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Show 222 come up there and locate on the land, not to depend on the little mountain stream where they was fighting over a foot of water. That is what induced the people to come out; they thought he was truthful. " Hundreds of them took his word and came out and settled, tried to settle on the San Juan River that hadn't been nore more than located there until the high water come and washed all away. " Q. Was Bluff the first place you thought of settling on the river? " A. Yes sir, the mouth of Montezuma canyon; we had a little town there where Bill Hyde's parents lived; the water washed them away; washed the trading post away, all the land, and Bluff was a place the people settled to make a permanent home. " Q. Was there any talk of gold at the time when you first went in there? " A. No sir. " Q. And I suppose no talk of oil? " A. Didn't know what it was; I didn't and lots of other people didn't; I never seen none; didn't know what it looked like." R. 562- 563. Redirect Examination ( R. vol. 3 - pp. 563.) The productive part of that county is all east of a line running north and south through Bluff. He has run cattle in the country west of there. There are no farms west or north. There was a man raised a few water mellons and corn in Comb Wash that year, " but sometimes water would down there and swipe everything off." R. 563. |