Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1873-02-27
Helena, Montana, Thursday, February II, 1873,


INTERESTlNG TO mlNEHSs
The following letter from o. H. Mckee,
Esq, Chief of the Mining Claims
Division in the General Land Office at Wash
ington, to one of the Salt Lake journals, j.
of importance to our miners, who should read
it carefully, as it embodies some very impor-
tant points not yet brought to public notice.
Mr.. McKee's connection with the framing of
the law entities him to be consider ed rs an
authority in the matte, and we believe it will
be to the interest of our mining friends to cut
the article out and preserve it: ..a. ...:... .a
! a-. MINING PATENTS. 80, ,.,......
~ = At the time of the passage of
the Mining Act of May 10th, 1872, was
Chief of the Mining Claims Division in the
General Land Office, and assisted in drafting
the BILL l fully know the intention of the
members from the Mining States and Terri
tories was to protect the then existing rights,
acquired by compliance with local laws;
| and to guarantee an indefeasible title by pat
ent from the United States, conceding all the
rights and privileges as to following the vein
wherever it should be found to run; but to
place me,o discoveries upon different footing.
xlf5a* sl'i *llga.~ -. =
A perusal of several articles upon the above
subject which have recently appeared in your
Journal impresses the conviction that the
writer's have overlooked one important fea-
ture in the mining statute of May 10th, 1872,
viz. the distinction set up and maintained
thereby between lodes located prior and those
located subsequent to said Act. The Act pro-
vides that such 'f >"
a.Jf PRIOR LOCATIONS u, .s... a,.r
shall be governed as to length along the lode
by the customs, regulations and laws in force
at the date of their location, and the Execu-
tive is fully empowered to grant patents for
such previously located lodes for the number
of feet expressed in the location, whether the
out the vertical planes bounding the specific
strip of surface ground described by metes
and bounds in the patent, or, III other words,
the primary lode named in the patent may be
followed both upon its dip and course for the
number of feet stated in the grant. ANY unlo-
Gated secondary lode, the top or apex of which
may subsequently be found to lie within the
patented ground, the patentee has right to
work and follow on its dip but not not on its
course. .. ...-
THE CONSTRUCTION AT WASHINGTON.
This is precisely the construction given the
law by the authorities at Washington, as will
be perceived by examining the conditions in
serted in the granting clause of the mining
patents quite recently issued by the General
Land Office for old locations, viz: ''Now
know ye, that the United States of America,
in consideration of 4the premises and in con-
fornity with said Acts of Congress, have
given and granted, and by these presents do
give and grant unto the said --, and to
his heirs and assigns, the said mining prem
;eoe l,or Cocoribod a. S,,rvov No -.f.
with the exclusive right of possession and
enjoyment of all the land included within the
exterior lines of said survey not herein ex-
pressly excepted from these presents, and of
-- linear feet of the said ---,Jvein, lode, |
ledge or deposit for the length Aerein6etore |
described, throughout its entire depth, although |
1t n,ay enter the k,,d adjoining; and also, of |
all other veins, lodes, ledges or deposits |
throughout their entire depth, the tops or
apexes of which lie inside the exterior boun-
Diary lines of said survey at the, surface ex-
tended downward vertically, although such
veins, lodes, lcdges or deposits in their down.
ward course may so far depart from a per-
pendicular as to extend outside the vertical
side lines of said survey. ~ ..l.,.,.,.'.,..'...
It must be specially borne in mind that this
form of patent is only used in patenting lodes
located prior to May 10, 1872. iol-s1 g0i3d I'D
LOCATIONS SUBSEQUENT TO NAY 10, 1872. ~
Subsequent locators are restricted in their
patents to the land embraced by vertical
planes bounding their surveys as made upon
the surface, beyond which planes the right is
only given by law to follow the lode upon
its dip, not uponiits course or strike, and, to
the end that locators may be the more GER
tain to cover their lode or ore body in locat-
ing their claims, greater latitude Of surface is
allowed: the statute authorizing the miners
of any district to SO change their rules orr
regulations as to permit surface width of
siy hundred feet to be takcn, which is certainly
liberal, and ought to be sufficient margin to
secure the locator against all probability Of
The lode in its course running outside the sur
face grountl, (which is frequently the case
where the extent allowed by local rules lis a i
narrow strip of fifty to one hundred feet. ia
As it is eruiteg possible that much of the
louM and uncertainty which seems to exist
among some of the miners OF Utah may be
10 a misconccption of the fact thht
he two classes of iloeations are to be coilsida
cred upon asdifferent l,asis, the foregoing
may be Of sufficient interest 70 find plaGs "
'Gsa sas sGsSSsi FnAscisco, January ii, is7sn @
ss.NlAl4-E --lzi. <~Ep% ~ eI---zL- ---i AAIl odI
AN English lnagazinc writer llasfa up-l
On the newspaper reporters, and here is one
IF the illustrative anecdotes he tells -,
Ss.Capital Stories are told Of The different
reporters; especially those of the
,ld.schooL hhichais li,osy ,1lhappily,, passing |
lYay m, There il, the frightfully eager re-
porter, who is always on duty, never forget
ing his mission One worthy Of this class
Tas reused lffoAa his slumbers ons night bya
disturbance on his door step. Ills, alarmed.
spouse compsilesl lsiR~4e--dssssnd and see
what the mstte. was. and npop opening the
lpQE DC. diecoYered, q, man stretched across