M E X I C A N G K A X T S . 453 



and after gratifying the base impulses of the moment, to nave 

 no fnrther thought about her welfare, but to desert her for- 

 ever, careless whether their desertion prove her ruin or not. 

 From these men her virtuous soul turns with indignation and 

 abhorrence. She welcomes no suitor save him who comes 

 offering his whole heart in a life-long union, under solemn 

 promise that she alone shall be loved and cherished by him. 



Now let us turn to the manner in which the land-titles in 

 the agricultural districts have been managed. 



§ 308. Mexican Grants. — Upper California, when con- 

 quered by the Americans in 1846, contained about five thou 

 sand jlexican inhabitants, who, with their fathers and grand 

 fathers, had lived here sixty or seventy years. Their chief 

 occupation and the main source of their wealth were furnished 

 by their herds of kine, horses, and sheep. Most of them dwelt 

 in the country, upon ranches which had been granted to them 

 for purposes of pasturage by the Mexican government. They 

 held their lands under written titles, supposed to be, in most 

 cases, legally perfect under the laws of Mexico. The govern- 

 ment of that country never questioned or denied the validity 

 of such grants as those held by the Californians. The grants 

 were made to suit the habits and wants of the people. The 

 Cahfornians ow^ned large herds, wdiich were never fed on cul- 

 tivated food, never kept in fields, nor placed under shelter. 

 In a country where an almost unbroken drought reigns from 

 May to November, and where cattle get no food, save wild 

 and indigenous grasses, much more land is required to sustain 

 a cow, than in those lands where careful cultivation and fre 

 quent rains provide a regular and certain abundance of food 

 through the year. A fertile soil, like that of a large portion 

 of the Mississippi valley, will sustain five or six head of cattle 

 to the acre ; but here three acres of uncultivated fertile land 

 are necessary for the support of one cow. Herds of thou- 

 sands of kine were not uncommon in California under the 

 !\rexican dominion. To accommodate these cattle, great tracts 

 of land were necessary. The public land was granted not by 



