.00 in a
check, and Mr. Lehman then transferred the land to Mr.
Cobban. In regard to Miss Belle Bryan, about the time
this proof was made, Miss Belle Bryan was married to
John Gillis, and there was some trouble about making the
transfer from Mrs. Gillis, nee Bryan and her husband,
but I don’t remember the full circumstances.
Q. Mr. Griswold, Thos. Pelky was located on the S. W.
q. of sec. 10, tp. 14, rge. 13, and B. Frank Chattin on the
S. E. q. of the N. E. q. and the E. half of the S. E. q, and
the N. W. q. of the S. E. q. in sec. 10, tp. 14, rge. 13, did
you select this land?
A. I looked the land over and reported to Mr. Cobban
that they were worth taking, and Mr. Cobban came to my
place at the Clearwater, with, I believe, six men, among
them these two. I had a man in my employ that was
familiar with these lands and directed him to show the
boundaries lines of the two claims in section 10, tp. 14,
rge. 13, to the men that Mr. Cobban designated to me that
he wished to have file on the land. They went and my
man, Mr. Gillis, went with them, and Cobban was at my
place in the Clearwater. They then came down and went
to Helena and made filing, but I do not know who went
with them.
Q. When was the final proof made?
A. The final proof was made on the 15th day of Aug.,
1899.
Q. Who went with them?
A. I don’t know; I don’t think anyone went with them.
Q. Did you see them at Helena?
A. I did, and went with them to land office and helped
them make final proof, and was one of their witnesses.
They did not get the final receipt and I did not get it, but
I directed Mr. Green, the register, to send them to Mr. R.
M. Cobban.
Q. Who paid for this land?
A. I did.
Q. How did you happen to do it?
A. Mr. Cobban gave me the money to pay for this land
and I directed that the final receipt be sent to him.
Q. Did they make deeds that day?
A. No, sir.
Q. They did make deeds to Mr. Cobban?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How many persons was there that day?
A. Just these two and myself.
Q. Under this contract of employment with Mr. Cob-
ban to select lands outside of the reserve and the timber
and stone and scrip lands, what did you chiefly select,
which of these three classes did you devote yourself
chiefly?
A. To the timber and stone.
Q. In your selection of timber and stone lands to be
located upon, did you work yourself and did you have oth-
ers employed to help you?
A. I had others employed; I had Albert Jemison, the
man who testified yesterday, and E. R. Kilburn.
Q. Where is Kilburn now?
A. To the best of my knowledge he is on Piat river, in
Southern Idaho.
Q. What is he doing there?
A. He is working in the timber for Mr. Cobban.
Q. Did you have any one else employed?
A. Yes, sir, I had M. B. Watson and John Gillis and
Jamison and Kilburn were the two principal ones.
Q. What was your instructions to these men?
A. My instructions was for them to look over timber
in that section of the country, section by section ; I was to
furnish description of township and show the vacant lands,
and whenever they found quarter sections of desirable
timber land they were to report to me and I would fur-
nish report to Mr. Cobban and Mr. Cobban would then
send parties there to file on the land or locate the land, or
parties from up in that country would take it up there.
Q. When you, yourself, sent parties on land for pur-
pose of filing, either direct or through either of these
agents, what was your understanding with them?
A. The understanding was that they were to file and
make final proof and Mr. Cobban would pay the expense
incurred in going to file and making final proof and was to
pay them in addition $1OO.OO.
Q. Did he ever pay more?
A. I think he did, in one or two instances; usually,
however, $100.00, but on some occasions more.
Q. This is true of all the persons whose names appear
in the deposition there, together with the description of
land set opposite their names?
A. Yes, sir, to the best of my knowledge.
Q. Did you ever make any agreement with any person
that Mr. Cobban would take that land at that price?
A. I never did, the understanding was that Mr. Cob-
ban was to take the land. This was Mr. Cobban’s instruc-
tions to me.
Q. Do you know Mr. J. B. Catlin?
Yes, sir; I do, well.
Q. Was he associated with or employed by Mr. Cobban?
A. He was associated with him, but I do not know
whether he was a partner in the business or not; I know
he was associated with him in these matters.
Q. Did Mr. Catlin usually meet the persons who came
to Missoula and take them to the land office to make filing
and proof?
A. He did usually; he paid the money. Mr. Catlin
kept a lot of timber and stone entry blanks and would go
into Mr. Cobban’s office and prepare papers for filing.
Q. Were you ever with Mr. Catlin at the land office in
Missoula when persons were making final proof?
A. I don’t think I was.
Q. How long have you known Mr. Catlin?
A. I have known him since 1894, I think.
Q. What is his occupation now?
A. He is dealing in real estate.
Q. Do you know whether or not he is a man of means?
A. He is not.
Q. Do you know whether or not he is related to Mr.
Hershey, register of the land office here?
A. Mr. Catlin told me his daughter married Mr.
Hershey.
Q. Did you understand, in the course of your business
with Cobban, that the officers here were cognizant in the
matters of these land entries?
A. Yes, sir; I understand that they were; I am pretty
well satisfied in my own mind that they did know, as Mr.
Hershey was Mr. Cobban’s legal adviser in most cases.
Q. Did you ever appear as a witness in final proof in
any of these cases?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What transpired at those times?
A. We would just go in and final proof would be made
and nothing said as to payment or as to the delivery of receipt,
and no money paid in my presence, and the parties
would then leave the land office and go to Cobban’s office
and get their pay and no questions asked by the register
or receiver when I was present. The matter went along
as a preconcerted affair, nothing being said one way or
the other.
Q. Mr. Griswold, the whole purpose of Mr. Cobban,
through his associates, employees, and himself, was to
procure people to enter and make filing and final proof
in this timber and stone claims so that the title of the
land might be immediately conveyed to him?
A. Yes, sir, he would take warranty deed upon the
receipt of receiver’s receipt.
Q. Whenever he received final receipt from receiver
and before any money was paid to anybody or to the Gov-
ernment a warranty was made to him?
A. Yes, sir, he did not wait for a patent to come, but
treated the final receipt as a patent and warranty deed
was made immediately.
Q. Do you know what Cobban did with this land?
A. I know what he told me he did with it. He told
me he transferred them to Senator W. A. Clark of Butte,
telling me at the same time that he had an understanding
with Mr. Clark before going into this business.
Q. All of them?
A. He gave me to understand that all that was in Mis-
soula and Helena District.
[Endorsed] : Griswold Evidence. Before Zevely, Star
Chamber. Defts. Exhibit 348. .H. N. Blake, Examiner.
Filed and entered Aug. 28th, 1902. Geo. W. Spi*oule,
Clerk. By F. H. Drake, Deputy.