The San Francisco call., 1896-07-08
SAN MIGUEL AN
ISLAND KINGDOM.
Captain Waters Domain
Is to Be Invaded by
Uncle Sam.
CHANCES GOOD FOR WAR
For Many Years a Veteran Union
Soldier Has Been a
Monarch.
PROPOSED PLAN OF ATTACK.
His Majesty Is On the A'ert and
Will Not Be Caught
Mapping.

SANTA BARBARA, CAL, July T.
United States Marshal Covarrubias OF Los
Angeles has arrived in Santa Barbara on q
very important and decidedly dramatic
mission. The island of San Miguel, which
lies off the coast west of Point Conception,
is the most unique bit of territory in the
civilized world, for it IS absolutely without
an ownership save by squatter sovereignty.
1t is claimed that it was through some
error left out of the cession of lands in the
Mexican treaty, and oddly enough the
United States has never laid formal claim
to it. Although it has been occupied and
utilized for agricultural and grazing pur-
poses for more than seventy years. it has
never been plated or surveyed, never paid
taxes, never been included in any electoral
district. 1t is piece of territory literally
without flag or government, although it
has long been owned and occupied by
loyal citizen of the United States and
veteran of the late civil conflict, Captain
w. G. Waters.
This extraordinary condition of affairs
has long been whispered about, but it is
not generally known that the State of Cal
ifornia, awakening to her anomalous posi-
ton in the matter, last February attempted
to send a surveying party to the island.
This party on arriving at Santa Barbara
met with such determined resistance on
the part of the claimants to the island ter
ritory that they withdrew from the scene
without completing their mission.
The Surveyor General of California
thereupon communicated with the Fed
eral authorities in California and received
instructions 10 go ahead with his survey.
A party of eight surveyors, headed by Mr..
Glover, are now here and United States
Marshal Covarrubias of Los Angeles has
come up and with an armed force of thir-
teen men is ready to accompany them to
| the island to take forcible and adverse pos
session Of it,
San Miguel Island is about twenty miles
long and some seven or eight miles wide
at its largest point tapering at both ends.
1t consists of a tableland elevated from 300
or 400 to 500 feet above the sea and COM
prises some 10000 acres of land.
A considerable portion of this is COM
posed of great wastes of sand and barren
stretches of lava, but it includes some
thousands of acres of fine grazing and
agricultural lands. plentifuliy watered by
I springs. 1t also abounds in traces of
prehistoric population and has some
notable natural curiosities. The only inn
! provements upon 1t are few fences and a
comfortable ranch house owned by Cap
tain Waters.
| 1t has been observed that Captain
Waters is patriot and he is a large and
! formidable one. At the same time, while
he acknowledges allegiance TO the Stars
and Stripes, he has strong sense of ale
glance to his own personal and property
rights. and he is under a strong conviction
of the validity of his title to the island.
He was possibly forewarned OF this at
tempt to corral his territory and sailed for
San Miguel last week, probably intending
to hold possession of it. His possessery
| force is estimated to consist of himself,
couple of ranchhands, tenant by cour-
tesy at the west end and two women.
wives of his laborers. But justice is justice
and the legal rights of man must obtain,
| Government fall.
San Miguel is really an excellent place
to hold, having rare natural Notifications.
Cuylers Harbor constitutes the only ap-
proach by way of deep water and affords
greater advantages to the landsman than
to the sailor. as its shores are steep and in
a terrestrial-naval engagement it would be
easy to sink whole fleet by rolling rocks
down upon it.
Captain Waters has not confided to any
one the plans of his campaign or his
strategies, but that he will resist the in
vasion to the knife no one can doubt. and
the world will no doubt be thrilled by the
spectacle of one man opposing the United
States Government on his lonely island.
The invading force will leave on the
little sloop Restless tomorrow. The Rest
less has no record as either a sprinter or
war vessel, but she is the best available
vessel of the Santa Barbara feet going all
the other craft one mast better. Her re-
turn will be looked for with bated breath
if she returns at all. There are many who
believe she will retire from the conflict,
leaving the captain in lonely sovereignty
over his island kingdom.