Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1892-10-18

i
dangers and hardships OF life
among the savoges. Immediately
after confirmation, aud during the
years Of 1860 to 1865 he gave the
heads of all the families living or
the grant deeds for pieces of agri-
cultural land lying along the
streams, running from 30 to 100
acres each and covering all the
eeaost agricultural lands within
reach Of economical and profitable
irrigation These various pieces
of land carried with them, accord
ing to the original deeds from
Francisco Martinez, the patentee,
the right to pastures, water, wood,
lumber and free and common roads
throughout the entire grant These
people, more than thousand Of
them, continued to live on this
grant in contentment and peace,
cultivating their little FARMS to
supply the vegetable part Of their
subsistence and grazing their
aocks and herds among the grassy
hills of the grant in pastoral SIM
plicity and quiet, until I. B. Cat
ron appeared on the scene in tho
seventies.
The above are record facts, and
here are some more record facts
which connect the above history
with the above extract in a very
important way to those concerned
During the latter seventies and
early eighties Catron acquired the
interests in this grant of the eight
sons of Manuel Martinez and of
their defendants where the son%
were dead.
On August 18th, 1883, he fled
his bill in chancery in the Office Of
the district court for this judicial
district, in this city, in suit to
quiet title in this grant in himself
and on the next day, Aug, 1S, SER
vice of summons in this suit
against about 1000 Mexican peo-
pie, living thereon under the above
related circumstances, was had by
publication in the Springer Stock
man, an English paper published
at Springer in a different part Of
the territory entirely and more
than two hundred miles away from
the grant as the crow hies-a pa
per in different language from
theirs, in different part of the
territory and across two of the
main ranges of the Rockies, not
one single copy Of which circulated
in their county at that time.
Catron was attending court every
term in their county practicing
his profession and knew a large
part of these people but made no
effort whatever to give them
notice of this suit. In fact the
conclusion seems irresistible that
he tried to conceal it else he
would have published the sum-
mons in a newspaper here in San
Ia Fe much nearer to the people
and much more likely to circulate
among them, and by posting noti-
ces in public places in their midst,
or by serving summons on some
of them well known to him and
. for many of whom he was attorney
in their legal business. But he
did nothing save to conceal the
: suit by publication in a distant
English paper Even the title Of
he suit was as inconspicuous as it
could well have been male. 1t
was against "the unknown heirs
! of Manuel Martinez, Eusebio Mar
tinez, Sixto Martinez, and all
others claiming parts or interests
in the TERRA Amarillo grant" not
mentioning the name of a single
one of these people who were Will
known to him as residents of Che
/, grant and claimants and owners
!, of pieces of land thereon when he
fret saw the estates. The suit
was filed ON Aug. IL, summons
published next day and on Sept.
%, following, proof of publication
was made and on Sept %, just
: forty days after filing the suit,
decree was made and entered de-
elarine Catron's title 20 be perfect
and absolute TO every part and
parcel of the grant except about
so acres owned and cultivated by
some Of the heirs Of Francisco
Martinez which he excepted in
his suit This decree. 80 quietly
Z and quickly procured without even
a reference to a master TO take
D.