Pulliam v. Bennett

Citations

• 55 Cal. 368

Syllabus

<p>Ejectment—Construction of Deed.—G. being the owner of the Bosquejo or Lassen Rancho, agreed to convey to E. and XV. 5,000 acres of land from the lower end of the rancho—500 acres to F. and 4,000 to XV.—and in pursuance of the agreement, on the same day executed deeds to F. and XV.; but, as to which was delivered first, the evidence was conflicting. The land conveyed to XV. was described as “being 4,500 acres of land, taken off of the lower or most southerly portion of the rancho, * * * extending the full width of said rancho, from the westerly to the easterly boundaries thereof, and as far above the southerly line as shall be necessary to include ® * * 4,500 acres of land, provided that no part of the land hereby conveyed . » * * shall be or extend north of a straight line drawn from a point on the Sacramento, at a distance of one Spanish league south of the moutli of Deer Creek, due east to the easterly boundary line of said rancho; and if there should not be 4,500 acres of land between the said line and the southerly line of said rancho, the balance or residue of said land, to make up the said 4,500 acres, shall be taken off from the south-easterly corner of said rancho, in a square form.” The land conveyed to F. was described as “ being 500 acres of the rancho; * ® * it being expressly understood that the said 500 acres shall he taken off of the south-westerly corner of said rancho, in a rectangular form, the frontage along the Sacramento River to be not moro than one-half the depth; provided that no part of the land conveyed shall be or extend north of a straight lino,” etc.—(being the same as described in the first deed). In an action of ejectment brought by grantees of F. against subsequent grantees of G., held, that the deeds, being executed at the same time, were to be regarded as parts of one and the same transaction; and that, reading the deeds together, it must have been understood and agreed that the XV. deed should be first located; and that the 500