Year: 1872

Trinity county has been organized more
than twenty-one years. During all this
while much of the soil has been used and
occupied by the inhabitants. The owner
ship or right Of possession thereto has
been litigated and decided in our Courts
and numerous conveyances of real estate,
embracing all that class Of property in
the county, fill ponderous volumes in the
Recorders office. But all this while no
one has acquired or could convey an alb
solute ownership of land. The only title
to land any person has is that Of a right
of possession as against all persons except
the United States. Those occupying pub
lie land in this county are trespassers
thereon, whose occupation and use of the
public domain is simply tolerated by the
General Government and gives them no
legal or equitable title therein. There is
little doubt but the coming Summer will
naugurate the procuring Of Government
Patents for much of the land i'll this
county. As the matter is explained to US,
the situation is compulsory upon many if
not all the settlers.


As is generally known, the Railroad
Company is entitled TO alternate sections
of land along the line Of the road for
twenty miles back on each side. Also for
all land in the twenty mile reservation
lost to the Railroad Company because
pre-empted or otherwise taken away by
Acts of Congress, the Company has the
right to select Government land in an
additional ten mile strip outside Of the
original twenty mile grant. We are in
formed upon competent authority that
the Railroad twenty mile grant extends
as far as Grass Valley and Lewiston in
this county. Persons settled on Govern
ment land, for mining or agricultural
purposes, are partially provided for by
law and can hold the land they occupy,
generally speaking. The land of which
the Railroad may bethus deprived will
be taken within the ten mile strip referred
to, and that will extend their right to To-
cate land as far as Weaver Basin.


On the 7th Of August last, all Govern
ment land embraced within the Railroad
grant, as we understand it, was withdrawn
from pre-emption and settlement. So
far as the Railroad Company is concerned,
since that time no one can acquire any
i. D. Il l., 4, tInt ho
is bound to respect. Persons having
possession Of Railroad land, prior to the
7th Of August last, can hold the quantity
Of land they are entitled to pre-empt and
enter, Int they cd1ta0t rdR&ferhdt right.
This being the case, no one is safe III pur-
chasing the pOssessory title to any land
inside of the boundaries within which
tAe Railroad can select land. To illus
trate our statement, we will relate cir
cumstance as it was told to us


Last Fall, resident OF Shasta county
bought farm in one of the lower coun-
ties, as he thought, outside of the Rail
road grant. The land was improved but
had never been in market and therefore
was not entered. The purchaser expected
Of course to have chance to enter it.
For the improvements and right of pos
session the buyer paid nineteen hundred
dollars. When that section was surveyed
the land was found to be railroad land
and the unlucky purchaser was compelled
to pay the Railroad Company nineteen
hundred dcllars more to obtain a deed
from them.


Our people must look out that none OF
them get caught in the same way. No
man is safe in buying real estate within
the limits Of the railroad grant unless he
obtains title relating back to the United
States. The era Of possessory titles has
gone by. Hereafter title to Government
land will be based upon Government
Patents. Prior to the 7th of August,
miners and farmers could locate land in
this county pretty much as they liked.
Now it can't be done. 1t will be found
that the longer our people put off procur-
ing Patents for their lands the worse it
will be for them. In this matter delays
are decidedly dangerous.