A Predatory Property Theft
An Indigenous woman fights to reclaim land she says was swindled from her in a saloon transaction.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Among the records at the court house is found another illustration of the way the Indians are deprived of their lands. It is a case in which Louisa Taylor, an Indian woman, has brought suit against W. T. Sundberg to recover some land. It appears that the Indian woman had an interest in some valuable land, the remaining interest belonging to her sons. This land adjoined ten acres owned by Sundberg. Sundberg wanted to get hold of the Indian woman's land, but she refused for a time to consider a proposition. Finally, she was induced to enter the back room of Sundberg's saloon, the Svea, and it is claimed that a representation was made to her that Sundberg wanted to lease the property. With that impression, the woman says she signed what she supposed was a lease for two years, but which proved to be a deed transferring the property to Sundberg. The interpreter was Samuel Mowitch, an Indian. The notary public who was called in for the occasion was Charles Woodworth. The amount given Mrs. Taylor was $31, paid in three installments of $10, $16 and $5. Sundberg's defense is that the Taylors had borrowed between $300 and $400 from a man named Pearson. He claims that Pearson turned the account over to him and that he took the land to pay the debt. J. L. Lewis is made a party to the suit, as the deed was made out in his name. Fremont Campbell is attorney for the defendants.
“The Indian woman says she signed what she supposed was a lease for two years, but which proved to be a deed transferring the property to Sundberg.”
This case highlights the systematic dispossession of Indigenous land through predatory legal and financial maneuvers. The 'Svea' saloon and the surrounding legal records are remnants of a period when the local courts frequently sanctioned the alienation of Native property under the guise of debt collection.
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