All that a claimant can do in this respect is to cut wood enough
for his fuel, and timber enough for his own building purposes, until
he receives a patent from the government.
Of course it is altogether
reasonable and proper that men should be precluded from doing so until
their title in the soil is complete. Because, until a preemption claim
is perfect, or, until the land has been acquired by some legal title,
it is not certain that the claimant will ultimately secure it or pay
any money to the government. But does not the government do anything
to prevent these trespasses? Yes, but all its attempts are baffled.
For example, last spring a large quantity of splendid lumber was
seized by the United States marshal and sold at public auction. It was
bid off by the lumbermen themselves, who had formed a combination to
prevent its falling into the hands of other purchasers. This
combination had no resistance as I am aware of in the public opinion
of the territory, and the timber was sold to those who had it cut at a
price so far below its value that it didn't pay the expense of the
legal proceedings on the part of the government. This is accounted for
in the fact of the exhaustless quantity of pine timber towards the
north; in the demand for it when sawed; and in the disposition to
protect enterprising men, though technically trespassers, who
penetrate into the forest in the winter at great expense, and whose
standing and credit are some guaranty of their ultimate responsibility
to the government, should they not perfect their titles.
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