Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1889-01-30
PUBLIC RECORDS.
NEEDED AMENDMENTS TO MINING
AND OTHER DEEDS.
Present Deficiencies in the Method of De-
scribing Mineral Locations-Improve-
ments Wanted In Indexing Transfers
ord Tiafinr Dronorfu

ments Wanted In Indexing Transfers
and Listing Property.
When the Montana Society OF Civil En-
gineers met in this city on Monday and
Tuesday Of last week, there were, as might
naturally be expected. several very useiuI
papers ~read-useful not only to the craft
themselves but to the community at large
Indeed, very little of the civil engineers
work is in the line OF other than public i'm
provements. Their mission is to devise
the construction OF public and private
works, that promote the health, comfort
and wealth of the country, and to facili'
tate the enjoyment by mankind of the
fruits OF their toll.
The especial benefit which the Montana
Society OF Civil Engineers proposes to con.
fer upon the Territory is the consideration
OF matters coming properly under theiI
purview, which their scientific knowledge
and experience show need improvement
The matters contained in the accompany
ing paper upon 'The County Records Of
Montana" have suggested themselves to
tliC WIlOCA, " w. oooy Ii Nv AOPS hSS S
society might present them to the present
session OF the Legislature, with a view to
the enactment of the most needed amend
meuts to the present law upon the subject,
and The favor with which the paper was
received will insure some effort to bring its
most practical suggestions before the
proper quarter.
The Importance Of the records Of the
ownership and transfers of real estate in
any county cannot be too highly esti
mated. On them tn. property holder de-
ponds for the quiet and ~peaceable posses
sions OF his land: to them the purchaser
must look for an abstract OF title; anC
from them the assessment OF taxes is made
1t is then essential that they should bt
complete, and so indexed to show readily
the ownership of ev' ry piece OF such prop
erty. In Montana these records are ksp
in zach county by an officer known as TIT
county clerk and recorder. The laws re
latiug to them are in many respects defect
i've and incomplete, and in this paper
shall endeavor to call your attention tt
some OF the detects, and to suggest sucl
changes as seem to be needle at the pres
ent time.
TOWNSHIPS AMI MINERAL PLATs.
The first authentic record OF real estat'
commences with the government survey o
townships and mining claims and the plat
thereof.
The law should provide for a certified
copy of all these plats in each county to b
Kept in the County Clerks Office; and for al
index sheet or plat OF each township in tn,
coun9y on q convenient scale, showing tn
relative location of all mining claims TIL
certified copies OF plats should be added to a
fast as new surveys are made and approved
In unsurveyed townships there are at pres
emit many surveyed mining claims whose 10
cation is referred to aninitial point which j
unconnected with the public land surveys
In order that these claims may be properl.
located in the township in which they be
long, the county surveyor should run tn
necessary connecting lines and file q plat o
such survey with the County Clerk, tn
survey to be made at the expense OF tn
county.
E LOCATIONS.
The law relating to the location and re
cording OF mining claims could be great.
improved.
At present the %discoverer st takes out hi
claim roughly on the ground, generally by
pacing the distance between his stakes
and is then required to post Il "locatiol
notice, II and to file a copy thereof in tn
County Clerks Office. The notice Set
forth that he has discovered a lode or ledg'
of silver bearing rocks, which he hal
christened the Ruby Lode;" that sale
lode is situated in the Ten Mile Mimi!
District" and that he claims as surface
ground 300 feet in width on each side of tn,
lode, and 1900 feet in length along tn,
lode, aud that he has set the necessary
stakes at the corners of his claim
The township and range that such mimi.
claim is situated in are not given nor il
any mention made of adverse claims to thu
same surface ground. 1t often happens that
the same ground is covered wholly orin part
by several locations.
Parties making a subsequent location
may dispose OF their interest by a quit-clain
deed, in which the description OF the claim
is a copy OF the location notice.
When a mineral location becomes valua
bic it is impossible to make a correct alb
stract of title. and the purchaser OF such Il
claim cannot tell how many adverse claim
ants may appear when he applies for 8
patent.
1t is frequently the case that there are
several locations OF lOdes under the sarne
HdIue, III Uue 5hule MINING llbtrlCU, UleTeDy
adding to the confusion in the records.
In Colorado the law requires a survey
to be made at the time OF location, and
a plat OF such survey, showing all con.
ficting claims, to be filed with the County
Recorder.
This would be q great improvement, and
while it would entail an additional expense
on the discoverer, it establishes clearly the
boundaries and location OF his claim, and
lessons his chances OF becoming involved in
costly litigation in the future. At the same
time, the increased cost would prevent the
filing OF worthless locations, taken I'D with
the hope OF matchmaking some adjoining
claimant; o. OF obtaining a small piece OF
agricultural land as mineral; Or for the tim
Der on the land. Such locations are now
frequently mat!e, simply becauseit does not
cost any thing to locate a mining claim,
and once located opportunities are not
wanting to dispose OF it to others. Plats
OF mineral locations should be filed
in the County Clerks Office and marked
Location Survey No. -, in the proper
township and range. When the claim
is officially surveyed and the plat thereof
received, the clerk should write across the
lace OF the location plat, in red ink, the
number of the mineral survey and lot num-
Der OF the township and range. Such a
should provide for q location su. vey OF
all future discoveries, and also hat the