lawyers for the defense, they were admitted, their reading before the jury forming one of the most interesting features of the case, as reveahng the depths of fabrication to which trusted employes of the Government have been lured by the glitter of land fraud gold.
In fact, during the course of argument on the admissibility of these reports, Mr. Heney took occasion to score both Loomis and Ormsby in unmeasured terms, and wound up his tirade of denunciation by declaring that the Government expected to prove that these two men were as guilty as those on trial, and should have been indicted with the other conspirators.
It is noteworthy that Ormsby was a member of the Federal Grand Jury that returned the indictments against myself and associates in the 24-1 case, and that both himself and Loomis have since been indicted for their part in the Oregon land frauds.
As the reports of the two Government agents were similar in their general characteristics, the contents of one furnishing a fair index of the whole twelve fraudulent claims, I have selected their findings upon the "Nellie Backus" claim as the standard, and present herewith the two reports in full, together with the corroborative affidavits of Heidecke, Jacobs, and the two Thomas brothers, in addition to claimant herself:
Name of Claimant—Nellie Backus.
Description of land covered by filing or entry—E ½ of SW ¼, and E ½ of NW ¼, Sec. 19, Tp. 11 S., R. 7 E., Willamette Meridian.
Date of examination—June 6, 1901.
Character of land—Timbered, agricultural land. Good soil. Not heavily timbered. Would be fine agricultural land if cleared.
