Jun. 13, 2004 - 22:39 MST

THE WONDERING JEW

Half A Loaf

A short article about something that has been a burr under many folks saddles for over a century.

The Denver Post, June 13, 2004.

9 San Luis families granted access to contested ranch

"San Luis (Colorado) -- After decades of legal wrangling, nine San Luis Valley families have won immediate access to the Taylor Ranch and more could follow as claims are settled."

"State District Judge Gaspar Perricone on Friday rejected attempts by lawyers for ranch owner Lou Pai to severly limit access to the 77,500-acre ranch in southern Colorado. The judge also denied requiring residents to sign a register when they enter the ranch."

"Perricone set up a year-long title search to settle the claims of an estimated 1,000 descendants of settlers who had been given access to the ranch under an 1844 Mexican land grant. He ordered ranch owners to pay an estimated $100,000 in costs."

"Area residents sued when they lost access to the land their families had used for generations for livestock grazing, hunting and firewood gathering. Use of the land, about 180 miles south of Denver, was first granted when southern Colorado was part of Mexico and settlers were being lured to the area."

"A 2002 Colorado Supreme court ruling granted access rights to about 1,000 landowners with claims dating to Spanish settlement of the area. The U.S. Supreme Court refused last year to hear an appeal from the ranch owner."

The state court grqanted access for grazing, firewood and timber but not fishing, hunting or recreation."

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I remember this fight going on for years and years, money seeming to rule I guess. Taylor himself had gun totin' hands to drive so-called trespassers off the land before Lou Pai bought the ranch.

Did some googling around tonight and found a lot of history on San Luis, Colorado Spanish Land Grants. One item was by the Center for Land Grant Studies at: http://www.southwestbooks.org/ which gives a fairly recent rundown on the situation, other places I read that Mexico under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ceded western lands with the express provision that Spanish and Mexican Land Grants would be observed and not restricted.

Land grants were given to provide incentive to people to settle in northern New Mexico / Colorado. Many of the grants were for community purposes - where a central plaza was established with farming property assigned to individuals along with open space for cattle to graze. From what I have read this suit was from descendants of people who were granted by Spain and later Mexico in perpetuity the rights herein mentioned - but including fishing, hunting and recreation. These grants were made during the time that tribes of Native Americans were at war with each other and / or Anglo settlers or both, simultaneously, a time when hunting, fishing and trapping were for personal and family survival.

From what I read the adjudication of the claims here was much more stringent than the method used in California. Which to my mind leaves a door open.

I quote from some of the history I read tonight. "1862 William Gilpin (one time governor of Colorado) and William Blackmore purchase a large portion of one of he Mexican Land Grants to be mined for gold and silver. Many Hispanic settlers were not able to produce a title to their land and lost them or were forced to buy them back." Much hanky-panky about the whole thing.

As it stands now there are only 9 families allowed on the ranch with a possible total of 1,000 later. I do wonder how Mr. Lou Pai is going to his dirty work to keep those people off "his" land ? I am sure he will think of some way to tie things up further to where even the descendents of the descendnts of the descendents will be barred from his ranch, he has the dough and wants his privacy.

For the moment though some families down there will have to settle for Half A Loaf . . . . . . . . . .

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