Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1894-04-06
The Grant Question No Impedi-
ment to the Fights Of the
Miners---A Winner for
the Poor Man.
A Readable Review of the Progress
of the Camps in Six Weeks
Magic Cities and How
They Grow.

Cochiti Mines, April 5.-In compliance
with your special commission to report
the actual prospects of the newly discov-
cred Cochiti mineral district, have to
say that after twenty days hard work in
the Pine and Cochiti canons of this coun-
try I am fully convinced for reasons
hereafter given that the greatest camp of
the present decade has been opened. The
miners now on the ground are composed
principally of the best prospectors of
New Mexico, to whom are added daily
influx of Coloradoans. The men who are
out in the hills looking for leads have
found them readily. They are satisfied
with the "liveliness' of the rock, have
full confidence in the
PERMANENCE OF THE LEADS,
and in fact among the actual, bona fide
miners on the ground there is not sim
gle croaker. This unhealthy genus is
confined almost entirely to a few fellows
who do not know ore when they see it,
but whom some confding tenderfoot was
silly enough to grub-stake. These alleged
prospectors, about dozen of them, lie
around camp all day, industriously strike
three square meals and lunch, and
"cuss" the camp. Their great cry is,
"these mines are only blow-outs or break
overs. They don't 60 down. Besides
they are on a grant
THE GRANT QUESTION.
have given considerable attention to
the point of how far these mines are
affected by the interests of alleged Span
ish land grantees. have talked with one
of the leading lawyers representing the
adverse interests, and find that he is not
at all over sanguine as to the success OF
the grants in this section.
The grants are the Rito de los Fri
joles, No. Al, purporting to be made in
1880 for $4,000 acres, filed in the land
court by P. l.. Wander Veer, D. H. Smith
and James H. Purdy.
The Ojo del Oso grant which has not
been filed and therefore can not be con-
firmed.
The Ojo del Borrego, two claims No. 95
represented by N. B. Laughlin, and No.
1876 by James H. Purdy, purporting to be
made March 4, 1858. The first claim is
for four equare leagues, or about town
ship of land and the latter for $4,000
acres.
The Canada de Cochiti grant is also
filed under two separate claims, both for
lo4,554.24 acres, purporting to be grant
ed August 2, 1928. Claim No. 2O5 to this
grant is filed by j. II. Knaebel for Joel
Parker Whitney, ct al, and No. 240 to the
same land by N. B. Laughlin, for Manuel
Hurtado, ct al.
The above named grants have all con-
flicting and almost inextricably confound-
ed boundaries. It would be almost i'm
possible to convey clear idea of their
situation, other than to say that they lap
and interlap in about the order named.
1t would be the less valuable to go into
the question, as the Peralta grantees claim
the modest area of 100000 acres covering
all the other grants and considerable
country besides. This claim is repre-
sented by Geo. Hill Howard and Jeffries
g. Earle. 1t purports to be made January
IL, 1928, and therefore antedates all the
others.
RATHER SHADY TITLES.
1t would hardly be wise, indeed, very
thankless, task to 60 into all these cloudy
titles. The only purpose served would be
to post the grantees ON the points of
In hot Matt
nolds, the U. s. attorney, is preparing in
the interest of the government and the
people. There are none of them that
bear equitable faces. Take the Frijoles
for instance, it was originally petitioned
for as a piece of land lately reconquered
from rebellious Indians, the settler desir-
ing "on said piece of land to cultivate
ten fanegas of wheat and two fanegas of
corn aud pasture very small! herd of sheep
and few horses" The boundaries set
forth in the petition and the grant cover
$4,000 acres-a pretty good sized kitchen
garden and pasture lot But this is not
all. A fanega, while a Spanish measure
of grain, is also according to the law ex-
tant at that day an arbitrary land meas
ure. According to it fanega of wheat
land was exactly 1.53 acres, and corn
land fanega was 1882 acres. Conse.
quently it was never contemplated to
cultivate more than 32.97 acres un-
der this grant, and including the pasture
right needed not more than 16O acres
we're to be used in any way or at any
time. The probability is that the SQUAD
bles of the various conflicting interests
will develop case of "dog eat dog" and
the miners rights will be amply protect
ed and safe from uaurDation