MINERS LAWS 1862
At a miners' meeting of the miners of Bannack District, held on the 19th day of October A. D., 1862
, for the purpose of forming and passing laws for the government of the District, the following laws and
regulations were reported by the Committee, and adopted and ratified by the people.
Claims.
Sec. 1. Claims on Grasshopper Creek shall be fifty feet on the creek, and extending across the stream
from base to base, of the mountains, including all old beds of the creek or stream.
Sec. 2. Gulch claims shall be 100 feet in length, on the gulch, and extending on over one foot on each side.
Sec. 3. Lode claims shall only be had on well defined Quartz Iodes, and shall be 100 feet on the lode,
and 25 feet on each side, including all spurs and branches.
Sec. 4. Each miner may hold, by pre-emption, one claim on the creek, one Gulch claim, one lode claim,
and one patch or hill claim, and working one shall be considered as working all.
Sec. 5. All claims shall be staked with the name of the owner with the length and breadth of the same, and the
date of staking, and when in company with others, shall have also the names of the company with whom he is
working.
Sec. 6. Claims shall be worked or represented at least each five days, excluding Sunday, hut working claims held
in company shall be considered as representing all claims of the individual members of the company, if property is
staked and worked.
Sec. 7. All claims shall be recorded by the individual holders of the same, with their own names, provided not
heretofore re- corded by individual members, within the next six days, from and after the passage of this section,
and all taken hereafter, within six days after staking, or shall be forfeited, and no claim shall be recorded or
held by a company name.
Sec. 8. When no claims exist on the Creek, any person or persons wishing to turn the stream, or flume it to work the bed of the same, may claim one hundred and fifty feet, each, of said unclaimed ground, and hold the same, provided work be commenced within ten days, from staking, and prosecuted faithfully to completion, but said work shall be continuous, but not one day in ten.
See. 9. All persons residing and working their home, within the limits of this District, which shall extend from the line of the lower district, to the head of the Grasshopper Creek, and its branches, and three miles on each side of said creek, and be known as Bannack District, shall hold their claims without working the same, from the 15th day of November, next, to the first day of May, following, and all laws for forfeiting claims held as above shall be suspended for and during that time.
Sec. 10. Purchased claims shall be held in the same way, as pre-emption claims, but no individual shall be allowed to bold more than one claim by purchase, besides his pre-emption, except in Lode Claims, and any person having heretofore purchased more than that number, shall be allowed ten days from this date to sell and dispose of the same.
Sec. 11. Any person making a new discovery of diggings of any kind, or lode claims, shall be entitled to hold one extra claim, as a discovery claim, without working the same.
Sec. 12. Building lots may be taken 50 feet in front, and 150 feet deep, and by recording the same, each individual may hold one lot and no more, as real estate, and may sell, trade or barter, the same, or build upon it at his option.
Sec. 18. The fees of the recorder shall be fifty cents, for each pre-emption recorded, and for all deeds, bills of sale, or mortgages recorded, one dollar for each one hundred words to be recorded, and no deed, bill of sale, or mortgage, shall be held good against third party, unless recorded.
Sec. 14. Any person owning a dry claim, may pre-empt any unpre-empted ground on the creek, for a water claim, for the purpose of washing his dirt, whether by cradle or sluice, and may hold same as a water claim, by recording and improving the same, within the ordinary time for other claims.
Sec. 15. When any person has gone for provisions, intending to return, two months from this date, shall be allowed to return, before forfeiture of their claims.
Sec. 16. In all trials before the miners, which may be presided over by the President of the District, the losing party shall pay the President the sum of Five Dollars for his services.
Sec. 17. The President may, at any time he may think proper, appoint a Sheriff to act in any case pending, or being commenced.
At a meeting of the miners of Bannack District, held on the 26th day of April, 1863, passed the following Laws:
Sec. 1. The President of the District shall have power to hold a trial, whenever it may be necessary to settle disputes, either about claims or any other disputed business matters, and may summon a jury to try such dispute. The decision of such jury to be final, and may appoint a Sheriff to carry out the decision of such trial, who shall have power to take any property to pay the judgment of the President.
Sec. 2. Each miner shall have the right to hold one claim, and no more, on each Quartz Lode, and they shall be held for one year, as real estate, to give time for machinery to arrive here.
Sec. 3. All trials shall be, as, near as possible, in accordance with the common law of the land.
At a meeting of the miners of Bannack District, held May 23rd, 1863, the following Laws were reported by the Committee and adopted by the people.
Art. 1. The officers of the District shall be President, Miners' Judge, Sheriff and Coroner.
Art. 2. It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all business meetings of the District, and to act as Judge, with power to call a jury, in cases regarding mining claims, the parties litigant mutually agreeing thereto.
Art. 3. It shall be the duty of the Judge to preside over all trials of cases in the District, except in mining cases, where parties litigant agree to refer to the President, and when called upon, to issue such process to bring parties into Court, as is common and right in such cases, also to keep a docket and make an entry therein of all suits brought, with the judgment or verdict rendered, also to have a jury of not less than four nor more than eight impaneled, when requested so to do, by either plaintiff or defendant, and receive for his services the sum of $5.00 for presiding at each and every suit, together with 25 cents for all oaths administered, and the issuing of each and every writ in the case.
Art. 4. It shall be the duty of the Sheriff to serve all writs and executions, and carry out the awards of the Court, and do all other acts appertaining to his office, and shall receive for his services, for attendance in Court, during trial, $2.50; serving warrants, $1.00; serving summons, 50 cents, and 25 cents each for summoning witness and jurors, and 25 cents mileage.
Art. 5. It shall be the duty of the Coroner, in all cases of violent or accidental death, to summon a jury of six persons over which he shall preside, in examining into the causes and circumstances attending the death of the person over whom the inquest is held, and when called on, the Sheriff shall act as the officer of the inquest to summon jurors, and witnesses, and shall receive for the service the usual fee -- while the coroner shall receive for his services on each and every inquest, the sum of $8.00.
Art. 6. In each and every suit, witnesses shall receive Two Dollars, and jurors Three Dollars, except in cases where the trial shall last for more than one day, when additional fees will be allowed.
Art. 7. In all criminal cases, the punishment to be inflicted shall explicitly set forth in writing the verdict of the jury.
Art. 8. All civil suits shall be commenced by complaint set ting forth in plain, simple language, the cause of action and remedy sought.
Art. 9. All attachments may issue when the complainant shall make oath before the Judge, that he has reasons to believe that the defendant intends to leave the district, or turn over his property with intent to defraud, and may be served on any property in defendant's hands, or to garnishee debts in hands of others, and shall hold good till five days after final judgment.
Art. 10. In all suits and cases, not herein provided for, the Common Law shall be adopted.
The idea of an eight hour law came to the people in Montana, early in its history. At a miner's meeting, White District, April 28th, 1864, ''Non-residents of District shall represent each and every claim, every seventh day -- said day's work shall be eight hours' labor."
NOTES FROM OLD RECORDS:
Notes From Old Court Records.
Second,Judicial District, Beaverhead County, L. E. Williston, Judge; Wm. C. Goodrich, Sheriff; S. F. Dunlap, Clerk.
Resident Attorneys practicing at Bannack: Phelps C. Mead, John M. Galloway, G. W. Stapleton, B. R. Peabody, admitted September term, 1867.
First Crand Jury: N. E. Wood, B. S. Worth, Thomas Watson, Con Bray, S. W. Bachelder, A.,J. Nay, W. R. Witten, Herman Clark, H. F. Wood, John S. Milligan, J. A. Brown, E. W. Weston.
Probably first Notary Public was W. C. Rheem, appointed by Gov. Edgerton, May 17th, 1864.
The first man to declare his wish to besome a citizen of the U. S. was John Griffiths, a native of Wales, 1st of September, 1866.
Even in the Courts, they were apt to use an old account book for keeping records, as an old account book of Leesburg, Idaho, was brought to Bannack, and used as an account book to be used later in which to record probate matters. This book shows that the price of sugar was 60c per pound.
1 keg of nails, coin $35.00.
1 keg 10 gals. sherry, $100.00 greenbacks.
1 lb. of apples, 50 cents.
1 box sardines, $1.00.
We also find that one of the first men to contest the election of another, was George Bachelder, against Thos. H. Gordon, for the office of Sheriff. Following are the returns:
Election held September 2nd, 1867.
|
For Bachelder |
For Gordon |
|
|
In Bannack |
205 |
170 |
|
Horse Prairie |
25 |
30 |
|
Montana (Argenta ) |
29 |
27 |
|
Beaverhead |
19 |
27 |
|
French Gulch |
10 |
39 |
|
Totals |
288 |
293 |
Whole matter hinged on French Gulch, which Bachelder held was not in BeaverheadCounty. Case dismissed 23rd of September, 1867.
(Twine was scarce in those days, as I found these papers tied with a buckskin string.)
Sue's Letter.
In looking over Court proceedings of early days, we find the love letter of "Sue" to her lover, Wm. Farnsworth,
who was killed at Horse Prairie in 1877, just in front of John C. Brenner's house, then owned by Winters
and Montague. Montague was killed the day before. The lady was a beautiful letter writer. Her impassioned
appeal to her lover was in the following words:
"Oh Will, my dearest one, how I long to see you this spring as never before. I am impatient for your dear
comforting letters. I don't believe we made a mistake three years ago. (I did not, if you did), for every day
I am more certain that I am yours and you are mine, for life, and it seems to me for eternity. There isn't ;, day
or an hour but I find myself thinking of you. Every thought and every joy I want to share with you. I don't value
luxuries as I used to, and think them indispensable to happiness. I think I could be so patient, and so saving,
and think it the greatest pleasure in the world. If our wishes were all gratified, how soon ice would become
used to it, and they would cease to be luxuries. Iucky for you I'm kept within bounds, lest I might set up
my anthority to get out of that, or come unbidden to your humble home.
"Don't get too mercenary for nay sake. What's good enough for you is good enough for me."
What a trust she had in this man, and no doubt he was worthy of her love and affection. He could not take the
treasure that was his for the asking. Think of the deep love of the woman who would willingly surrender a
magnificent body and soul to his keeping, to make his life so much more worth living. He must struggle for gold
till death robbed them each from the other, and left a pale woman to moan, and ask "Why?"
I do not know where ''Sue,'' is, but if she should read this, I hope that she will pardon the liberty I have
taken in giving this little story to the public.
God made woman for man's chief comfort, and for his good. She (God bless her), is willing to go
with her lover, out into the by-ways, wherever his lot will take him, and help him in his struggles. When
he gets an idea that he must have enough wealth to make each day a day of careless freedom from want and
responsibility, he is simply wasting the days of most supreme happiness -- the days of youth -- for a foolish idea.
(source: University of Montana, Western, Carson Library)
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