The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1894-04-28
EXPIRED IN A CHARITY WARD
old William MCGarrahan, the Fa-
nous Claimant. Expires in
WASHINGTON

/ Congress has ever known, is dead. For
thirty-six years he fought for a rich
tract of California mineral land, and
i've times it was legally declared his
own. The years made him bald and
] gray and rheumatic, and his battles in
the courts and in Congress dissipated
his fortune, and when death came to-
day it summoned him in a charity ward
in the Providence Hospital. Yet had
he what ls rightfully his own he would
now be among the wealthiest mine
/ owners in the Couutry-the possession
/ of lands and mines worth anywhere
from -, 900, 600 to 500 900 900
During all of these years of weary lit
lgatlon and petitiOning William McCiar-
rahan has been nOminally arraigned
against the United States government.
That Is to say, If the title to the PanO-
che oTrande did not vest in him, as he
claimed, it did vest in the United
States. Hence all his actions have
been brought against the | nited States
and his petitions have been made
to Congress. Yet it has not been the
United States who really opposed him.
The nlted States courts three times
affirmed his title to the land; Congress
slonal investigating committees have
declared emphatiCally in his favor, and
various officials of high degree who
have passed upon his claim have ex-
expressed themselves as perfectly
satisfied with the clearness of his title.
Ills real opponent was private corpora
ton known as the New Idria Mining
company, which squatted upon his
land shortly after he purchased it and
has ever since been making enormous
profits out of the rich deposits Of quick
silver found beneath its rocky surface.
1t is this squatting CORPORATION that
kept William Mctiarrahan out Of his
rights all these years.
:" 1t was in the davs of the big Cali
iornla boom, you know, and everything
prospered, he said recently in tellin.
his story. Money was made Dv the
barrel and turned over with a shovel |
plunged into the thiCkest of it and got
rich along with the rest. | bought and
sold 500 barrels Of brandy in one day.
| dealt IN tobacco by the shipload Nv
income was 5000 a month. And vet
lived simply. Ny wants were few
and | never married. It was along
about that time ! net Gomez, and he
wanted TO sell me some land. He had got
his Rancho FanOche Grande by a grant
from the Mexican government snd his
title tO 1t was clear Well. il was a Wild
t'' '''" II 4'i 'ii' NliHtI lltS9 81
ne southern counties OF aHt0rnIa. but
had faith In the country and thought
1t would be a GOOD thing to buv. So |
bought It and paid him $ll 900 for it.
" ny, ~ 900 was no more to me then
than dollar is now After a time |
hedTi lhat 1hGfe was quicksilver on
iuN 'dH'h ana lhat some sIuatter8
.''s' -. ~
til,,,.t. ,TI
"O'',i ~ ~ = 5l.,i ~" a.
-. paolIv,1, anu MY louIl4 ~ ~!ltll
,ii w! d Ill"n.A "l!L d Iltie machinery
IdNiliF 'ile quISksllTef out OF my rocks
,I ~ t nav tui .tu .' mem an oI'; paS
S, en- Oh 'llc elo' II L'i'' ~ "
dn,on ~ of tI,o,,,, ~ T.. - - .
,h;,,i.;,,,. Ill a,,r -
D,. /" '.'i' a i'I.'i - .li' ''" -
i,1,si,,,.. - - '.''ii ''i'' NY
So = ~ ~.
,1.:Ii; - " :, -',iiii''- " ''i' 0''i' -
'.''i;.I, W IA "'I"il az = Eol i"''i M
t.I, fiII. ~ =. 1 'Ls Ml'"',' u'",
rort ~ ~, IJo,,s ,.n,,|1ittao -, ,r,.ato
fand ,.Iaims ubi,b lost f,II rr,.toI
IN examine intn;t TIis rn,,nrt ,,,,,t..s
AZ crnat i.,otL fror, ,La ror,nr,
,;I .,i;..
rasantatiIa iamins + VIVIAN ,bs
- I,;,,,,,,,
barsti,." r, +I 49,, -
IL. I.;l.I - ~ ~ ti,,' i''
- ,'ie % t1 l.'t.'' I3iiGIt9s II" Io"o' ~
kNIT,,i VI NJ 'iiIo .i'"t II.
,.'i'.c, ,It' in'''1' Tila' .''en tilc
,am ~ = ~, - 'it, 'l,il.I ilIt, a.,
al ,,1,,,,, ,,',,,;,,, - Y.i.,
,[s,t"I th;s tra+ f Ta,i LIZ ,, 'i' 'n,a, f@
Ssa,,l Eros o,, -" ',,,, ar.,, u, NJ"
,ar, ,., 7'' w, I;,,l, l',,' y -
W. 'CC,'iI;s' Cniifr, ~ ',,,,i,, '.,,,TI ~
I,;ta ~, ,3 ~ ~ ~
trnaty of iSts tLat nrdnert, nf avtr,. ,I'y
Kind bclongingto Mcxicans should hc in
violahlv respected, aud that the nited
/ States should enforce the rights of Nexi-
( cans in such property. Thus Come
was secure in his title to the property
4 when California became an American
possession. and consequently he was
! legally empowered to cell it az hcchosc