Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-06-30
COLUsA COUNTY LIE TER.
Large Land Holdings-Harvest and Har-
yesting-Bad Criminal Record.

/ Npuht1 Il beyond doubt one OF the most
| productive grain counties in California, but
1t requires no very deep penetration to con-
vince the visitor thatrits capabilities and
| consequent wealth could be greatly en-
! HANGED if It's vast agricultural tracts We're
not in the hands of limited number of
owners. For instance, in this section we
! may say that the land contained in an area
! fifteen miles long by seven or eight miles in
width, is owned by three or four individ
uals, embracing the immense farm of Hon.
| John BoggS and the renowned Glenn tract
| The entire county seems 10 be handicapped
| in the same manner by large farms and
| few families. In fact nothing less than
| two or three thousand acres seems 10 con-
Stitute a farm in Colusa county.
An old resident assures me it would be
difficult TO find twenty farms in the county
that are not mortgas ed for three-fourths Of
! their value, but still the owners persist in
! farming rs many acres Us possible, relying
on Providence to pull them through. Many
farms, he asserts, are "plaStered' for much
I more than they are worth, the creditors not
! wishing To foreclose before a good year
when they can realize the full indebted
ness The result of this system can be
| easily realized. Some of tie largest land
| owners are poor men after deducting their
one can travel for miles over unimproved
roads without seeing Il school house, while
taxes are higher here than anywhere else
in the State.
Business outside ola few towns along the
railroad seems to run at very low ebb as
most of the large farmers find it To their
advantage to trade in Sacramento. Saloons
are about the only class of trade that seem
I to flourish, and owing to the class of labor
usually employed on these large ranches.
they have a good business and it is noto-
riouS fact that the offices of Coroner and
| Sheriff are more lucrative in Cousa county
than anywhere else in the State outside the
metropolis. These are not the only sad
results of the system Of large farming. Ii
IS a common remark here that there is no
society in the county.
OF course there are exceptional portions
of the county but the obServant visitor is
very apt to accept the declaration as q rule;
Notwithstanding the people are as generous,
friendly and hospitable as can be found
anywhere. But how could any other result
be expected where everything conspires
against the condition of society, and moth
ing contributes to its promotion? There Is
a very conspicuous lack of the gentler sex
to mold good society, and their absence
Will be felt until these large tracts are
divided into smaller farms and made homes
| for progressive families As Goldsmith
has well said
Ill fares the land TO Fastening ills Il prey
Where wealth acCumulates and men decay.
But there are already indications of q
change for the better, y. ID. Rideout. who
owns several thousand acres between Will
lows and the river. offers his lands in any
sized tracts. The Glenn tract will soon fall
into the hands of the heirs, and in the
course of time other large farms will be
| subdivided. When this is done Colusa
county will enter upon an era of renewed
prosperity
The harvest, which is now nearing the
end, is in vast contrast TO that of last year
when the season was prolonged in this
quarter until long after the first fall rains. 1t
has been anything but encouraging to the
vast army of laborers both in extent and
price of wages. Any number of harvest
Iaborers could. al the beginning OF harvest,
be secured AT 81 4 day, the numbers seeking
employment being so great that many
could not find work at any price. OF course
large numbers received the usual wages,
but never before in the history of the
| country has there been such surpluSage
of harvest labor, nor so universally small
wages paid. Long before the beginning of
harvest the tranps' brigade were abroad
and lined the public thoroughtares IN
Larger numbers than usual, and il has been
a noticeable fact that the element included
a great many more able-bodied honest
looking workingmen than heretofore, who
were anxious to secure work but unable to
find il.
One cause of this oversupply was short
crops, there being scarcely any grain har-
vested except along the river. Another is
the introduction of the ombined harvester.
which does away with about three-fourths
of the hard labor, as it heads and thrashes
the grain, requiring only about four men,
whereas it requires about seven men to a
| header, and nearly twenty to a thrasher \
| large number of these machines have been
in operation in this section this season.
giving very general satisfaction, and it is
the general expression here that within
three or four Y ars they will be used eXCluS-
! lively over all other means of harvesting
While they are great boom to the farmer
they threaten to drive q large portion of the
field laborers out OF the country. 1t is said
that still another cause Of the great surplus
age OF laborers and tramps in this immedi-
ate vicinity, is that Hon. John Boggs, Di-
rector of the State Prison, imported a large
number OF fresh eX-convicts from that in
stiutIon to work on his large farm at one
dollar day. These ex-cons, together with
number of Digger Indians, employed
| from a rancherie located on his ranch, sup
| ply the place OF some seventy or eighty Ia
| borers.
The crop of homicides has not been as
large in Colusa county this season as usual,
although ,Iacinto, on the Glenn ranch, has
succeeded i'll recording its usual quota there
/ having been two murders committed there
since the beginning of harvest Willows
| has had but one murder so far, and the per-
| petrator is awaiting sentence having been
! found guilty OF murder in the first degree
without recommendation from the jury.
| Each of these murders was outright and
! cold-blooded, and if committed in any
other county hanging exhibition would
! be confidently expected. But as this is the
| banner Democratic county in the State, the
/ people do not seem to be willing to lessen
the majority by enforcing capital punish
! ment.
1t will be remembered that one night last
| fall two masked men entered a saloon in
! Princeton, where four men were seated at a
| gambling table, and ordered the players to
throw up their hands. One of the PLAYERS.
| Charles Hemstreet refused to comply, and
attempted to draw his revolver, when the
robbers opened fire, one of the shots hit
ting Hemstreet and proving fatal The
robbers fed and on the following day
| their footprints We're traced TO point on
! the river where it was supposed they swan
| az oSS' y leN tld later DOGy Was IOuuu
| i'll the river some distance below Princeton
and with it a mask and revolver, leaving
no doubt that one of the robbers had
drowned while attempting to swim the
stream.
The other made good his escape, but de
! tectiveS have been quietly at V"ri, ever
since, and as Il result OF their Il Us one
day last week they caused The arrest of
Jack Brown, commonly known as Black
Jack, at Davisville, as being the other mur-
derer, and brought him to the Colusa Jail
to await further developments. Jack, who
is u notorious outlaw, and who is wanted
at several places in the State on charges of
robbery, very reticent, and refuses to con-
verse with anybody on the subject. If he
| is found to be the man sought for, he will
! probably make his debut in eternity at the
end of a rope, as his unfortunate victim
was a young man well connected and
| highly respected in the community. Alto
gether there is a bright prospect for an early
| hanging exhibition in Colusa county.
There is plenty of good material at hand,
and an example would not be out of the
| way. AprODOS: