Gunnison news-champion., 1908-05-29
CAYul - ~
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The town vas filed wsth ssas,h
growers Tuesday asd Wednesda
l,steuisg 10 the trial IL Jacob no
ehevAr of Crested Butte, sko va
charged by tk~ People with dr,ssne
cattle from their accustomed range
The case csase before Judge IietLer-
iaGtoa, j. Il. Spaas wss cosHplaia-
ing w,tness, H. T. Sapr. sasorney
fog the GSasssoa sssesss.oa of
sso<kxsVssss sssssssd IAepssy Iks-
trict Atsors@y WeGsess in tbs psa.e-
cutioa sad +. n. Nosrse vepssusnssd
the dsteeAsss Tssse apsssssA nscA
.ntsssss N ske osses,ssss ssd the csse
was hard foa0hs. The laGsi hattie
Vas over sAs Instructions by the
co~rt 10 ~ twelve jsrywsa. bsttIe
which lssAsA two hoass Wednesday
aftssrOoa. A. the cosrt finally in
e6sst Instructed the Jury to hsins in
q verdict Of guilty, the regular xr-
sUments were short
Ii ssems Mr. KGhevar has aSO
acres of land isst above Cvsssed
Butte and only some fifty scsss
fenced of the As0 part wss hosse-
stead, part desert and part tax title.
The hillside had for years been the
accustomed range of Spanns cattle
For the people appeared as witness
es Ar. Spsnn, Sam Mosher. Harry
Neesham, Robt. Mathiesoa and Jno.
ksiDe; while for Mr.. kochevar ap-
pearsd Joe Kline, Johnnie Malensik
and Frank Chsdor. 1t seemed clear
however that kochevar had repeat
cdly driven the herd of cattle off his
grass and with dogs to help him.
The law says that any one who ma
liciously drives stock from their ac.
customed range is guilty of a misde-
meanor. The defense counted upon
the complainants not being able 10
show that he had driven them far
ther than his own land boundaI les,
but in this case this defense did not
avail for after extensive argument
the court virtually held that the de
Icpdent wss gsiisy ssder the ststsss
having driven the cattle. set out in
the Information, from even his own
land, unless it was fenced. The jury
found Mr. kochevar guilty and the
court assessed him S5 and costs,
which latter Amounted to $500. lie
will carry the Case direct to the sn-
preme court.
The situation Is rather surprise
10 the average man for 1T had been
the general understanding that,
while a man could not collect dam
ages where cattle strayed upon his
unfenced land, he at least had
right TO drive them off, although he
must use reasonable care not to in
lure the stock.
That has been the Supreme court
decision of Colorado but the supreme
court never passed upon this new
point as to whether when certain
ground was the accustomed range OF
stock and a man takes up the ground
for any purpose, he can drive stock
of until he has segregated it from
the public range by a legal fence
The stockmen have been intensely
interested in the case, for they say
that any one who owned a lode or
placer claim could keep the catte on
the jump with dogs. The decision
only applies to real public range and
not to town lots or any land of that
character. which could not be held
to be stock accustomed range.
Suppose, now, that the supreme
court of the United States holds that
the forestry people cannot arrest
Fred Light for turning his cattle up
on his own unfenced pasture land
because they may stray several miles
away upon the forest reserve. In
other words suppose the supreme
court holds as it has previously
held that the government as an
owner of land within a state is pre-
cisely in the same standing under
that law as any private owner 1t
will follow that the rangers cannot
even drive cattle off the reserve un-
less it is first fenced.