Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1941-01-04

a notice and paying the recorder one
dollar
No Lawyers Allowed
Resolved, filthy, that all disputes
about claims shall be settled by a min
ers' meeting and no lawyers"
If the above document ever had a
date it does not appear on 1t today.
This may not be called faultleSs book
Of laws, yet millions were oftentimeS
held by no other tenure, and the miner
lost no sleep from dread OF his title
deeds.
In some districts, for time, lawyers
were not debarred. One lawsuit is
described by the late Joaquin Miller,
famous as the poet Of the Sierras, III
which he appeared as attorney for the
defendant The controversy was over
a defective notice. The opposing coun-
sci was a bright young fellow, Thur
mond, noted afterward as one Of the
lawyers who unsuccesSfully defended
George Ives, the notorious road agent,
and who, being notified by the vigil
antes to leave the country In 20 min
utes, replied that he would be off in
less than five if his mule didn't balk.
The notice in the aforementioned
suit read as follows:
MOUSSE ElGlllE2 NC C4d1AlCo O14 GGCC
here gulch here"
Thurmond claimed that this was no
notice at all; but his client admitted
that he knew Dutch Jake, the baker,
posted the notice and claimed the
ground. So the miners court gave the
poor illiterate fellow the claim with
out even giving Joaquin Miller o
chance to make his maiden speech.
HeIena's First Laws
The mining laws Of Last Chance
gulch, whose wealth made Helena at
one time the wealthiest city per capita
in the world, was even more brief than
those mentioned above. These laws, by
which millions upon millions Of dollars
were held in absolute security and
perfect confidence, were passed at
meeting held on Last Chance creek
July 20, 1854 They are as follows:
Chance Gulch, and the district in
which the discovery Is made be named
Rattlesnake District, to extend down
three miles and up TO the mouth Of
the canyon, and across from summit
to summit That mining claims In this
district extend for 400 feet up and
down the gulch, and from summit to
summit. That no person be allowed to
hold more than one claim by pre-emp- |
ton, 100 feet for q discovery claim. |
That the discovery party shall have
the prior right to the use Of the gulch |
water. That claims, when pre-empted. |
be staked and recorded. That any per- |
son, besides his own claim, be allowed
TO record one for his actual partner; |
but II partners be so recorded. 1t must |
be specified, and the name given In |
full"
There are few people living today,
who realize that at one time town lots |
could be pre-empted by any person and
jumped" by another II the original
owner did not do the required amount /
Of improvement work to hold his prop :,
erty This method Of obtaining prop
erty also was In use In numerous other
mining camps Of the territory.
First Helena Laws
The first laws governing Helena
we're adopted by majority vote at a
held oct. 80. 1854, at the
third log cabin erected In Helena, then
owned and occupied by Wellington E.
Wood and his father-in-law, Orison
Miles, the latter afterward being q cit
Izen Of Bozeman. The minutes Of the
follow:
cat a meeting Of the citizens Of Last
Chance Gulch for the purpose Of nam
ing the town and electing commission
ELS, ETC., on mOLlOI, ". y. WOOD was
elected chairman and T. E. Cooper
After several motions and
balloting, the name Of Helena was
given to the town and c. j. Wood,
n. Bruce and G. L. Cutler were elected
town commissioners and ordered to
lay out the town and get their pay for
the work by recording lots at 81 each,
the proceeds to go TO the commission
ers for their labor and trouble. They
we're further authorized to make such
laws and regulations as may be deemed
necessary, to regulate the location and
size Of the lots. streets, alleys, etc. At
D meeting of the commissioners It was
decided that the lots should be 80 feet
front by sixty feet deep and that any
person might pre-empt lot by laying
4 foundation on the lot, which founda-
ton should hold the lot for 10 days,
and II a person record his lot at the
time of laying the foundation, then the
should hold good for 20
lays. And it was decided that If there
we're no improvements made on the
lots at the expiration Of the 10 or 20
lays, the lots should be jumped; but /.
al persons should record their lots
,. j. Wood was elected recorder Of the
own. All disputes to be settled by the
OF by arbitration, until
,ivil law is established"
There were about 80 miners present
It the meeting, and that they did not
AXE the work In hand very seriously is