These Indians had lost their property almost without exception. Whether the term “swindle” is used or not is immaterial. They lost their property through many and devious ways. The affidavits indicated that in many instances Indians appeared before the buyers either drunk or somewhat under the influence of liquor. Not only did the interpreters give the Indians liquor, but frequently the Indians drank of their own accord. Of course the bankers, lawyers, county officials and real estate men knew that the ordinary code of business ethics would not countenance their dealings with drunken persons. But these land-owners being Indians, and the sentiment of the thirty-seven individuals and firms who in the affidavits are shown to be responsible for the conditions at White Earth being against Indians as land-owners, no discrimination was made and Indians were permitted to “do business” whether drunk or sober. Next to drunkenness as a means of separating the Indian from his land, the deliberate deceit practised by the buyers stands out conspicuously. Scores of affidavits and statements were taken of Indians who owned two, three, five, or even seven or eight trust patents. The trust patent was preliminary paper, but as trust patents would in the process of time become deeds, the white people did not differentiate and trust patents were in most cases accepted the same as deeds. In order to be within the law it was necessary to prove the Indians mixed-bloods. Most of the Indians were therefore sworn as mixed-bloods. They frequently protested, stating that they were full-bloods, but were described in the papers as mixed-bloods just the same. Therefore few of the papers signed by these Indians were read or interpreted to them, and in the majority of cases, as the Indian could neither write nor read, he did not know whether he was signing receipts, mortgages, deeds or releases. The favorite form of expression used by the interpreter, according to affidavits, was “the buyer says this is a legal document which you would not understand if read to you, and all you have to do is to sign your name and receive the money.” Very few Indians appear to have sworn to the papers they signed. When an Indian appeared with more than one trust patent he was usually told that one of these would be purchased or mortgaged and the others would be held for him and he could sign papers for all of them. Many of the buyers were accustomed to say to the Indian, “You have no safe in your cabin, and if these papers burn up you would lose your land. You had better let me keep them in my safe.” Then the Indian signed and parted with the papers and we can imagine the result.