well-known to be mineral in character, and is notoriously operated for mining purposes at the time of survey of the township, it is just as liable to be returned as agricultural land as anything else, because the deputy surveyor, upon whose field notes the Surveyor-General always bases his returns, is usually in a hurry to get over as much ground as possible, and consequently pays no heed to geological conditions, even if he knew anything about them.
Under these circumstances, whenever mineral is found upon land that has been returned as agricultural, the process of acquiring title is very peculiar. In accordance with the mining laws of the United States, he is obliged to file his claim to the desired portion with the County Recorder of the County where the land is situated, and no record of his claim appears in the local United States Land Office until after the issuance of patent. By the performance of $100 worth of assessment work each year upon his claim, the locator can hold the same indefinitely, and these conditions prevailed to a large extent in Northern California in 1902, at which time the great rush by Eastern syndicates to grab up the valuable forests of that region had reached flood tide.
By reason of the lands having been returned as agricultural or timbered at the time of survey, and of the fact that there was no record in the Land Office of any unpatented mineral entries, the records of the Land Offices indicated that the tracts were vacant, and subject to location accordingly. Great train loads of "dummy" locators were brought out from the East to file on these lands under the timber and stone act of June 3, 1878, and in the grand scramble that ensued they went pell mell after everything" in sight in their efforts to get ahead of the other fellow, paying no heed to the clause in their applications requiring personal knowledge of the tract, and swallowing the required non-mineral affidavit with as much gusto as an ostrich would display in digesting a tomato can. Their operations finally became so emboldened that numerous complaints began to reach the California State Mining Bureau, and as time progressed the volume of these complaints increased at a corresponding ratio.
During this period I was employed upon the Los Angeles newspapers, and it was while thus engaged that State Mineralogist Aubury made a trip to that city for the purpose of conferring with me upon the subject of suppressing the wholesale depredations. He was aware that I had had considerable experience in public land matters, and besides we were friends of long standing. As a result of his visit, I proceeded northward under a commission as "Special Agent of the California State Mining Bureau," with power to investigate conditions and report my findings to Mr. Aubury. I took the field October 8, 1902, and in less than 30 days had submitted a report that revealed an awful state of affairs, the publication of which had the effect of opening the eyes of Secretary Hitchcock to the true situation. I drove for more than 600 miles through the mountainous districts of Northern California in a light buggy, in the course of which I traversed portions of Yuba, Butte, Sierra, Plumas, Lassen, Tehama, Shasta and Siskiyou counties.
While the looters of these magnificent forests had been swift in their operations, like any raiding organization, they left a well-defined trail behind them, and this it was an easy matter to follow. In fact, their work was so "raw," to use a common expression, that a blind man could not have failed to become cognizant of what was going on, and why they were allowed to operate in this fashion for such a length of time under the very nose of the Government, can only be explained upon the hypothesis that Binger Hermann was at that time Commissioner of the General Land Office.
The Marysville Land Office was my objective point after leaving San Francisco, and here it soon became evident that the complaints of the miners of Northern California were not without foundation. It developed that Register Johnson was likewise business manager of the Appeal, a local newspaper, and that he spent most of his time attending to those duties. It seems that he only came to the Land Office when sent for to sign papers that had been prepared Page 418
