I been five mile from here on
every side, and I don't see no signs of his ever usin' the land fer
nothin'. Now, mebby the king uh Spain knew what he was talkin' about
when he give this land away, and then agin mebby he didn't. 'T any
rate, I don't know as I think much of a king that'll give away a hull
great gob uh land he never seen, and give it to one feller--more 'n
that feller could use in a hull lifetime; more 'n he would ever need
fer his young 'uns, even s'posin' he had a couple uh dozen--which
ain't skurcely respectable fer one man, nohow. How many's he got,
mister?"
"One--his daughter, over there."
"Hum-mh! Wall, she ain't goin' to need so derned much. You tell Mr.
Picardy I've come a long ways to find a home fer Mary and me; a long
road and a hard road. I can't go no further without I swim fer it, and
that I don't calc'late on doin'. I ain't the kind to hog more land
'n what I can use--not mentionin' no names; but I calc'late on havin'
what I need, if I can get it honest. My old mother used to read outa
the Bible that the earth was the Lord's and the fullness thereof; and
I ain't never heard of him handin' over two-thirds of it to any king
uh Spain. What he's snoopin' around in Ameriky fur, givin' away
great big patches uh country he never seen, I ain't askin'. Californy
belongs to the United States of Ameriky, and the United States of
Ameriky lets her citizens make homes for themselves and their families
on land that ain't already in use.
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