USA > California > Santa Barbara County > History of Santa Barbara county, California, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 50
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From the foregoing article it would seem that nearly all the people were arrayed on one side or the other. It was believed by some that the grant lines would be extended to include the town of Santa Barbara. It was also charged that the original title papers had been changed or destroyed while in the possession of C. E. Huse.
Mr. Huse defended himself from these charges by a written article in the Press. Several columns of the paper were given to this subject.
MAY 28, 1870.
The agitation concerning the Najalayegua grant continued. Several maps have been published. All are obscure, and many of the people believe that the town of Santa Barbara will yet fall within bounda- ries of the grant.
These maps were published by the Times, which was under the charge of E. B. Boust. The cuts were said to be the property of Wilbur Curtis, who owned the hot springs which were included in the Prietos claim. Johnson, the editor of the Press, was desirous of publishing them, but Mr. Curtis declined, in no very polite terms, loaning them for the purpose. · The letter was directed to the " Ex-Rev. J. A. John- son," whereupon Johnson promised the public that Curtis would have enough of the matter before the press was done with him. In the Workingman's Journal of San Francisco was published the following morceau :-
" It should be added that through all this desper- ate controversy (over the Najalayegua swindle) the Santa Barbara Times has stood by the settlers, faith- fully and effectively, against the subsidized Press, the organ of the land-stealers, which is conducted by an apostate preacher, who appears to have turned tail on his Saviour in order to assist in spoilation of the poor. We are not acquainted with the peculiar structure or flexibility of oak limbs in Santa Bar- bara, but we think they might be turned to good account."
Nearly the whole force of the papers was spent in the contest of the Prietos grant. The Press urged that, almost without exception, the opposers of the grant were men without property who were banded with the agrarians of San Francisco. Wm. Il. Nor- way was charged with being at the head of the league.
"Their ery is, 'down with the land-grabbers!' meaning all men who own over a certain number of acres of land, and especially if that land is a Mexi- can grant. The ignorance and knavery of that journal ( Workingman's Journal) in proposing to repeal an Act of Congress which has created vested rights, a thing which even the Constitution of the United States makes an impossibility, is a fair sam. ple of the reasoning which appears in these agrarian journals. Let the people be on their guard. These levelers are capable of doing mischief. The ignorant and deluded masses of San Francisco who assemble in Yerba Buena Park and propose to hang the Mayor and sack the Bank of California, are the ele- ments on which they work."
E. B. Boust is spoken of as the " small pot-house politician from Placer, well drilled in the arts of the demagogue, unscrupulous as human nature will per- mit, who essays to lead this interesting squad." Stur- geon was also spoken of as "a man of bad record, dropped by his own party." Mr. Curtis is termed the " silly old man, the unconscious tool in the hands of knaves."
" Our readers, and especially those at a distance, will rejoice to have the mask torn from these pre- cious scamps and the fact revealed that all this hue and cry raised about our land titles had no founda- tion in fact, and the whole thing has been done to help on their political scheme."
The Press took up the fight and procured the affi- davits of many individuals to show that Najalayegua was on the south side of the mountains, near the Santa Barbara plains. It pretended to account for the opposition of the City Attorney to the grant in the matter of the asphaltum bed of Goleta. which, hy crowding the town survey back on the hills, would become subject to private ownership (possibly Packard's), worth $50,000 or more. There seems to have been no foundation for the charge, but some excuse had to be found.
LOS PRIETOS Y NAJALAYEOUA.
[ Press, July 7, 1970. ]
" Vicente Valencia testifies, February 23, 1865, that the Najalayegua Indians lived on the south side of the mountains, on the rolling hills, where Monte- cito is; that they afterwards moved over the mount- ains, and that the place where they moved was also called Najalayegua; that the cañada Los Prietos was so called because the fathers caused a road to be cut up the cañon, and drove a flock of sheep through it; hence, the country reached by the canon was called Los Prietos y Najalayegua. José Dominguez lived in a house at the place marked A, and sold it to Chevasco, and moved to the house where he now lives (Big Grapevine).
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HISTORY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY.
"Raymundo Carrillo (fifty-four years old), was born in Santa Barbara, held various offices under the Mexican Government; was for some years Al- ealde; was Justice of the Peace and Judge of the First Instance, and Sub-Prefeet. Recognize the in- strument of sale by Don José Ygnacio Lugo to José Dominguez, January 14, 1843, of his title to the claim which he occupied in Najalayegua. They made the sale in my presence, according to the usual custom. The original certificate of sale was attached to the title given by Don Pio Pico to José Dominguez for the rancho Los Prietos y Najalayegua. Recognize the signatures of Pio Pico and Jose Maria Covarru- bias as genuine; know the map to be correct; that the Los Prietos y Najalayegua extended to this side of the mountain, as was well known to every one. When I was Justice of the Peace here under the Mexican laws, I gave judicial possession of some ranchos here, as there was no surveyor here in those days. They did not measure land then as now; sometimes it was designated in the form of a cross, sometimes with monuments. Sinee the change of Government I have filled various public stations, before the Constitution was formed of the State of California. In the time of Governor Mason, a mili- tary Governor of the United States. I was Judge of the First Instance here. I have been a Notary Public, Treasurer of the county of Santa Barbara, Treasurer of the city of Santa Barbara, and am now one of the Trustees of Schools for the Third District of Santa Barbara."
JOAQUIN CARRILLO.
" MARCH 15, 1865.
" STATE OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA.
" Joaquin Carrillo having been duly sworn deposes and says: My name is Joaquin Carrillo; I am fifty- two years of age; I was born in San Diego; I came to Santa Barbara in the year 1825, and ever sinee that year I have lived here. Under the Mexican Government 1 held various public offiees. I was Justice of the Peace, Sub-Prefect, Prefect, Judge of the First Instance, and member of the Departmental Assembly to fill a vacancy. Under the Government of the United States I have held various publie employments. I was County Judge of Santa Bar- bara County during three years, until the year 1853, I was then elected District Judge of the Second Judicial District of the State of California, and I continued to hold that office until the year 1864, a period of eleven years; I am now one of the four Trustees of the town of Santa Barbara. I have just examined a copy of the Expediente and map of the rancho or tract of land called 'Los Prietos y Naja- layegua,' granted to José Dominguez, which copy is certified by L. Upson, Surveyor-General of the United States, in San Francisco, under date of the 12th of December, A. D. 1864. I recognize all the signatures which are in that Expediente as mani- fested in that copy. I have seen all these men write whose signatures are found in this Expediente, and I know their hand-writing except the Arguellos', and I know the hand-writing of the Arguellos from hav- ing had official correspondenee with them. I recog- nize my signature on that document signed to a report made to the Prefect of the Second Distriet. I made a report in favor of granting to José Domin- guez the land that he petitioned for, as that report itself explains. I have examined the map which is in the Expediente, as shown in this copy of the Sur- veyor-General, and I have likewise examined the
[Translation]
·
map annexed to the testimony of Don Vicente Valen- cia. In my opinion the two maps are for the same tracts of land called Los Prietos y Najalayegua; but the map annexed to the deposition of Don Vicente Valencia gives more minutiæ of the same land. When I was Justice of the Peace of the district of Santa Barbara I gave judicial possession of various ranchos in this district. The mode of measuring was to measure off two lines, one of them to repre- sent the length and the other to represent the width of the rancho. When the land was level I some- times measured the four sides, but when the land was difficult to pass over I measured only two lines; or when the land was so broken or mountainous that it could not be passed over, in order to measure I made an approximate ealeulation of the distance. It was customary to put a monument or boundary ( majonera o luidero ) at each end of the line, when 1 could actually measure the line with a eord, and when we could not pass over with a cord by reason of the land being impracticable, we calculated the length and width, and set up a mark to indicate the extent of the rancho. I have just examined care- fully the points designated as boundaries of the rancho Los Prietos y Najalayegua, in the main, annexed to the deposition of Vicente Valencia. Ac- cording to these boundaries the form of the rancho would be a rectangle (supposing there are four leagues between the boundary marked ' N' and the boundary marked ' H,' and supposing there are two leagues between the boundary marked ' P' and the boundary marked ' R') of four leagues by two. When Jose Dominguez petitioned for this land of Prietos y Najalayegua, it was scaredly worth the labor of asking for it. J. CARRILLO.
"Sworn to before F. A. THOMPSON, County Clerk."
Felipe Lorenzana: "I was born in the City of Mexico. 1 came to California when Captain Noriega did, in the year 1801. Some priests came in the expedition. I remember the names of Father Auto- nio Ripol. and of Father Ramon Abeja, and of Father Nieiso. I don't know what other name he had. He was a kind of President of the friars here in Califor- nia. Father Luis Farjuada entered at the same time. Don Raymundo Carrillo had the military command here when I came to this country. I was about ten years old when I arrived here. Don Ja- einto Lorenzana, my older brother, had charge of my person in the expedition when I came to this coun- try. About ten years after my arrival, a little more or less, I entered into the military service here. I was one of the soldiers in the garrison of Santa Bar- bara, being occupied in guard duty, in fighting Indi- ans, and in the other duties of a soldier. I built a house in Santa Barbara. I knew the deceased, José Ygnacio Lugo. He was an invalid soldier and was older than I. He had a house near my house, at the distance of a few hundred yards, where his family resided. IIe had milk eows and used to keep them at the entrance of the canon of Najalayegua, where he had a corral near the mouth of the cañon, on this side of the high range of mountains, that is to say, on the south side of the range of that mount- ain. I have been many times with him to that corral where he had his cows. His cows used to pasture in the long eanon of the Najalayegua, on this side of the mountain range and on the rolling hills which are called Rancho de las Ortegas. I have examined to-day, with much attention, a map published in the newspaper which is called the Santa Barbara Times, which is said to be a copy of the map recorded in
209
MEXICAN GRANTS.
the archives of Santa Barbara, in Book B of deeds. on page 311, and I see the old eorral of Jose Ygnacio Lugo, the invalid soldier, engraved on that map, at the southeast portion of the map, and marked with the word ' corral.' This corral was on the south side of the mountain range, and not on the north side of the mountain range of Santa Barbara. In the corral he used to shut up his cows when he milked them. He left there in the year 1843, or thereabouts, and then Jose Dominguez and his brother. Jose Maria Dominguez, entered into the same premises (finea) of Jose Ygnacio Lugo. I have aided Ygnacio Lugo many times in putting the cows in that corral which I have described. I had cattle that used to pasture on the rolling hills between the mission and the canada de la Aliso, but it is many years ago. At that time those rolling hills were covered with trees, but there was a great conflagration, and all were burnt up. Many cattle and many horses of mine were burnt up in that conflagration. I am the same person to whom, jointly with Raymundo Olivas, the rancho of San Miguel was granted. FELIPE LORENZANA. "Sworn to before U. Yndart, Notary Public."
EDITORIAL OF " PRESS," JULY 23, 1870.
" Men of intelligence and keen sagacity never go out of the way to publish over their own signature a plain and unmistakable misrepresentation of impor- tant facts, without a sufficient motive or object in view. Our Town Attorney, A. Packard, Esq., as we have seen, has made a most remarkable misstatement of an important matter in his official capacity, and persistently refuses to explain himself. He had his reasons for making the statement that the Pueblo claim was confirmed for a large tract of land, con- taining abont twenty leagues instead of four leagues, and for naming boundaries that were not named, as Pueblo lands, under the old order of things, or at any other time, except in his protest.
" First-If he could, by a bold assertion, make people believe, and the Land Commissioner believe, that the Pueblo lands extended to the top of the mountains, then, of course, the rancho claiming this side of the mountains and down to the plains of Santa Barbara, would appear in the light of a tres- passer on the town lands. This, with his friends. he did succeed in doing. But why wish to do it ? What object had he?
"Second-This enabled him to array the town against the Najalayegua grant, and get up a contest between them. But what was his object in that ? If he wished for a pretext for delaying the town sur- vey on its way to Washington, then he was success- ful. But why wish for delay? Why say that it would take two years or more to reach the case of Santa Barbara, and thus lead the people to rest satis- fied with this state of things? Here is a reason :-
" Third-It now appears that he was interested, as the attorney of Pierce, Messini, et al., in a suit to drive back the claim of the Goleta Rancho from the beach, and thus leave the asphaltum banks open to the claim of the Pueblo, if the Pueblo survey was not yet confirmed, it being an easy matter for him, as Town Attorney, the survey being still in the custody of the town, to change the survey so as to include these valuable lands containing the asphaltum deposits, and his clients, Pierce, Messini, et al, were already before the Council as petitioners for this land, and so, as any one can sec, in the language of the country, they had a dead sure thing on the asphaltum beds, which are worth from fifty to a hun- dred thousand dollars!
" Now. to secure this ' nice little thing,' it was nec- essary to keep up the fight with the Najalayegun claim, so as to delay the town survey long enough to gain the suit which would throw these asphaltum beds open to the claim of the town, and so, by n short and simple process, put these lands into the hands of his clients and himself!
" Ilere seems, then, to be an object which might account. perhaps, for the wonderful stretching. by Mr. Packard, of the town claim till it covers about twenty leagues of land instead of four, and his con- tracting and reducing the claim of Najalayegua grant to about three leagues instead of about twenty. " At any rate. whatever may have been the man's object in such an inexcusable misrepresentation, this one thing is plain, that he is the first one who intro- duced the agitation about land titles, and he inaugu- rated the matter by the most manifest and undenia- ble misrepresentations of the plain facts of the case."
SIGNS OF A REACTION IN CONGRESS.
So many protests through individuals and news- papers could not but reach Congress. The House Committee on Public Lands (Mr. Julian, Chairman) agreed unanimously to report a bill repealing the Act confirming the Los Prietos y Najalayegua, on the ground of fraud, inasmuch as Jose Dominguez, the grantee, had no knowledge of the affair when it was being urged through Congress. But it is not easy to go back and rectify all mistakes. After a deal of fuming and fretting, the matter was dropped. The land was surveyed as being between the two ranges of mountains. The quicksilver mines failed to become valuable, the oil deposit seemed to avoid the place with the long and unpronounceable name, and now no one cares for the ranch. Wild animals, as when Lugo sold it to Dominguez, hold the land undisturbed.
CONCLUSION.
Looking at the matter from the present time, it seems incredible that so much excitement, so much ill-feeling should have occurred on the sub- ject. Not only the papers, but the citizens gener- ally, took sides. Mr. Huse was the object of so much ill-feeling that at one time his assassination was imminent, and he was guarded by day and by night. The ill-feeling has now ceased to exist, and most of the operators in the matter are on friendly terms. The reader of the affair at a late day may feel like making a sweeping denunciation of the claimants for the great tract, but who of us, seeing a great fortune lying around hunting an owner, would not be tempted to take it ?
THIE EX-MISSION GRANT.
The doubtful circumstances attending this tract of land are not less than those of the grant mentioned in the previons part of the chapter. The land formerly belonged to the Mission of San Buenaventura. After the secularization of the missions, some of them became so nearly abandoned that the stock and other property was allowed to be wasted or appropriated by any one who chose to take it. Many of the mis-
210
HISTORY OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY.
sions were owing large sums of money which seemed likely to be a loss to the creditors, hence the Gov- ernment took possession of the property as trustees, to secure the payment of the indebtedness, and to furnish means of subsistence to the Indians and fathers. The following is a translation of the title made to José de Arnaz :-
" TRANSLATION OF FIRST DRAFT.
" Being previously authorized by the Excellent Departmental Assembly to alienate the Missions for the purpose of paying the debts of the same, and for the purpose of raising means for the defense of the country, in case of a foreign invasion, which, from reliable information, appears to be at hand [and in consideration of the fact that the Señor Don José de Arnaz] has rendered important services to the Gov- ernment, and also rendered [and aided] valuable aid in the preservation of the security of the Depart- ment, under the guaranty of being indemnified when the National Treasury should be released of its em- barrassments [this gentleman having solicited for his personal benefit the Mission of San Buenaventura, with all of its lands, establishments, stock, and other property, belonging to said Mission], in payment of that which at different times he has loaned the Gov- ernment, and which it has received, amounting in the total to [four] (erased and interlined) ' five' thou- sand dollars, obligating himself besides, to pay up to the sum of twelve thousand, within the term of [seven] (changed to) eight years, counting from the first of January of the coming year. And in view of all that is necessary to be considered in exercise of the authority conferred on me (interlined) [by the Supreme Government and the decree of the 13th of April of the Most Excellent Departmental Assembly] I have determined to make a sale, real and effective and a perpetual alienation forever to the said Don José de Arnaz, of the Mission of San Buenaventura as has been agreed, with all that at present pertains to the same, and is recognized as belonging thereto, with its lands, establishments, real estate, and self- moving property. In testimony of which, and in validation thereof, the following conditions are made :-
"First-He shall pay such creditors of the Mission of San Buenaventura as may properly prove their accounts, at the farthest, within one year, making the necessary deductions from the amount per contra. "Second-From this time henceforth, forever, he shall provide what is necessary for the subsistence [and clothing] (interlined) of the Reverend Father Minister, who in all time may reside at said mission, and also for the support of divine worship, leaving for the use (interlined) [of said father the rooms which he occupied as a habitation].
" Third-No one shall be able to allege deceit or fraud in this sale, on the part of any one, and what- ever mistake may have been made it shall inure to the benefit of the purchaser, the above price being the just value of said mission, and there being no one who would pay more for the same.
"Fourth-[In consequence] (erased) there shall be excepted from this sale the Temple, and all the appurtenances corresponding thereto, in consequence.
" Fifth-The lands of which mention is made, and which are recognized as belonging to the mission, compose those of ' La Laguna,' ' Hueneme,' ' El Palo Alto,' the ' Siembras of Santa Paula,' the ' Cañada of the Mission,' and all such as may not have been
granted by just title by the Government, and are recognized as belonging to the establishment, and those that make a center with all of the real estate and movable property belonging to said mission.
"TRANSLATION OF SECOND DRAFT.
" PIO PICO, Constitutional Governor of the Department of the Californias :-
" Being previously authorized by the Most Excel- lent Departmental Assembly to alienate the missions, as well for the purpose of paying the debts of the same, and to avoid the total ruin thereof, as for the purpose of providing means for the common defense, in case of a foreign invasion, which, from reliable reports, is likely to happen very soon; in considera- tion of the fact that the Señor Don José de Arnaz has rendered important services to the Government, and has also given valuable aid towards the preserva- tion and security of the Department under the just guaranty of indemnity when the National Treasury should be relieved of its embarrassments, and there being no means of raising the amount that the Gov- ernment justly owes him, in payment of the sums which at different times he has loaned the Govern- ment-amounting in the whole to the sum of [five thousand] (erased and interlined) twelve thousand dollars [obligating himself, beside, to pay up to the amount of twelve thousand within the term of eight years, counting from the 1st of January of the present year] (erased), and in view of all that was necessary to be considered, in exercise of the author- ity with which I am invested by the Supreme Gov- ernment, and the decree of the 13th of April last of the Most Excellent Departmental Assembly, I have determined to make a real sale and an alienation, effective and perpetual forever to the said José Arnaz, of the Mission of San Buenaventura, in ac- cordance with what had been agreed, with all the appurtenances at present belonging thereto, consist- ing of lands, establishments, real and movable prop- erty. In testimony whereof, and in validation of the same, the following conditions are made :-
" First-He shall pay to the creditors of the Mis- sion of San Buenaventura the accounts that may be properly proven within the term of one year [making the proper discount of the amount for purchase] (erased).
"[Second-The seven thousand dollars remaining shall be paid at the rate of one thousand each year] (erased).
"Second-From this time henceforth forever, he shall, on his own account, furnish whatever may be necessary for the support and clothing of the Rev- erend Father Minister, who may in all time reside at said mission, and also for the support of divine wor- ship, leaving for the use of said father the rooms which he at present occupies as a dwelling.
" In this sale no fraud or deceit can be alleged by any one, and whatever mistake may have been made, it shall inure to the above, the price being the just value thercto, and there being no one who would pay more for the same.
"Fourth-There are excepted from this sale the Temple and all the appurtenances thereto.
"Sixth-The lands of which mention is made, and which we recognize as belonging to the mission, comprise La Laguna, Hueneme, Palo Alto, Los Siembras de Santa Paula, La Cañada de Mission, and all such as have not been granted by just title by the Government, and which are recognized as the prop- erty of the establishment of which sale is made,
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