Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1894-04-10
HISTORIC DATA.
Some Timely Pointers Oh the Alleged
Canada de COchiti Grant
Original Documents.


some uneasiness on the part of some of
the people in the newly opened Cochiti
mining district lest the alleged Canada de
Cochiti grant shall retard development
by driving out capital and discouraging
the hardy prospector. Some facts and
official data on the subject may therefore
prove of timely interest to your readers
On the I'd day of August, 1928, Antonio
Lucero, resident of Albuquerque, petit
toned the then captain general of New
Mexico for piece IF land i'll the Canada
de Cochiti on which to plant ten fanegas
of wheat and two of corn and on which to
he then had. His object was to secure
control of the canada or valley of Cochiti.
He gave as boundaries on the north the
old pueblo of Cochit, on the south the
lands of the natives of said pueblo, on
the east the Rio del Norte and on the west
the Jemez mountains. Such it is claimed
was the petition of Mr.. Lucero. The land
contained within the above boundaries
does not exceed 1000 acres of land, not
withstanding the fact that the grant has
been surveyed for 114,000 acres. If the
claim 10 ever established by better evil
dence than that which is on file in the
surveyor generals Office, it will never
contain more than the above men
toned number of acres-all the land con-
tanned in the canada proper, all that Mr..
Lucero ever asked for.
THE PAPERS ON FILE.
The old Spanish and Mexican archives
do not contain any documents showing
that grant was ever made covering the
Canada de Cochiti to Antonio Lucero or
any one else. The papers that are on
file, and which purport to be Spanish
grant, we're filed by private individuals,
who claim that they are genuine. The
principal paper is certified copy of an
alleged grant. On the 30th day of De-
cember, 1917, Don Juan Antonio Cabeza
de Baca signed his name as chief alcalde
of Cochiti to certificate, certifying that
the foregoing" is true, legal and cor
rect copy of the grant to Antonio Lucero.
He states that he had the grant copied
with great deal of difficulty owing to
the bad condition in which the original
then was. He also certifies that he signed
the certificate and that the same was also
signed by number of witnesses whose
names appear under his name.
One of the witnesses is supposed tc
have been a very prominent gentleman Of
that time, historical parsonage, whose
handwriting Is we'll known to all persons
who have had any thing to do with the oil
archives. In this instance the signature
of this gentleman is
CLEAR CASE OF FORGERY,
as anyone can see by comparing tn
genuine signature appearing on othe
papers on file in the same vault with thi
supposed grant. There is no question II
the world that this supposed copy is wei
doctored; the signatures are forgeries 8
far as the witnesses are concerned, an
the whole thing seems to be fraud i
more respects than one.
Below the alcalde's certificate appear
the following extraordinary endorsement
The original in Spanish was written in
great hurry, words we're left out, an
there is no clear meaning to the indorse
ment, at least, to one not familiar with tn
methods of the chief alcalde:
... AN HISTORIC DOCUMENT.
"Before me, Don Juan Antonio Cabaz
de Baca, chief alcalde of the jurisdictio
of Cochiti, do cede the same right whic
the legitimate heirs of this grant to a
there may be living upon the tract, the
having contributed in common to payin
the amount of fees for this grant, an
that it may SO appear in all time, signe
this as aforesaid to which l certify.
"JuAN ANTONIO CABEzA DE BAoA.
"Witnesses:
"JuAN EsrEBAN ARAGoN,
"JuAN GONZALES, -....
SEBASTIAN SALAs."
The above is correct translation {
the Spanish Endorsement. After readin
the same carefully one not posted can nj
make any sense out of it. The insit
facts, however, are these:
At the time that Mr.. Baca made til
above Endorsement he was getting Of
and as he made the Endorsement in gre'
haste he left few words out of his ce
titicate which are rather material to tt
same. What he meant to say is that tt
owners of the grant appeared before hi
as chief alcalde and declared that the
would and did cede, grant and convey t
all the people who lived or had rancho
in that tract
EQUAL RIGHT TO THE LAND
as the legitimate heirs of the origins
grantee might have had therein. TIL
was very considerate action on the pa
of Mr.. Baca in view of the fact that
had ranch in the valley himself. Thel
was a small grant covering that vale
granted to a couple of officers in tt
Spanish army who came to New Mexic
from Pueblo de Zaragosa in Old Mexic
In their first petition they state that the
had registered piece of land in tt
Canada de Cochiti which had formerl
been granted to one Antonio Lucero
ancient times but that the same had bee
abandoned. 1t was shown to the satisfa
ton of the governor and captain gener
that the land had
BEEN ABANDONED BY LUoERo
and the grant was made to them. IT