receiving do so with the object of supporting their families and of doing something for their welfare, I then, as constitutional justice, declared that I would interpose, and I did interpose as far as by law I am authorized to do under the law of the decrees and as president now temporary in this jurisdiction under my charge. Wherefore I have granted, in the name of God and the nation and its dignity; and in order that no one shall bring any suit or incumbrance against their possession, I signed my official signature, with my aldermen, Miguel Martinez and José Santiago Trujillo, and my secretary, to which I certified; and I know this to be a donation of grant, &c., to be true. MANUEL GARCIA DE LA MORA, Having seen the grant conceded to Salvador Vernal and Tomas Lopez, and being satisfied that there is prejudice to a third party [que hay habra perjuicie de tercero,] I do certify that the said grant is approved by me at this place, Santa Fé, July 4, 1839; and for its due fulfillment I sign the same for the corresponding effects for the said grantees. ARMIJO. Filed for record April 3, 1873, åt 9 o'clock a. m., and recorded in deed-book A, page 342, records Colfax County, New Mexico. [SEAL.] JOHN LEE, Clerk Probate Court and Ex-Officio Recorder Colfax County, New Mexico, Common paper-conveyed year 1841. At this place, Sangre de Cristo, on the 27th day of the month of August, in the year of one thousand eight hundred and forty-one, before me, one of the justices of the peace, appeared the citizens Salvador Vernal and Tomas Lopez, both well known of this third district of Anton Chico, and as vendors requested me that I would make for them the said deed of conveyance, as they declare that they sold to Antonio Matias Gomes a certain tract of land situated at the place Uña de Gato, on the east side of Red River, and its boundaries are the following, as the grant conceded to them by Governor Manuel Armijo, year of 1839, recites: On the north the Tinaja hill and Cola de Aguila, and on the south the Chico and Malpaciosos hills, and on the west the hills of Red River, conforming to the banks of the river, and on the east a line of the Tinaja hill and the Malpaciosos hills of the well-known large mountain; and the vendors declare they have sold the said land for the price and amount of three hundred goats, a Navajo blanket, a gray mule, and a yoke of oxen, and seventy-five silver dollars, specie, for which the said vendors declare they sold and are satisfied, and declare that if the said land is worth or might be worth [more] they make to them gift and donation full and irrevocable; and 1, the justice, said that I would, and I did, officiate as far and as fully as the law permits; and to this I certify, in the transaction and in the delivery, with two attending witnesses, &c. Witnesses: JUAN PEREA, JESUS SISNEROS, Justice of the Peace Third Demarcation of Anton Chico in my charge. JUAN JOSÉ GONZALES. Principals and principals, their wives separately, with the will of both, in my pressence and officiating alcalde. SISNEROS. Tomas Lopez, Chepita Baca, Salvador Vernal, Tomacita Baca, signed and executed. The foregoing is a correct translation of the original in Spanish, to the best of my knowlege and belief. Subscribed and sworn to before me this May 29, 1874. SAMUEL ELLISON. JAMES K. PROUDFIT, SURVEYOR GENERAL'S OFFICE, TRANSLATOR'S DEPARTMENT, SANTA FÉ, NEW MEXICO, May 29, 1874. The foregoing translation having been by me compared with the papers from which it was made and found correct, is hereby adopted as the official translation. DAV. J. MILLER. Translator. TESTIMONY OF WITNESSES. SALVADOR VERNAL AND TOMAS LOPEZ. UÑA DE GATO TRACT. JUAN PABLO MADRID, being by the surveyor-general duly sworn to depose in this private land-claim, on his oath declares: Question by Mr. Ellison, attorney for present claimant. What is your name, age, occupation, and present residence? Answer. My name is Juan Pablo Madrid; my age is sixty-four years; my occupation is farmer, and my residence is at Santa Cruz de la Cañada, in the county of Rio Arriba. Question. Do you know a tract of land known as the Uña de Gato tract? And, if so, please state what you know about the same. Answer. I know the tract. It is to the east of this place, on the further side of the Rio Colorado, and upon that stream. I have been at the place three times, in the years 1841, 1842, and 1843. Matias Gomez was then residing upon the tract. When I passed there en route to trade with the Comanche Indians and to hunt buffalo, Gomez had there some cabins built. The given name of said Gomez was either Juan Matias or Antonio Matias, I do not remember which. I knew him personally. I knew him at Santa Cruz, where he was clerk of the ayuntamiento, and also at his cabins on said tract of land. He died, I think, at Anton Chico, in this Territory. I do not know precisely the boundaries of the grant; to my own knowledge I do not know whether any person or persons live upon the land at this time. I have no interest whatever in the land in question. I do not know whether there are any mines or minerals upon the land. When I was there there were some goats and burros there, and some growing crops. I do not know whether at the date of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848 there was anybody living upon the tract. I remember that in the year 1845 I met Gomez, when he told me that, owing to the war with the Ute Indians and the depredations of those savages, he would be compelled to abandon his place at the Uña de Gato, and that he intended to remove to Anton Chico, as he subsequently did. Subscribed and sworn to before me this May 29, 1874. JUAN PABLO MADRID. JAMES K. PROUDFIT, ANTONIO GOMEZ, being sworn by the surveyor-general, on his oath declares: Question by Mr. Ellison. What is your name, age, occupation, and residence? Answer. My name is Antonio Gomez; my age is 47 years; my occupation is farmer, and my residence is San Ildefonso, in the county of Santa Fé. Question. Do you know the tract of land called the Uña de Gato! If so, state where it is situated, and what you know about it. Answer. I know the tract of land mentioned. It lies upon the farther side of the Red River, and upon that stream in this Territory. When I was there my brother, Antonio Matias Gomez, lived there. I was there between the years 1842 and 1846. He then had there some cabins built and some corn growing and had some live-stock, such as goats, beeves, and cows. I remember I was there in the spring of the year and remained about a week, and when I came away I brought some six or seven goats, which I had gone there to get. I do not know whether the land was occupied by the grantees or their successors at the time of the treaty of 1848 with Mexico, or whether it was occupied since. I do not know whether the land contains any mines or minerals. I do not know the boundaries or the extent of the tract. I have no interest whatever in the land. The land was abandoned by my brother, Antonio Matias Gomez, on account of the depredations of hostile Indians. He died at Anton Chico, in what year I do not recollect, but I think it was in the year 1858 or 1859, I first hearing of his death some ten or eleven months after it occurred. Subscribed and sworn to before me this May 29, 1874. ANTONIO GOMEZ. JAMES K. PROUDFIT, JUAN PABLO MADRID recalled and examined: Question by Mr. Ellison. In continuation of your declaration of 29th May last, please state what you know in relation to the petition of the claimants, Vernal and Lopez, and the decree of the governor thereon, for the land here in question. Answer. In the year 1839, I myself brought to Santa Fé and presented to Governor Armijo a petition of Salvador Vernal and Tomas Lopez for land known as the Uña de Gato tract. This petition, which I heard read on receiving it, was delivered me by Vernal and Lopez at the town of Santa Cruz de la Cañada, for bringing to the governor at Santa Fé. Vernal and Lopez had an attorney, one Joaquin Valdez, employed to attend to the business of procuring the grant for them from the government, and Valdez paid me for bringing the petition therefor to the governor at Santa Fé. On ny arrival here at Santa Fé I went to present the petition to the governor, accompanied by Domingo Fernandez, who was connected in some official capacity with the governor, who in my presence and at my request presented the petition to the governor, who upon receiving it directed me to call at the executive office the following day, when he would advise me of his determination in the matter of the petition. On the following day I returned, as directed, accompanied by Señor Fernandez, as before, when the governor read to us his decree, and then, inclosing the same in an envelope, handed the envelope and inclosure to Fernandez and he to me, whereupon I returned to Santa Cruz and there delivered the same to Valdez, and who immediately delivered the papers to Messrs. Vernal and Lopez, remarking to them that the business was complete and turned over to them. The decree was written upon a half sheet of paper, and the document now shown me, purporting to be the same, I verily believe is the identical paper I refer to as handed me by the governor at that time and which I delivered to Valdez as stated. Sworn to and subscribed before me this July 6, 1874. JUAN PABLO MADRID. JAMES K. PROUDFIT, BARTOLO MARTIN, being sworn by the surveyor-general, on his oath declares: Question by Mr. Ellison. What is your name, age, occupation, and residence? Answer. My name is Bartolo Martin; my age is about seventy-five years; my occupation is farmer; and my residence is now, and always has been, at San Ildefonso, in the county of Santa Fé. Question. Do you know a tract of land called the Uña de Gato tract; and if so, please state where it is situated and what you know concerning the land, and the elaim therefor now here pending. Answer. I do know such a tract of land. It is upon the farther side of the Red River, north of the town, and I think in the county of Colfax, in this Territory. The boundaries of the tract I do not know. In or about the year 1839, Salvador Vernal and Tomas Lopez, who had been residing at the town of San Ildefonso, and who were then leaving there to go upon and occupy said Uña de Gato tract, of which they were said to be the owners, employed me to go with them to the spot and take charge of their sheep and goats there, which I did, remaining in their employment about three years as shepherd, and until the invasion of the Texans, in 1842, when I returned to San Ildefonso to live, but have several times been back to the place. Before I left the first time, Antonio Matias Gomez and his family moved upon the land and resided there, and I was some three months in his employ there as shepherd. Subsequently, and soon after the American military forces took possession of New Mexieo, in 1846, I was again at the place, en route to the Comanche country, on a trading expedition, and Gomez was still residing there with his family, though his wife had died since my last former visit to the spot, and both Vernal and Lopez had disappeared. There were cabins on the ground, occupied by the parties I have mentioned as residences all the time I knew the place; and there were patches of corn, beans, &c., cultivated by them; and all the time they had live-stock there. I have never seen or heard of any mines or minerals on the Uña de Gato tract. It is all pastoral land, though there is some hilly country on the tract. I have no interest whatever in this claim. Sworn to and subscribed before me this July 6, 1874. his BARTOLO + MARTIN. mark. JAMES K. PROUDFIT, JESUS MARIA GOMEZ, being sworn as aforesaid, on his oath declares: Question by Mr. Ellison. What is your name, age, occupation, and residence? Answer. My name is Jesus Maria Gomez y Lopez; my age is thirty-one years; my occupation is farmer; and my residence is San Ildefonso, in this (Santa Fe) county. Question. Do you know the tract of land known as the Uña de Gato tract; and if so, please state what you know concerning the same, and this claim therefor. Answer. I know the tract mentioned. It is situated in the county of Colfax, in this Territory, upon the farther or east side of the Red or Canadian River. I was when quite young there with my father and his family, my father being at that time owner of the land. His name was Antonio Matias Gomez. He died September 19, 1858, at Anton Chico, New Mexico, my mother having died at the same place August 29, 1852. When I was at the Uña de Gato place I remember seeing there houses, fields, and livestock. Some eight or nine months after my father's death I went to the place and brought away the live-stock under authority of the Hon. Francisco Lopez, judge of probate for the county of San Miguel. The property or live-stock just mentioned was ordered by said judge, who was my uncle, to be delivered and turned over to me as sole heir of my deceased father, said Antonio Matias Gomez. The land here in ques tion, the Uña de Gato tract, I have no interest whatever in, having sold and alienated all my right, title, and interest therein. Three years ago I learned that there was a grant in existence from the Mexican government for said Uña de Gato tract of land, though I had been told the same also by my said deceased father, who told me also that he was the owner of the same. I made diligent search for the papers at Taos, at San Juan, and at Santa Cruz, and finally found them at Abiquiu; that is to say, I there found the decree of grant made by Governor Armijo for the land of the Uña de Gato, which decree is now on file with the surveyor-general in this case. I could never find the petition to the governor of the grantees, Vernal and Lopez, asking the land. The other papers-two in number-being the grant, and the act of possession, and the deed from Vernal and Lopez to Antonio Matias Gomez, all now on file in the case, were found among the effects of my father after his death. This claim for a grant of land comes before me under the eighth article of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the eighth section of the act of Congress approved July 22, 1854. The grant was made, according to the record, by Manuel Armijo, civil and military governor of New Mexico, then a territory of the Mexican Republic, January 1st, 1839, and after possession had been given in usual form, he approved the proceedings July 4th, 1839. In this last paper is doubtless an omission of language, this seeming plain from the act of possession, which he approves. I have not deemed it important that the original petition of the grantees to Governor Armijo should be produced. Believing that the original papers on file are genuine, and that the present claimant is acting in good faith, I recommend that Congress confirm the grant to the legal representatives of Salvador Vernal and Tomas Lopez, original grantees. I transmit the complete record in triplicate. UNITED STATES SURVEYOR-GENERAL'S OFFICE, JAMES K. PROUDFIT, United States Surveyor-General. Santa Fe, New Mexico, July 13, 1874. AUTHENTICATION OF TRANSCRIPT. SURVEYOR-GENERAL'S OFFICE, Santa Fe, New Mexico, July 28, 1874. The foregoing is a correct transcript of the papers on file in this office in private land-claim reported as number 94, in the name of Salvador Vernal and Tomas Lopez. JAMES K. PROUDFIT, United States Surveyor-General. In answer to a Senate resolution of February 3, 1873, information in relation to the condition of the records and documents of Mexico relating to the land now embraced within the Territories of Arizona and New Mexico; also to their place of custody and deposit, and to the method of procuring authentic transcripts of such records and documents. DECEMBER 10, 1874.—Read, ordered to lie on the table and be printed. To the Senate of the United States : In answer to the resolution of the Senate of the 3d of February, 1873, I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State, together with the papers which accompanied it. WASHINGTON, December 8, 1874. U. S. GRANT. To the President : DEPARTMENT OF STATE, On the 3d of February, 1873, the Senate passed a resolution request ing the Secretary of State to ascertain, through the minister of the United States to Mexico, "the condition of the records and documents of that government relating to the land now embraced within the territories of Arizona and New Mexico, also at what place or places such records and public documents are deposited, and in whose custody, and to communicate to the Senate such information touching the premises as he may have been enabled to obtain; and also what will be the best method, and the expense thereof, of procuring true and authentic transcripts of such records and public documents." In compliance with the request contained in the said resolution, I have now the honor to transmit herewith a copy of the dispatches and of their accompaniments upon the subject, from Mr. Foster, the minister of the United States to Mexico, which are mentioned in the subjoined list of papers. Respectfully submitted. HAMILTON FISH. |