The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1899-03-18

lands In the fifteen and twenty-mile
limits were selected, and were also
certified and approved as inuring to
the Marquette, Houghton q Onton-
agon Railroad company under the
granting acts above mentioned.
These last rertifications We're made
in May, 1873.
AT this time none of the lands
covered by these grants had been
patented by the state to the railroad
company, and on the third of June,
1873, the governor of this state
patented to the Marquette, Hough-
ton u Ontonagon Railroad company
successor to the three companies on
which the grants had been conferred,
the lands within the six mile limits
as far west as the west line of range
80, together with sufficient quan
tity of other lands, to make, ap.
proximately, the quantity of land to
which the company was .entitled
for the construction of rail
road by the three companies men
toned, according to the mileage
certified as completed
Aug. 81, 1881, the Marquette,
Houghton & Ontonagon railroad
company sold to the Michigan Land
& Iron company LimiteO all the
lands covered by this patent still re-
naming unsold by it, amounting to
about 1856, 600 acres and about 60, 900
acres of reserved mineral rights in
lands that had been sold by the rail
road company subject to such reser-
walton. The Michigan Land & Iron
company paid $500, 900 for these
lands at the time mentioned and re-
ceived conveyance of the lands
from the Marquette, Houghton g.
Ontonagon Railway company.
In 1882 the Michigan Land & Iron
company sold to Thomas Nester n
large quantity of pine timber stand
ing on several thousand acres of
this land situated west and south
west of l. Anse, and about that time,
or soon after, sold other tracts of
pine timber to other purchasers.
March 2, 1889, congress passed an
act to forfeit to the United States
all lands granted to the state of
Michigan to aid in the construction
OF railroads under the act of June 3,
1860, which were opposite to and
co-terminous with the uncompleted
portion of the respective roads to
aid in the construction of which
they were granted. In order to adj
just this land grant the commission
er of the general land Office estab-
lished what was called a terminal
line, passing through the terminus
of the road at L'Anse at right
angles with the general course of
the last ten-mile section of the road
from those which were opposite the
completed portion. BY this termin
al line it appeared that about II, 800
acres of the lands within the six
mile limits, which had been patented
TO the railroad company by the
governor, were situated opposite
the unconstructed portion of the
road, and about 1900 acres of the
lands so patented, outside the six
mile limits and within the twenty
mile limits, were also beyond the
terminal line and therefore opposite
the unconstructed portion of the
road
Soon afterwards a suit was brought
by the United States, in the circuit
court of the United States for the
Northern division of the Western
district of Michigan, against the
railroad company, the Michigan
Land & Iron company, Thomas
Nester and others. to prevent the
cutting of the timber from the lands
in the six-mile limit lying west of
the terminal line, the United States
claiming that these lands had been
forfeited by the act of March 2,
1889, and had reverted to the United
States. An injunction was granted
which was, however, afterwards
modified so as to permit the cutting
of timber which had been more or
less injured by fire on the giving OF
bond by Nester to pay the value
OF such timber in case the United
States should prevail in its suit. The
proceedings in this suit were sus-
pended, however, after the grant.
ing and modification OF this injunc-
tion to await the action of the in
terror department on the final ad.
justment OF the grant.
The Michigan Land & Iron com
pany made the claim before the in-
terror department that the terminal
line was not properly drawn, and
that it was entitled to the lands in
volved in the SUIT mentioned, under
the grant. The matter was before
the department for several years
and it was finally held by the secre-
tary, in 1896, that the terminal line
was correctly located, that the lands
in the six-mile limits lying west of
that line had been forfeited to the
United States, but that the Michi-
gan Land & Iron company, as a
bona fide purchaser of such lands,
was entitled to patents therefor. on
making formal proof of its purchase
in good faith, within time fixed by
the secretary in his decision.
Thereupon the company filed its
application in the local land office at
Marquette for patents for these
lands, claiming that it had purchas
ed them in good faith. for "A LARGE