The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1900-08-27
STORY OF The COLONY
How BealeS Attempted to Set
tie the Grant in Beaver.
Correspondence Ramsay City Star.

Correspondence Ramsay City Star.
Beaver, Aug. 27.-The history of the
Beales-Royueal land grant, as given
by Robert L. Lindsay, of Kansas City.
Mo-, the present claimant, is the story
of two ambitious men who dreamed
great wealth and power. DR.. Charles
Beales and Jose Manuel Royuela were
both citz ms of the Mexican republic.
Beales had married a Mexican girl
and taken up his residence in Mexico.
The land grant Of 60 million acres was
assigned to them as contractors by the
Mexican states of Coahuila and Texas
in 1928. In year Royule sold his
half interest to Beales, who began
his unsuccessful plans of carrying out
his contract. He employed Alexander
La Grande, in those days q noted civil
engineer at Santa Fe, TO survey the
boundaries of the grant.
LIE Grande began his survey June
81, 1898, by starting at the point
where the 32nd degree of latitude
crosses the 1O2nd degree of west lon
gitude. This point was marked by a
black berry stake planted in a pile of
was twenty miles due north of the
Red river of Texas.
lie Grande was delighted with the
country through which he passed to
the Canadian rivers, the south fork of
cribed as deep, bold stream, wide
bottoms. good land, variety of tim ber; (;
large wild plums grow on it and other
fruit"
September 16 he speaks of crossing
the north fork of Canadian river. Two
days later LIE Grande proceeded north
to ascertain the true distance to the
Arkansas river" which he found to be
55 miles north Of the northeast corner
of the grant, approximately the true
distance by maps CT the present day.
LIE Grand went west along the north
ern boundary of the grant, now the
north line of Beaver county. He
reached mountains October 9TH and
says he found gold. Travelling south
and west irregularly he came TO what
he called the Sierra Obscura mountains
on the cath of October. The survey
was far from complete, but the season
being late and fearing the rigors of
winter, he proceeded to Santa Fe.
There is no record that be ever re-
sumed the survey. LIE Grande spoke
of seeing an abundance of game, but
strangely enough never said whether
the game was bear, deer or buffalo.
LIE Grande praised the resources of
the country 50 highly that Beales was
greatly impressed and began work
upon his scheme of colonization, in
which Lindsay alleges that Beales eX-
pended total sum Of not less than
500, 900. Lindsay is authority for the
folio wing statements:
Many colonists had settled upon the
grant when war with Texas drove
them off and destroyed their property.
Novem Der 10. 1888, Beales chartered
ship and sailed from Philadelphia
with colonist for the bay of Arangaso,
Tex. These colonists were farmers
and mechanics with their families.
They carried provisions to last them
from six to eight months. The ship
reached the Texas coast in December
and the colonists were settled upon
the grant, Beales returned to New
York in May, 1894, to b ing out more
colonists. A ship sailed from New
York in August of that year tor Ca
pano, from whence the colonists were
to proceed to Dolores on the Rio
Grande, for distribution. At Capano
the colonists heard such frightful stor-
les of Indian massacres that they re-
fused to go into the interior and scat
tered along the lower Rio Grande,
making the expedition total loss to
Beales.
Beales was not easily discouraged.
He fitted out another expedition in
March, 1885, and landed at Live Oak
Point. His brother and brother's fam
lily and other relatives were on the
ship. Wagon and oxen were purchas-
ed at Matamoras and accompanied by
a military escort the party set out for
Dolores, where an agriculture was
employed at a salary Of 81 900 q year