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Show I IMPORTANT TO PROSPECTORS. Claims May Be Los,t If Not Carefully Worded by Locator. A decision rendered some days ago hy the iTontiiii Supreme court carries a note of interest and warning to prospectors and locators of cliitns generally. The necessity of explicitly obeying the statutes is the lesson which the decision carries, fjj-s the ,f pricing Importer. In the case- in o.ueition the appellant lo-cs'sd lo-cs'sd ground subsequent to the time the E35I9 ground was located by the appellee, but chimed titlo thereto on the score that the declaratory statement o: the latter was rot worded in compliance with the law, and did hot show that within ninety days after his. discovery appolloe hod performed the , necessary work, section 3612 of the United States statutes provides that the locator or locators must sink a shaft on the lode or claim to 3 depth of at least ten feet from the lower.t part of the rim of the shaft at the surface or deeper if necessary to show a well-defined crevice or a valuable deposit. As An equivalent, a cut, or crosscut, or tunnel, tun-nel, cutting the lodo at the depth of ten feet below the surface, or an open cut for at least ten feot along the lode from the point of discovery is deemed sufficient. The declaratory decla-ratory statement must show the dimensions and location of the discovery shaft or its equivalent. The declaratory statement of the appellee in this caso contained the following: 'For the purpose of perfecting the location of said clsim as required bylaw, the undersigned under-signed have heretofore and within ninety days after posting: notice of location, dug a tunnel at the point of discovery of the following dimensions: About 12 feet long. 6x416. cut 3 feet deep, 6 feet wide, wherein is disclosed a well-defined crevice and valuable deposit of ore" The court held that thi3 statement did not meet with the requirements of Sec- ITion 3ol2, mentioned above, in that it o,iu not appear that a vein or lode was cut at a depth, of ten feet below the surface; for if insteed of sinking a ihaft to the depth of ten fe9t in the clear upon the vein, the equivalent work is done, it must be either by cu, crosscut or tunnel cutting tho vein at' a depth of at least, ten feet. or. by an open cut st least ten feet in length along tho vein, and it must appear from the records that this bar been done A failure to ob-tsnre ob-tsnre these requirements is fatal to the lo-ca'ion. lo-ca'ion. for the record cannot be supplimented by proof of what was 'actually done. The notice of the appellee should have contained the words: "and which cuu the vein or lejd ten feet beneath the surface below "the lower rim. etc." On what thu& appears, to hare been an oversight on the part of the original locators of the claim, title was given by the "Montana Supreme court- to a subsequent locator whose declaratory Ftatement was properly worded and who took advantage of the technicality afforded him While- the same conditions mav not arise again, tho general lesson of strict compliance with the formalities of law iF. epplicaole to ni3uy other similar situations'. |
