Wichita eagle., 1889-11-20
BETTER Than A Mine.
A CALIFORNIAN WHO ACCIDENTALLY
FOUND A SPANISH GRANT.

They Are Peculiar Legal Instrument
| Which Sweep Everything There ID i.
| Sight-The Young Man Made tho Father
of His Sweetheart Walk Up and Settle.
Speaking OF Spanish grants, s'pose they've
| stirred up more onpleasantness in this coun-
| try than anything. These Spanish grants
are big pa'cels of land which the Mexican
government had sold or given away afore
California was bought by the United States.
OF course our government didn't know
nothing about these grants, which had
mostly been deserted by the owners, an OF
course sold the land over again to settlers
Then when the settlers improved the land an
made it valuable the Teller which holds the
Spanish title hobs up an claims the ranch.
They generally has lawsuit, but the courts
ALWAYS decide for the teller which holds the
first title Of course
DISCOVERS THE DEED.
Yknowed one case a couple Of years ago
where thought the first owner was justified
in reclaimin' his property, but l reckon the
land owners in Suffer county thought cy-
clone had struck 'en. 1t came about this
way: Old John Coveo an Teller named Has
kins come out here jest before gold was dis
covered They went in cahoots an bought
up an old Spanish grant in Suffer county,
which was called the Rio Bonito grant, an
stocked it with sheep an cattle Things run
along alright for about three years an they
made some money. Then come a dry year
the first an last one ever knowed in the state
an their stock died off by the hundreds for
want of feed 1t busted 'em fat Jest about
q hot r 49, I,..l-
made rush for the diggin's. That's how
come to know him. We mined together up
on the Yuba river-was partners for over two
years. We made heaps of stuff in the placer
diggin's, but lost it all in flumin' the river
expectin' to take out million apiece. | left
there then, an didn't hear no more of Coveo
till about the fall of co. when he got caught
in cave in a tunnel an was killed He left
wilder an son. They lived at Marys-
vile, a town that had sprung up on the Rio
Bonito grant. The boys name was Charlie,
an he growed up with the town an studied
law there. He was admitted to the. bar an
went to practicin', but somehow he didn't
seem to do real first rate-was too blamed
honest, l reckon; took after his father, who
was the honeStest man I most ever saw But
he managed to scrape along an pan out
enough stuff to keep up with the society
swim of the town Then he fell i'll love with
the daughter of old Montgomery, who owned
the Golden Gate bank there. The girl loved
him, too-harder than a mule could kick
down hill-buc the old man was dead agin
the match, cause he allowed the young Teller
was poor an didn't have no prospects of
strikin' a rich lead.
Things run along that way for some time,
an Charlie an the girl, who was a mighty
poorly little thing, was jest a-breakin' their
hearts. Finally one day when Charlie was
lookin' over some old papers what belonged
to his father he finds the deed to a half inter
est in the Rio Bonito grant. He asked his
mother about it, but lawsl womanlike, she
didn't know whether her husband had sold it
to any one Of not. The deed called for an I'M
divided half of about 20, 600 acres of the best
land in Suffer county, includin' that on
which the town of Marysville was built
CHARLIE GOT EVEN.
Charlie put in about a month diggin' up
old county records an at last found that his
father hadn't sold cents worth Of his inter-
est in the grant. The young feller then set
about maxim out legal papers claimin' half
interest in all the land for miles around there.
He hired lawyer from Frisco to help him,
an when he got the papers ready, which took
q month, he was so poor that he had 10 bor-
row the money to file 'em in court. Then he
swooped down on them fellers like a hawk,
commencin' with the town property. The
first man he tackled owned couple of vacant
lots, an when he looked at the papers an
saw that the young teller had the drop on
him he planked out $500 without kick; then
another one hands over 81 200. This gave
Charlie workin' capital an he went for
others rough shod an gathered 'em in right
and left. l reckon lots of 'em felt like hang
in him But he never cinched q poor man.
When be found one what couldn't ante up he
passed out en- let him take the pot. When
the youngster come to tackle the ranchers he
expected there would be trouble an lawsuits
over the biz, so he picked out the richest cuss
on the grant, expectin to make test case Of
1t, but when the Teller come in with his law
yer an looked over the papers he seed which
way the cat was going to jump an PUNCHED
up his check for 81, 900 After that it wa.
just like fludin' money.
The young Teller was a Good Templar,
which was the only thing l had agin him
didn't believe in the seliin' of good whisky
an the first thing he done after gettin' con
siderable coin WIS to 20 an lease ball for
twenty years an trim it up elegant an give
it to the lodge. 1t seemed like mighty fool
ish thing 70 do, but most everybody lowed il
was good act.
By that time the young Teller had more
money than horse could pull, an was the
richest man around there. Old Montgomery
wanted 20 take him into partnership, but
Coveo lowed he'd start bank Of his own
which he did.
Montgomery owned a heap of city prop
erty which he hadn't cashed up on, so one
day the young Teller saunters around 70 the
bank ard says:
Montgomery, you've got considerable
property here in town an the way / reckon
II OWLS about half Of it, which in money is
something like sI5, COO Jest draw q check
for that amount, please"
The old man made out the check an give
1t 10 him, and | guess he give him something
else along with it, for it wasn't long after
that till Charlie an the girl went into part
nership. Now the young felier is the mos,
looked-up 70 man in that whole section-In-
terview II Chicago Times.