Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 6 [Dec. 13, 1862-Nov. 3, 1863].

To Charles W. Rand1Jump to section

May 8, 1863

To C. W. Rand, Esq., Marshal of the United States for the Northern District of California:

Whereas, it has come to my knowledge that one Andres Castillero, and divers persons acting or claiming to act under him as his agents or assigns, have, under and by virtue of a pretended grant or grants from the lawfully constituted authorities of the Republic of Mexico, occupied and taken possession of, and made settlement on a portion of the public lands of the United States situate in the Country of Santa Clara and State of California, commonly called and known as the New Almaden Quicksilver mining property, and embracing about three thousand varas of land in all directions from the mouth of the mine commonly called and known as the New Almaden Quicksilver Mine, and have, for a long time past, by extracting valuable minerals therefrom and converting the same to their own use; by erecting buildings and other improvements thereon, and by other unauthorized acts, used and enjoyed the said portion of the public lands as if they were the lawful owners thereof, all of which acts have been without the consent, and against the rights of the United States: And whereas, by the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Andres Castillero against the United States, at the December Term of the said Court last past, it has been adjudged that the grant or grants from the lawfully constituted authorities of the Republic of Mexico, under which the said Andres Castillero and the persons claiming under him as agents or assigns, have claimed and pretended to hold the said described portion of the public lands, is or are fraudulent and void, and conferred no right whatever to the said described portion of the public lands or to the minerals therein, whereby it appears that the said Andres Castillero and the persons claiming under him as agents or assigns, now in possession of the said described premises, are intruders thereon without right: And whereas, the said described portion of the public lands has never been surveyed and opened to settlement and sale under the laws of the United States:

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power and authority in me vested by the Act approved the 3d day of March, A.D. 1807, Chap. 46, entitled ``An Act to prevent settlements being made on lands ceded to the United States until authorized by law,'' do hereby order and direct you to enter upon that portion of the public lands situate in Santa

Clara County, in the State of California, commonly called and known as the New Almaden mining property, embracing about three thousand varas of land in all directions from the mouth of the mine commonly called and known as the New Almaden Quicksilver Mine, and to remove therefrom any and every person or persons who shall be found on the same, and deliver the said premises, with all the appurtenances of whatsoever kind to the possession of Leonard Swett, an agent who has been duly authorized by me to take possession of and hold the same for the United States, and also that you take such measures and call to your assistance such military force of the United States in California as may be necessary to execute this order.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto affixed my hand, this eighth day of May, A.D. 1863. ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

Annotation

[1]   Gregory Yale, Legal Titles to Mining Claims and Water Rights, in California . . . (1867), pp. 401-402; copy, DLC-RTL. The copy in the Lincoln Papers is undated, but Yale dates this order as above. The original is apparently lost since the San Francisco fire. For a discussion of the surrounding circumstances of this order, see Samuel C. Wiel, Lincoln's Crisis in the Far West (1949). See also Lincoln to Leonard Swett and Frederick F. Low, July 9, infra.

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