Haws v. Victoria Copper Min Co

• Decision Date: 23 December 1895
• Docket Number: No. 66,66
• Citation: 16 S.Ct. 282,160 U.S. 303,40 L.Ed. 436
• Parties: HAWS et al. v. VICTORIA COPPER MIN. CO
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

160 U.S. 303

16 S.Ct. 282

40 L.Ed. 436

HAWS et al.

v VICTORIA COPPER MIN. CO.

No. 66.

December 23, 1895.

F. D. McKenney, for appellants.

C. H. Armes and A. A. Birney, for appellee.

Mr. Justice WHITE delivered the opinion of the court.

The Victoria Copper Mining Company, a corporation created under the laws of the state of Illinois, brought its action to recover possession of two mining claims, known as the 'Antietam Lode' and the 'Copper the Ace Lode.' The mines thus designated were fully and specifically described in the complaint, which averred that the defendants had by force and violence ousted the complainant from the property. In addition to the averments essential to justify a judgment for possession, the complaint contained allegations deemed to be sufficient to authorize the granting of an injunction, which was prayed for, restraining the defendants from taking, or shipping, or selling ore extracted, or to be extracted, from the mines in controversy. The prayer of the complaint was for possession, and $25,000 damages, the value of ore averred to have been previously unlawfully taken by the defendants. The defendants jointly answered, specifically denying each allegation of the complaint, and by cross complaint Edward W. Keith, Samuel R. Whitall, William V. R. Whitall, and Michael Smith alleged that they were the owners in fee of the mines, subject to the paramount title of the United States, and they prayed that their title be quieted. The averments of the cross bill were traversed by specific denials. Upon these issues, a jury having first been waived, the case was tried by the court, which found the following facts, which findings were tantamount to concluding that the averments of the bill of complaint had been proven:

'Findings of fact:

'First. That Lewis R. Dyer, the locator of the two mining claims described in the complaint herein, called, respectively 'Antietam Lode' and 'Copper the Ace Lode,' and situated in Uintah county, territory of Utah, at and prior to the time of locating the same, discovered and appropriated a mineral vein or lode of rock in place.

'Second. That at the time of the discovery of said vein or lode and the location of said mining claims the land included within the boundaries of said mining claims was public mineral land, wholly unoccupied and uncliamed.

'Third. That after the discovery of said vein or lode or mineral-bearing rock in place, to wit, on the 17th day of September, 1887, said Lewis R. Dyer, being a citizen of the United States, located the two mining claims described in the complaint herein by writing on a tree standing at, or in close proximity to, the place or places of discovery of said vein or lode the two notices of location, one for each of said claims.

'Fourth. That said notices each described the respective claims by reference to said tree; also, respectively described the boundaries of each claim by courses and distances from said tree; that each of said notices contained the name of the locator and date of location; that said tree was a sufficient natural object by which said claims, and each of them, could be identified.

'Fifth. That soon after the writing of said notices of location, and during the month of September, 1887, said Dyer marked sufficiently on the ground the boundaries of said mining claims, and each of them, by setting suitable stakes or posts at the corners of each of said claims; also, at the center of the respective side lines of each of said claims; also, by writing on the stakes, to identify them with reference to the respective claims, and securing said stakes by stones piled around them.

'Sixth. That thereafter, on the 13th day of February, 1888, said Dyer caused a copy of said location notices, and each of them, to be recorded in the office of the county recorder of said county of Uintah; that there was not at that time, or at the time of locating said claims, any mining district recorder; that said mining claims were situated in what had been known as the 'Carbonate Mining District'; that the rules and regulations of said mining district had, long prior to the said 17th day of September, 1887, fallen into disuse, and were not then, or for a long time prior thereto had not been, in force and effect.

'Seventh. That the plaintiff is a corporation, duly organized and existing under the laws of the state of Illinois, and was so organized on the 15th day of May, 1888.

'Eighth. That on the 4th day of May, 1888, said Lewis R. Dyer duly transferred an equal undivided one-half of said mining claims, and each of them, to Edward A. Ferguson and August Bohn, Jr., and that thereafter, to wit, on the 28th day of May, 1888, said Lewis R. Dyer, Edward A. Ferguson, and August Bohn, Jr., duly transferred and conveyed said mining claims, and each of them, to the plaintiff company.

'Ninth. That since said 17th day of September, 1887, until the 10th day of June, 1889, said Dyer and his grantee, the plaintiff herein, in, continuously worked upon and improved said mining claims, and each of them, and actually possessed the same, and have expended in said work and improvements upward of the sum of $7,000; that said mining claims are contiguous to each other, and were worked jointly and in common; that the work done and improvements made on said claims were such as did develop said claims, and each of them, and that for each of the calendar years of 1887, 1888, and 1889, more than $100 worth of work was actually done on each of said claims by said Dyer and his grantee, the plaintiff herein.

'Tenth. That on Sunday night, the 9th day of June, 1889, while said plaintiff was in actual possession of said claims and working the same, by its agents and employees, the defendant William Haws went upon the ground of said mining claims with two men and wrongfully took possession of the same, and the working upon the same, prepared to hold such possession by force, and did wrongfully keep the plaintiff and its employees from thereafter working on said mining claims, and wrongfully excluded them therefrom, and that said William Haws and Heber Timothy, and their grantees, the other de- fendants herein, have ever since wrongfully excluded the plaintiff from the possession of said mining claims.

'Eleventh. That prior to the said 9th day of June, 1889, said William Haws was an employ e of the plaintiff and its grantors working on said mining claims; that said Haws so worked from the 11th day of February, 1888, until the 13th day of August, 1888, and from October 24, 1888, to December 21, 1888, and again resumed work in the month of March, 1889, and continued to work for plaintiff up to and including the 1st day of June, 1889, when he voluntarily left the employ of plaintiff; that while at work for plaintiff in the year of 1888 said Haws formed the secret intention of taking possession of said mines and mining claims.

'Twelfth. That on or about the 7th day of June, 1889, said Haws procured the defendant Heber Timothy to join and assist him in making a location of the ground described in the complaint herein, which was then being actually possessed and worked by plaintiff, and on that day said Haws and Timothy, without right of entry on the ground, set sufficient stakes to mark the boundaries of the two claims, which they called 'Scottish Chief' and 'Ontario Mine' lode mining claims; that they also posted, on a stake placed near the place of discovery of plaintiff's aforesaid claims, location notices for each of said claims; that the location notice of said Scottish Chief lode was signed by said Heber Timothy and William Haws, and recited that the location was a relocation of the Antietam lode; that the said location notice of the Ontario Mine lode was signed by said William Haws, and recited that the location was a relocation of the Copper the Ace.

'Thirteenth. That on the 4th day of June, 1889, a mining district was organized, including within its boundaries the ground heretofore described, called the 'Carbonate District'; that said Scottish Chief and Ontario Mine location notices were recorded on the 11th day of June, 1889, in the records of said Carbonate mining district.

'Fourteenth. That on or about the 12th day of September, 1889, while holding possession of said mining claims of plaintiff aforesaid, under the wrongful entry of said Haws afore- said, aided by said Timothy, with the consent of said Haws, and at his instigation, and for the purpose of omitting the name of said Haws from the location notices, in anticipation of proceedings being taken by plaintiff to regain possession of its said mining claims, set a discovery stake within the limits and boundaries of plaintiff's said mining locations and not far distant from the place of discovery of plaintiff's said mining claims, and then and there placed two notices of locations, signed by said Heber Timothy, claiming to locate two mining claims under the respective names of 'Valao' and 'Copper King,' and set sufficient stakes and marks to describe and designate the boundaries of said mining locations and each of them.

'Fifteenth. That said Haws was to have and own, by agreement mode with said Timothy, all of said Copper King and one-half of said Valao; that said claims include substantially the same ground included in and covered by plaintiff's aforesaid claims.

'Sixteenth. That on the 9th day of August, 1890, said William Haws, by an instrument in writing, conveyed to the defendant Heber Timothy his interest in the Scottish Chief and Ontario Mine mining claims aforesaid; and that on the same day said Timothy conveyed to the defendant Michael E. Smith the aforesaid Scottish Chief and Ontario, described in said deed as relocated, September 12, 1889, as the 'Copper King' and 'Valao' lode claims; and that on the 11th day of August, 1890, said defendant Smith, by an instrument in writing, conveyed to the defendants Samuel R. Whitall, William V. R. Whitall, Edward Keith, and Frank A....