The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-04-06

Under the rule referred to. the claim
owner in the case of the above diagram
could follow his vein outside of his side
lines within the vertical planes as indi-
Gated by the new end lines and the
dotted lines extended from them.
A lew courts had adopted a different
ruie-to the effect that the true strike
OF The vein should be ascertained and
the Vein could be followed beyond the
side lines between the vertical planes
projected at right angles to the strike
at the points where the vein on lis true
strike crossed the side lines. But the
former rule was the most generally ac-
ceplen and seemed to strike both bench
ana bar as more nearly COMFORTING with
the intent of the mining statutes
But now comes the United States SUI
preme Court in the Amy-Silversmith
case and effectuaIy anni1ilates both
rules. 1t holds in plain and unmistak-
able terms that the owner of a mining
claim where the apex of his vein
crosses the side lines of the claim and
not It's end lines, has no extra-later
rights whatever in his lode. That is.
ne IS conF@ed TO that part OF MS vein
which IS within his claim, and he can
not follow il outside Of the lines of his
claim at all
The amy claim was a paralIelo-
gram l.4EO feet long and 4g1 feet wide
The side lines and end lfnese%gera mar
alleL The vein run at an angle through
Inc claim, crossing both side lines. The
.Noh-coniormlst claim joined the
Amy 1t was triangular in shane
me owner of the Amy claim follow
ed his claim beyond the Amy side lines
into the Mo- conformist claim and ex-
traced ana I'D a large quantity of
ore therefr0r1. The question was as Ia
me ownership of the ore and that part
OF the Amy vein within the Non-con-
formist claim. The court held mar
the Amy owner had no right whatever
TO them and that they were the prom
erty Of the Non-conformist owner. This
is its language:
The difficulty in the present case
arises from the course of the vein or
lode upon which the Amy location was
made. It is evident that what are
called side lines of the location. as
shown IN the diagram, are not such
IN fact but are end lines. Side lines,
properly drawn, would run on each
side Of the course of the vein or lode
distant not more than 800 feet from
the middle Of such vein In the ANY
claim, the lines marked as side lines
cross the course of the strike of the
Vein and do not run parallel with it
They, therefore. constitute end lines
II Is true the lines are not drawn with
the strict care and accuracy contem-
plated By the statute, and which could
only have been done with more per.
feet knowledge of the true course OF
strike Of the vein from further deve-
lopments- But, rs was said by this
court in Iron Silver Mining Co. vs.
Elgin Mining Co. Q1S u. S. 1876 207l
If the first locator will not or cannot
make the explorations necessary to as
certain the true coure of the vein. and
draws his end lines ignoPantlv. he
must bear the consequences" The
court cannot become a locator for the
mining claimant and do for him what
he alone should do for himself. The
most the court can do, where the lines
are drawn inaccurately and irregular r
y, is TO give to the miner such rights
as his imperfect location warrants, un-
DER the statute. 1t cannot relocate his
claim and make new side lines of end
lines. Where it finds. as in this case
that what are called side lines are IN
fact, end lines, the court in determfn-
ing his lateral rights, will treat such
side lines as end lines and such end
lines as side lines; but the court cannot
make a new location for him. and
thereby enlarge his rights. He must
stand upon his own location, and car
take only what it will give him under
the law.
Acting upon this principle, there is
no lateral right TO the holder of the
Amy claim by which he can follow its
vein into the Consolidated claim. Mis-
takes in drawing the lines of a location
can only be avoided, as said in the
case cited. by postponing the marking
of the boundaries until sufficient ex-
plOrationS are made to ascertain. as
near as possible, the course and direc-
ton of the vein. Even then" the
court added with all the care posi-
BILE, the end lines marked on the sur.
face viii often vary greatly from a
right angle to the true course of The
vein, whatever Inconvenience or hard.
ship may thus happen, it is better that
the boundary places should be defin.
ite.y determined by the lines of the sur
ace location than that they should be
subjected to perpetual readjustment
according to subterranean develop.
ments subsequently made by mine
workers. Such establishments at ev.
cry discovery of a change of the course
Of the vein would create great uncer.
taintg In titles to mining claims
Applying this doctrine to the case
before us, it follows that the vein in
controversy the apex Of which was