The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1875-09-25
A Monster Claim.
SIN MILLION ACRES OF LAND IN WEST
ERN MISSOURI CLAIMED BY THE
HEIRS OF A SPANISH OFFICER IN
LOUISIANA.
from the St. Louis Globe Dem.


ted States has been begun in the
United States Court, in the western
district of Missouri, by the heirs of Don
Josef Vallicre, a captain OF Spanish
regiment stationed at the post OF Ar
kansas III 1903. The suit is for six mil
lion acres of land in Arkansas and Mis-
souri,, worth $I5,OOO,ooo, and the COM
plant has recently been served on the
United States district attorney in st.
Louis, by Counselor William II. Dur
yea, of Brooklyn, the solicitor for the
plaintiffs. In I6Ss LaS;llc descended
the Mississippi river as one of the carli
est explorers, and claimed all the coun-
try drained by the waters that swcled
the Father of W atcrs, in behalf of his
native country, France. The right of
discovery, when reduced y possession,
was recognized by the law of nations
as right of ownership, and by the set
Ting of the French i'll the newly dis
covered country, in 1909, all of the
country extending along the Mississippi
a far as the British possessions became
French, which was called Louisiana.
In 1859, the French coded to Spain all
of the territory west of the Mississippi
river, including the island of New Or
leans, and retained the provinces of
east and west florida, which embraced
all of the land east of the river; but in
1901 Spain obtained possession OF this
tract, and all of vast country was
governed by a Niccroy or Governor
General, who was vested by the King
of Spain with the power OF making
concessions of the royal lands To his
subjects to promote agriculture, and al
so as a reward for mcritorious services
rendered by the officers of the Kings
army. In 1913, Baron dc Carondclct,
who was GoNcrnor-Ccncral, received Il
petition from Captain Don oscph Val
here, a captain of one of the stationary
regiments in the province, asking tor Il
tract of land along the White River, i'll
die district of Arkansas. A. was the
custom with the Spanish governors i'll
the ccs>ion of lands to subjects, an or
der of survey was sent to Don Carlos
Trudcau, the royal and private surveyor
of the province, TO survey the lands OF
the grantee. This original order, dated
June II, 1893, has been found in one of
the musty old tones in the New Or
leans land office, under the tide of
ar cgistcr dc los lrimcros Dccrctos de
concession de TERRA" The order is as
follows:
al Captain D'n Joseph Nallicrc en-
cl ,listrlo dc Arkansas, una porcion dc
terra situada c Rio Blanco Y cXtcndi-
cndo dcsdc los Rio \ortc Grandc, CT
bcos, hasta cl origicn de dicho Ria
Blanco dicz lcgucN en- proiundidad.'
BARON DE CARO\DELET.
Under this order Charles Trudeau,
the survey or general, surveyed tract
of land. beginning at the junction of
the White River with the North Fork,
in the upper part of Arkansas, and cX-
tending ten Spanish leagues, or about
forty miles, on each bank of the " htc
River, winding up through the southern
part of Missouri, and then extending to
the west and southwest, ending at the
source of the extremely westerly branch of
the White River, III the western part of ar
kansas. The tract is made up of 8 600 900 |
of acres, and on the map of to day takes in |
Ozark, Douglas, Stone, Barry Christian
and fancy counties in Missouri, AID about
a dozen counties in Arkansas, making a
tract so miles wide and l2O miles long
The report OF Trudcau was filed in dc
tober 1898, in the Surveyor. Generals of
fee in New Orleans, accompanied by Il |
map representing the tract from the june
lion of the Rio Norte :, Iande and thu Rio .
Cihclos, extending westward along the
Rio Tosque. Don Joseph Valicrc re
ceived the grant OF six millions OF acrrs,
md six years later, in 1909, he died mites
atc, possessing the largest lot of real cs-
ate ever owned by royal subject. His
iers, whoever they were at that time, if
hey knew anything of his vast wealth,
lid not attempt to make the land theirs
In four years after |allierc's death the
and was reccdcd back to France, and
France, in December OF the same year,
SOB, coded all OF the province of Louis
ana to the United States for and in con
of $1,000, 900. The Intend
mt of Louisiana, under the order of the
Captain General Of Cuba. who, after the
,esson of the lands to France, had control
If the provinces, sent the records to Ila
vana, and they were stored among the
royal archicves. Nearly forty years after
the death Of Don Joseph Valliere, a gen
tleman who was able to read Spanish.
while searching the records in the land
office in New Orleans tor another grant,
found the entry OF land in Don Joseph
Nalliere's name. AT that time the United
States gave the land warrant at 81 % An
acre, and at this estimate the heirs of the
Spanish captain were worth $500 900.
He knew descendants Of Valliere. and
told them Of their vast possession. In
lo4l, Achilles Godin, James Brooks, Ma.
ilda brooks, James Scull Manette Scull
John Dodge, Elieneth Dodge, Francis w.
Harriet Naugne, Francis Val
liere and Julie Nalliere at that finn. tL