davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Arizona republican., 1895-05-24

The rights of the locator were. soon af- Water Storage company, organized under the laws of Kentucky.
 The construction of the great dam was commenced immediately. It was built of solid stone and rose to height of no feet above bedrock, creating a reservoir having an extent of 530 acres. in three years 1850, 900 was spent Il pon the construction.
 When it was nearly finished it gave way one night before the weight of waters gathered from Feb ruary storm. That was such night of horror as had occurred only onc4 before in the United States, when Lake Conemangh went out, and never since. The mortality attending the Johnstown flood was greater only be- cause the population in the narrow valley of the Conemaugh was more dense, but sparsely settled as the banks of the Hassayampa were the Walnut | Grove flood found not less than eighty victims that night, nearly one fifth of one per cent of the popula- tion of the territory.
 | Little was seen of the havoc. The roar of the water was heard for miles and as the solid wall dashed along phospores- cent gleam through the inky dark ness of cloudy night, was thrown from it's angry crest. Everything went before the flood. There was absolutely no obstruction. Rocks weighing tons and tons were not rolled along, but were picked up and tossed like blocks oi wood. The greatest mortality occurred in camps on the lately dry bed of the river, always 8 dangerous camping ground. Others, were swept away from places of supposed security farther up and beyond any height ever reached by the Hassayampa in it's angriest mood | Bodies were picked up along the banks days after and, weeks, monthe and even years later there were found l half buried in the sand the skeletons land occasionally the strangely pre- served bodies of men who had beer swept along in that awful flood.
 The occasional sweep of the Missis sippi covering a tier of counties or either side conveys 8 stronger impres sion of the majestic and irresistible power of water, but never was there { more striking exhl lbition of it's and de- structive force than was witnessed or that February morning after the Wal ' nut Grove dam went out.
Arizona republican., 1895-05-24
WALNUT GROVE DAM.
That Huge Reservoir to Be Re.
 constructed.
Amended Notices of Location and Appropriation Filed Tn This
 City Yesterday.

The great Walnut Grove dam, whose mention recalls the most dreadful disaster in the history of Arizona, is to be rebuilt. Amended notices of locs- tion of the dam site at the head of Walnut Grove canon in Yavapai county and of the appropriation of all waters of Hassayampa creek were filed yester- day. The original notice ot appropri-
 ation was filed twelve years ago by Wells H. Bates, and location of the dam site was made three years later.
Arizona republican., 1895-05-24
Causing Trouble in the
 Probate Court.
A Third Wife Comes in for a
 Share of His Property
: After Two Others Had Discovered
 and Made "a Division.
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
 SAN FRANCISCO, May 23.-Ths estate of dead bigamist is causing trouble in the probate court. When David Jafe died letters of administration were issued to his widow, Annie, Jeffs.
 In another department of the probate court letters were issued to Fannie Levin of Philadelphia, widow of Louis Levin, upon the same property. When the two widows found out that they had the same husband they quietly di- vided the estate between them.
 Now the widow of A. Levet, another alias, of the same man, claims share of the estate which has already been distributed. >.
Arizona republican., 1895-05-24
A Tombstone Party.

From the Tombstone Prospector.
 A pleasant and merry party was given last evening at the residence of W. A. Harwood or Third street, in honor of the Tombstone graduates. The beauti- ful lawn and grounds were decorated with hanging Chinese lanterns and in each inviting nook and under the hov- ering trees were placed seats and chairs presenting most enticing appearance. The school teachers and young gradu- ates were most royalty entertained and to say an enjoyable time was spent would but faintly express it. Delicious refreshments were served and the hours were whiled away in dancing and other amasements. It was past mid night hen the fair graduates and par ticipants sang their farewell song and bade the negotiable hostess a reluctant goodnight.
Arizona republican., 1895-05-24
GATHERING FRAGMENTS.
Coroner's Inquest on theCaIifornia
 Powder Works Explosion,

MARTINEZ, Cal, May 23.-The jury impanneled to hold an inquest on the powder works case, will commence it's work tomorrow.
 The coroner shipped fragments of the Chinamen to San Francisco tonight. The leg of white man was found but the families of Vengas and Dean will not claim it. The coroner is holding it here.
Arizona republican., 1895-05-24

Freed from Dreadful Shadow.
 REDWOOD CITY, Cal, May 23.-John J. Clancy was today acquitted Of his fathers murder.
Arizona republican., 1895-05-24
Coin and Bullion.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 23.-Silver bars, 6775@6S; Mexican dollars 53@5314.
Arizona republican., 1895-06-16
The Contest Begins.

Gen. Clark Churchill, then residing at Prescott, and who was attorney general of the territory, hearing of this claim personally visited the surveyor -generaPs office in Tucson and made an inspec- tion of the petition and papers of Rea- wis and procured copies and transla- tions, and becoming satisfied that the claim was not valid, he returned to Phoenix and called together the mem. bers of the bar residing here and ex- plained to them his views and exhibited copies of the papers to show the foun- dation of his belief that the claim was fraudulent; he urged the surveyor gen. eral to make an immediate investiga- tion into the merits of the claim. But it was sad that that officer was with out funds to defray the expense of making an investigation; that il would involve an examination of the records and archives in the cities of Guadala- jara and City of Mexico and in Madrid ang Seville in Spain and that no appro- pristion had been made by the govern ment to defray the expense; there seemed no way In which the claimant could be forced to hearing or to show his hand. His petition and alleged title papers were with the archives of the government and he was in posi- tion to assert title to the vast tract ot land covered by his claim and the set tiers seemed without remedy against the cloud and doubt which was raising, and by his insidious method ot giving deeds when he could not sell them to influential settlers and persons who owned lands covered by his alleged grant was being constantly intensified over the titles of the settlers to their lands and homes.
Arizona republican., 1895-06-16
An Adverse Report,

This report all prepared and made ready to sign and with 200 copies al- ready printed for distribution were left in the office when Gen. Hise retired and his successor, Gen. Royal A. John son came in. Gen. Johnson had filled the office one term before Gen. HIse and he was also his successor, and he came into office the second time with much information about Reavis and his claim. Gen. Johnson during his first term had been severely criticised on ac- count of this claim. The belief got abroad that he was favorable to the pretentions of the claimant. But on returning to office in 1889 he had an op- portunity to disabuse the public mind on this score, and to his credit be it said he improved that opportunity by making report adverse to the claim. The trouble seems to have been before this that it WAS believed by the in- cum bents of the office that it was the duty of the surveyor general to go oat- side of the office in the territory and look up the files and records of Spain with view to ascertain the validity of this claim; and the surveyors-general before General Churchill prepared the report for Gen. Hise were under the be- lief that Reavis had made out a prima facie case by his papers filed in the of- flee and that unless evidence was found outside of those papers to prove they were not genuine-that the claim was in fact established. Gen. Churchill took the ground that these papers themselves contained intrinsically the proof that they were not genuine, that they wero fraudulent and forged and could not in the very nature of thinge have been issued by the crown oi | Spain.
Arizona republican., 1895-06-16
Governmental Apathy.

It seemed as though the government was deaf, dumb and blind to the situ ation. During the term of office of John Hise as surveyor-general efforts were made to move him to take action and report the fraud and stop the con- fdence game of Reavis, and General Churchill. to that end at great labor and expense prepared an elaborate ar gument demonstrating the fraudulent and negotiable character of the claim and urging Gen. Hise to SO report up- on it, and in order to inspire Gen. Hise with the full appreciation of his duties in the matter he invited Judge Barnes (althouhg he was one of the justices of the supreme court at that time and could not act as an attorney to go over the case with him; and justice demands that full credit be given to Judge Barnes for the manly and honorable part he took in that matter, although it came to naught not through any fault of his how ever, for he urged upon Gen. Hise with all his great personal influence that he ought to make an immediate report in the case.
Arizona republican., 1895-06-16
NOtice.

In the Probate Court of Maricopa County, A, T., in the matter of the estate of Daniel McAndrew.
 It appearing to this court by the petition this day presented and filed by J, L. Cant, administrator of the estate of Daniel Nc. Andrew, deces sed, that it is necessary to sell the whole or some portion of the real estate of said decedent to pay the debts of said decedent and the expenses and charges of administra- tion.
 It is therefore ordered by this court that all persons interested in the real estate of said deceased, appear before the said probate court on Saturday the 29th day of June, A. D. 1895, at the hour of 10 o'clock a. m. of said day, at the court room of said court at the court house in the City of Phoenix, County of Maricopa, Terri tory of Arizona, to show cause why an order should not be granted to said administrator to sell so much of the said real estate as shall be necessary and that copy of this order be pub hshed four successive weeks in THE ARIZONA REPUBLICAN, newspaper printed and publish ed in said county. Dated May 2s, A. D., 1895.
 c. W. GROUSE,
 Judge of the Probate Court. [Date of first publication May 30, 1S95.l
Arizona republican., 1895-06-16
An Incorporated Affair,

In some place abroad he formed a corporation which he called the Casa Grande Improvement company with nominal capital stock of $25 1000. 000- all on paper as fraudulent as his pre- tended cedulas, expedientes, wills and court records by which he had deluded and guled the people here. With this capital stock he swung around the country and imposed upon several me- tropolitan newspapers which published elaborate descriptions with portraits of him setf and his wife as being of the nobility of Spain-designating them as the Baron and Baroness ot the Colo radOs-and owners of a hacienda and 5000, ,000 acres of land in Arizona, in- cluding it's principal cities, mines and valleys. By this means attention was called to them and they were made as conspicuous in the public eye as the Princess Eulalia herself when she came to represent the royal family of Spain at the Worlds Fair at Chicago and the gaping multitude was anxious to see theso pretended members of nobility and they opened their purses and bought stock in the Casa Grande I'm. provement company.
 With the aid of the moneys derived from these sources they visited Spain and sojourned in the fine old cities of Seville and Madrid, using money so lavishly and travelling and living in such state that they were received as though they were of the ''real old stock"-aIthough as it now appears Reavis is graduate from hackstand in Los Angeles and his wife is the pa- poose of a Digger Indian squaw.
 In the meantime the United States authorities took no steps to expose or to stop this fraudulent business-which to @ certain extent was indirectly cast ing sort of suspicion if not cloud over titles which had to be explained away in many instances before intend ing investors would buy or lend money ! on mortgages.
Arizona republican., 1895-06-16
A Complete Change.

On the last named day he filed new and altogether different petition in the office ot the United States Surveyor. General for Arizona. pertaining how. ever to the same alleged grant. In this new petition. he not only changed his base as to the method of deriving his title but he changes his own name.
 In signing his name to this new pe- tition he wrote James Addison Peraha Reduis-having apparently adopted the name Peralta as one of his christian names and still later in other docu- ments which he signed he made the word Peralta part Of his family name, and wrote 1t Peraltareavis-all in one word, showing that evolution is etill in progress and that in time he might himself become Miguel Peralta. cap tain of dragons, who rendered meri- torious service to the kings of Spain and was therefore granted the vast tract of land in New Spain and made Baron of the Colorados.
 But the evolution in the nature of the claim is not less remarkable. In this new petition he did not become the claimant in his own right but the
 
 Loretta Micaela de Maso Reavis Per alta de la Cordoba, who was repre- sented by the petition to be the wife of the petitioner, with whom he had in- termarried since the petition of 1883 was filed and he claimed the land in her right as the sole surviving heir of the original grantee.
 Although Reavis fled fr5n Phoenix and Florence before the storm of indig. nstion which was raised against him in those communities through the ex- posures of the spurious character of his claim-and although his income from sales of his fraudulent cloud was shut off in this territory-he sought other fields wherein to pursue his calling of confidence man to catch suckers-and gather in shekels wherewith to main- tain in state his appearance as the Ba- ron of the Colorados and grandee of Spain.
Arizona republican., 1895-06-16
The First ROut,

On the other hand General Churchill, while substantially admitting this as- sertion in SO far as it related to the question as between the claimant and the United States, asserted that the position and assertions of Reavis in this case placed him whereas the holder of an adverse claim to the lands of the settlers he was liable to an action brought by the settlers severally in the territorial courts to quiet their titles that the territorial court having iuris- diction of the subject matter (the land) and of the person of the parties-had jurisdiction to decide as to the validity of this or any adverse claim-as be- tween these private parties-without, of course, affecting the United States in any manner.
 In pursuance of this view and in or der to test the matter, General Chur- chill brought an action to quiet title to tract of land at Pheinx as against Reavis, and upon the trial of that case Reavis had an opportunity to exhibit and prove the validity of his pretended papers but he failed to do so; and judg- ment was taken against him quieting the title to that particular tract of land and adjudging that Reavis had no es- tate nor just clam to it and adjudging that he pay the costs. The effect ol this was very soon apparent. Reavls was checked in his career of black mail and he soon left the neigh borhood and his agents and clerks dispersed.
Arizona republican., 1895-06-16
A Golden Harvest.

In the meantime Reavis went about among the settlers on the lands covered by his pretended claim, exhibiting documents which he said were the original title papers whereby the terri tory was granted by the king of Spain to Miguel Peralta, and offering to sell his claim to the lands occupied to the settlers; and at one time he actually opened land office in Phoenix for the sale of his pretended title to these lands. He was apparently very cun. ming in his methods. He told the peo- pie that he only wanted a nominal price for improved lands as it would be inequitable to make them pay for their
 Improvements; that he wanted to be just to all, and only claim what every one would readily concede to be his rights. By sucn blandishments and
 offers of liberal rewards he enlisted some old residents in his cause and he employed some of them as clerks and some as agents to promote sales of his claim. He asked small consideration for deed conveying the land to the oc- cupant and it was asserted by Reavis and his agents that it would be cheap CT to buy his claim than to even ln'
Arizona republican., 1895-06-16

heir of the original Baron-the pretend ed grantee-on of such deeds filed in the surveyor generals office purporting to have been made by one George M. Willing, who was real live actual man in flesh and blood known to have lived in the world, some times in St. Louis and some times in California. It was discovered and the feet got to the ears of the public that that deed could easi- ly be proven to be forgery; and it is presumable that Reavis himself be- came informed that this forgery which related to real grantor, and pur
 ported to have been acknowledged be- fore an officer still living could be easily proven to be spurious. However this may be one fact was very certain and that was that the claimant James Ad- dison Reavis after the lapse of some- thing over four years from the time of fling his first petition, Sept. 2, 1887, went through one stage of an evolution -as we'll as his claim itself.
Arizona republican., 1895-06-16
A MIRACLE OF FRAUD.
The Most Remarkable Claim of
 Something for Nothing.

The world is full of histories of at- tempts to get something for nothing. The beginning of this history is Jacobs machinations against the birthright of Esau. All history is based upon dis putes concerning real estate. This was the quarrel of the feudal barons settled at last by Magma Charta, and since then wars have given place to litigation.
 Two pre-eminent cases have since arisen for the control of great landed estates. One WAS instituted by the Ticheborne claimant twenty years ago for the possession of the lands attached to an English bsronetcy. The news papers of the world were filled with &C., counts of the trial, the overturning of the claimants claim, his prosecution as acriminal, his conviction as ap i'm postor and his punishment.
 The next, and a much greater fraud, was the attempt by James Addison Reayis to establish claim to 4,5OO, 900 acres of the richest portion of the terri tory of Arizona, including the whole of the Salt River valley, the rich portion of New Mexico. The claim is a rlQlculOuS dnu WOnQ6TIul TOmaHCe.
 The claimant possessed nothing in himself which would ordinarily insure success. His blunders were phenome. nal, exceeded only by the blunders of the government of the United States, and when at last he had proven himself to be the least blunderer he WAS per mitted to remodel his claim and marry the daughter of Digger Indian squaw, inject into her veins Castiian blood and again renew his claim There wss neither ingenuity nor evidence in sup port of the claim. There was nothing but nerve, but SO much of It that the most preposterous fraud in the history of the world was nearly successful. It's almost failure is now announced from Santa Fe, where the final trial is near ing an end. It is agreed on all sides that there can be but one finding. re- fusal to confirm the grant.
Arizona republican., 1895-06-16
The Cloud Becomes BlacHer.

The discussion among the people liv- ing in Phenix, Florence and some other places regarding the merits and demerits of the claim had reached a stage where there was danger that the lands occupied by settlers could not be sold nor mortgaged even where they held the patent of the United States or duplicate receipts for final payment to the Unites States for their lands with out first obtaining deed also from this claimant, Reavis. It threatened to become a cloud so strong that owners of lands within the boundaries of his his pretended claim would be practi- cally at the mercy of the claimant, Reavis.
 The United States would not move in the matter. The lawyers were gen erally of the opinion that there was no remedy except by the action of con- gress or by some tribunal to be created for the purpose of disposing of such claims.
 General Churchill proposed that suits be brought in the territorial courts by the settlers against the claimant to remove this cloud upon their titles. This proposition provoked much discussion, most of the lawyers denying the feasibility of such pro- ceeding, declaring that the territorial courts had no jurisdiction of such cases; that congress by empowering the United States surveyor.general to in- investigate such claims and report to the secretary of the interior and pro- viding that such report should be laid before congress-had in effect with drawn all these questions concerning the validity of such claims from the judicial department of the government and had reserved the right to pass up. on them in congress solely.
Arizona republican., 1895-06-16

Gen. Churchill at the suggestion of Gen. Hise, early in the year 1888, pre- pared an elaborate report for Gen. Hise to sign as surveyor general, upon the lines presented in his argument which he had previously made before the surveyor-general clear ly exploding this bubble and showing that the claim was entirely without merit and Gen. Hise promised to sign that report provided It was printed. Gen. Churchill arranged for the print ing of it at the Citizen office in Tucson, and it was printed and bound in pam phlet form under the supervision of Gen. Hise; but unfortunately just obout that time Gen. Hise was taken sick and failed to sign the report. He soon after retired from office and died. But Gen. Churchill believes he would if he had retained his health have per formed his duty.
Arizona republican., 1895-06-16

vestigate it or hire a lawyer to defend against It.
 In this manner he obtained consider able money and what seems more valu able a recognition of his title by all who took his deed, and the status of his position daily growing stronger by ranging on his eide all those who took deeds from him and when he failed to convince any one of standing that he ought to pay for his deed he would tender it free of charge for the sake of the influence it was believed to have upon the neigbbor Matters ran along smoothly in this way for 8 considerable time but his career in this direction was suddenly cut short by an incident that he had not foreseen.
Arizona republican., 1895-06-16
Evidences of Fraud,

He analysed the language of the pa- pers which were said by Reavis to be original documents issued by both
 Ferdinann VI and Carlos III and de- monstrated that they were not written in the pure Castillian language nor in
 the phrsseology in use in Spain in the years 174S and 1758, or 1776 when it was claimed this grant was made and confrmed he show ed that the language used was peculiarly provincial and contain ed many words and phrases which were known only in the provinces es- pecially of California-many of the forms of speach used were ungramatic- al that many of the words were not in use at all, and he showed that if the document was genuine and the original with autograph signatures which Rea-
Arizona republican., 1895-06-16
FADING AWAY !
Continued from first page l

in this court trial it is suspected John son will cause to be produced from Washington where it was filed at once this letter which Reavis swears never existed, and which if 1t exists will prove him perjurer on two counts. First, that he never wrote the letter. Second, that he never in person pushed John son to make report.
 With the vast multitude of wrecking rocks surrounding Reavis, he is ac knowledged to be the greatest witness since the days of Frank Moulton.