The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1882-12-09
TIE Bellevue Ranch.
A GREAT ESTATE IN SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA.
[Harper's Magazine.l

ulO IiuutSluuh. II IN idNoiltt
story that certain men are able TO
drive a herd Of cattle from the
northern counties of the State to
San Diego, at its extreme southern
limit. and quarter the animals ev-
cry night upon their own territory.
Haggin, Carr and Tevis, whose
property | was privileged to ex-
anime considerably in detail, have
some H hundred thousand acres.
Much OF this was secured fpr Il
mere triile while in the condition
of waste land, aud afterward re.
deemed. 4 neighbor who had ac.
quired a great estate of a similar
kind mainly while holding the post
of surveyor,general of the United
States, drew forth one of the best
hon mots of President lincoln.
Let me congratulate you," said
Lincoln, as this gentleman was re.
firing from Office under his admin.
istration. "You have become
monarch of all you have surveyed
The owners do not often live
upon their estates, but leave them
In the hands of managers, and
draw the revenues. The llaggin.
Carr and Tevis property is divided
into a number of separate ranches,
each with its resident superintcn.
dent. The Bellevue rancho, so
called, is tho centre and focus of
authority for the whole. Here is
the residence aud Office for the
general manager, aud here are as
sembled q force of book.keepcrs,
engineers aud mechanics. who keep
the accounts, map, plan, supervise
construct aud repair, aud give to
the whole the clock.work regular.
ity of u great commercial enter
prise. The numerous buildings
constitute considerable settle.
ment. There is u "store" of gen.
eral merchandise and supplies. A
dormitory and dining room have
been erected for the laboring
ha Ids. A tOwer.lile water tank,
surmountt Il by u Windmill, and
accommodating q milk room be
low, rises at one side. There are
shops for the mechanics, capaciou,
barns, aud long sheds filed Will
! an interminable array of agricul
tural implements. 1t is wortl
while to take a walk past this col
lection of reapers, thresbers, sulky
plows and rakes, aud study on
their uses. An immense "headel
aud separator rises from the res
like some awe.inspiring leviathai
of the deep. A whole department
is devoted to the road scrapers
"bnck scrapers," and plows Of va
lious sorts nsed in the construc
tion aud dredging out of the irri
eating bitches. The soil is fortu
nately free from stones, and th'
work is for the most part quite
easy. One enormous plow is seer
which was designed to be draw
by sixty yoke of oxen, and to en-
down u furrow five feet wide b,
/ four deep. Like the famous steam
ship Great Eastern it has been dc
feated by its pure bulk, and is no
now in use.
More than a500,000 has beet
spent on the great estate IN thu
item of fencing alone. An aver
age of 400 laborers is employed
and in the harvest season 700. Th,
rate of wages is quoted at from
/ two aud a half to three dollars |
day to mechanics, and one dollar
per day to common hands. Tlii
seems low as compared with in
formation from other sources, ant
that which appears in the chroni,
complaints of the scarcity of farm
labor in the California papers.
No great portion of this domain
appears to be now in the marker
at the disposal of settlers of sinai
means, though the intention i,
avOwed of offering some of it il
this way when all shall have beer
thoroughly reclaimed. Numerous
tracts, however, are offered Oh
very favorable terms by renters
as they are called. They take IN
to 600 acres. Very many of then
are Portuguese and Italians. The,
are usually unmarried, work il
companies of from six to fifteel
persons, and wear the red Carl
baldi shirt. The renter il provi
ded by his landlords with q house
an artesian well. q credit to q mod
crate amount at the general store
and the use of some cows. II,
has The milk of the cows, but mus
give their increase to the estate
His lease runs three years, and h,
pays as rent one.third of his crop
instances of large profits are fire
qucnt among these persons, an,