The Coconino sun., 1906-03-17
IMPORTANT DECISION
Rendered by the United States Su- preme Court ln the Cause of
 Howard v. Perrin.

S
 on in the above entitled cause, fo
 the better understaL ding of sam,
 we publish the decision in full
 Briefs were submitted Deccmbel
 6, 1905, and the opinion handed
 down January 2, 1906.
 Appeal from the supreme court of tho
 Territory of Arizona to review judg
 ment affirming judgment of the dis
 trict court of Coconino county, in that
 territory, in favor of plaintiff in ar
 action to recover possession of real
 property. Affirmed.
 Statement by Mir. Justice Brewer:
 This action was commenced on July
 l3, 1898, in the district court of Coco.
 nino county, Arizona, to recover pos-
 session of qurter section of land, to- gether with damages for it's detention. The defendant, in addition to the de-
 nials in his answer of plaintiffs an- swer, filed a cross complaint, ying a decree in his favor on account of certain alleged water rights. A trial resulted in judgment for plaintiff, which was affirmed by the supreme court of the territory, to review which judgment this appeal was taken. A statement of facts was prepared by the supreme court, which statement was in substance that the land was within the place limits and part of the land granted to the Atlantic & Pacific rail- road company by act of congress, ap- proved July 27, 1866 GA Stat. at l. 292, chap. 27s); that the grant was accepted by the company, a map of definite To- cation duly filed and approved, and the railroad completed and accepted in the year 1884; that in April, 1894, the lands along this part of the road were surveyed and this tract found to be the northwest quarter of section l5, township 9 north, range 3 west, of Gils and Salt river meridian: that the survey was accepted and approved by the surveyor general, and also by the commissioner of the general land office; that on June 27, 1896, this tract, to- gether with others, was duly and reg ularly selected by the railroad com pany as aportion of the lands to which it was entitled under the act of con- gress; that on July 27, 1896, the filing of the list of such selections was allowed by the register and receiver of the United States land office at Pres- colt, Arizona, by them approved, the land certified to be public lands of the | United States within the place limits of the grant, and free from all other that thereupon such list so cer- tiiied was forwarded to the land de- partment at Washington, and has since remained on file in that office; that the cost of the survey and all fees allowed by law had been paid; that the land is nonmineral in character, neither swamp land nor claimed as such, nor within any reservation, and that there is no valid claim against it on file or of rec ord in the land office of the district in which it is situated; and that on Janu- ary l3, 1896, the railroad company the land to the plaintiff. The statement of fact further shows that the only water upon the land is perco- lating water, oozing through the soil beneath the surface, in an undefined and unknown channel; that in 1889 the defendants grantor entered upon the and, then unoceupied and unsurveyed, 'ank a we'll, and by running tunnels