The Goldfield news. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1904-1911, 1910-05-21
Oil Land Locations

7 oCAToRs OF OIL LANDS on the Blair marsh have for the past
few days been very much alarmed because of the publication of
- stories to the effect that the location work they have done in
order to hold their lands under the placer location laws is invalid, in
that no discovery of oil has been made. Not only are the men who
have expended time and money in locating and doing the assessment
work upon these lands alarmed, but the alarm has extended to sew
eral quarters where men were backing actual and prospective drill
ing operations in the marsh.
Strict Interpretation of the law is that no lode or mineral claim
may be located until a mineral discovery has been made, or, if the
location is made for oil, a discovery OF oil must have been made before
the location is valid. 1t does not have to be a discovery of CONNER
eal ore or oil, but must be mineral or coil"
However, consultation of the best authorities available, shows that
this law is intended as a protection rather than as a hardship, and
that its letter is rarely enforced. Where land is located in the honest
belief of the locator that he has discovered signs or formation point
ing to mineral or oil, and the locator does his location and Develop
Jnent work in good faith, few courts will allow that land to be taken
away from the locator by the fact that some one else beats to the
discovery" Were this the case, comparatively few claims in the
Godfeld, or any other mining district, could either be legally held as
locations, or could they be patented, for of the more than $4,000 claims
located in the Godfeld district, mineral discoveries were not made
on two per cent-yet many of them have been held and patented.
According to the law as handed out to the oil locators, John
Smith might stake off his 20 acres of land, and start in, with crude
machinery and put n well down 500 feet in quest for OIL Tom Jones
might come along, say that Smith had made nc discovery emitting
him to hold that land, and start in, with high power machinery, put a
well down within ten feet of Smiths well, beat Smith to the "ds-
covery' and tell Smith to get off the land and lose the So 900 or $50,
600 he had expended.
Such is not in the least the sense of the law. The government
and state courts and the land Offices recognize the right of possession,
and the man who is working on a claim, after having made an original
location, is safeguarded while he is striving for the discovery
upon which the permanent location is made. After he has made the
discovery he may hold five claims by the work upon one of them,
the Act of Congress of February u, 1908, specifically stating ..that
where oil lands are located under the Revised Statutes as placer min
ing claims, the annual assessment labor upon such claims may be done
upon any one of a group of claims laying contiguous and owned by
the same person or corporation, not exceeding five claims in all: Pro-
vided that said labor will tend to the development or to determine
the oilbearing character of such contiguous claims"
Prior to discovery" however. no one person may hold more
than one claim and he must hold this by the right of possession that