State of Minnesota v. State of Wisconsin

• Decision Date: 08 March 1920
• Docket Number: No. 16,O,16
• Citation: 40 S.Ct. 313,64 L.Ed. 558,252 U.S. 273
• Parties: STATE OF MINNESOTA v. STATE OF WISCONSIN. riginal
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

252 U.S. 273

40 S.Ct. 313

64 L.Ed. 558

STATE OF MINNESOTA

v STATE OF WISCONSIN.

No. 16, Original.

Argued Oct. 16 and 17, 1919.

Decided March 8, 1920.

[Syllabus from pages 273-274 intentionally omitted] Messrs. W. D. Bailey and H. B. Fryberger, both of Duluth, Minn., Lyndon A. Smith, of St. Paul, Minn., Charles R. Pierce, of Washington, D. C., and Clifford L. Hilton and Frank B. Kellogg, both of St. Paul, Minn., for complainant.

Messrs. M. B. Olbrich, of Madison, Wis., Walter C. Owen, of Maiden Rock, Wis., and Walter Drew, of Milwaukee, Wis., for defendant.

Mr. Justice McREYNOLDS delivered the opinion of the Court.

We are asked to ascertain and establish the boundary line between the parties in Upper and Lower St. Louis Bays. Complainant claims to the middle of each bay—halfway between the shores. The defendant does not seriously question this claim as to the lower bay, but earnestly maintains that in the upper one the line follows a sinuous course near complainant's shore. Since 1893 a deep channel has been dredged through these waters and harbor lines have been established. According to Wisconsin's insistence, its border crosses and recrosses this channel and intersects certain docks extending from the Minnesota shore, leaving portions of them in each state. See Wisconsin v. Duluth, 96 U. S. 379, 24 L. Ed. 668; Norton v. Whiteside, 239 U. S. 144, 36 Sup. Ct. 97, 60 L. Ed. 186.

'An act to enable the peol e of Wisconsin Territory to form a Constitution and state government, and for the admission of such state into the Union,' approved August 6, 1846 (9 Stat. 56, c. 89), described the boundary in part as follows:

'Thence [with the northwesterly boundary of Michigan] down the main channel of the Montreal river to the middle of Lake Superior; thence [westwardly] through the center of Lake Superior to the mouth of the St. Louis river; thence up the main channel of said river to the first rapids in the same, above the Indian village, according to Nicollet's map; thence due south to the main branch of the River St. Croix,' etc.

With the boundaries described by the Enabling Act, Wisconsin entered the Union May 29, 1848 (9 Stat. 233, c. 50).

'An act to authorize the people of the territory of Minnesota to form a Constitution and state government, preparatory to their admission in the Union,' approved February 26, 1857 (11 Stat. 166, c. 60), specifies a portion of the boundary thus:

'Thence by a due south line to the north line of the state of Iowa; thence east along the northern boundary of said state to the main channel of the Mississippi river; thence up the main channel of said river, and following the boundary line of the state of Wisconsin, until the same intersects the St. Louis river; thence down said river to and through Lake Superior, on the boundary line of Wisconsin and Michigan, until it intersects the dividing line between the United States and the British possessions.'

With boundaries as therein described, Minnesota became a state May 11, 1858 (11 Stat. 285, c. 31).

The present controversy arises from conflicting interpretations of the words:

'Thence [westwardly] through the center of Lake Superior to the mouth of the St. Louis river; thence up the main channel of said river to the first rapids in the same, above the Indian village, according to Nicollet's map.'

The situation disclosed by an accurate survey gives much room for differences concerning the location of the 'mouth of the St. Louis river' and 'the main channel of said river.' Nicollet's map of the 'Hydrographical Basin of the Upper Mississippi River,' published in 1843, and drawn upon a scale of 1: 1,200,000 approximately 20 miles to the inch—is too small either to reveal or to give material aid in solving the difficulties. A sketch from it—approximately on original scale—is printed on the next page.

During 1823-1825 Lieut. Bayfield, of the British Navy, surveyed and sounded the westerly end of Lake

[NOTE: MATERIAL SET AT THIS POINT IS NOT DISPLAYABLE (GRAPHIC OR TABULAR MATERIAL)]

Superior and the lower waters of St. Louis river. A chart compiled from data so obtained (1:49,300-4,108 feet to the inch) and published in 1828, shows the general configuration and lays the proper sailing course southward of Big Island. Prior to 1865 this was the only available chart, and navigators often used it.

The first accurate map of these waters was drawn from surveys and soundings made under direction of Capt. George W. Meade in 1861, and is now on file in the Lake Survey Office at Detroit. After being reduced one-half—to a scale of 1: 32,000 or approximately two inches to a mile—it was engraved and published in 1865 or 1866. Known as the Meade Chart, this reproduction is accepted by both parties as adequately disclosing conditions existing in 1846. A rough sketch based upon the chart—about one-third of its size—and also a photographic reproduction of a portion of the original map, are printed on succeeding pages.

Minnesota and Wisconsin Points are low narrow strips of sand the former 6 miles in length, the latter approximately 3. Between them there is a narrow opening known as 'The Entry,' and inside lies a bay (Allouez and Superior) 9 miles long and a mile and a half wide. A narrow channel between Rice's Point and Connor's Point leads into Lower St. Louis Bay, approximately a mile and a half wide and 3 miles long. Passing south of Grassy Point, another channel leads into irregular shaped Upper St. Loui Bay, with Big Island at its southwesterly end. Southeast of this island begin the well-defined banks, deep narrow channel, and obvious current characteristic of a true river; these continue through many windings to the falls above the Indian village noted on Nicollet's Map.

Meade's Chart indicates: A depth of not over 8 feet across the bar at 'The Entry'; a deep channel through Superior Bay; rather shallow water, with a ruling depth of 8 feet, in Lower St. Louis Bay; 8 feet of water on a fairly direct course, about a mile in length, from the deep channel south of Grassy Point and east of Fisherman's Island to the deep water immediately westward of the bar, about seven-eighths of a mile northeast of Big Island. It further discloses a curving channel along the west side of Grassy Point, and thence close to the Minnesota shore and around Big Island, with a depth of 15 or more feet, except at the bar, where there are only 10, possibly 8, feet. To the south of Big Island lies the well-known and formerly much-used course indicated on Lieut. Bayfield's Map.

The level of the water within all the bays is substantially the same as in Lake Superior; such current as exists flows in opposite directions, according to the wind and movement within the take. The shores are irregular and much indented.

Since 1893 the United States have dredged a 22 foot channel through Upper St. Louis Bay and around Grassy Point; thence through Lower St. Louis Bay (where there are two branches) and between Rice's and Connor's Points; thence through Superior Bay to 'The Entry' and into the lake. Extensive docks have been constructed from the Minnesota shore in both the upper and lower bays; those extending southwest from Grassy Point cross the boundary claimed by Wisconsin. The general situation of 1846 continued until long after 1861, but during the last 30 years extensive improvements required for a large and busy harbor have produced great changes.

The complainant maintains that within the true intendment of the...