Wichita eagle., 1889-06-16


ture, and thus has grown up that curious
mixture Of phrases, half scientific, half popu-
lar, and wholly expressive, which distin-
guishes tho laws Of mining states. For the
placer mines ordinary real estate law was
good enough, except that enc bought
feet instead Of acres For pockets
there was 10 need to Icy out
metes and bounds, for nature herself
strictly limited "a pocket" that is to say, a
hole in the rock containing nuggets. For
gulch and bar mining the common sense of
miners soon established Law Of titles, and in
general It was idle to go to law, for the gold
was all taken from the bar before the case
could be ended Fumes and water rights,
bitches and timber rights were OF course moro
permanent, and in this department grew up
the third body Of law, a curious mixture of
old real estate law, old Spanish custom,
miners custom, the principles of common
sense and public utility. BY and by, how
ever, the placers were worked out and deep
lode mining came in, and with it change
came over the spirit of their legal dream.
MINING LAW.
Title WAS everything then. One began to
hear much of first locations, rift, a" "strike,"
choppers" '.angles,n spurs" variations"
and ''sinuosities," and real estate law was
not worth a cent. To make it of any value
you had to set tho law on edge, as it were;
that is to say, in getting land you bought
square feet; in lode mining. linear feet.
No oneinentioned width; they flung that in
When you got title to so many feet along the
vein you got all the width of the vein,
whether it was six inches or six hundred feet,
and room on each side 70 work it. Aud you
got il free. Il was the feet along the vein
than you had to buy.
Another old rule was nuliiGed If there
was one thing the common mind he'd consid-
cred fixed, 1t was this: Tho land owner owns
all above aud al below. 1t is his To theearth's
center; but il lode mining it is not. You
must follow your cIevice-go with the ore
wherever it goes. Have you true fisslrro
VENT Does it dip into the hill, say at as
low an angle as 10! Then you may be soon
working directly under a man or his land,
above you on tie hill But be has no rights
unless be can trace connection. If he does
happen TO trace connection, then in ninety
nine cases out of hundred there is lawsuit
Suppose you find that the ore dips at an
argle of, let us say. twenty degrees from the
perpendicular, and there appears TO be
fault or slide, and some other mans crevice
dipping the other way joins on to yours in
the bowels of the earth troclS), something like
V, who OWLS the main crevice from there
downs All! there's the question which has
made law business so profitable in many min
ing regions That has been the issue involved
IN trials OF such magnitude that in single
case sioo, coo was paid as lawyers fees. aud
even then IL was whispered that there was
bribery TO get u final settlement. Let US
" ~, /
the right branch, dndiRg ore all the way;
Jones down the left, finding ore all the way;
who OWLS the main sserni
Frs location Is the other GREAT isslre and
on the determination OF these two hang nearly
all the law and the profits of silver mining.
TE-fe Is a regular graduation provided Tor.
from the pre-eutptorS sign on some adjacent
rock or tree to the district recorders books.
and so on up through al the grades Of in
creasingly perfect tisle 70 the United States
patent; there are pending anywhere from
three 10 thirty law suits or each successive
step, aud instances have occurred where the
supreme CONT has coIne in ct the very last
and set aside United States patent There
is nothing SO uncertain rs what Is under the
ground cut OF sight; enc man knows it rs
well as another Is conIran saying among
those miners who have q ccntc,npt Sor, pro-
poruonso 10 tbet- Ignorance OF, scientific SEQ
!ogy. But ii there is anything more I'M
certain than tie variations OF silver mine
II rhe earth, IL is tho sinuosities Of the courts
above the earth in dealing with the titles Of
mines.
Besides paying enormous dividends, several
of the large mines IN Colorado kept half a
dozen lawyers in good pay for years, and in
at least che instance dubbed together and
moved the powers ut Washington 50 far as to
get q judge removed. l am afraid 10 say
how much actual cash WAS lszid out ON the
celebrated Dives and Pelican suit. The low
est guess I ever heard was S1ao, coo. Nor
vas the sEis ainaily Terminated natu an OHIO