Omaha daily bee., 1888-08-27
ZEYPHERS FROM THE PACIFIC
Daniel and Peter and Their Strange
Existence.
OLD AND lNTERES STING RELICS.
Visit to Bancroft Library The Pa
thctic Diary of Patrick Breen-
English Cousins as Heirs
John Mackay's Cabin.
AND INTERESTING RELICS.
San Francisco Letter.

spondence Of THE BEE. "A story of the
two oldest men in the whole state OF
California comes from Sacramento.
These queer characters are brothers
named Glann-Daniel and peter-who
own thousands upon thousands of acres
OF land on the banks of the Moltelumne
river, in this county and San joaquin.
Daniel resides in this county. and an
idea OF the vastness OF his possessions
can be obtained from study of the map
OF Sacramento county. His lands ex-
tend along the Mokelumnc for distance
OF four miles, and he owns immense
tracts OF land in other portions of the
county. Peter makes his home across
the river, in san Joaquin, and is also
large land owner. 1t is said that the
men are worth one million each. They
live near Benson's Ferry, and were
present on Thursday when the super
vlsors went there to locate a bridge.
The bridge and road leading there
from will be on the lands of the CLAIMS.
Daniel CLAIM, the elder, and most eX-
tenslve land owner, presented a curious
picture rs he leaned against a tree and
watched the proceedings of the super
yisors an3 farmers. He is perhaps
sixty years of age and does not appear
to be in robust health. His hair and
whiskers are iron gray, his eyes sunken
and features thin. He wore blue over
alls, thrust into coarse boots, a wooden
shirt and a broad brimmed black hat
that appeared as if it had done service
for many years. He also wore q second
woolen shirt, the sleeves of which were
tied about his neck and the body of the
garment falling about his back, giving
grounds for suspicion that the mil
lonaire land king is not the possessor
| of IA coat.
Peter Clam is perhaps ten years
younger than his brother. He is COM
| phctly built and looks to be a wiry, mus
| cular man. He has blue eyes in which
| there is n dangerous CLEAN. and there
| is look of determination about his
mouth, and he would doubtless be bad
| man to tackle. In any kind of scrim-
| mage. He is of a livelier disposition
| than his brother, and does not OBJECT to
taking part in the amusements to be
had at the resorts in the vicinity of his
home. If any one takes a drink at
his expense, however, the refreshment
will have to be won by superior skill in
some game Of chance, and the wealthy
| landowner will enter into the contest
as if his last two-bit piece depended
upon this result. On the occasion above
referred to he was dressed like his
brother-eXcept that his overalls were
brown instead of blue, and one shirt
sufficed, though he was coatless.
The CLAIMS cultivate but little of
their land, and the income is derived
from cattle and hog raising. They own
great numbers of these. which roam at
will over the Mokelumne bottoms. The
t,, la tot tol1 "a
| to money-maklng. and if one desires to
| purchase stock from them he will have
| to seek the owners and make known his
| wishes. 1t is one of the rumors
| among the neighbors that the CLAIMS
years ago
CAME INTO POSSESSION OF A VAST
ESTATE
| by the death of a relative in the east,
| and there are those who believe that
immense sums of money are buried on
| the ranch.
1t will be remembered that THE Bee
| some months ago alluded to conspiracy,
in which it was alleged that Charles
Dodge and "the Widow Gray" had
| joined, to murder and rob the CLAIMS.
| The matter leaked out, however, and
| the conspirators learned that the Off
GERS were aware of what was going on.
The alleged plot was to have the lively
widow hire out to the CLAIMS as cook
ascertain where they hid their money,
and Dodge would then be informed and
assist in capturing the coin.
The CLAIMS are bachelors, live alone,
and even do their own cooking and
broad acres, and who will weep when
they are gone, is something unknown.
OLD AND INTERESTING RELICS.
| 1t is highly characteristic of this
! pushing, crowding age to forget or
ignore the fact that there was ii most in
teresting epoch in our history prior to
pioneer days, and it is like the odor of
dried rose leaves to turn the pages of
the past and peer into the faded light
left upon the habits, lives, loves and
ambitions of the padres and dons. That
they have left curious foot prints is best
ascertained by visit to the Bancroft Ii
brary. There is just shade OF arrogance
and presumption in the historians of the
40 epoch, but Bret Harte and Joaquin
Miller immortalized the types, and it is
too generally assumed that there was
no history prior to that time, when in
reality the most romantic pc eriod was
before the discovery of gold. The pres
ent lrreverent generation do not APP.
preciate the work that has been done
in collecting data concerning the frs,
|
struggles with the Spanish cavaliers
to say nothing of the Mexican occupa.
tion with its odd mixture of monarchial
and republican governments.
Something which is jealously guarded
and handled with the greatest care is
the hieroglyphics on maguey paper
left by Aztec neophytes near the MeXi'
can border.
Another much-thumbed relic is the
first guide book published to California
and Oregon, and the identical one used
by the iil-fated Donner party. The
book was gotten up by l.. w. Hastings,
and bears the imprint, Cincinnati
1872"
The most pathetic thing in the whole
collection is the written diary OF Patrick
Breen, one of the Donner party, and tn,
abrupt ending is eloquent of the end o
the poor unfortunate.
There are two well-preserved editions
of little book entitled the "Californi;
as 1t Is and VIII Be-" by Russian ply
sician, T. =. Wierzbicki, and printed
by the late governor, Washington Bart
lett.
The first newspaper published il
Yerba Buena was called the California