Iron Silver Mining Co. v. Mike & Starr Gold & Silver Mining Co.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
I am unable to agree with .my associates in the disposal of this case. The decision, and the opinion upon which it is founded, will do much, in my judgment, to weaken the security of patents of the United States for miiferal lands, and leave them open to attack and overthrow upon mere surmises, notions, and loose gossip, of the neighborhood which ought not to interfere with any rights of property resting upon the solemn record of the government.
The Iron Silver Mining Company, the plaintiff below and the plaintiff in error here, is a corporation created under the laws of New York, and the defendant, the Mike and Starr Gold and Silver Mining Company, is a corporation also created
The placer claim embraces .fifty-six acres and a fraction of an, acre, a full description of which, by metes and bounds, is •given in the.complaint. It is designated and known in the public surveys of mineral land as lot No. 300. A patent of the United States for it was issued to William Moyer on the 30th of January, 1880. The application for the patent was filed in the local land office on the 13th of November, 1878, and the claim was entered for patént and paid for on the 1st day of February, 1879.
The patent contains several express reservations or conditions, among them these two:; — we quote their, language from the instrument:
“First. That the grant hereby made is restricted in its exterior limits to the boundaries- of the said lot No. 300, as hereinbefore described, and to-any veins or lodes of quartz or other rock in place bearing gold, silver, cinnabar, lead, tin, copper or other valuable deposits which may hereafter be discovered within said limits, and which are not claimed or known to exist at the date hereof.
• “Second. That should any vein or lode of quartz or. other rock in place bearing gold, silver, cinnabar, lead, tin, copper or other valuable deposits, be claimed or known to exist within the above-described premises, at the date hereof, the same is expressly excepted and excluded .from these presents.”
The patentee, Moyer, on the 24th of February, 1880," executed a quit claim deed of the premises to William H. Stevens and Levi Z. Leiter.; and on thé 6th of March following these
The defendant in answer to the action, besides denying the right of the plaintiff to the possession of the premises, relies upon two defences — the' acquisition of a lode claim known as the G-oodell lode from the original locators, and the acquisition' of a lode claim-known as the Thomas Starr lode.' .In stating the first defence it recites the exceptions stated to thé patent, and sets up “ that at the time of the location of said • placer claim, and the survey thereof, and at the time of the application for patent, and at the time of the entry of said land thereunder, and at the daté of the issuance and granting of said patent, a lode, vein, and deposit of mineral, of quartz and other rock in place, carrying carbonates of lead and silver, was known to exist and was claimed within the boundaries of said William Moyer placer claim, survey No. 300, and that the fact that said vein was claimed and did exist within said premises was known to the said William Moyer, the pat-entee of said claim, at all the times hereinbefore mentioned; ” that said vein was known ■ and claimed as the Goodell lode; and that on the first day of February, a.d. 1879, Maurice Hayes, John Hayes, George 0. Gardner, and E. E. Goodell, then citizens of the United States, went upon the premises and sunk a shaft and run a tunnel therein, -which, uncovered and exposed said vein, lode, and deposit; that they thereupon proceeded to locate the same as a lode claim, by putting up a . notice containing the name of the lode, the date of the location, and their own names as locators, and marked the surface boundaries by posts and afterwards caused a lócation certificate to be filed in the office-of the clerk and recorder of the, county, containing the name of the location, the names of the locators, the date of location, and, the number of feet claimed in length on each side of the centre of the discovery shaft; whereby the said locators became the owners of and entitled to the possession of said lode, the title to wrhich afteYwards. by several mesne conveyances became, vested in the defendant.
On the 11th of March, 1819, the locators filed with the county clerk and recorder of Lake County — the county within which the alleged lode lies — a location certificate of. the lode claim, and on the 13th of April, 1881, the defendant, which had succeeded to their interest, made application for a patent for the same. The plaintiff below and in this court, the Iron Silver Mining Company, filed in the- land office its adverse claim to the application for-a patent under - assumed conformity with the provisions of section 2325 -of the Revised Statutes, and this action is brought by that company to determine, as between the parties, the right to the possession of the land embracing this alleged lode in pursuance of section 2326. The case was tried, before a jury, and the only direct evidence offered to show the existence of a known vein or lode bearing gold or silver within the. placer claim was contained in the testimony as to the tunnel run, called the Mike 'tunnel, and discoveries made in it. It was shown that’ the tunnel was commenced in January,’ 1877, and completed on the 24th of April following. It extended 400 feet, but it disclosed within it only veins of decomposed porphyry and manganese iron. The statement that it intersected and crossed three veins is only correct in that they were veins of that character... There was no vein or lode of gold or silver bearing rock found in the tunnel, and there is an' erroneous impression conveyed by the opinion .of the court in that respect. The material evidence in the record as to what was found in the tunnel is given in the note below from wrhich it will appear, as stated above, that only veins of decomposed porphyry and manganese iron were found there. No gold or silver was discovered in it, except in one instance, and then merely a
Evidence was also.offered against the objection of the plaintiff to show that there were other lodes in the vicinity of the placer claim of the plaintiff and also of the placer claim of "Wells and Moyer; and also that parties in the neighborhood believed — not that they knew — that there was a vein or lode lying under those placer claims, and also of conversations in 1877 with one Stevens, who acquired his interest by purchase with one Leiter from the patentee more than a year after the patent was issued, as to his opinion of the existence of mineral
Among the instructions to the jury the plaintiff then reouested the court to give the following:
2. That a lode 'claim located or attempted to be located within the exterior boundaries of a placer claim at any time after the time of making the application for patent to the placer claim gives no right or title; any lode so located is not reserved from the grant of the placer patent. This rule applies to all lode claims located between the time of- the application for the placer patent and .the making of the-entry and the issuing of the patent..
3. That to constitute a valid title to a lode mining claim the locators of such claim are required to make a discovery óf a vein, lode or'-ledge carrying valuable deposits, within the. boundaries of such lode claim, before the same is located and recorded, and if such discovery is not made the location is void and creates no title or right of possession in the attempted, locators; and if the said defendants made no such discovery of a vein, or lode, or valuable deposit within the boundaries of the said Goodell lode claim, then they acquired no title or right to possession whatever by virtue of their pretended location.
But' the court refused to give either of these instruction's, and to its refusal to each one an exception was taken at the time.
The jury found for the defendant. To reverse the judgment entered upon its verdict the case was brought to this court on writ of error.
Assuming that the plaintiff is thereby estopped from denying its obligation to contest the right of the lode claimant in this way- — which..may wfell be doubted- — -I proceed to consider the questions presented for a reversal of the judgment obtained.
The presumption in favor of 'its validity attends the placer patent, as it does all patents of the government of any interest in the public lands, which they purport to convey. So potential and efficacious is such presumption that it has been frequently held by this court, that if under any circumstances in the case the patent might havé been rightfully issued, it will be presumed as against any collateral attack, that such circumstances existed. Smelting Mining Co. v. Kemp, 104 U. S. 636, 646. As was said by the Circuit Court in the Ewreka, Case, a patent for a mining claim is iron-clad in its potency against all mere speculative inferences: 4 Sawyer, 302. The burden of proof therefore rested upon the defendant to show affirmatively that it was entitled, as against that patent, to the possession of the lode claim, on the ground that the lode was excepted from the patent in express terms.
A lode claim of the same richness as a placer claim is 'of
The exceptions to the operation of the patent are founded upon section 2333 of the Revised Statutes, which, is as fol-' lows:
“ Where the same person, association or corporation is ih • possession of a plaeer claim, and also a vein or lode included within the boundaries' thereof, application shall be made for a patent for the placer claim, with the statement -that it includes such vein or lode, and in such case a patent shall issue for the placer claim, subject to the provisions of this chapter, including such vein or lode, upon the payment of five dollars per acre for such vein or lode claim, and twenty-five feet of surface on each side thereof. The remainder of the placer claim, or any. placer claim not embracing any vein or lode claim, shall be*418 paid for at the rate of two dollars and fifty cents per acre, together with all' costs of proceedings; and where a vein or lode, such as is described in section twenty-three hundred and twenty, is known to exist within the boundaries of .a placer claim, an application for a patent for such placer claim which does not include an application for the vein or lode claim shall be construed as a conclusive declaration that the claimant of the placer claim has no right of possession of the vein.or lode claim; but where the existence of a vein or lode in a placer claim is not known, a patent for the placer claim shall convey •all valuable mineral and other deposits within the boundaries thereof.”
This section, as we have said on more than one occasion, makes provision for three distinct classes of cases:
1. Where one applies for a placer patent, who is at the time in the possession of a vein or lode included within its boundaries, he must state the fact, and then, on payment of the sum required fpr a vein or lode claim and twenty-five feet on each side of it at $5.00 per acre, and $2.50 an acre for the placer claim, a patent will issue to him covering both claim and vein or lode.
2. Where a vein or lode such as is described in a previous section of the Revised Statutes — that is, of quartz or other rock in place bearing ■ gold, silver, cinnabar, lead, tin, copper or, other valuable deposits — is known to exist at the time within the boundaries of the placer claim,'the application for a patent therefor, which doeg not also include an application for the vein or lqde, will be construed as a conclusive declaration that the claimant of the placer claim has no right of possession to the vein or lode.
3. Where the existence of a vein or lode in a placer claim is not known at the time of the application for a patent, that instrument will convey all valuable mineral and other deposits within its boundaries. Iron Silver Mining Co. v. Reynolds, 124 U. S. 374, 382; also Reynolds v. Iron Silver Mining Co., 116 U. S. 687, 696.
In Iron Silver Mining Co. v. Reynolds, 116 U. S. 687, 692, the court, after stating the substance of this section, added
"When the same case was again before the court at October term 1887, it was expressly held that the statute did' not except veins or lodes “ claimed or known-to exist ” at the date'of the patent, but only such as were “known to exist,” and that.it fixed the time at which such knowledge was to be had as that of the application for the patent. Iron Silver Mining Co. v. Reynolds, 124 U. S. 374, 382. The same doctrine was declared in United States v. Silver Mining Co., 128 U. S. 673, 680.
To bring, therefore, a vein or lode of quartz or other rock in place bearing precious metals within the exceptions of the statute, and' of course within those of the patent to the extent to which they are operative, the vein or lode, according to the decisions referred to, ihust have been known to exist at the time application was made for the patent. The applicant could not, of course, speak of discoveries not then made; .necessarily, his knowledge must have been limited to the time of-his application. The court below, however, held that it was sufficient if the lode in controversy was known to exist at the date of the patent, and not at the date of the application for it. It stated expressly that it would not enter into any consideration of the validity of the exceptions made in the patent, whether they conformed to the statute or not, but would follow the patent, and so ruled during the whole trial, both in the admission of testimony and in the instructions to the jury, giving them to understand in the most explicit terms that if a lode was discovered and a location made before .the. issue of the patent for a placer claim, that lode -was excepted from
In thus holding there was a plain departure from the express and repeated decisions of this court, for which error alone the judgment ought to be reversed. The ruling could not have failed to mislead the jury, and to direct their attention to matters not properly open for their consideration. But indepéndently of this error, there were material objections to evidence admitted on the trial to establish the existence of the supposed lode even upon the theory of the court below as to the time when such existence must have been known, and to its instructions upon portions of such- evidence, and to its refusal to order a verdict for the plaintiff upon the grounds stated.
At the outset of this case it becomes important to determine what is meant by a “ known, lode ” within the purview of the statute, which, if not applied for by the patentee, is excepted from the patent; and also when a right to such a lode is initiated by a claimant, and to that consideration I will now direct attention. And first, what is meant by a lode or vein of qúarfcz or other rock in place bearing' gold or silver % The ■first reported case in which a definition was attempted is the Eureka Case, 4 Sawyer, 302, 311. / The court, after observing that the word was not always used in the same sense in scientific works on. geology and mineralogy, and by those actually engaged in the working of mines, said: “ It is difficult to give any definition of the term as understood and used-in the acts of Congress which will not be subject to criticism. A fissure in the earth’s crust, an opening in its rocks and strata made by some force of nature, in which the mineral is deposited’, would seem to be essential to the definition of a lode in the judgment of geologists. But, to the practical miner, the fissure and its walls are only of importance as indi-, ■eating the boundaries within which he may look for and reasonably expect to find the ore he seeks. A -continuous body of mineralized rock, lying within any other well-defined boundaries on the earth’s surface and under it, would equally constitute, in his eyes, a lode. We are of opinion, therefore,
■For the reasons stated above it would seem that not merely must a discovery of mineral be made to constitute a known lode within the meaning of the statute, but that such development of its extent must be made as to enable the applicant to comply with the law in tendering the requisite price. The Circuit Judge, Mr. McCrary, who rendered the judgment of the Circuit Court, thus reversed on a point of pleading, £elt that the construction placed by him upon the statute was the only one which made it consistent with itself or practicable in application.
“ The first thing,” he observes, “ that strikes us as important in .the construction of this language [of section 2323] is that we are referred back to section 2320 for a description of the vein o.r lode which is .referred to, and which is not to pass to the patentee, unless he has complied with this provision of the statute: ‘ Where a vein or lode, such as is described in section 2320.’ What sort of vein or lode is described in section 2320 ?
“ By reference to that section, wTe see that it relates entirely to vein or lode claims, and the description which it contains is. a description of the metes and bounds of a vein or load claim, . . . hot the lode simply, but a lode claim; one that has been located, which has boundaries, which has been developed'; it gives us its dimensions; it declares it shall have been located; it says it shall be a claim in which there has been a discovery of mineral, etc.
“ I am of the opinion that a vein or lode that has never been claimed, that has not been located, that has not been
The case of Noyes v. Mantle, 127 U. S. 348, does not, When properly understood, militate, as supposed, against this view. The court.in its language there used had reference to the rights of parties other than the applicant for the placer patent, when it said that the statute did not apply to lodes or veins within the boundaries.of a placer claim which had been previously located under the laws of the United States, and were-, in the possession of the locators, and could apply only to lodes; or veins not taken up and located so as to become the property of others. ■ The statute has reference to cases where the same person, association or corporation is in possession both pf the placer claim and of the vein or lode within its boundaries. In such cases, if the lode claim is known to the applicant to' exist, he must designate it in his application; but it cannot, of course, be known to him to exist, whatever his conjectures may be,-until'the lode is discovered and located so as to enable him to state its existence and extent in his application for a patent of the placer claim, and to tender the price per acre required:
If .there be any variance between these views and those expressed in Iron Silver Mining Co. v. Reynolds, 124 U. S. 374, 384, as to the manner in which, knowledge-of the existence of a lode, within the boundaries of a placer claim may be obtained, it is because of a more careful consideration of the subject in later years than formerly, and of larger experience in mining cases.
As stated above, there can be no location of a lode or vein
In the case at bar, as stated above, the alleged location of-the lode of the defendant was not preceded by the discovery of any precious metals within it. There was, therefore, in fact no lode to locate, and of course no location initiated or measurement possible. (Eev. Stat. 2320.) No weight ought to be given to a defence resting upon such a basis. . The court below should have insisted upon proof of the discovery of mineral in the alleged lode claim of the defendant, or have directed a verdict as moved in favor of 'the plaintiff. And when the motion was refused, if the views I have expressed of
Much of the evidence received at the trial was also subject to serious objections.. To show that the alleged lode of the 'defendant was known to exist before the patent was issued, the court below allowed evidence, against the objection of the plaintiff, to be introduced, that there were other lodes in the vicinity of the placer claim of the plaintiff and also of the~placer claim of Wells and Moyer; and also evidence that parties in-the'neighborhood believed that there was a vein or lode lying under those placer claims, and also evidence of conversations in 1877 with one Stevens, who only acquired his interest, by purchase with one Leiter, from the patentee more than a year after the patent was .issued, as to his opinion of the existence of mineral underlying dll the ground where he had men at ■work, although the ground thus loosely designated was not shown to have covered the premises in controversy.
1. At the outset of the trial the deposition of one Leon-hardy was introduced in which he was allowed to testify in regard to lode claims located in the vicinity of the placer claim of the plaintiff and the placer claim of Wells and Moyer, against the objection' of the plaintiff .that the testimony was not competent or relevant. He stated that he knew of a “great many holes having been sunk there” between 1860 and 1880. And he referred to the claim of the Oro La Plata and.to the Pennsylvania claim, and was allowed to. give testimony as to the character of the dump of the former, and also of the underground workings of the latter, and of the kind of vein that it disclosed. He was also permitted to speak of adjoining mines, called the Rock and Dome mines, and how long he had known them, and of' his examination of their workings.' Testimony of the same general character, though less full in (detail, in reference to the same and other claims in the vicinity of the placer claim, was given by,other .witnesses.
• It would seem that the court below,' in- admitting evidence
2.' The witness Leonhardy was also allowed, against the objection of the plaintiff, to state that there was knowledge among the people in the vicinity of the plaher ‘Claim of the plaintiff, at the times he visited the country,'as -to' the existence of a vein or deposit of mineral underneath the claims. He testified that there was such knowledge at those times; that wherever they, the people, sunk, there they found mineral, without stating what or where people sunk or the character of their developments, the knowledge being evidently no more than an opinion or belief which parties in the vicinity had formed on the subject. The witness Heed was allowed to state that there was a general understanding that there was a vein under the placer claim. Of the inadmissibility of this kind of evidence to establish the existence of a valuable vein or lode of mineral and knowledge of it • by the patentee on his application for the patent, it would seem there could be no question. The opinions and belief of the neighborhood do not show knowledge of the existence ola lode or vein of valuable mineral. On this point we have an express adjudication in the' case of Iron Silver Mining Co. v. Reynolds, when it was here at October term, 1887, 124 U. S. 374, 384. It was there held that mere belief as to the existence of a valuable lode, founded even upon investigation as to the character of the ground, did not amount to knowledge under the statute. “The statute speaks,” said the court, “of acquiring a patent with a knowledge of the existence of a vein or lode within the boundaries of the claim for which a patent is sought, not the effect of the intent of the party to acquire a lode which may or may not exist, of which hd has no knowledge. Nor does it render belief, aftey examination, in the existence of a lode, knowledge of the fact. There may be difficulty in determining whether such knowledge in a given case was had, but between mere belief and knowledge there is a wide difference. The court could not make them synonymous by its charge and thus in effect incorporate new terms into the statute.” Purchasers from a patentee holding the instrument of the
3. The testimony received of conversations of the same witness with Stevens, as to the latter’s opinion in 1887 of the existence of a large body of metal “underlying all the ground there,” referring to ground where he had employed men to work, would seem to be subject to still greater objection, for it was not shown- that the ground referred to embraced the premises in controversy. Leonhardy testified that in the spring of 1877 Stevens came to his house and told him that the country, referring to the ground upon which his men were at work, was good, the best mineral country he ever saw, bpt • that if he told the men he had employed so, they would leave hirr) fi.s soon as they got there ánd go on their own hook; and again, that he had found an immense body of mineral underlying all that ground there, that he had shipped many tons which had paid him a handsome profit, and that he was going to secure the ground and begin very heavy operations. It does not appear, however,-what operations he did commence, if any, ■or what interest'he then had in the “ground there ” beyond that of a prospector and- explorer, or that he . ever made any mining location himself, or acquired any title'to any mines except by the purchase mentioned froiq the patentee. ■ Nor does it. appear that he possessed any special‘knowledge' of the
The only other testimony introduced to connect Stevens with the patentee, and to show that Moyer, the patentee, had knowledge of the existence of any lode before his application for the present patent, is that of the witness Norris, who said that. Moyer, the patentee, told him, not stating the time or place, that he, Moyer, was going to get a placer patent for Mr. Stevens, who was afraid that miners would adverse him, and he wanted Moyer to get the patent for him, not mention- ■ ing of what land such patent was to be had. It subsequently appeared that this alleged conversation'had reference to a different claim than that óf Moyer — to that of Wells and Moyer. It would be a waste of time to argue that such statements, if made, do not even tend to prove any such knowledge of a lode within .the claim, for a disregard of which in his application one-fifth of the rights acquired by the patent can be defeated, years after thé patent has been issued, the property. ■ gone into the hands of third parties, who have put up extensive works, and incurred large expenditures in its development. Trail, indeed, would the support of a patent be if testimony to such vague'"and loose conversations of a party not interested in the land in controversy at the time as owner could be received to impair the title of a bona fide purchaser from the "patentee of the government, as the plaintiff in this case was. And yet, referring to it, the court below instructed the jury that it tended to prove knowledge of the existence of a lode equally in Moyer, the patentee, as it did in Stevens, thus assuming that it did prove such knowledge by Stevens; that no distinction could be raised between them; and that if the jury found that the existence 'of a lode was known to Stevens, they might find upon the same evidence that it was known to Moyer, the patentee.
In my opinion the judgment should be reversed and a new trial awarded.
On the 25th April, 1892, it was “ Ordered by the court that the mandate in this cause be stayed; that notice be given to counsel for the defendant in error that an application for a rehearing has been made; and leave is hereby granted counsel on both sides to file printed briefs on or before the first day of the next term of this court upon the question whether a rehearing should be granted and the judgment be reversed and the cause remanded.”
Ieon Silver Mining Company -y. Mike and Starr Gold and Silver Mining Company. (No. 2:)
Case Ho. 3, between the same parties,, presents the same ’questions, arid the same judgment" of affirmance-will, be entered therein. . .
Note. — There were four witnesses examined as to what was found In the Mike tunnel. All that is important in their testimony hearing upon that point is here given.
1. Baldwin.
Mr. Baldwin examined the Mike tunnel with reference to whether there was a vein disclosed in it, and testified that there were several veins exposed in the course of the tunnel; that at a point about seventy-five feet in from the mouth, was disclosed a lode with porphyry walls, or, at least, a porphyry wall on the west side, dipping to the east, and a vein showing decomposed porphyry with some pieces of iron at different points in the lode, and that there were other lodes found further in the tunnel, hut that he never was in the tunnel until about a month before giving Ms testimony.
2. Morris.
Mr. Morris knew the Mike tunnel, and that there were discoveries of lodes in that tunnel, three, he guessed, and testified as to the character of the filling of the largest vein, that it was decomposed porphyry, and manganese iron, and did not know whether if ever carried any mineral or not, of his own knowledge; that the second vein was about seventy or eighty feet from the first one; and being asked what was found in the vein that indicated that it'was a vein; — what kind of mineral — answered decomposed porphyry and soft material— some iron.
3.. Hayes.
Mr. Hayes testified that he discovered in the Mike tunnel a vein; that he struck the pick into it himself, about the 15th or 16th of February, 1877, about seventy-five feet from its mouth; that it was about eighteen inches wide, and was decomposed quartz and a clay and Vein matter; that he got several colors of gold in it, and his brother, who was the territorial assayer of Colorado at that time — but dead now —had it assayed several times, and he got from a trace to three-quarters of an ounce of gold in it. He also testified that four veins were discovered — the one "nearest was about two hundred feet from the mouth of the tunnel — and, in answer to the question what kind of vein it was, said: It is similar to th'e first one. "Well, the first one is more decomposed, the porphyry, the walls of itthis last one we have got here is what we call block porphyry — more solid porphyry.
On cross-examination he said it was a vein existing in' the porphyry — decomposed matter between porphyry, decomposed quartz and shale.
Mr.'Bulkley testified as to an examination of the Mike tunnel. He said: “ The first material which the tunnel encounters as it passes into the hill is a loose wash and gravel, that extends for a distance of about twenty-five feet to thirty feet, and the next material encountered is white rock, or rather rock the surface of which has about the same slope as the surface of the hill: The rock that is first encountered is porphyry, and it is rather shattered and somewhat soft, and as depth is gained it gains a hardness until— at the depth of 78 feet it is found to be hard and in place, or, in fact, before reaching that point, but unquestionably so at the point 78 feet from the mouth of the tunnel. . . . Lying upon the foot-wall there is a streak of clay which is perfectly continuous, so far as the developments show. That clay is from an inch to six inches thick; it is hard, leathery clay, and. one can catch hold of a projecting portion and pull it down as one would the bark from a tree. It is hard and tough. Next to that there is a mixed mass of iron-stained porphyry and clay, the iron having a thickness ;of from eight to twelve or fourteen inches. Next to that, as shown by thg red mark in the sketch of which I am speaking, is a band of iron at a thickness of from two to six or eight inches.”
Cross-Examination.
Q. Mr. Bulkley, what kind of a vein is that that ybu have described in the tunnel? — A. I haven’t described it as a vein. In speaking of it I used the term vein inadvertently once, because, while it possesses such characteristics of a vein as will be determined upon inspection, other characteristics,! think, would have to be determined by analysis. For instance, it has the general indication of lateral extent and extent in depth — that is, it- has a very considerable lateral extent in the direction of the strike and dip. The.material which is enclosed in it — I have brought a piece with me — it looks Very much as though it would carry silver, and possibly some gold, hut to .speak positively upon-that point is more than I can do. I venture to say it looks like it, and-most any miner will agree with me.
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
•This and two kindred cases have been before.us for consideration for some time. They have been .twice argued, the reargument having been ordered- by the court of its own motion; and on the second argument, at the like instance, very elaborate and complete models, maps and photographs were prepared by the respective parties and presented for our examination. The fact is, there was an earnest inquiry as to whether the court had npt erred in its prior and repeated ruling, that a known lode, as named in section 2333 of the Revised Statutes, is something other than a located lode; and, also, whether, in view of the disclosures made in this, as in prior cases, of the existence of a body of mineral underlying a large area of country in the Leadville mining- district, -whose general horizontal direction,' together with the sedimentary character of the superior rock, indicated something more of the nature' of a' deposit like a coal bed than of the vertical and descending fissure vein, in which silver and gold are ordinarily found, it did not become necessary to hold that the only pro
The questions presented by the pleadings to be tried were, whether there was a vein or lode within the territorial boun-. daries of the placer; and if so, whether it was a known vein or lode within the meaning of section 2333. The plaintiff, to maintain its ca,se, offered in evidence simply its patent and other matters of .record, together with parol proof of bounda,-
With this general statement, we notice the two of three matters which are the special objects of contention; and, first, it is said that the court erred in giving this instruction :
“If there was a lode.in that Territory,-and it was known to Moyer as an existing lode at this time — and by this time I mean the first of February, 1879, or at the time these loca- ■ tions Avere said to have been made — and the lode had been previously discovered by the locators of these claims, then the placer patent is not sufficient to convey them. In other Avords, they are excepted by the terms of this statute from the provisions of the patent, and the oAvners of that title now have ho right to them.”
In other words, the court ' ruled that if the vein was.
The second matter is this: Was there a known vein at the time of the application for a patent, within the meaning of section 2333 ? It was not then a located vein or lode, and the .case was evidently tried by the plaintiff upon the theory that unless-it was a located vein it was not a known vein, but that, as we have seen, .is not a correct interpretation of the statute. .It is enough that it be known, and in this respect, to.come within the intent of the statute, it must. either have been .known to the applicant for the placer patent or known to the
’ . It is, after all, a question of fact for a jury. It cannot be
If it be said that the conduct- of the parties who ran the tunnel makes against the present contention, in that when they reached this vein they did not stop and develop it, but on the contrary proceeded with the tunnel, and even after they had finished'their work therein did.not immediately commence to develop it,- a satisfactory answer is found in the testimony. It appears that there was a prevalent belief that a rich blanket
It is urged that there was error in admitting testimony as to this belief in an underlying vein, because the jury may have found against the plaintiff on the ground of the supposed existence of such a vein. It may have been competent as explanatory of the conduct of the parties, as indicated above; but whether this-be so or not, the attention of the jury was directed by the court to the vein disclosed by the tunnel as the known vein upon which the rights of defendant rested. It made no reference to this supposed underlying vein, but did say :
“ The evidence tends to prove' that the discovery of mineral in these claims was made in' a tunnel some time in 1877, I ' believe., The locations were not made on the surface of the ground until 1879, about the first of February. That was after-the application for patent and before the entry, which was about the 21st of February, 1879, and, of course, before the patent was issued.
“ If there was a lode in that Territory, and it was known to*407 Moyer as an existing lode at this time — and by this time I mean the first of February, 1879, or at the time these locations were said to have been made — and the lode had been previously discovered by the locators of these claims, then the placer patent is not sufficient to convey them.”
And then, in .closing the charge, it.added-:
“ I think that is all, gentlemen, that thefe is in the case. I do not know that it is necessary to repeat it again — that the plaintiff’s' title must prevail unless it appears to you from the evidence that there was a lode existing in the ground, and that Moyer knew it at the time of making his entry and obtaining his patent, and that a location had been made upon it in a general way ; that there was a certificate made; that there was a discovery of mineral within the claims; and that the lode was staked upon the surface and the like.”
As there was no pretence of any discovery of this supposed underlying vein, obviously the attention of the jury was directed solely to the vein disclosed in the tunnel.
These are all the questions we deem important, and in the record, there appears no substantial error. The judgment will therefore be
Affirmed.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting. This case presents the same- questions which are considered in the case of a similar title, Ho. 2, just - decided, only that the former relates to the Goodell lode claim and the latter to the Gardener lode claim.
The two cases were tried together upon the same testimony,"' subject to the' same objections and exceptions, and the instructions given by the court wera so worded as to apply to both. I dissent from the judgment in this case for, the reasons expressed in my dissent from the judgment in the former case.
Mr. L. S. Dixon and Mr. Ashley Pond for plaintiff in error. Mr. James McKeen and Mr. Frank W. Oivers were on their brief.
Mr. T. M. Patterson for defendant in error.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Iron Silver Mining Company v. Mike and Starr Gold and Silver Mining Company
- Cited By
- 44 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1 Thetefm ■“ known vein ” Rev. Stat. § 2333 refers to a vein or lode whose existepc;e is known, as contradistinguished from one which has been appropriated by location. The title to portions of a horizontal vein or 1 deposit, generally called a “ blanket vein,” may be acquired under the ¡sections of the Revised Statutes concerning veins, lodes, etc, In ejectment for the possession of a mine, the plaintiff claimed under a placer patent, issued January 30, 1880, on an application made November 13, 1878, and entry and payment made February 21, 1879. The defendant claimed under a location certificate of a lode issued to one Goodell, dated March 10, and recorded March 11, 1879, reciting a location February 1, 1879. The defendant, to maintain its claim, offered the testimony of several witnesses, whieh established beyond any doubt that in 1877, and more than a year before any proceedings were initiated with reference to ^the placer patent, the grantors of defendant entered upon and ran a tu’inel some 400 feet in length into and through that ground which after- . wards was patented as the placer tract; and that in running such tunnel they intersected and crossed three veins, one of which was thereafter, and in 1879, located as the Goodell vein or lode. The vein thus crossed and disclosed by the tunnel was from seventy-five to seventy-eight feet from its mouth', of about fifteen inches in width, with distinct walls of porphyry on either side, a vein whose existence was obvious to even a casual inspectipn by any one passing through the tunnel. At the trial the court ruled that if the vein was known to the placer patentee at or before entry and payment, although not known at the time of the application for patent, it was excepted from the property conveyed. Held, (1) That this vein was a known vein at the time of the application for the placer patent; (2) That the plaintiff was hound, to know of the existence of the tunnel, and what an examination of it would disclose; (3) That it was a question for the jury whether there was sufficient-gold or silver within the vein to justify exploitation, and to be properly a “known vein- or lode” within the meaningíof Eev.-Stat. § 2333; ■ (4) That the time at which the vein or lode within the placer must be known in order to be excepted from the grant of the placer patent is the time at which the application for that patent was made; but that the plaintiff suffered no injury frc)m the error in'the. • instruction of the court below in that respect, as the facts which implied knowledge at the time of the entry and payment existed also at and before the date of the application; (5) That the neglect of the parties who ran the tunnel to at once develop the vein was of no account, as it appeared that there was a prevalent belief that a rich blanket vein was underlying the entire country, and this was the object of pursuit by all; (6) That the admission of evidence respecting that blanket vein' was immaterial, as the attention of the jury was directed by the court to the vein disclosed by the tunnel as the known vein upon which the rights of defendant rested.