St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-03-03
BLACK HILLS MINING.
The Old Method Of Protecting Mining
Rights by the Bullet Done Away.
COURTS NOW APPEALED TO
How Claims Are Located---A Demo-
crat Rewarded for His Saw
ing Faith.

Special Letter to the Globe.
RAPID CITY, OAK, March 1.-The
week has been one of quiet activity i'll
mining matters. And, by the way,
miners here are earning something. 1t
is no longer the proper thing to nego-
tiate sale positively and then give the
whole snap away. Too much enter
prise on the part of newspapers has
made the Speculation wary, and he is no
longer apt to look quietly on a complete
and detailed expose of his little scheme
to accumulate sundry Eastern shekels
in return for prospect of more or less
glittering promise. But the newspaper
is only one thing he has to guard
against. The adverse claimant is the
bugabOO of mining country after it
comes to be as wholly civilized as the
Black Hills. In the early life of the re-
gion, when law was written in the
hearts of brave men, when might was
nearly always right, and the sweet, sad,
note of the SiX-ShoOter cooling to its mate
was heard OfteneSt of all music. the adj
verse claimant did not stand much show.
A mans title to his claim was generally
so well supported in the way of Colts
and Winchesters that the few little dis
puteS which arose were always salts
factorily adjusted without the interven-
ton of courts. Those days have long
since gone, and now all dispute as to
the right of discovery and consequent
privileges of ownership must be
SETTLED IN THE COURTS.
There are men in every mining CON-
munity who would rather jump claim
than locate one any day. 1t is these
fellows the honest prOspector hates, and
invites by his reckless methods. In
this country during the year so far there
have been hundreds or location certifi-
Gates filed, and not one in hundred is
valid. Haste and cupidity stand re-
spOnsibe for this. The district regula-
lions here are not strict, and men in
locating take every advantage of the
United States statute. The locations
are either faulty as to discovery or as to
metes and bounds. A claim must COM
mence at the discovery shaft. The
statute does not prescribe of what the
discovery shaft shall consist, but it does
contemplate that there shall be found
rock in place bearing the mineral for
which the land is claimed. Then the
direction of the claim must be so clearly
stated and its monuments set up SO
plainly that an engineer can go at any
time and find it. 1t would seem very
easy to comply with this law. Com
pared with the custom in Colorado
where ten feet of work must be done
before location can be filed, the law
here
Is EXTREMELY EASY.
But the average prOSpector does not
find it easy enough, and so proceeds tOfile
his claim OH suspicion, and without Il
vestige OF discovery. The endless
amount of litigation that will one day
grow out of this may be seen in the
statement that on one claim there are al
ready three adverse locations, and
neither of them is valid. How far the
craze has gone shows in the location of
a school section partially within the
limits OF this town for coal land. AS
no coal has been found there, it is very
doubtful if the school fund will use the
land. Two or three enterpriSing pros
pectors descended on the ranch of an
old fellow who lives in little park near
locate the land for placer ground.
The old man came out with Winches-
ter, and after very brief conversation
announced his intention of locating the
proSpectOrS. for bad mines. They left,
and the next day one came around and
asked the permission to pull up the
stakes he had set the day before. I'm
less a man is anxious to go to his own
funeral, he had better keep away from
that ranch.
ONE BLACK HILLS DEMOCRAT,
at least, has reaped the reward of his
saving faith in the party. Last week