Harrington v. Boehmer

GRAY, C.

This action was brought to recover possession of a tract of land alleged to be situated in Colusa County, and described as lot 3 of section 24, in township 17 north, range 2 west, Mount Diablo meridian, and containing 54 acres, according to the United States plat thereof. The defendants had judgment, and plaintiff appeals from said judgment and from an order denying her motion for a new trial.

The plaintiff claims title to the premises in dispute, as swamp and overflowed land, under a patent from the state of California, dated June 20, 1899. The defendants claim that the land, of which they are in possession, and that plaintiff seeks the possession of, is in fact a part of the south half of the south half of section 19, in township 17 north, range 1 west, and that the Central Pacific Railroad Company is the patentee from the United States government of said portion of section 19, which is more particularly described as the south half of the southeast quarter, lot 4 of the southwest quarter, and the southeast quarter of the southwest quarter of said section 19. Defendants claim under the title of the railroad com

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pany. To establish her title, the plaintiff introduced in evidence a patent from the state, purporting to convey land to her, described as in her complaint. She also introduced in evidence a plat purporting to be a plat of township 17 north, range 2 west, approved November 9, 1867. This plat was amended by the United States land department a year and some months after its approval, to make it correspond to the field-notes. By the plat before its amendment, it appeared that the Sacramento River ran through section 24 from north to' south, and that 155 acres of said section lay on the east side of. said river and. bordering oh the east line of said township, which township line was at the same time the west line of .section 19, in the adjoining township 17 north, range 1 west. Said 155 acres of land was divided into three lots, numbered from .nqrth to south, 1, 2, and 3. Said lot 3, as it appears^ on said plat, embraces the east 54 acres of the south half of the southeast quarter of said section 24, and is bounded on the west by the Sacramento River and on the east by said township line. By the correction of the plat, the area .of said section 24 lying east of the Sacramento River was reduced from 155 acres to about 42 acres, and this área was divided, according to the system of government surveys, into lots 1 and 2, consisting of 19 and 23 acres, respectively, thus eliminating lot 3 (the one involved in this suit) from the plat. The plat as corrected was placed in evidence, as was also the plat of township 17 north, range 1 west. It appears from the plats that the Sacramento River, in its general course, runs along the line between the two townships named, meandering across and intersecting the same at three different points. The western part of the township in range 2 west is covered by various Mexican grants, which are bounded on the east by the Sacramento River, and it so happens that only that part of the said township line on the east side of the Sacramento River was rnn in the field, and this part of the township line was run in connection with and as part of the survey of the township in range 1 west. The north and south lines of said section 24 were not run in the field, nor were any of the boundaries of the said lot 3, as indicated on the first plat of township 17 north, range 2 west. But the west boundary of section 19, township 17 north, range 1 west, is the eastern boundary of section 24, township 17 north, range 2 west. The field-notes as well as the plat of township 17 north, "range 1 west, corre