Albuquerque evening citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1905-1907, 1905-08-10

the northern part of the territory. en-
braces 200, 600 acres, and once be-
longed to a Frenchman named Beau
bien, one of the original n of
the Maxwell grant. 1t was inherited
by Maxwells wife and was purchased
from her children by Senator Elkins
of West Virginia, Judge Catron of
Santa Fe, and their associates, who
still own IT.. The land has not been
offered for sale, either in whole or in
part, but it is leased in large sections
to Mexican ranchmen for pasture at
6 cents per year for each head of
sheep, and % cents per year for each
head of horses or cattle. A large por-
ton is under cultivation on shares,
for half h crop, and two men have
contracts for cutting railway ties and
telegraph poles in the timber that
covers the foothills and the noun
tains.
The next largest tract is Pablo Mon
toya grant, better known as the Bell
ranch, comprising about 100000 acres
and owned by the Waddingham fam
lily, a widow and several children, liv-
ing in Boston. One of the daughters
is the wife of Chief Justice Mills of
New Mexico. The property originally
belonged to a Spaniard, who received
1t as a reward for military services.
His heirs sold it to Mr.. Waddingham,
a yankee pioneer. 1t is an unusually
valuable tract of land, because it has
so much water upon It. It is inter-
sected by mountain streams, which
never dry. They are not only good
for cattle, but furnish plenty of water
for irrigation. The entire grant is
fenced, and there are no suuatters
living upon it; in fact, that adds much
to the peace of mind of the manager,
Judge Stoddard of Boston, who is the
administrator and trustee of the Wad-
bingham estate. He has about 80, 900
head of cattle and Is, head of
sheep, and 10000 acres are under cul-
tivation, chiefly in wheat, alfalfa and
Indian corn. 1t is leased to 200 or 800
different tenants, who work It on
shares. The family have built a
large and comfortable ranch house,
which is surrounded by various office
buildings, c~orrals, store houses and
stables. There are more than 300
men on the pay rolls.
The Victoria Land and Cattle Com
pany. a stock corporation, controlled
by the Haggin brothers, William
Tevis, H. A. Jastro, and other Cali
fornia people, owns two large tracts,
with 4S2, 900 acres in one and 1872, 900
acres in the other, granted to Pedro
Armendariz by the Spanish govern
ment in 1901. 1t was confirmed by
congress many years ago, and has
since been entirely fenced in. This
IL ono nf thA mast ra1pnh 1o Fraofg nf
land in the southwest. The Rio
Grande flows through IT for fifty-eight
miles, and NOR than $4,000 acres are
under irrigation and planted to corn,
alfalfa and other crops. The rest of
the ranch is used for breeding cattle,
which are fattened on alfalfa and
shipped to California, whore they are
sold on the hoOf to Independent butch
ers in competition with the beef
trust. II is said to be a very profit
able business.
Senator Elkins and Judge Catron
have secured a title to the TERRA Am
arilla grant of $4,000 acres, which is
one OF the richest mineral sections
in the territory. 1t abounds in gold,
silver and copper, and has large de-
posits of iron and coal, together with
several very valuable tracts of timber.
The mineral deposits are being work
ed, the timber is being cut. and the
pastures are being used by 700 or 500
Mexican squatters-most of them
neirs Of the original owners, who have
always claimed that there was a de-
feet in the deed by which the grant
was %alienated in 1895. It has since
passed through the hands of fifteen
or twenty different wne There
was so much uncertainty about the
title that II has been kicked about
more than any other piece of land in
New Mexico. Although the ownership
Of Elkins and CatTon has been con
firmed, they are receiving no revenue
from the property, and probably never
will, because the squatters will not
obey an order from the court and they
are so numerous and determined that
IL would require an army to eyict
them.
The government has received large
tracts Of forest in different parts OF
the territory, which will insure the
safety of many of the most important
streams and preserve from vandalism
some OF the great natural wonders OF
the territory. The screams are be
ing stocked with trout, black bass and
other fish-not only by the fish com
missioner at Washington, but also by
the Santa Fe railway company, which
as a purely business matter, is spend
ing large sums of money every year