Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1895-02-07

And now litigation commenced The
Squatters, doubtless alarmed by Mr.
McGarrahan'S visit to the ranch, did
not wait for him to begin proceedings
of ejectment They induced the Unit.
ed States district attorney to attack
the Gomez title. This was done by
appealing 10 the supreme court, but
the supreme court promptly dismissed
che appeal and confirmed the title.
This perfected Mr.. McGarrahan's
claim.
But the New ldria company by no
means permitted the matter to rest
there. Its lawyer induced the lower
court again TO consider the matter and
to so back on its former ruling, and
that, besides taking up Il large amount
of time. again provoked another APP
peal to the supreme court. 4 second
time the supreme court confirmed Mr..
McGarrahan'S title. Nine years had
thus been consumed in litigation. dur.
ing all of which the SQuatters con-
tinued to make enormous profits out
of Mr.. McGarrahan's quicksilver,
while Mr.. McGarrahan having given
up his lucrative business in the prose-
cution of his claim, was spending his
fortune on costly court proceedings.
The prize was a great one, and he en-
gagged the best and most expensive
lawyers,
The next step was an application for
a patent. Mr.. McGarrahan applied for
Il survey, and then secretary of the
interior Caleb b. Smith caused an
entirely new inQuiSition to be made
and in the end wholly confirmed the
action of the courts, and ordered a
patent issued to Mr.. McGarrahau
The patent was duly made out and
signed, but for some reason or other
that could never be discovered, it was
never issued to Mr.. McGarrahan. Thus
FOR the fourth time the title of Gomez
and his grantee was decided good in
law.
MT Mc(iarmhan now appealed to
President Lincoln to determine the
case upon It's merits Mr.. Lincoln did
so, and directed the secretary of the
interior to cause patent to be issued
to Mr.. Mctiarrahan. A patent was
therefore actually made out. but here
again the hidden hand was felt. For
some reason that the congressional
lnquirers could not determine, it was
never delivered. In December, 1863,
a paper purporting to be a transcript
OF the proceedings us they appeared
on the records of the district court
was prepared in the attorney generals
office in Washington, d. c., forwarded
to the district attorney in California.
certified by him out of his district
without comparison with the record
and merely from memory, and from
which transcript We're omitted material
parts of the record, and returned to
Washington Upon the transcript
thus made up the case was again
brought before the supreme court,
which being discovered by the claim
ant, a motion was made to strike off
the appeal. which was refused, al
though 1t, as it seems to the committee,
was out of time and the transcript
had been made up without reference
to the actual records of the district
court
Notwithstanding the supreme court
refused to strike off the appeal taken
in the manner indicated, a new trans
Crypt was obtained from the clerk of
the district court and filed at Decem.
Der term, 1866, eight years and a half
after the decree of the district court
confirming the title was first pronounc-
ed and more than, three years after
the period had elapsed within which
the law allowed an appeal to be taken
in the case. Upon this appeal the SUI
preme court in March, 1866, decided
the case against the claimant, and
thus matters now stand. 1t was then
that Mr.. McGarrahan appealed to con
gress and introduced a bill to have
the title conferred upon him.
Such was the history of this re-
markable case as reported by this
house committee to the fortieth con
gress in 1868, The house promptly
passed the bill, ordering the immediate
transfer Of the property to Mr.. Nc
Garrahan. But the bill got entangled
in the complicated machinery OF the
senate and was there indefinitely post
poned.
The rest Of the story is told by the
house committee of the present con-
grcsS, which has again brought the
matter up in connection with similar
bill to give the title of the land to
Mr.. McGarrahan
Mr. McGarrahan, who was never at
rest a moment in the prosecution of
his claim after his failure with the
fortieth congress, appealed to the
forty-frst congress. 1t was then that
he learned that a patent to the land,
heretofore unknown to be in existence,
was on file in the general land office.
This was undoubtedly the patent that
President Lincoln had ordered given
to Mr.. McGarrahan, but which had
been lost in the tangled mass of official
red tape and fled eventually without
notice. But when John A. Bingham
of the house committee, called at the
general land Office to see the files he