The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-12-19
ClP[ NONE CONTROVERSIES
Legal Complications and Per-
plexitiss Over Placers.
THREE KINDS or LOCATIONS.

Many Reasons why the District Re-
auires No Special MINING Legisla-
taen-Necessity for the Establish-
Aent Of . Court Of Record-Re-
view Of the ENHANCEMENT Of
TITLES ana Tide Land Question.
what Cane Nome would seem to need
moro than special legislation IL perma-
nent court to administer the laws as they
stand. Whether from motive or the con-
f,aaon Of controversy, the mining condi-
tions at the Cape are become so entangied
ana questions Of title SO befogged as to
alarm the majority Of persons intending
"a cast their fortunes next season on the
Boring SEQ coast.
Gold mining property. coming under
three descriptive heads-gulch. tundra ana
beach--is the object for which claimants
ana attorneys are engaged In verbal
strife Il II now designed to continue In the
Hobbies and committee rooms Of congress-
perhaps ON the floor.
II may be asked: What question IL there
IN the situation that cannot be disposed OF
BY territorial court, without detriment to
on the other hand, has any legislation
been proposed which In the enactment
would not be prejudicial to the Alaskan
mining industry as whole? for 1t may be
accepted a. d settled axiom that congress
win not at this remote day Of Federal pos
eosslons launch upon career Of special
lido land legislaticn covering any given
spot Of domain.
For the purpose Of analysis the seeming
II vexed problem may be considered a.
s SEGREGATED above. The first discovery Of
gsld was made by Laplanders in Anvil
guIch, . year ago last September They
located. washed out q 800 and exchanged
the gold at st. Michael. They adopted the
custom Of Alaska IN locating the maxi
mum area under the law. twenty acres.
Other adventurers, citisens and aliens. OF
st Michael, stimulated by the sight OF the
mysterious nuggets. set out and found the
Laplanders' guIch in the early spring.
They initiated the example Of the discov-
erern IN nxing the area for individual own
erohip. and confirmed that policy in the
record Of district miners association, or
ganissd according to law Here their
right under tn law ceased. but they went
further to approve and carry out indi-
vfdually the scheme OF securing title to
additional areas by means Of power Of At
torney locations In primitive gulch min
jng this practice never has been tolerated
as equitable The time and place for the
exercise OF the power Of attorney privf-
lke II On placer ground too barren to
compensate the rocker or sluice, or in
abandoned placer territory where hy-
draulic plants Will avail probably. In
such case the law, under power of attor-
ney location, permits Of the procurement
OF title to 12o acres for any one partner
! ship or company. which may further hold
H~w
ment and Improvement work done on
The purpose Of the power q attorney
gsyls !: OssGus + e 4; c 70. e sn sos
territory, but to promote placer mining on
larRe. scale when ground does not con.
tain or has lost its value for the individual
miner.
An illpatration comes to mind The IA
mous California gulch Of forty years ago
was discovered by three men,. Each took
30 keek from rim to rim. that is to say, 200
srsas van short & mile
nearly $2O.0oo0o0 in gold. sustained at one
time population Of 1000 persona, and no
body agreed that the discovsrers had been
fair in adjusting the measurement Of the
Had the LAplanders. scandinavians and
St. Michael Americans at Cape Nome been
olA-fashioned placer miners, they would
have confined their gulch locations to q
few hundred feet In length, and never used
slch al, instrument OF disturbance as q
power OF attorney.
Seventeen years after the Lees found
and Abandoned. two men 'v who had the
money necessary to the execution of their
design, covered the gulch by twenty-acre
power Of attorney. locations. dug nine
mile canal from the Arkansas river, and
cleaned up another million dollars. 1t is
for such enterprise that the twenty-acre
provision and the power of attorney pIivi-
lege exist.
following the Laplander and Scandi-
uavian locators in the gulches of Nome
came the Yukoner and Klondiker, who re-
located or took plaster locations. also OF
have been taken up In disregard of the
alien provision Of the statutes.
This mess 1t will be seen without any
tky struggle S1 a wond BE
established in the neighborhood. AS 1t is.
the final question at issue between the
citizen and en eSSid only arise in
or jumper applied for patent, which would
be never.
With reference to the power OF attorney
usage and the allen question. the same in
locations on the land sloping back from
the beach to the hills One phase of the
differences over the tundra titles Is in
volved with the beach controversies.
When the twenty-acre location business
had gone so far last summer as to dis
courage many OF the new arrivals from
the Yukon, gold was accidentally discov-
cred on the beach. The men first let in
on the find organized miners association,
and formally passed resolutions providing
for the location Of ten-acre strips.
It is claimed for this transaction that it
was in accordance with law, and that the
ten-acre locators are entitled to all OF the
beach lying between ordinary high tide
and the tundra. Just the same the in
coming miners flooded the beach diggings
and called meeting for the purpose OF
amending the ten-acre association law in
favor OF small appointments. The ten
the Jumpers threatened to kill the ten acre
men IN this dilemma the commander of
the Federal troops disbanded the meeting.