Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-05-14


years in improving.
This state of things, which even at this day
largely prevails over the region covered by the
treaty Of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the board of
commissioners is rapidly doing away with by
settling property rights and determining boun-
daries. In performing this work great guam
titles Of papers, mostly in the Spanish language
have to be gone over. Many of them are
| forged or otherwise fraudulent, while others
have become more or less injured through age
For example, a copy of one document submit
ted in evidence by the Pueblo town of Tome.
in New Mexico, reads: 1--WE therefore pray
you to be pleased (eaten by mice) at that time
(eaten by MICE said settlers, we being dis
posed to settle on the same (eaten by mice),"
DC. One of the curious formalities essential to
transfer Of real estate under the old Spanish
law consisted in TIE pulling up of weeds aua
throwing Of stones to the four winds by the
proprietor as a sign of possession.
THE sYMNEs GRANT.
Much trouble was caused at one time by de-
fective title in grant obtained nearly CEN
fury ago by John Cleves Symmes and a COM
pany. 1t was located in Ohio and covered
nearly million acres. He failed to get patents
for all Of the land and the rights of people
who purchased portions of it were dubious I'M
TIL Congress directed that the patents should is
sue. Interest attaches to the case because a
daughter of Symmes, who was himself O dele
gate to the Continental Congress from Della
ware in 1856. became the wife of President
william Henry Harrison. A nephew of Symmes,
named after him, was the author of the cele-
brated "Symmes' hole" idea. He promulgated
the theory that the earth was hollow, habitable
within, open at the poles for admission of
light, and contained six or seven concentric hol-
low spheres likewise. open at the poles
1t Is probable that the government will never
issue any more ''land scrip" because that sys-
tenn has been very much abused. This has been
IalIv H.
scrip" which was given to T. B. Valentine by
Congress in 1872. 1t was bestowed to satisfy
his claim for land in California which was taken
from him by Uncle Sam unjustly. The extent
OF territory represented by the scrip was no less
than 1,516, 900 acres, nearly all of it in forty
acre pieces. This scrip could be located on any
unappropriated part of the public domain in
Guiding portions which had not been surveyed.
1t was quickly utilized by spectators. who
would pounce upon valuable patch where two
townships in or near city did not quite come
together, and take possession by locating there
piece of the scrip, which could be purchased
in the market for $40 an acre.
In this way forty-acre piece of scrip would be
located upon two-acre patch worth many thou
sands of dollars. One ingenious investor at
ner Of a section OF the park on the lake front in
Chicago, which has value of millions. Similar
methods were employed to obtain at a small
price valuable portions of unoccupied lands in
the west What remains Of the Valentine scrip
on the market Is held now at about 500 an
acre. Little games of like description are
worked today by sharp fellows in West vir-
ginia. where land titles and boundaries
VIGOROUSLY mixed, who go through the
country with surveying instruments and hunt
for 'lapses" between landed properties where
spaces have been left by imperfect surveys.
Such spaces they fence in and record claims for.
One of the 9ueerest documents on file at the
general land office is affidavit signed by an
old gentleman named lotion declaring himself
to be periodical drunkard. When Illinois,
which at one time belonged to France. was ac-
quired by the United States ill-disposed persons
tried to rob the heirs of many old French col
onists of their rightful possessions. lotion
owned a big tract near Kaskaskia and swim
dlers made him intoxicated for the purpose of
obtaining his signature to transfers of his claims.
He was thus induced to sign away his title to a
vast amount of property, having absorbed
''three quarts of liquor" as he AYERS. This
affidavit, together with other evidence, caused
the transfers to be set aside and lotion and his
heirs got back the land.
ALIEN LAND HOLDERS.
Critics Of the governments land policy as
sert that most of the public domain not taken
by the railways has been gobbled by foreigners.
"Cheap and free lands in America" has been the
cry all over Europe for the last twenty-five
years. Hand bills are distributed everywhere
in the old world by steamship lines and rail-
ways giving glowing accounts of the paradise
to be found across the seas. In these advertise
ments the arid regions of the west become
fruitful fields waving with spontaneous harvests.
the bOundless sage brush plains are transformed
into orange groves. and the deserts from which
the starved coyote flies bowling is known as the
'banana belt Of the northwest" The blizzard
and cyclone are described zephyrs of delight
and the prevailing lack of water il referred to
Co. ax,,l.
will be no swamps to produce malaria.
GRANTS TO RAILWAYS.
Some Of the grants of land made by Uncle
Sam to railways are simply gigantic. The
Union Central Pacific alone got Al 900 900 acres
To help along its construction the government
loaned the road $4,000 per mile of tracks laid,
issuing bonds for the amount required. 1t
also gave permission that the property should
be mortgaged to the extent of S25, 900 mile.
such mortgage to be Of the nature of first
mortgage, the United States being satisfied
with a secondary lien. Every other section in
a strip of twenty miles wide on eachisde of the
road was made present to its owners The
latter. notwithstanding these gigantic gifts, at
present owe the government S115000,0 600.
The Northern Pacific road got no loan from
the government, but secured grant of SO ,000-
600 acres. Instead OF strip forty miles wide
across the continent, such as was obtained by
the Union Central and Southern Pacific lines.
it possessed itself of an available eighty-mile
strip, likewise in alternate sections. This
strip includes much of the most valuable lands
in the northwest, taking in timber tracts of
enormous worth and rich coal mines. which
supply the locomotives with fuel The main
stem. together with its feeders. owns pretty
nearly all of the country that is worth having
From Bismarck, Oak, to the Pacific ocean the
conditions governing the grant OF the strip
have not. it is held, been complied with and bills
are introduced in every Congress to declare the
gift forfeited
According to the calculation of the general
land office, after all deductions and forfeitures
have been made. 155, O0O. 900 acres will be re-
quired to satisfy the grants made by Uncle Sam
to railways up to 1880.
HIS FIRST OFFENSE.
He Took a Girl to the Circus, but the Barber