The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-06-12


 they proved it with scientific rods; they weighed and studied it with scientific | instruments and they made up theil minds that General Eagan, late of the United States army had stumbled upor
 a great bonanza. The experts said thai
 there was as much coal there as in the
 state of Pennsylvania; that it could be
 much more easily mined than most coal
 can; that transportation facilities could
 bep roVided without too great expense
 and that, taken everything together
 General Eagan had certainly struck it
 rich
 General Eagan's capitalistic friends
 told him to go back to Mexico and do
 those things which it was necessary for
 him to do in order to control that coal,
 with feeling of absolute certainty
 that he would be financially backed to
 any extent that the enterprise de-
 handed
 At about the same time that General
 Eagan had this assurance and started
 back, William c. Greene one time
 Arizona prospector, and now the oper- ator of the copper fields at Canans also heard about those coal fields down in
 Mexico, and started to get the right to work them. MT. Greene is man of great determination, and the fact that he is known as the Copper King of 1 Arizona" shows that he is also probably a man of enterprise and fertile resource. In speculation he is said to be one of the cleverest men that ever turned a deal in mining stocks and he has good reputation as fighter.
 The fields were located in Sonora, and General Eagan, on his return, and MT. Greene reached there at about the same time Here was trouble brewing. Each claimed priority of discovery and with every passing day the apparent rich ness of the fields increased, so that each was most eager to sustain his claim.
 General Eagan claimed right to the lands under purchase from the county of Sonora. The price which he had paid was $4O,OOO Greene based claim upon the fact that he had bought the interests of Carlos Johnson, the actual owner of the land. Johnson was the original owner of the soil un- der the Spanish grant.
 Eagan rushed machinery down by carloads. So did Greene. In all the holding includes something like 2,50o- GOO acres-a vast domain. General Eaean's ownership of this would make him one of the greatest landed pro prietors in the world The territory which both men claimed so eagerly em- braces practically al the good ocal land in the section, and so compromise and division was quite impossible.
 Greene and his machinery got there first. When the eX-commissary gener- al arrived with his, he found the land pre-empted and operations under way. This was disconcerting. General Eagan carried the matter to the courts. The courts in the vicinity at once de- clared that Greene was trespasser and ordered him off the land, Then Eagan took possession.
 By this time Greene ha dhad some opportunity for lawyers work, and just as Eagan was about to begin operations he was served with notice to vacate and charged with being a trespasser. Greene had gone to another court.
 Both sides then had machinery on the ground and had engaged laborers. The fight in the courts was in deadly earnest for both had spent large sums of money ond were feeling more and more certain every day of the value ot the land Greene had spent $4O.0o0 and had commenced to survey for a rall- road to run from Naco, Arizona, to La Cannea, and thence to san Marclai, 1 where the land is situated. He had also surveyed another line running the Pacific coast, a distance of 300 miles.
 General Eagan then went to Guaymas and secured the backing of the local judge. the prefect of the district and the president of the town. Matters at once became serious for Greene Two of his experts and all their employees were taken to court. General Eagan began to show his military training and his Irish blood He armed his laborers, engaged number of other Mexicans to patrol the property with rifles and took possession, beginning work at once and very energetically
 This by no means discouraged the l other party, and at this point things as- sumed a phase which was serious in | other matters than financial At some 1 distance Greene gathered crowd Of | cowboys and armed them. All night | they rode desperately, reaching the scene of Eagan's operations at about | dawn. There was fierce contest for the land, with some bloodshed but Greene's men triumphed and drove Fagan's men away in the meantime securing an order against Eagan as a trespasser.
 But Eagan's experience in govern- ment matters stood him in good stead. He went to the city of Mexico and de- clared that the peace and good govern ment of the province was disturbed and that riots were in progress. He called for the aid of the federal government and demanded the assistance of the Hurdles.
 The Hurdles are as picturesque as any body of mounted police in the world. they are better called soldiers than police. They are heavily armed and magnificently mounted. They are trained in the manoeuvers of bushwack ing and carry carbines, revolvers and sabers. They descended on Greene and his cowboys and a battle ensued, in which there is believed to have been loss of life How many were actually killed is not known.
 Still Greene was not discouraged, or, 1t least, would not give in His cow