The Arizona sentinel., 1897-03-06
CGHDITIOuS OF GRANTS NE~
 GLEGTED,
ALI BLYTHE LANDS IY MEXICO
 ABOUT TO BE FORFEITED.
The Los AlgOd0nes Ranch AIreadg Lest to the Big Estate.- General Andrade Acquires the Tract.
From the San Francisco Can.I

ltroln the san Francisco Call.
 The news comes from Mexico that
 big slice of the holdings of the
 Blythe estate in that country has
 reverted to the Government, and that
 the remainder of the Mexican property
 Is n imminent danger of forfeiture
 The trouble, so 1t is said, is due to a f'ilure on part of Blythe and his heirs to cOlOnize the land acccr ing
 to the terms O. the original grant. In all the Blythe posses ion in
 Mexico comprise about 64O,000 acres.
 The greater portion of these are in
 the western part of the State of Sonora.
 about eighty miles south of Yuma,
 with frontage on the Gulf of Cali
 fOrnia. On the western bank of the
 Colorado River, near it's entrance to
 the Gulf of California, the millionaire
 had tract of 19,31I hectares, equal
 to about 4S,O10 acres, known as the
 Los Algodones ranch. This tract is
 within the jurisdiction Of Lower Cali-
 fornia and is no longer portion of
 the Blythe estate, but the property of General Guillermo Andrade 0: this City.
 The original grant to Blythe was cancelled by the Mexican Government about year ago. General Andrade purchased the property shortly after ward for $10,0 in Mexican money, at the rate of aoout 20 cents an acre. The deed of the transfer, which has just been recorded at Ensenada, is dated June 20, 1896. The land has by special agreement with the representatives of the Blythe estate, been assessed at 6 cents an acre for tax purposes. General in addition to the Los AL godones ranch which he has recently already owns about 760,000 acres in the same locality. These possessions strc tch about the head of the Gulf of California, eastward into the State of Sonora.
 The Blythe tract of 6OO,O00 acres in thls State is about, it is said, to follow the fate of the Los Algodones ranch The land was granted many years ago to Blythe and Andrade on the condition that the lands should be colonized. No attempt. was ever made 10 carry out this part of the greement-probably for the reason that it's new owners found that this was a bigger job than tbey had bargained for. When the litigation over the millions of the dead man began, the appraisers of the estate, s. P. Middleton, Joseph Eldridge and E. S. Rice, made 9 careful examina- ton of these lands and put their value at 20 cents an acre. It was the opinion of the executors that they were sort of white elephant, and that they were practically worthless for any purpose without water.
 An engineer was employed to pass upon this matter, and he reported | that it was impossible to irrigate the tract at cost at all commensurate with any prospective increase in values. Since that time the property has remained as 1t always was, 8 bleak and dreary waste of rocks and sand dunes.
 Some five years ago the Mexican began to manifest dis position to take back the property. Shortly after Florence Blythe was declared the rightful heir of the big estate she and her husband paid visit to Mexico and got period of grace with view of making another attempt to turn the tract to some ac- count. The Government of DiAz was n a gracious mood, but no attempt nas since been made to fulfill the con- litions of the grant. It is probable that in a few days a formal decree of ,1rfeture will be issued and the lands 3old for what they will bring, It is said that the late Senator Fair was interested with Blythe at one time m this property, but withdrew after he had become convinced that as colonization ventu 1t woul.i be a bubble.