Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

“ There are attempts to explain all this by alleged oral statements that Booth held himself responsible, as there is a lame effort also to get rid of the original sworn answer, the inconsistencies of which, with the subsequent testimony, we have not stated at length. We think it enough to say that the explanations fail to excape the effect of the incontrovertible facts. ”

“ For after Stephen La Raut and his wife had made their last deeds to the company, when, according to Booth, Stephen wanted to go to Canada and to dispose of his land, and applied to Booth, Booth turned him over to Kelly, gave him no information as to the value of the claims, and let him sell them for $50 in addition to the hundred dollars that each had received in 1902, although they clearly were worth a great deal more. ”

“ On May 7 and 8, 1902, they received their certificates of title, and in July executed deeds, Booth testifies, to him; certainly either to him or to the company. At or about the same time each received $100, just as Jordan did, whose claim was one of the same group and filed at about the same time. These deeds were not recorded, and were destroyed; there is some indication in the evidence that the destruction was at the time of a government investigation into land frauds; but the proof is not clear. In 1904 the patents were issued and were delivered to one Alley by the Land Office. ”