USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > Los Angeles from the mountains to the sea : with selected biography of actors and witnesses to the period of growth and achievement, Volume I > Part 29
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In order to fully understand the difference between the idea of the Spanish system of owning land and our present American system, we can do no better than to quote the lan- guage of the Supreme Court of California in a celebrated case. The Supreme Court said:
"1. Our plan has been to encourage settlement of the country by selling land in small tracts at a minimum price. When so settled, villages, cities and towns have grown up as required to supply the wants of the settlers. They have been called into existence by the settlements; but, in the beginning, have not contributed much to cause the country to be settled. "The Spanish system was the opposite. They founded or
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encouraged the formation of villages which, by affording protection as well as educational and religious privileges, would encourage settlement of the neighboring country.
"2. These pueblos differed from our municipalities in many respects. They had no charters, and seem always to have been subject to the control and supervision of superior officers, and this control seems to have been complete and constant. They could suspend, restrict or enlarge the powers of the officers of the pueblo; and yet the pueblos, to an extent and in a mode which is strange to ns, constituted convenient instrumentalities for the government of the neighboring country. Their jurisdiction, subject always to the supervision of higher officers, often extended over large territories.
"3. Perhaps the most important respect in which the pueblos and the habits of the inhabitants differed from our municipalities and the habits of our people, is found in the extent to which individual wants were supplied from public or common lands. In this respect the difference is almost startling. Our practice is to reduce everything to private ownership from which a profit can be made; and, of course, the more essential it is to the members of the community, the more profit can be made from it. The rule of the pueblo was almost the reverse of this. So far as commmal ownership would answer the purposes of the community it was preferred. As water was one of the things thus held, we may understand better the nature of the right which the pueblos had to it by considering other properties so held."
Like everything else that was good or intended to be good, this power of granting lands to individuals by governors and ayuntamientos began in time to be abused during the Spanish and Mexican eras of California. The governors, particularly, appeared to have been moved by a spirit of splendid gener- osity toward their friends and favorites. It was nothing at all for a governor of California, under Spain and Mexico, to present a friend with a principality over a cup of coffee or a glass of good wine.
That's how we come to hear of so many of the old Span- ish, Mexican and Californian families in California having
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been the owners of thousands upon thousands of acres of land upon which today are builded towns and cities.
It is only fair to say, however, that in many cases in those old times, the more land a man owned the poorer he was, and when we often wonder why these old families did not hold onto their vast possessions, the answer is that in those times of sparse population and lack of commercial development, a man had to have some other source of income than his land in order merely to pay the taxes upon it, and thus retain posses- sion of it.
It appears from the records, not to speak of the memory of men still living, that no governor of California even remotely approached in open-handed generosity Don Pio Pico, the last of the Mexican governors.
But even Don Pio Pico is backed up in his wonderful ex- travagances by what was from his point of view, and the point of view of his fellow-Californians, a good reason. They saw that California was inevitably to fall into the hands of the Government of the United States and to become a part of that great nation. They saw that in that event the strangers would become the new lords of the manors. So, it is said, that dur- ing the last days of his reign, Pio Pieo worked ceaselessly at signing conveyanees of lands to his friends and followers.
When California became a state of the American Union, the United States had no end of trouble for many years in deciding between valid and fraudulent titles to the land. Speaking of cases of this nature, the Supreme Court of the United States itself says in this somewhat weary tone of voice :
"No class of cases that come before this court are attended with so many and such perplexing difficulties as these are. The number of them which we are called upon to decide bears a very heavy disproportion to the other business of the court, and this is unfortunately increasing instead of diminishing. Some idea of the difficulties that surround these cases may be obtained by recurring to the loose and indefinite manner in which the Mexican Government made the grants which we are now required judicially to locate. That government at- tached no value to the land, and granted it in what to us ap-
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pears magnificent quantities. Leagues instead of acres were their units of measurement, and when an application was made to the government for a grant which was always a gratuity, the only question was whether the locality asked for was vacant or public property. When the grant was made, no surveyor sighted a compass or stretched a chain. Indeed, these instruments were probably not to be had in that region. A sketch, called a diseno, which was rather a map than a plat of the land, was prepared by the applicant. It gave, in a rude and imperfect manner, the shape and general outline of the land desired, with some of the more prominent natural objects noted on it, and a reference to the adjoining tracts owned by individuals, if there were any, or to such other objects as were supposed to constitute the boundaries. Their ideas of the re- lation of the points of the compass to the objects on the map were very inaccurate; and as these sketches were made by uneducated herdsmen of cattle, it is easy to imagine how im- perfect they were. Yet they are now often the most satisfac- tory and sometimes the only evidence by which to locate these . claims."
Hundreds of these cases were reviewed by the Supreme Court of the United States, and were represented by the greatest lawyers this country has ever known, as only a partial mention of them will prove. Among the great names we find the following: Jeremiah Sullivan Black, the giant Pennsyl- vanian, and one time attorney-general of the United States; Caleb Cushing, Edwin M. Stanton, Reverdy Johnson, William M. Evarts, John J. Crittenden, Judah P. Benjamin, the im- mortal Charles O'Conor, Titian J. Coffey, and Hall Mc- Allister.
In its report upon these cases the United States Land Commission, among other things, said: "A greater variety of subjects, or a wider field of investigation, was rarely, if ever, open to any tribunal, and the faith of the nation under the treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo, justice to a conquered people and a due regard to the provisions of the Act of Con- gress organizing this Commission, imposed the duty of a careful investigation of the many questions presented in these cases."
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In the spring of 1847, Col. J. D. Stevenson, an officer of the United States, was placed in command of the southern military district of California, and charged particularly with the duty of investigating the land grants which had been made by the Mexican authorities within the limits of his command. And Colonel Stevenson said that soon after he got his dis- trict in order he began to make inquiries as to who were the civil officers under Pico, and learned from Abel Stearns and others that he (Stearns) was either the prefect or sub-prefect, and an intimate and confidential friend of Pico, and from him and others he learned that grants were made after it was known that the Americans had taken possession of California, which were antedated, and especially those made in this section of the county from San Jose this way, and that a very large portion of them were signed by Pico on the day and night preceding his start for Mexico, which was about the 8th or 9th of August, 1846; Stearns told him that he was present on the day and night referred to, especially the night those grants were executed, and that Pico left him (Stearns) in charge as next officer in command. These grants were frequently the subject of conversation ; and on one occasion a party to whom a valuable grant was made, conferred to him that the grant was executed that night, and he knew nothing of it until he was sent for to accept the grant. He availed himself of every opportunity to obtain information about these grants, both by conversation and otherwise.
And that was the way things went in those days-the good old days now long since gone, when a few thousand acres of land between friends was a small matter; and not as it is now, when they measure it off by the inch to you, and every foot of it in Los Angeles is worth a king's ransom.
The task of straightening it all out was a huge one, re- quiring great labor, great patience and great ability. And it was a task well performed by both courts and lawyers.
Of the Los Angeles courts and the lawyers of the early days of California statehood there is scant record. But of the lawyers and courts of fifty years ago-and that's a long time ago, too-we have been given some vivid pen pictures by Jackson A. Graves, Ph. D., who was for many years himself
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a practicing attorney-at-law, but who is better known since as the president of the Farmers and Merchants National Bank. In his reminiscences along these lines, Mr. Graves says :
I arrived in Los Angeles on the 5th day of June, 1875. I came from San Francisco to accept a position as clerk with the law firm of Brunson & Eastman, and to continue my law studies. This meant, when reduced to more practical terms, my working very hard all day for a small salary, and doing my studying at night. In the following January I was ad- mitted to practice by the Supreme Court of the state, and then became a member of the firm of Brunson, Eastman and Graves.
That was a long time ago, as we measure human life, and quite a number of you were at that time yet unborn. Los Angeles had an able bar then, as she has now. The principal paying business was done by the firms of Glassell, Chapman & Smiths, Thom & Ross, Brunson & Eastman, and Howard & Hazard, while all of the others, including J. D. Bicknell and Stephen M. White, were dividing up among themselves the business unappropriated by the firms mentioned, and waiting for the leading attorneys to die.
One of my first acquaintances in Los Angeles was Mathew Keller, known as "Don Mateo" Keller, a shrewd Irishman, who had been educated for the priesthood, and who decided to follow more worldly pursuits. He was a client of our firm and he and I became quite chummy. He was a delightful con- versationalist, a most interesting man, a large property holder, a prosperous winemaker, and a man of affairs gen- erally. He was eager to hear from me all I knew about the great lawyers of San Francisco. I imparted this information to him, and got from him, before I got personally acquainted with them, a pretty good understanding of the practice, habits and standing of the members of the Los Angeles Bar, of whom I think there are today not over five in practice who were in practice when I arrived in Los Angeles.
Don Mateo had names for each of them. For instance, he called Andrew Glassell "Mucho Frio," on account of his austere manner. Col. Geo. H. Smith he called "Circumlocu-
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tion," and I will leave it to the Colonel whether or not Keller slandered him in so naming him. A. B. Chapman, in my estimation, was then and is now, a most worthy gentleman. Because his firm had sued Keller repeatedly over certain land' titles, he dubbed him "Sepelota," which, I believe, means "scavenger." G. S. Patton, Mr. Glassell's nephew and a clerk in their office, he styled "Handsome George." Captain Thom, Judge Ross' unele and partner, he called "Redun- dans," and when I asked him why, he replied: "Well, if Capt. Thom wanted to ask a witness if that was the same horse Pedro Lopez had, he would say, 'Are you quite sure, in your own mind, beyond the slightest hope, expectation or possibility of a doubt, that this is the same, identical horse, that this man Pedro Lopez had?'" Hon. E. M. Ross he called "Generalissimo," on account of his military bearing and appearance. Col. Jim Howard he called "Basso Pro- fundo," on account of his deep bass voice. Will D. Gould, who was then an ardent advocate of temperance, he dubbed "Sanctimonius Sanctimonium." Frank Ganahl was with him "Punchinello," and W. H. Mace he termed "Bulbus." He was well named, for there was something about the man that looked like he was about to sprout. His intimate friend, Judge Brunson, he called "Nervio Bilio," and General Volney E. Howard, "Ponderosity," referring more to his physical rather than to his mental make-up. Thomas H. Smith, or "Long Tom" Smith, as we called him, he called "El Culebra." Horace Bell was "Blusterissimo," and Judge Sepulveda, "Mucho Grande." His very intimate friend, I. W. Hellman, not a lawyer, but a banker, he always called "Valiente."
I asked him what he was going to call me. I had the first Remington typewriter in Los Angeles and ran it incessantly. If you will examine the case filed of the Superior Court of this county, from 1875 to 1880, you will find miles and miles of the work of that old machine in these files. It made much more racket than the present machines, and when running very fast its metallic click sounded like "diddle dad- dle, diddle daddle." When I put that question to him, he answered promptly "Diddle Daddle," and with him that re- mained my name until the day of his death.
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Judge Sepulveda was district judge, and Judge H. K. S. O'Melveny, father of our Henry, was county judge. He was a courtly gentleman, a friend and assistant of young and as- piring attorneys, the especial favorite of country jurymen, but I always thought a little given to bearing down on the law- yers for the juror's benefit. He was expressive in his rulings, and in all of his proceedings.
One of the funniest things I ever saw occurred in Judge O'Melveny's courtroom. A Mexican had been convicted of grand larceny in stealing horses. He couldn't talk English, and Judge O'Melveny called on Captain Haley to interpret the sentence to him. To appreciate the story you should have known Haley. He had been a surveyor, a sea captain, a druggist, a doctor, and now a practicing lawyer, and was him- self a witness in nearly every case he ever had. It was of him that Col. Jim Howard, in an argument before a jury, said : "But we are told by Salisbury Haley, Surveyor Haley, Cap- tain Haley, Druggist Haley, Dr. Haley, Lawyer Haley, Wit- ness Haley, that the whole story is a fabrication." He was short of stature, a rotund, meek-appearing man, and was a perfect picture of innocence personified as he advanced to the prisoner's dock. He stood up by the side of the Mexican. To look at the men as the judge addressed them, no one could have told which was the culprit. Judge O'Melveny glued his gaze on Haley, pointed his finger at him, and in his most penetrating voice and most earnest manner addressed the prisoner through Haley as follows :
"You have been charged by the Grand Jury of this county with a most heinous offense-"
(Haley threw up his finger in sign that he had enough, and interpreted that to the Mexican, who replied, "Si, si, Senor.")
Then the judge, in the same impressive manner, still look- ing at Haley, and pointing his finger at him, continued: "You have been tried by an intelligent jury of your peers-"
(Signs from Haley, and further interpretation, the Mexican again answering, "Si, si, Senor," and mind you, the attention of the Mexican was fixed on Haley, not on the court.)
"And after a fair and impartial trial, at which you were ably defended by a loyal attorney, this jury, after long and
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mature deliberation, has found you guilty of the offense charged. Have you anything to say why sentence should not be passed upon you ?"
(More interpretation, and "Nada," with a shrug of the shoulders, from the prisoner.)
Then the judge continued: "It is a shame that a fine, in- telligent looking man like yourself cannot find something bet- ter to do than horse stealing, and I trust that the sentence I am about to impose upon you will deter others from following your example, and that your incarceration will be for your moral welfare-"
(Sign from Haley, and long interpretation. "Si, si Senor, esta bueno," from the prisoner.)
"I will, however, temper merey with justice, in dealing with you, and it is the sentence of this Court that you be con- fined in the state's prison at San Quentin for a term of four years."
(More interpretation, "Si, si Senor, esta bueno, muchas gracias," from the prisoner.)
No other human being on earth could have interpreted that sentence with the meekness and humility that Haley did, and as the judge never took his eyes off him, "any looker-on in Venice" would have thought that it was Haley who was going to the penitentiary for life.
Colonel Howard was a man of rare wit, and great general information. He was a clever magazine writer, and a shrewd criminal lawyer, and worked hard upon his cases. He and Col. E. J. C. Kewen, an orator of such rare qualities that he deserves a place in the niche of fame by the side of Thomas Starr King and E. D. Baker, were partners for years as Kewen & Howard. They enjoyed a lucrative criminal prac- tice.
A vigilance committee, led by a French barber named Signoret, who was huge in frame, and had a hand like a ham, and had oratorieal ambitions, and preferred revolution to lawful government, took four men out of the county jail and hung them. They thought that Kewen & Howard were too successful in defending criminals, so they passed a resolution that they should hang Kewen & Howard. The next day
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Colonel Howard met Signoret in front of the Downey block. He had a habit of standing with his feet well apart, and his head and shoulders bent forward, and of twirling his eye glasses, which he carried suspended from a long gold chain. "Signoret," he said, "I understand you are going to hang Kewen and Howard?" Signoret was perplexed and hedged a little. "Yes," he answered, "that was our intention last night." "Come now, Signoret," said Howard, "we are old friends ; be generous, let's compromise. Hang Kewen, he's the head of the firm."
Some lawyer, I forget who, sned Don Miguel Leonis, litigious Basque sheep owner, for a $25,000 fee for services rendered. He was trying his own case before a jury, and faring badly. Col. Jim Howard, by chance, came into the courtroom. The plaintiff, in desperation, without consult- ing Howard, put him on the stand to prove the value of his services. He stated what he had done for Leonis, and asked Howard if, in his opinion, $25,000 was a fair compensation for services rendered. Howard replied: "My practice has been of such a vagabond, beggarly nature, that I am hardly in your class, but if I should earn a $25,000 fee, I would die of heart failure; but, knowing you and your legal ability, and knowing the litigious character of Don Miguel, I cannot real- ize any services that you could have rendered him that would be worth over $2.50, unless you had killed him, then, by a stretch of your conscience, you might have charged him $5.00."
Among the thoroughly able men at the bar was Frank Ganahl, "Punchinello," as Keller called him. He also was quick-witted.
He was arguing an appeal in the Superior Court for a de- fendant, convicted of that most revolting crime, rape. There is usually some idiot of a lawyer sitting around the courtroom, whose sole ambition is to sneak up to some lawyer making an argument, and whisper advice to him. At this time the in- terferer chanced to be Judge Delos Lake of San Francisco. He would pluck Ganahl by the coat-tail, and in a stage whis- per advise him of some point to be made in his argument. This occurred six or seven times, much to Ganahl's interrup- tion and annoyance, and he finally said: "Your Honors, my
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friend, Judge Lake, who, by the way, is an eminent authority on the science and crime of rape, suggests to me this kind of an argument." Lake made no more suggestions to Ganahl.
Among the lawyers of that day was W. H. Mace, called "Bulbus" by our friend Keller. He brought an action to partition one of our great Spanish grants and wrote his com- plaint on foolscap, writing only on one side of the paper, and when he had finished a page he would paste another page on, and roll up the pages. Glassell, Chapman and Smiths de- murred to his complaint on the ground that he did not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action. Mr. Glassell presented his point briefly, and sat down. Mace took up his complaint, which was a roll about sixty feet long, stood up on a chair, and with a little sort of a giggle, shot the thing clear across the courtroom, and holding the last page in his hand, turning to the court, said: "If that complaint does not state facts sufficient to constitute a canse of action, then I am incapable of drawing one long enough to do so."
The man who could get more pure fun out of the practice of law than anyone else was Judge Anson Brunson. He was by far the ablest man here when at his best. He was utterly reckless when trying his cases, and relied upon his wit and sheer ability to pull him through. He got into more difficul- ties, and got more rulings from the Supreme Court on ques- tions of practice than all the lawyers in California put to- gether. Mock heroism, pathos and humor, all came naturally to him, and he could make a little thing look like a mountain, and a big question shrink off the map by a look, a gesture or impassioned appeal.
He had demurred to a complaint upon one occasion, and when the case was called, he said to the court that he would submit the demurrer without argument. Not so his opponent. He must argue the question. Vital rights were at stake. The law must be vindicated. "All right," said Brunson, "I waive the opening." Then the other fellow argued everybody out of the courtroom, and the judge almost off the bench, with dreary platitudes and citation of authority after author- ity that did not apply, and when he sat down, Brunson arose, took a drink of water, shifted his papers, and with a merry
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twinkle in his black eyes, said in the most aggravating way : "Your Honor, I still submit the demurrer without argument." "Demurrer sustained," said the court.
We were trying a case of the Union Anaheim Water Com- pany against the Stearns Ranchos Company, a case involving water rights at Anaheim. Gen. Volney E. Howard opposed us. He called as a witness George Hansen, an old-time sur- veyor who had laid out the town of Anaheim. As the witness advanced to the stand, General Howard remarked of him, "The father of Anaheim." He asked him the usual prelimi- nary questions, and then came this question: "Mr. Hansen, when did your intercourse with Anaheim begin?" Like a shot out of a cannon, Brunson was on his feet, with his hand up, and in a most impassioned manner, full of fire and as- sumed earnestness, said: "Your Honor, I object. Counsel cannot incriminate his own witness. He has introduced this witness as 'The father of Anaheim,' and for the father to have intercourse with the daughter is incest." "Objection over-ruled." "Exception," said Brunson, and a looker-on would, from his manner, have thought that he meant every word of it.
A carpenter, a worthy man and an Englishman, had an Irish wife, who was literally a "she devil." Being unable to stand her daily abuse, he sued her for a divorce, Judge Ross being his attorney. She came to us for defense. She owned considerable good real estate in San Francisco, and we took a mortgage on it to secure our fees. There was some delay in going to trial. She came to the office daily and heaped the whole outfit with the vilest abuse. She accused us of selling her out and taking her husband's money with the intention of letting her be beaten. We stood it all with good grace, and diligently prepared the case for trial. It finally came off. The supporters of the respective parties were out in full number during the trial.
Daniel Desmond, a hatter, the father, by the way, of Joe Desmond of aqueduct fame, and C. C. Desmond, one of our business men, was on the stand, testifying to her general "cussedness." He lived next door to her, and was the leader of the village band. He said that he never got out on his back
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