Imperial Valley press., 1920-10-06
making final proof to get a
there are some small fees.
Beware of Contests

beware OF SOUteStS
i Beware of the homestead contest
There is one flaw in the homestead
laws of the United States and that is
that there is no penalty imposed up
on the losing contestant nor does the
homesteader who is living on his
place in good faith have any damages
given him for the losses that contest
ants cause him Every Tom. Dick or
Jim can contest the homesteader and
cause him grief. yet there may be no
Just basis for the contest.
Around INLAND. as was the case
further south before the present high
state of development came, there is
not desirable homestead that has
not been contested except in rare
Eases where the homesteader has
stuck right on his place day and
night Most Of those cases have seen
protection by shotgun as we'll as
through words with a punch to
| them.
There is a general impression that
the homesteader-eXc during the
leave Of absence to which he is en-
titled and which amounts to five
months each year. not more than two
leaves to cover the entire period
much sleep every night at his home
stead. He must in good faith make
it his home and must, at the end of
the three years have a habitable
house on it, but he need not necessar-
lily sleep there every night. Il the
inland homesteader has some partic-
ular business in Ell Centro or Los
Angeles, say, relating to water stock
for his homestead. he can go to these
places, transact this business and
return to his homestead without
leave of absence, even though the trip
may occupy three or four days. But
he must live on his homestead in
good faith.
Men Who Made" Valley
Honest oaders practically made Int
perial Valley. 1t required homestead
ers in the first place, and they organ
lied, came together, made up their
mutual water companies, used their
homestead holdings as a basis of
credit and then the fnanciers did the
rest. 1t took that homestead grit to
form the foundation for the valleys
tremendous prosperity and the home
steader in the inland section is today
going through the same thing that
the original homesteaders did when
Imperial Valley was but the scorch-
ing desert back in 1905.
! There are excellent lands for sale
around INLAND. and Calipatria that
came through the railroad holdings,
purchsed by a, strong syndicate of
men who knew the wonderful posi-
bilities of the north end and the fell
low who has little money should by
all means buy this land, but the poor
man must be content with home
stead unless he can establish some
basis of credit and then buy on the
very liberal terms at which lands are
being offered by the syndicate
A worker Of an Ell Centre paper
with watchful eye upon the govern
ment lands at Yuma and also in the
| Imperial VaVlley had the fortune to
be assigned to get news at the United
States Land office in that place. On
many a day homesteaders would be
seen coming in for information, for
bearings, for maps, etc. The news
paper mans interest always followed
him because he hoped soon to be one
himself. The chance came in an
abandonment of quarter section
west of inland some four or five
miles. The man who held it was
drawing 81 a day in the shipyards
at San Pedro and he didn't think his
homestead worth looking after SO he
filed REIMBURSEMENT.
The newspaper man tells his story
thus: ~ took the next train for
Calipatria, there hired an auto and
reached INLAND. From inland !
jumped in transfer auto and rode out
to the place / looked it over, in ac
cordance with the government law
which requires the ~homesteader to
make oath that he has examined the
lands personally.
Homesteader at Last
II returned to Ell Centre and the
next morning filed my application in
the land office and few weeks
later received the joyful tidipgs that
it was granted. / was homestead
or at last.
Building a small house wasn't a
hard matter. Some houses on home
steads cost but $25 or $50, but this
one cost several times that much be-
cause / was city fellow who hadn't
learned the science of economy in
E IlOUIcotcdQllS AICii oS0A WV sAAN ANO'''~
stead life.
THE house was far ahead of those
around it in my humble opinion that
promptly christened it shackelow
and so it is today-my shackelow.
Sitting in the door of the shacke-
low can see few miles away Salton
Sea with all it's briny mystery and
on beyond the famous San Jacinto
Mountains snow capped in winter and
glistening. white with the frozen
mists. And if | tire Of this scenery
can go to the door at the other end
of the shackelow and there, across IN
the distance, are the mysterious sand
hills, some so miles away. or the Cho-
colate Mountains with their barren
peaks. Fifty miles south l can see
, Signal mountain over on the Mexico
side. 1t is said that from here the
Indians in days long gone by signaleo
across the valley desert to then
tribes. Turning the other way l car
see the pass between San Jacinto ane
San Bernardino Mountains where th'
| couthern Pacific makes its flna