454 RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. 
the acre, as in the American states, but by the square league 
(containing four thousand four hundred and thirty- eight acres), 
which was “ the unit of measurement”.in granting public lands 
outside of the towns. The government granted away its lands 
willingly, and without compensation; no pay was required ; 
the only condition of the grant was, that the grantee should 
occupy the land, build a house on it, and put several hundred 
head of cattle on it. Whenever he promised to comply with 
these conditions, he could get a grant of any piece of public 
land, of eleven square leagues or less, for which he might pe- 
tition. It was a grand Mexican homestead law; and the 
chief complaint made about it was by the government, that 
the number of applicants for_ grants was not greater. The 
grants were not made according to the American land sys- 
tem, which would have been entirely unsuited to the wants 
and habits of the Mexican people. _'The public lands in Cali- 
fornia were never surveyed. I do not know whether a Mexi- 
can surveyor was ever seen in California; I feel confident 
that no ranch was ever surveyed, and its boundaries described, 
with bearings and distances, previous to 1846. The descrip- 
tions of the land granted were very vague. In most cases 4 
certain number of leagues were given, within well known 
natural land-marks, which might include a district of fifty or a 
hundred miles square. In such case, the grantee could locate 
his ranch at any place within the limits. Sometimes a grant 
of so many leagues was made, at a place to which a name had 
been affixed by the Indians or Californians, and then the 
ranch included that spot; sometimes a ranch was described 
as bounded on one side by a range of mountains, on another 
by ariver, and on other sides by ranches of older date. The 
Californians did not quarrel about their boundaries. If A’s 
cattle crossed to B’s ranch, for better pasture in the summer, 
B’s would probably go to A’s at another season. The herds 
were not closely kept. The cattle roamed about almost in a 
wild state, often unseen of man for months. So wild were 
they, that though they knew very well that a man on horse- 
