The Sumpter miner. [volume] (Sumpter, Or.) 1899-1905, 1900-10-03
ORIGIN OF OUR
MINING LAWS.
Precedents Established by Min
ers Formed the Basis.

The mining laws Of tn. U ,ited States
did not have their origin in legislative
halls, or in committee rooms of congress.
The first gold mining of any importance
that attracted much attention was In Cal.
ifornia, more than halt century ago.
The Argonauts Of 40 had no precedents,
Of which they had knowledge, to guide
aud govern them. They knew but little,
II anything, about mining codes Of other
countries. So in their cabins on the banks
Of the American river. they convened
and In their crude way organized mining
district and enacted code Of mining laws.
They defined the size Of a claim, prescribed
rules for its location and workings; estab.
lished "A miners court and 50 laid the
foundation Of what has grown into an ex.
tensive system. As the placers were
worked oA and the gOld.bearing quartz
leads were discovered, the genius Of the
frontier miner as law maker was found
equal to the emergency.
The history Of the early legislature has
never been written, and yet It Is traught
with intense interest. Those rugged ad.
venturers had left homes, kindred and
comforts Of lite. Between them and the
scenes Of birth and childhood stretched
hundreds Of miles, mostly an arid. unoceu.
pied waste. They had passed perils un.
told to reach this Eldorado land. Then
they found themselves homeless; the dark
mountains stood about them like Gods
wardens, and the music Of the winds. as
II played among the pines, doubtless
seemed like voices of dear ones watching
and waiting far away. We 10 not won.
der that IN these strange and weird condi.
tons Bret Harte could lind expression for
his inimitable stories, so realistic and full
Of the pathos Of mining life.
When congress entered upon mining
legislation, 1t did not turn to England,
France or Spain for preeedents, but to the
rules and regulations devised and adopted
Nv the miners OF the Pacific coast. And
II Is interesting to note these statutes
enacted by congress were FIRST constructed
by men who had lived IN the miaes,
among the miners who had handled the
pick and shovel and who were familiar
with all their provisions as they had been
enacted in the miners meetings, where
they knew and recognized no higher law,
and the courts have ever followed closely
the purpose and intent OF these first law.
makers. So that there Is scarcely a
proSpector who does not understand what
he must DO in locating and holding min.
ing claim, and what his rights are under
the law. Location on the apex, following
the vein on its dip. bounded BY the end
lines extended down vertically, etc, all
these provisions were formulated BY the
miners. In all our jurisprudence there is
no law or code OF laws that have origi.
mated 81 directly from the people as our
mining laws.
But few traces Of the cabins Of mining
camps are found Oh American river today.
Railways, villages and commerce have
swept them all away, but the work and
wise provision done and enacted In those
almost forgotten places and days live in
our statutes, decisions Of our courts and
IN the deeds ami doings Of miners all over
our wide domain.-biack Hills Mining
Review.