Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1906-12-17
SETTLERS LOOK
FOR PROMOTER
Did Man With Irrigation Project Alb.
scond?-W. S. Bacon Seeks
His Employer.

Did the man who started a colony
IN Rio Arriba County ten miles from
Gallinas near Gallmas River, abscond
with the funds on hand, leaving TWEEN
ty-siX dsconsolate settlers from Farm.
ington and Durango holding down the
land'
This Is the question w. S. Bacon OF
Durango, Colorado. would like to nave
answered, He arrived in Santa f.
Saturday TO make inquiries about the
promoter and left this morning via
the Denver & Rio Grande for Espa.
nola from where he will drive TO the
site of the colony.
Mr.. Bacon in telling of the case
said:
Il do not say that the man is dis.
honest and ! am The last person 10
think i'll Of him, but the settlers on
the land are becoming uneasy h.
cause We are unable to find ham.
u am not one Of the settlers in the
new colony burt was employed IN
variety Of capacities by the man pro-
noting the project and ! want to be
able to return to the colony and tell
the settlers all that 1t is possible to
learn about the genrlemans where
abouts. What | have been able to
learn here. does not throw much light
On the subject AS nearly as ! can
ascertain the promoter of this colony
after making several trips to the land
in question. secured party Of set
tiers and took them to the land They
were to take IT up in 100 acre tracts
under the homestead law. In addition
| understand, that most Of them gave
the promoter 800 apiece, with which
he was to make the improvements,
such as building houses, fences. cor
rails, etc. | understand also that there
was to have been an irrigation pro
ject of some kind. The great attrac
ton, however. was the belief that a
railroad to be built by the Denver
N
would run through the colony. Be
fore the entries on the land were
made, however, We heard that the
tract where the colony was located,
had been added to the Jemez Forest
Reserve. This created some uneasi-
ness and the promoter of the project
left for Santa Fe TO see Forest Su-
pervisor Leon F. Kneipp.
"He reached here Thursday, for
about 5 o'clock that afternoon he filed
a message to me at the Western
Union office in the Capital. I re-
ceived the message Friday morning.
Since that time have heard nothing
from the man. He dill not register
at the hotels, here as nearly as ! can
ascertain. He gave me an address
of his sister in San Diego, California.
were he said he formerly lived, but
when ! sent a message there, it was
returned for better address.
Besides the settlers at the colony
are some thirty head of horses and
rigs from the Allen livery stables at
Pennington ! presume, | shall re-
turn them to the owner in a few days
if the promoter is not heard from.
My trip here has been fruitless as |
have not been able to learn anything
definite, except that he came to this
city
81 will go to Gallinas and tell the |
colonists what I know and they can
then do as they see fit"
At the forest supervisors office in |
the Federal building. it was said that
nothing had been heard of the pro-
jected colony but that the fact that |
the land had been added to the forest |
reserve did not prevent its being set |
tied upon if the tract in question was
for agriculture.