Wedekind v. Craig

Thornton, J.: On the 2nd of April, 1878, the plaintiff commenced this action against the defendants to recover the possession of a tract of land situate in. the county of Placer, described as the south-east quarter of the north-west quarter of section 36, in township 14 north, range 10 east, of the Mount Diablo base and meridian. Judgment was rendered for defendants. Plaintiff moved for a [643]new trial, which was denied. The plaintiff prosecutes this appeal from the judgment, and order denying his motion for a new trial.

The plaintiff claimed title under a patent of the State of California, dated 23rd of December, 1876; the defendants, under mining locations made in 1852, which have been occupied ever since, and under a settlement make in 1853, and continued from that date. The Court below found the facts as follows :

1. The plaintiff, on the 3rd day of August, 1874, applied to the Surveyor-General of the State of California to purchase the demanded premises under the act of the Legislature of this State regulating the sale of mineral lands, approved March 28th, 1874, and his application was approved by the Surveyor-Genera:! on the lltli day of October, 1875, and that said State issued a patent to him on the 23rd day of December, 1876. This was plaintiff’s title.

2. The demanded premises are in the local mining district called Forest Hill Mining District, and are and have been mineral lands, containing gold in gravel placer mining land, and are and have been more valuable for mining than for agriculture.

3. In June, 1852, said premises were located as mining claims, in accordance with the local mining regulations and customs, by citizens of the United States, and have since been held and worked for gold as mining claims by citizens of the United States, and the defendants are such citizens, and have owned, possessed, and worked the same more than ten years last past, and derive their title from the first locators.

4. More than $30,000 has been expended in running tunnels into and developing said claims, and a large amount of gold has been taken therefrom.

5. In the year 1871, the demanded premises and township in which they are contained were sectionized by the United States in the field, and the plat of survey was filed in the local land office at Sacramento, approved by the Surveyor-General of the United States for California on the 11th day of ¡November 1871. That plat of survey showed that the land was returned as mineral land.