ines, when they were run, "as near as may be."

Of course, this condition of things gave rise to many disputes about
claim lines and rights, and as there were no legal tribunals to appeal
to, we organized claim associations to protect our rights. In my part of
the territory we had an association that covered what is now Blue Earth,
Nicollet and Le Sueur counties, and most of the actual settlers were
members, and all were pledged to support each other against any one
attempting to jump the claim of any member. Protection, of course, meant
driving out the intruder and restoring the rightful owner to his
possession. The means of reaching the object were not defined, but were
understood to be adequate to the necessities of the occasion.

I had made a claim on the second plateau, back of what afterwards became
the town site of St. Peter, and Gibson Patch, the sheriff of Nicollet
county, had settled on the adjoining quarter section. These claims
covered the ground where the Scandinavian college now stands, called, I
think, "Gustavus Adolphus."

I was the president of the Nicollet county branch of the claim
association.

About 1855 the government survey lines were extended over our lands, and
we had to adjust our lines to those of the official surveys as best we
could. It so happened that the established lines left the shanty of my
neighbor, the sheriff, outside of the quarter section he had always
claimed, and before he discovered this fact, a man designing to take
advantage of the sheriff's peculiar situation, and intending to jump his
claim, erected a shanty on his land and moved his family into it. It was
soon discovered, and Patch notified the claim association, which
immediately assembled and decided that the jumper must be ejected and
banished from the county. It was winter time. A committee of one hundred
and fifty was delegated to perform the work at a certain day and hour.
The jumper heard of it, and in the morning of the day fixed, he
prudently fled down the river. Being president of the association, it
devolved upon me to lead the party. We arrived at the house, and finding
no opposition, we politely informed the family of our mission, and
offered them comfortable transportation to any point they would name for
themselves and their portable belongings, which they accepted. We then
burned the house, and appointed two committees of ten each to chase the
jumper down each side of the river, with full discretion to p