The record-union., 1899-06-14

sent only the views Of the writer's. All
communications must be accompanied by
ton unless so desired, but as guarantee
of good faith.-Eds.
Location Of Mining Claims.
Eds Record Union: Attorney Gen.
eral Ford of this State is quoted by
the press as giving the following as
the law regarding the location of min
ing claims in California:
THE acts necessary to be performed
to constitute asvalid lode location under
the Federal law are "a the discovery;
| CD the marking Of the location on the
ground SO that it's boundaries can be
readily traced. No notice need be
posted or recorded no particular kind
of marking is required so long as the
boundaries cam be readily traced. Such
! discovery having been made as will
satisfy the law, the marking of the
location on the ground, including the
place of discovery, completes the loca-
| ton and clothes the locator with the
possessory title. ~
If the Attorney General be correctly
quoted above think he is at error in
| several respects; and locators who
make their locations in accordance with
his views are liable to discover that
| their acts will not satisfy the require
ments of the law governing mineral
| locations.
Paragraphs IL and II of Regulations
under the United States Mining Laws,
issued by the Honorable Commissioner
| Of the General Land Office and the
Honorable Secretary Of the Interior,
approved December Is, 1897, reads as
| follows:
III. The claimant should, therefore,
prior to locating his claim, unless the
vein can be traced upon the surface,
sink a shaft, or run a tunnel or drift,
to sufficient depth therein to dis
cover and develop a mineral bearing
vein, lode, or crevice; should determine,
| if possible, the general course of such
vein in either direction from the point
of discovery, by which direction he will
be governed in marking the boundaries
of his claim on the surface. His To-
cation notice should give the course
and distance as nearly as practicable
from the discovery shaft on the claim
to some permanent, known points
or objects, such, for instance, as stone
monuments, blazed trees, the confiu-
ence Of streams pt mt of intersection
of well-known gulches, ravines, or
roads, prominent buttes, hills, etc.
which may be in the immediate vicin-
ity, and which will serve to perpetuate
and fix the locus Of the claim and rem
the description thereof given in the
-
should be duly recorded.
''12. In addition to the foregoing
data, the claimant should state the
names Of adjoining claims, or, if none
adjoin, the relative positions Of the
nearest claims; should drive a post or
erect monument of stones at each
corner of his surface ground, and at
the point of discovery or discovery
shaft should fix q. post, stake, or board,
upon which should be designated the
! name of the lode, the name or names
of the locators, the number of feet
claimed, and in which direction from
point Of discovery; it being essential
that the location notice filed for record.
in additions to the foregoing description.
should state whether the entire claim
of 1900 feet is taken on one side OF
the point Of discovery, or whether it
is partly upon one and partly upon the
| other side thereof, and in the latter
case, how many feet are claimed upon
each side of such discovery point
From the above quotations it seems
that the department holds the posting
Of notice, the recording thereof, and a
careful marking Of the claim necessary.
Were this not the case, piles of rocks,
| unmarked stakes, CT simply blazed
trees, might be placed all over mining
districts, and anybody seeing fit could
claim that he marked his mining loca-
tion, and who could dispute his claim.
even though he had never before seen
the ground? There would, without no.
tice, be nothing to show what charac-
ter of claim was located, who the loca-
tor was, or when located, nor anything
else putting the public on guard as to
whether the land was claimed or not
And even were this rule not lain down
by the officials of the department, the
local customs which now, and for years
past, required the posting and record
| ing of notices in the location of mining
claims would still govern in the mat
ter; and a failure to comply with such
local custom would be failure to COM
ply with the Federal requirements in
such matters.
Without a notice of location upon a
mining claim on public lands there
would be no safe basis upon which to
found an application for patent, as any
one could aver personal location, and
there would be no way to disprove his
claim. There would be no data upon
which to predicate a complaint that
claimant had failed to do his assess
ment work, as he could simply go onto
the claim at any time during the year
and work out his claim, which would
hold good for the current year, and
no one could charge that he was re-
locating his own claim, as there would
be nothing to show that he was the
former locator.
t I must say that I was surprised to
see such an opinion above quoted from
so able a lawyer as the Attorney Cen
eral unquestionab Is, and he must
have given his opinion while his
thoughts were deeply engrossed with
other questions; and Notwithstanding
his opinion in the premises, 1 should
certainly advise all persons wishing to
locate mining claims to post their
proper notices, record the same, and
mark their boundaries, course of ledge.
etc, in accordance with the, rules laid
down by the Commissioner of the Gen
eral Land Office and Secretary Of the
Interior. SILAS Penny.
Sacramento, June ID, 1899.