The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-12-08
ANOTHER MEXICAN GRANT.
Five Leagues of Tin Mines Claimed.

The following communication appears in the
Cincinnati Commercials
"While the newspapers are discussing the
questions of the McGarrahan claim, and the
probable reasons for Grant taking SO much in
terest therein, it may not be improper to call
the attention of the public to another fraud sthat
that is nearly if not of quite equal magnitude
to the great McGarrahan swindle. / refer to
the attempt to float q Mexican grant on the
Temeschal tin miners in San Bernardino county,
California.
"a succinct history of this case may not be
uninteresting to your many readers. About 1898
or 1854 Leonardo Serrano, native Californian,
put in claim, before the Board of Land Com
missioners, which was in session at that time
in California, for a Mexican grant of five
leagues of land to cover what was known as
the Rancho de Temeschal After due investi-
cation his claim was rejected, and so the mat
ter rested until 1859, when tin was discovered,
in rather romantic way, within three miles
of the Serrano house; but in the interim Ser
rano had died. Upon the discovery of tin, Mr..
Abel Stearns, of Los Angeles, bought the
widow Serranos claim. Stearns, by
the way, was the first man that ever sent any
California gold to the United States Mint, he
having sent gold taken from the diggings near
the Mission San Fernando, twenty-five miles
from Los Angeles, more than ten years before
Marshall discovered gold in Suffers mill-race.
Stearns took an appeal in the United States
District Court from the Land Commissioners
decision, and after considerable delay obtained
a decree for five leagues of lands. The locaUors
of the mining claims then appealed to the
Supreme Court at Washington, where, in 1867,
the finding of the court below was reversed and
the claim and mines were declared public
land. During the pendency of the result in
Washington, Pioch & Co., of San Francisco,
tried unsuccessfully to purchase some of
the lodes in the tin districts from the original
locators After the decision of the supreme
Court, Pioch bought the San Jacirto Rancho, a
grant that was confirmed by the Land Commis-
sioners about sixteen years ago. and situated
twenty-six miles from Temeschal. Pioch is now
before the Land Commissioner at Washington,
trying, with considerable show of success, to
float this grant on the tin mines. Here are tin
mines that were discovered eleven years ago,
from which ore has been taken which would
yield over 60 per cent. of tin-the only locality
in the United States where tin has been found in
paying quantities; and yet they are unde-
veloped. The only thing that has been done
with them was to make tin box, which was
presented to ex-Secretary Seward, and which
was itemized by every paper In the
United States as something very remarkable.
Yes, all of these years these mines have been
dormant; the discoveries of the mines have not
been permitted to work them, and the grant
claimants would not work them for fear OF
attracting public attention to their true value
before they had the title arranged to suit them
| selves If these mines were equally developed
| they would, doubtless be as valuable as the
| New dria Quicksilver Mines bet the country il
| losing revenue which would be derived from the
working of the same, all because few men de-
sire, by fraud, to take that which justly belongs
| to the people.