Halsell v. Beartail

1924 OK 371, 229 P. 1117, 107 Okla. 103, 1924 Okla. LEXIS 629
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedApril 1, 1924
Docket12914
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 1924 OK 371 (Halsell v. Beartail) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Halsell v. Beartail, 1924 OK 371, 229 P. 1117, 107 Okla. 103, 1924 Okla. LEXIS 629 (Okla. 1924).

Opinion

COCHRAN, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment of the district court of Okmulgee county, rendered in favor of the defendants in error, and against the plaintiff in error, decreeing the defendants in error to be the owners of, and entitled to the possession of 160 acres of land in Okmulgee county, and Quieting .their title to the same. The parties will hereinafter be referred to as plaintiffs and defendant, as they appeared in the trial court.

Tne plaintiffs assert title to the land in controversy as heirs of Nocus Hutchee, enrolled as a Creek Indian, opposite roll No. 9991. The defendant claims title to the land by reason of conveyances executed by Lila Collins and Polly Washington, who claimed to be the sole heirs of Nocus Hutchee, Creek Indian No. 9991. The sole question to be determined is the .sufficiency of the evidence to support the judgment in favor of the plaintiffs. There was a Nocus Hutchee who lived and died near Pierce, Okla., in the Creek Nation, and who was the father of the .plaintiffs, ■ John Beartail and Louisa Beartail, and there was also a Nocus Hut-chee who lived and died near Oktaha in the Creek Nation, who was the father of Lila Collins and Polly Washington. The plaintiffs contend that Nocus Hutchee, who was enrolled opposite roll No. 9991, ana to whom the lands in controversy were allotted, was their father, and the defendants contend that he was the Oktaha Nocus Hutchee and the father of Lila Collins and Polly Washington. The plaintiffs introduced the testimony of several citizens of the Creek Nation, who testified that Nocus Hutchee. the father of John Beartail and Louisa Bear-tail, was a member of the Ketchapatak Town of the Creek Nation, and died after April 1, 1899, and lived and died near Pierce, in the Creek Nation; that Nocus Hutchee, the father of Lila Collins and Polly Washington, died prior to April 1, 1899, and lived and died near Oktaha, in the Creek Nation. The defendant introduced in evidence the census card of Nocus Hutchee, No. 9991, which-shows that his postoffice address was Okla-ha, that he was a member of Ketchapatak Town, and he was on the 1890 tribal rolls as Nocus Sarjo, and on the 1895 rolls as Nocus Hutchee Dick of Ketchapatak Town, and that ho died in the spring of 1904. Defendant introduced in evidence the census card of Lila Collins, which .shows that she was a daughter of Nocus Hutchee Dick, enrolled as a citizen of Ketchapatak Town. Defendant introduced in evidence the census card of Polly Coffee, who is the same person as Polly Washington, and who was enrolled on the tribal rolls as a member of Ketchapatak Town, and whose father was Nocus Harjo, on the Ketchapatak rolls of 1890. It was also stipulated between the respective counsel that the court should consider as Part of the evidence that Joe Simmons would testify that he and Linda Collins were married in 1902, and Nocus Hutchee was the former husband of Linda and was the father of Polly Washington, and that Nocus Hutchee was living near Oktaha at that time, and died about one and one-half years thereafter; that Jim Bullet would testify that he made application to the Dawes Commission for the enrollment of Nocus Hutchee, who was enrolled as a Creek, opposite roll No. 9991, and that he was the same Nocus Hutchee’ who lived at Oktaha, and who was the father of Polly Washington, and was the former husband .of Linda Simmons; that Timmie Dick would testify that he was the brother of Nocus Hutchee who lived at Oktaha, who was the father of Polly Washington, and that Nocus Hutchee was the former husband of Linda, now known as Linda Simmons, and that Nocus Hutchee died some four or five years after the opening of the land office for the enrollment and allotment of Creek Indians at Muskogee, Okla., and died and was buried near Okta-ha, Okla. It was further agreed that the testimony of those witnesses should be regarded and considered by the court as in troduced in the regular order and should be incorporated in the record as the testimony of such witnesses. Polly Washington testi- *105 lied that she was a daughter of Noeus Hut-chee and Oinda; that after the death of Cinda, Noeus Hutchee married Linda, and that they had one child by name Lila; that she never had any other brothers or sisters, except one brother who died when he was very young; that her father was a member of Ketchapatak Town and that they lived near Okltaha. where her father died. Several other witnesses were introduced by the defendant who testified to substantially the same state of facts. The trial court found that the plaintiffs were the children and sole heirs of Noeus Hutchee. Creek, No. 9991. The plaintiffs contend that the sufficiency of the evidence should be determined according to the law rule, and, if there is any evidence reasonably supporting the judgment of the trial court, the same should be affirmed. The defendant contends that this is an equity action, and that it is the duty of the court to weigh the evidence and, if the judgment of the trial court is clearly against the weight of the evidence, the judgment of the trial court should be reversed, and judgment rendered in accordance with the weight of the evidence. The plaintiffs5 petition alleged, in substance, that the land in question was allotted to the heirs of Noeus Hutchee, deceased, and that the plaintiffs were at the time of the issuance of the patent the sole surviving heirs of Noeus Hutchee, and that defendants, without right of title thereto, have entered into the possession of said land, and 'have for some time mined the same for oil and gas, and have removed large quantities of oil and gas therefrom; that defendant claims some right, title, or interest in said land adverse to plaintiffs; that such pretended claims of defendant are void and without right, and that the same cast a cloud and suspicion upon plaintiffs’ title. The prayer of the petition was that the court appoint a receiver to take charge of said property; and that defendant be required to fully set out their claims, if any, to said premises; that said pretended right, title, or interest claimed by defendant be declared null, void, and of no effect; that plaintiffs be declared to be the owner of the property and be awarded ’'he possession of the same; and that an accounting be had for all oil and gas removed from said property by defendant, and that the title of plaintiffs be quieted. In Mitchell v. Gafford, 73 Okla. 152, 175 Pac. 227. it was said:

“We think, however, that the true rule in determining the weight to be given the judgment of the trial court upon conflicting evidence should turn upon the question of whether or not the cause was one properly triable by the court or one properly triable to a jury.”

Section 532, Oomp. Stat. 1921, provides:

“Issues of law must be tried by the court, unless referred. Issues of fact arising in .actions for the recovery of money, or specific real or personal property, shall be tried by a jury, unless a jury trial is waived, or a reference be ordered, as hereinafter-provided.”

In the instant case, it was necessary to determine who were the heirs of Noeus Hut-chee and, after determining that case, the possession of the land would necessarily be awarded to those determined to be the heirs of those bolding under them. The purpose of the action was to establish the interest of the plaintiffs in the specific real estate, and to award to them the possession thereof, and to quiet their title thereto. In our opinion this was an action for the recovery of specific real property under section 532, Oomp. S-tat. 1921, and either party was entitled to a jury.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1924 OK 371, 229 P. 1117, 107 Okla. 103, 1924 Okla. LEXIS 629, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/halsell-v-beartail-okla-1924.