The herald., 1896-03-01
WRONGS OF ROGERIO ROCHA

but was Immediately sued to cancel the
same on the grounds of fraud, and after
some fifteen years had passed new re-
| lease was made which will be found among
as it is one of the celebrated attorney John
| Robarts' most splendid efforts.
Oden died about 1882 in poverty and
, his remains now lie buried near Chatsworth
park. Urbano died about 1860 and Man
uel, his son, about the same time. The
| balance of the children of Oden, except
Espiritu, are all dead. Leonis met with an
accident and died in 1889, leaving will
by which he devised the afore said Espiritu
$4,000 provided she would set UP no
claim as his wife. His estate being valued
at over $500, 900, was too tempting fee
for the attorneys and a contest was inau-
gurated, with the result that Espiritu has
now the consolation of having nominal
possession of about ten acres Of unsurveyed
government land at Calabasas, and forty
three attorneys are wrangling over the
spoils.
The Domecs have Jared no better. hav-
ing been in peaceable, open and notorious
patent arrived they were pounced upon by
Messrs. Porter & Maclay and sued in
ejectment. The suit never came to an is
sue, and some twelve years afterwards
suit was again brought by these same
parties against the Domecs in ejectment,
claiming they were in possession of 100
acres of the San Fernando mission lands.
The suit was to eject them from 100
acres of land. The Domec family, all
young women, totally ignorant of their
rights and the forms of law, pounced upon
by power and wealth, hied themselves
for protection to the attorney who had long
attended to their fathers legal affairs. He
filed an answer for them, agreed with
Porter and Maclay that they might have
judgment by consent against his clients on
payment to him of $1,000, and entered the
stipulation for 160 acres. But the most
curious part of the whole affair is that after
the Judgment was entered for the 100
acres of land, a deed was drawn by their at
torney for the whole of the north half of
the San Fernando rancho. thereby wiping
the Domecs out of the title to their other
lands held by Messrs. Porter, Maclay and
Widney to over 100000 worth of the
property that rightfully belonged 10 the
Domecs. Besides, if the records are ex-
amined. various deeds will be found from
certain Indians to B. F. Porter, F. F.Porter,
and one Atherton for these lands. Perhaps
Mr.. Widney is not aware of this. but the
Porters must have been after something.
And thus standeth the Oden & Urbano
chapter at present.
Francisco and Rogue we're granted a
league of land at Ell Encino, believe in
1S43. They occupied it until the early
sos, when one of them died and the other
left for the mines and was never after
wards heard of. Aquida and Rita, two of
the heirs, were wheedled out of it by the
claimants of the ex-mission lands and it
came into possession of Andres and Pho
Pico. Eulogio F. de Cells, the admiuistra-
tor of the estate of Eulogio de Cells, de-
ceased, quarreled with the Picos and
claimed it should have been included in
the patent to the Rancho ex- Mission de
San Fernando, and upon that ground and
the exclusion of Ell Escorpion and Mission
buildings De Cells and Porter rejected and
refused to accept the patent to the Rancho
eX-Mission. The title to some of the heirs
of this Encino is now held by an attorney
in Los Angeles, awaiting favorable op-
portunity to pounce upon it. Needless to
say, the poor Indian owners got the worst
of it.
The Samuel, an Indian tract, is now held
by one Rinaldi and the Lopez's who sue
ceeded by mesne conveyance from Sam
uel. Their claim was not presented to the
land commission for the reason that, like
Rogerio, Pico, De Cells and even Porter
and Maclay had agreed with all these In
dians that the patent should come to Cells
and the claimants would convey to them
the Indians-the land that rightfully be-
longed to them.
Porter and Maclay brought reversed
suits against Maria de Los Angeles de
Burrows and Rinaldi and others, both in
the Los Angeles and San Francisco courts,
to eject them; but, after bitter and long
litigation, the title adverse to Porter and
Maclay was sustained.
And now to Rogerio Rocha, the old In
dian of whom so much has been published
of late in The HERALD. He was one of the
old Indians named in the grant made by
Governor Micheltoreno in S43, believe in
the month of May, with the consent and
appreciation of Friar Blaz Ordaz, the priest
.-I- - e c.
nando. The grant was in the regular form
and appears in the archives where it prop
erly belongs. and Is of unquestioned au-
thenticity. 1t recites the names of each
and every one of the forty, and names
Rccha among them. The church records
show him to be 1O6 years old, instead of
96. After the death of Joaquin (alcalde)
his father became the captain, and at the
death of his father, German, Rogerio took
his place. He lived upon and cultivated
the land on what is known as the Cienega,
while the balance of the tribe were scat
tered over the little valley about one-half
mile north of the old mission buildings,
where the remains OF their adobe huts can
still be seen.
Messrs. Porter and Maclay brought sew
eral suits against these Indians under ficti-
ous names. In the suit which has been re.
ferred to in which Widney appears as coun-
sci, if it is examined caret.1ly you will
find curious part which has not yet been
touched upon. Entered upon the minutes
of the court clerk under the date which an.
pears in the authority of the writ for eject
ment will be found an entry under the
caption of
Porter ct al, vs.. John Rogers. in eje Ct
ment.
Under this order of ejectment against
John Rogers, Rogerio Rocha was thrown
out of house and home. at midnight in
binding storm.
The writer will not dwell upon the indig.
mites heaped upon this poor old Indian, but
will ask The HERALD to publish later an in
terview had with him at the date given, and
ask the reader to place himself in fir ont of
the little cabin depicted in the paper some
time ago and listen to the answers to the
questions of the writer as they fell from
the lips of the old Indian, reciting the
death and whereabouts Of the various
members of the forty devoted servants of
the old friars of the mission. Read that
and imagine the poor old Indian reciting
the tale of the Last of the Mshicans," if
you will, telling who we're living, and who
dead, as each name in the list of forty was
read off to him and the simple answers
that fell from his lips. And then imagine
the Hon. r. M. Widney and Senator
Maclay, parceling out the heritage of that
remnant of by-gone age for theological
reminary.
g.. The writer Of this article knows whereof
he writes, and he can assure THE HERALD
that this is only sample of the injustice
done to the peaceable and civilized mission
Indians. Dozens of other cases can be