All the defendants in this case were residents of Roseburg, Oregon, at the time they were indicted, although it is understood that the Downs brothers are now located somewhere in Mexico. They were timber cruisers of the Southern Oregon town, while Alley is a well-known searcher of records and land attorney there, and Turnell is a minister of the gospel.
No. 2941—Indictment returned April S, 1905, charging Coe D. Barnard with a violation of section 5392, Eevised Statutes, being perjury committed in swearing to testimony given in his final homestead proof before United States Commissioner James S. Stewart, as witness for Charles A. Watson.
Barnard was a prosperous stockraiser of Wheeler county, Oregon, and it was claimed that he was a frequent witness to the final proofs of bogus homestead claims made in the interest of the Butte Creek Land, Livestock & Lumber Co. He was found guilty by a jury on August 11, 1906, and sentenced a week later to two years' imprisonment on McNeill's Island, and to pay a fine of $2,000.
No. 2899—Indictment returned January 31, 1905, against Henry W. Miller, Frank E. Kincart, Martin G. Hoge and Charles Nickell, charging them with conspiracy under section 5440, Revised Statutes, in connection with the filing of applications under the timber and stone law for tracts of land in township 40 south, range 3 west, Willamette meridian.
Nickell, the most prominent of the quartette involved in this indictment, was the publisher of two newspapers in Southern Oregon, one at Medford and the other at Jacksonville. He also held the office of United States Commissioner, and it was through his connection with this official position that he became involved in the alleged conspiracy. Hoge was city attorney of Medford, and was accused of using his influence as a "booster" for the fraudulent scheme of Miller and Kincart, both of whom were timber cruisers of unsavory reputation. The two latter pleaded guilty at the trial, and made complete confessions, implicating Nickell and Hoge, which resulted in their conviction July 27, 1906. Nickell was given 13 months on McNeill's Island, while Hoge was sentenced to four months in the Multnomah County jail and to pay a fine of $500. After serving his sentence, Hoge took the "pauper oath" and was liberated. Nickell's case is on appeal.
No. 2900—Indictment returned January 31, 1905, against William H. Davis, Mayor of Albany, Or., charging him with a violation of section 5392, Revised Statutes, in connection with testimony given by him at the time of making final proof on his homestead entry in township 11-7.
No 2907—Indictment returned February 8, 1905, against Henry Meldrum, George E. Waggoner, David W. Kinnaird, Rufus S. Moore, John W. Hamaker and Frank J. Van Winkle, charging them with a violation of section 5440, Revised Statutes, being conspiracy to defraud the United States by means of false and fraudulent surveying contracts covering tracts of land in Ts. 27 S., Es. 26, 27, 28, 29%, 29% and 30 E., and adjacent lands.
No. 2908—Indictment returned February 8, 1905, charging Hamilton H. Hendricks with a violation of section 5393, Revised Statutes, with suborning George W. Hawk to commit perjury in giving testimony before the Federal Grand Jury in connection with Hawk's homestead entry; also accusing Hendricks of a similar offense in the case of Homestead Entryman Clyde Brown.
No. 2942—Indictment returned April 8, 1905, against James Henry Booth, Receiver of the Roseburg Land Office, charging him with a violation of section 1782, Revised Statutes, in receiving $800 as compensation for furnishing advance information illegally relative to the cancellation of certain land entries in the Roseburg Land District.
No. 2943—Indictment returned April 8, 1905, against Eobert A Booth, James Henry Booth, T. E. Singleton, .John Doe, Richard Roe, William Roe and Thomas Roe, charging them with a violation of section 5440, Revised Statutes, conspiracy to defraud the United States out of the title to a tract of public land through the use of false affidavits and proofs of homestead entry and settlement procured to be made by I Thomas Agee, of Mapleton, Or.
Robert A. Booth is vice-president of the Booth-Kelly Lumber Company, and at the time of his indictment, represented Lane County in the State Senate.Page 446
