Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1898-04-27

claim after they had performed onl,
 the amount of sixty dollars wortl
 Of work, that it became forfeited
 and their location of the Equator
 related back to the first of January
 We don't understand the law
 Since the case cf Belk against
 Meagher l04 U. s. 279, aud the null
 titude of cases following it, it has
 become a settled law that. if the
 work be not completed on a mining
 claim in any part of the year in
 which the statute requires ii to re done, bu, the owners thereof are
 upon the ground for the purpose of doing the work befoie the year ex-
 pires, and then prosecute the work to completion, that the work so prosecuted will have relation to the year in which it should have been done, and that such resumption will prevent the claim from being forfeited; such resumption effectu- ally prevents it from being forfeited and no forfeiture can take place un- til after there is a failure to prose cute the work, after the same has been resumed.
 IL IS also we'll settled that, until a claim has been abandoned or has been forfeited, no other location can he made of the ground. The decisions go so far as to make it a settled law that if the first locator resumes work at any time even after the expiration of tho year. but be fore other rights attack in favor or re-locators, he preserves his claim.
 II this be the law, how can the be heard to maintain their location of the Equator" ia A valid onei By their own evidence, and by all the undisputed evidence ID the case, had Kell's Nellie" been proper location, which the Equator people made strenuous efforts to prove yet that claim kelPs Nellie) did not become for [eited nor the gronnd become opsn 10 relocation until after the owners had quit work at the expiration of he 5th or 9th day following the ast day of December, 1883.
 There IS uo such thing as making location of ground not open to by reason of beIsg al> eady located; and then, because of allure on the part of the owners to upport that claim either by aban- lonment or forfeiture. have the re- ocatlon relate back to the original ct.
 In the location of mining claIus here IS no such thing as relation of | cts, except such amendments as nay take place in support of an riginal valid location. We would Ot be understood to say that a par y alter once having resumed the 'ork, can 6tfully perform it and 'ursue a portion of it at one time. ut and go away, and then come nd resume again, So as to take all | the following year to do the work ihIch was necessary to be done for he year previous. But we do say hat having resumed work, they lust pursue it to completion and if hey do rot pursue it to completion ut leave the ground, it will then ecome forfeited and not before. 'ut If work IS resumed before the Hpiration of the year, or before any Interests have intervened no for siture can concur until the work is bandoned. When owners resume ork the must perform all that il ould have been necessary fer them have performed in the previous gar, in order to prevent a forfeit re.
 Hence, under any view of this ise, We cannot see how the appel nts could have obtained a verdict om the jury or maintained their ghts to the Equator" claim yainst the government, or against ly locators, whether it be of the Copper Chief or "Kell's Nellie" or r'erguson's Nellie"
 The judgment of the district . 'urt Is affirmed. WEBSTER STREET, C.J. ( 'e Concur: hICHARD E- SLoAN-A. J.
 FLETCHER M. DoAN-A. J.
 GEO. R. DAvIs-A. J.
 JPREME COURT,
 Territory of Arizona.
 l, Loyd Johnston, Clerk of the lpreme Court of the Territory of rizona, do hereby certify the fore I ing to be full, true and correct py of the opinion rendered by i'd supreme court on the 18th day April, A. D., 1898, in the said ove entitled cause.
 h witness whereof, I have here to set my hand and affixed the sl of said court this 18th day of 'ril, 1898, at Phenix. Arizona. / lAL [
 LLOYD JOHNSTON,
 Clerk of Supreme Court.