Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1885-09-10
GREAI LAND sTEALs
How the Pebble Bowain has been
PIunaer.d by RsiIFssd corpora
tisns. Beef Barsns. asd
Dthrrs-

others.
fCo4finAsd fr9sa ysst>yziag
CHAPTER VI
YER pIUspxETSo or TIE YUBIfc DOMAIN
81 THK cATzIK BAEoss-NGEDxsA AZ A
xxAxs or ACQUIRING TITLE
IL vill take several years u the vsry
best kind Of management ana sac clsr-ess
OF Investigation 20 develop 81 OF tine
frsnds vhieh have been perpetrafsd
.byouotryas the various land Othess OF
the country. In ls75 Congress passed
what IL called TIMBER caituse act. A
man who would plant = csviain number
ef trees upon a trac, Of TIE pablic land
for eight wears would, At the end OF that
time. scuulrs q title to 100 acres his,
ike the pre- eruption and homestead en-
trte-, mas been used 70 cheat the Land
Office. Il IL very hard 10 secure honest
proof of the planting Of she trees, and
vhsye tv- or three men combine to-
oether 10 make affi1ayits, a careless OF
dizhopess Register IL easily persuaded
10 pernait an entry 10 be made and 20
approve the issuing Of the patent The
most serious frauds, however, outside OF
tbs stealing Of the lands under the land
grant system, ~ in the fFsadnient sc
aui,emen. of large tracts OF the public
domain BY wealthy cattle companies.
eertain combination OF capitalists VIII
take possession Of the water privileges
in some Of the far western territories,
and through their numerous agents VIII
make entries of a presumption or bosle-
stead character all along these water
privileges. Once that they hay- posses
si0u Of the water, they control aoso'
lutely the country about them 10 an
almost unlimited extent. Ibe greater
tor,ion OF the lands Of New Mexico and
Arizona are absolutely valneiess unless
water privileges go with them. "ben
the cattle people have gone through the
farce of pottine bona fde settlers upon
ALI the tracts of land fronting the va
Ter. thew then have at their disposal
from ifty TO hundred thousand acres
for grazing purposes They acquire
control of this great property thronRu
the payment of the most trIfiinR amount.
Az . nee sssry consequence the pfShts
OF these cattle coupanies have been
simpiy enormous. Great fortunes have
been accumulated within a very short
time. They are often not content with
the mers unauestiOned control OF these
lands which goes with the control OF she
water, After q short time Of undis
turbed possession they generally go
ahead and put bsrbed wire fence
around a. muoh of the land as they
think they will need for their cattle.
There are hundreds Of thousands OF
acres Of the pebble lands that are within
enclosures OF this sort. where she cattle
people have not gone through with even
the slightest fornI OF Law to gain pos
seasiou. These rich cattle oppanies
employ large numbers Of cowboys as
police for their boundaries. They are
aisgys well armed, and as they are
generally men OF reckless or desperate
character, murder ia not uncommon IN
the enforcement Of this bold capture OF
the public lands by the cattle bsrors.
Some of the large tracts of land which
from time 10 time have been sold 10
foreign capitalists have been acquired
In A fraudulent manner. There Ia hardly
a title TO one of the tracts of territory
used by any one OF the large cattle com
panies Of the west which will bear in
specti1n. The land frauds in che west
have grown TO such q remarkable dsgrte
that the honest title has become tins ex
oeption. Messrs. Hobbs 4 Gibbs, two
agents of the Land Department who
made several months investigation of
the land entries In the Territory of New
MEXICO last year, report as their sincere
belief that 80 per cent. of the entries Of
land In this Territory duriag the last
ten years are fraudulent. Lands would
be entered in the names of people who
have never existed, or of people who are
dead. Proof would be submitted Ia the
shape of forged papers. After the pa
tent was issued in the name Of the ficti-
tious or dead parsonage, then, within a
few days, a deed Of sale to some capt.
talist would be placed upon record,
signed with forged name Of the alleged
p rson 10 whom the patent was issned.
Through Wholesale swindling of this
character enormous tracts Of land have
been gotten together.
NUMBERING HONEST LocAroRs.
member of q former Cabinet. who is
nov In New Mexico, gives an interesting
picture of the way one Of the richest
valleys in New Mexico was captured
This valley was, up 10 the driving out Of
Victoria and his men, overrun with
Apaches. After the Indians were gone
becaue an object Of avarieious interest
to the cattle mon. To them 10 was the
land Of Goshen, flowing with milk and
honey. The Santa Fs Ring had their
eyes upon this valley fer a long time.
They were the first TO get their agents
upon the ground 10 capture the entire
valley and sell IL TO an English syndicate.
Thomas Il. Catron, the then Judge Of the
Ar1f a fan La Al
OF the Land Once; Surveyor Gen raj
Atkinson, U. 4. Marshal Morrison, and
several oistkens of Santa Fe, who are
nov applicants for positions under A
reform administration, engineered the
scheme. By sending out fraudulent
iocators In great Numbers they we're able
10 secure this better part of the land in
this valley. They found one very iu.
possant obstacle Ia their way, however.
Two settlers from Kansas City, No, by
the nance Of Grostetto and Elsinper.
had located lands near tve of the most
plentiful springs In the valley. The
schcmsrs foand that 10 wss necessary 10
have these springs In order to negotiate
the sale. The young Kansas Csty men
refused 10 sell their claims. They we're
% well satisfied that they had made up
their minds 10 live and die In the Amer,
loan Valley. In the neiehborhood on |
the American Valley vas snccsssful
mining camp taking out ore worth from
" 70 ~ q ION, Among shose empleysd
20 police this camp we're two men by ,he |
names Of Cartwright aud Mclntyrs. A
chanee IN the management OF the mine
threw these two guards out OF employ
ment They went TO Sooorro. where
they vers employed as depaty narshals.
charge Was Gsmped up by the u. :. |
nAfphal against The holders Of the land
scsr The valuable springs In she Amer |
can valley. Cartwright and Melutyre
we're sent out 10 make the arrests. The
Y. y Marshal vas In the plos 10 obtain
thsse lands, and 90. az 10 alleged, was
she Judge. 10 vas evident that shey
bad the power 90 harass and amos
Groststte and Elsinser into giving up
their valuable locations The too dep
uties sent ons we're very desperate char
ActstA No one ehafees that the Santa
re Hing directed them 90 kill the tee
lccatcrs. bot u was well andersscod
that they had unlimited authority in
enforcing The order Of arrest. The
two lecAtess were piacky men. They
doubtless understood the bogus order
81 arrest. and refused TO obey il. The
secret Of the struggle al the springs has
never hseu made known. Tia f~o L.