The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1872-09-14
the MlnlNe LAW. .

From tho Central City, (Col) Register. .sth.
Editors Rtgister:-The mining law, with
all its merits, appears somewhat obscure in
one Of its mcst important provisions. The
4th section prohibits locations on the line of
tunnel of veins or lodes mot appearing
on the surface" Is not the first blossom
rock" or ''indication" found by a prospec,or
an appearance" of the lode on the surface!
II 80, what docs the prohibition amount to?
II not so, to what extent must lode ZAP.
pear" on the surface 10 exclude prospect.
ing: As your liberal discussions OF the
terms of this act have given your readers
much light, perhaps you will give the
above queries some consideration for the
benefit of MINERS.
Idaho Springs, Aug II. 1871!
The section mentioned by our correspond.
ent lacks for that degree of detiniteness
which every law should possess. This sec.
ton, in some of its provlhions, was opposed
by our Delegate, but he was overrulcd.
After its passage he sought to secure such
instructions under 1t ss should relieve it Us
much as possible from objection. Commits.
sioner Drummond says the effect of this
section is simply Ito give the proprietors of
a mining tunnel, run in good faith, tho pos.
sessory right to fifteen hundred feet of any
blind lodes cut, discovered, or intersccted
by such tunnel, which were not previously
known to exist within three thousand feet
from the face or point of commencement of
such tunnel" Our own notion is, that it
gives to the party running the tunnel all
lOdes not discovered prior to the commence.
ment of the tunuel, whether blind or not;
but that If lode had been seen on the sur
face, that is, ii its blossom had been seen
in position, prior to the location Of the tun.
mel, whether claimed or not, this would ex.
clude it from liability to he held by virtue
of the tunnel location, and that if lode
were once known to exist it must be held,
II held At all. by virtue of surface loca.
ton, to be filed by the tunnel proprietors or
somebody else; in short, that the chief oh.
ject of the tunnel section is 10 aid prospect.
ors, and that those who would reap the
greatest advantage of the tunnel law must
first take all lodes cropping out on tho sur.
face by location in the ordinary way. In
this particular, rs well as in requiring the
tunnel to be prospccted with diligence, this
section is far more favorable 10 surface
prospectors than the old district laws, un.
der which most tunnels have been located.
The Marshal Tunnel, Georgetown, was 10.
Gated under the old district laws. Since
then many good lodes, whose Outcropping
was in plain sight, have becn opened One
such the tunnel has intersected, and the
prOprietors of The tunnel take the lode from
the surface owners. Under the old district
laws, tunnel rights became perpetual in
some districts ~ soon rs the tunnel was
faced down, in others as soon as the tunnel
mouth had entered the mountain sides; such
tunnels can be seen along the side of the
Fall River road. and in this county, and
these were the enactMcnts of the miners
direct. True, under the district laws tun.
nels seldom held more than five hundred
feet Of . lode, but WHO does not know that
In . majority Of cases this five hundred feet
would cover all the valuable portion of the
mine This would be nearly or quite true
of the Bobtail.
If there arc to be objections 10 this law,
they should most properly come from those
who own tunnel sites under old district laws.
1t will vaca,e nineteen twentieths of al the
tunnel sites 10 the Territory, and unlock
more mining property than any other por.
ton of the law, leaving II open to the pos.
session of surface prospectors and owners.
We estimate that nine .ten,hs of tho mi.
uers Of Gilpin county do not own q single
mine. They are not able to own them, for
tho reason that the whole country prior to
their coming here had been run over and
claimed by people now non resident or
dead. This law gives every one of these
miners, about which so much has been said,
chance to own and work q mine IL he
wants to. Ten Mile District, in Summit
county, was some years ago prospcctcd by =
party whose chief representative and head
was J. P. Whitney. Under district laws 1t
would Ike unsafe for any one to prospect
over an area there, whose diameter 10 full
ten miles. The new law will reopen almost
the entire District What 10 true there 10
true elsewhere. If there is any class of
men whom the law favors, it Is the hard
working miners, who arc 80 much pitiel
just now by tlemogogics