The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1882-11-03
THE BELLEVUE RANCH.
A Great Estate in Southern Cali
fOrnia.

Harper's Magazine.
The possessions of some of the great land
owners of this section are prodigious. 1t is
a favorite story that certain men are able to
drive herd of cattle from the northern coun-
ties of the state to San Diego, at its extreme
southern limit and quarter the animals every
night upon their own territory. Haggin, Carr
and Tevis, whose property was privileged to
examine considerably in detail, have some
four hundred thousand acres. Much of this
was secured for mere trifle while in the con-
dition of waste land, and afterward redeemed
A neighbor who had acquired great estate of
. similar kind, mainly while holding the post
of surveyor general of the United States, drew
forth one of the best bon mots of President
Lincoln "Let me congratulate you," said
Lincoln, as this gentleman was retiring from
Office under his administration. "You have
become monarch of about all you have sur
veyed."
The owners do not often live upon their es-
tates, but leave them in the hands of mana
gers, and draw the revenues The Haggin,
Carr, and Tevis property is divided into
number of separate ranches, each with its res
ident superintendent The Bellevue ranch,
SO called, is the centre and focus of authority
for the whole Here is the residence and Of
fee of the general manager, and here are as
sembled force of book-keepers, engineers
and mechanics, who keep the accounts, map,
plan, supervise, construct, and repair, and
give to the whole the clock-work regularity Of
M
Gus buildings constitute considerable settle
ment There is "store" of general merchan-
disc and supplies. A dormitory and dining
hall have been erected for the laboring hands.
A tower-like water-tank, surmounted by a
windmill, and accommodating a milk
room below, rises at one side There
are shops for the mechanics, capacious
barns, and long sheds filled with
an interminable array of agricultural i'm
plements. 1t is worth while to take walk
past this collection of reapers, threshers, sulky
ploughs and rakes, and study out their uses.
The immense "header and separator" rises
from the rest like some awe-inspiring levia-
than of the deep. whole department is de-
voted to the "road scrapers, "buck scrapers,"
and ploughs of various sorts used in the con-
struction and dredging out of the irrigating
bitches. The soil is, fortunately free from
stones, and the work is for the most part quite
easy One enormous plough IS seen which was
designed to be drawn by sixty yoke of oxen,
and to cut down furrow five feet wide by
four deep. Like the famous steamship Great
Eastern, it has defeated itself by pure bulk,
and is not now in use.
More than $500, 600 has been expended on
the great estate in the item Of fencing alone
An average of 400 laborers is employed and
in the harvest season 700. The rate of wages
is quoted at from two and half to three dol
lars per day to mechanics and one dollar per
day to common hands. This seems low as
compared with information from other sources,
and that which appears in the chronic COM
plants of the scarcity of farm labor in the
California papers.
No great portion Of this domain appears to
be now in the market at the disposal of set
tiers of small means, though the intention
is avowed of offering some of it in this
way when all shall have been thoroughly
reclaimed Numerous tracts, however, are
offered on very favorable terms by
renters, as they are called. They take
from 120 to 600 acres. Very many of them
are Portuguese and Italians. They are usually
unmarried, work in companies of from six to
fifteen persons, and wear the red Garibaldi
shirt The renter is provided by his landlords
with house, an artesian well, credit to
moderate amount at the general store, and the
use of some COWS. He has The milk of the
cows, but must give their increase to the es-
tate. His lease runs three years, and he pays
as rent One-third of his crop. Instances of
large profits are frequent among these per-
sons, and no doubt the same opportunities are
open to others who may wish TO follow their
example