Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/129

 HISTORY OF GOOPIKK COUNTY 91 for obvious reasons. Nothing but the scrip from the general land office would avail in filing an entry upon any portion of this land. Speculators saw their opportunity and began to take up the land by "laying the scrip," as the act was called, in the land office. The choicest locations were already occupied by settlers, and those who held scrip could enter the lands these settlers had chosen, in many cases where extensive improvements had been made, the soil broken, crops raised, and buildings and fences erected. The actual settlers had the sympathy of all the surrounding population, but holders of the scrip had the legal advantage of the situation, and commenced to obtain titles to farms already improved. This caused the settlers to rally in self-defense. Red Wing, in particular, was a scene of excite- ment, for here was located the land office, and the eastern part of the township was included in this troublesome tract. Meetings were held by the actual settlers and counsel taken as to methods of procedure. They assessed upon themselves a tax, raised money, and "sent one man to Washington to demand justice, as they called it, in their behalf. They secured from the land office correct copies of plats of all the townships and fractional townships included within the tract, and upon whatever quarter- section a settler had made his improvements, that quarter-section was definitely marked. Holders of scrip were publicly warned against filing upon such land. At a meeting of those interested in the cause of the settlers, which was held at the Kelley House m Red Wing, March 17. 1856. a vigilance committee was chosen to prevent any more scrip being laid upon land already occu- pied. This committee was empowered to demand that in every case where scrip had been laid on the land of actual settlers said scrip should immediately be raised. This committee was composed of twenty-one members. They were men of dauntless courage and muscular power, and devoted their whole time and energy to the work appointed until it was accomplished. Two of them stood as sentinels at the land office, armed with loaded revolvers, constantly watching every transaction therein, being relieved by another two at stated times. In the meantime the majority of the committee were acting as detectives, arresting and bringing to trial those who had offended, the trial not being before a court of justice, but before the committee. There was at that time no court house and no jail, and the lawyers knew that the scrip holders were acting within their legal rights. The kind of justice meted out is shown by the following case, related by the Rev. J. W. Hancock : "A former Indian trader lived on Lake Pepin. He had been a member of the territorial legislature, was a man of some notoriety, whose well known character has procured for him the