Lower Calaveritas mining district, November 7, 1857; amended June 28, 1858; amended April 4, 1863. San Andreas mining district, March, 1866; amended Article XVI (no date). (Ross Browne's Mineral Pilot Hill placer regulations. Resources of the West, 1867, page 241.) Copper Canyon regulations, adopted August 3, 1860. (Ross Browne's Mineral Resources of the West, 1867, page 242.) PLUMAS COUNTY— Warren Hill mining district, October 22, 1853. Creed Haymond, secretary. (Ross Browne's Min1868, page 108.) (Ross Browne's Min1868, page 108.) South Placer, quartz regulations. eral Resources of the United States, Canada Hill quartz regulations. eral Resources of the United States, Lone Star quartz regulations. eral Resources of the United States, 1868, page 108.) SIERRA COUNTY— (Ross Browne's Min Saint Louis mining district, July 6, 1856. Trigaski Flat mining district. (Yale's Mining Claims and Water Rights, page 75; Prosser vs. Parks, 18 Cal., 47.) Sierra county quartz mining district, June 6, 1859. Extends over all quartz mining claims in the county. BUTTE COUNTY— Rich Gulch quartz mining district, November 15, 1851; further regulations May 22, 1852. Con Cow mining district, August 28, 1880. Oregon Gulch mining district, December 20, 1885; placer regulations amended June 17, 1861; quartz regulations amended August 13, (no year specified); both placer and quartz regulations amended February 3, 1872. Helltown and Centerville mining district, October II, 1857; amended March 23, 1878. Cherokee Flat mining district, November 19, 1861; amended September 23, 1871. Forbestown mining district, June 9, 1863. Lovelock mining district, April 3, 1865; amended, probably, after May 10, 1872. Greely Flat mining district, December 12, 1872. Live Oak Flat mining district, July 5, 1872. Megalia mining district, since May 10, 1872. Old laws of the district lost and abrogated by custom and usage of the miners. Forks of Butte mining district, June 1, 1878. Inskip mining district, May 17, 1879. Bangor quartz regulations. (Ross Browne's Resources of the United States, 1868, page 162.) Thompson's Flat mining district, 1851. The books were lost in 1857. Bidwell's Bar mining district, 1850; reorganized 1863. Original regulations and records destroyed by fire, 1854; regulations of second organization also lost. YUBA COUNTY— Upper Yuba mining district, April 11, 1852. Sucker Flat mining district, January 22, 1855; adjourned meeting January 25, 1855; amended December 31, 1855; amended February 10, 1868. Ohio Flat mining district, March 8, 1856; laws adopted March 15, 1856; amended November 12, 1857. By-laws adopted May 15, 1858. Odd Fellows mining district. On account of record book containing laws having been destroyed, new regulations adopted September 24, 1864. Indiana Ranch quartz mining district, April 18, 1857; amended November 7, 1857; amended March 13, 1864; amended April 25, 1878. Brownsville mining district, April 7, 1860; amended April 7, 1862. Empire mining district, January 22, 1863. Dobbin's Creek mining district, March 26, 1864; approved April 17, 1864. Oregon Hill mining district (no date). First recording February 17, 1864. Brown's Valley mining district, February 14, 1852; repealed and new regulations adopted February 14. 1853; amended July 31, 1853; amended August 8, 1853; amended January 4, 1864; amended January 2, 1865; amended January 8, 1866; amended January 7, 1867. (Ross Browne's Mineral Resources of the United States, 1868, pages 155-156; Shinn's Mining Camps, page 249.) Reorganized, May 3, 1870. (Tenth Census of the United States, 1880, Vol. XIV, page 319.) TRINITY COUNTY— East Fork of North Trinity mining district, February 17, 1852. Weaver Creek mining district. June 19, 1852. SISKIYOU COUNTY Lower Humbug Creek mining district, April 7, 1855. Oro Fino Diggings mining district, February 6, 1856. Little Humbug Creek mining district, April 8, 1856. Maine Little Humbug Creek mining district, October 8, 1856. Hungry Creek Diggngs mining district, October 24, 1857; amended January 27, 1858. Empire mining district, February 15. 1864. PLACER COUNTY— Illinoistown mining district, March 21, 1863; amended Section 4 (no date). Dutch Flat mining district (no records to be found). Auburn mining district (no date). The old mining laws are lost or destroyed. Yankee Jim's mining district. Copies of the old mining laws are still in existence. Bath mining district (no date). The old mining laws are not to be found. Forest Hill mining district (no date). "The district is bounded on the north by Shirt-Tail canyon, etc." The mining laws have been burned. Iowa Hill mining district (no date). The mining laws have not been in use, nor has organization been kept up since about 1865. SACRAMENTO COUNTY Folsom quartz mining district, January 22, 1857. Adopted at the house of Colonel Russ on Prospect Hill, in the town of Russville (Ashland), and "extend over all quartz mines and quartz mining property within the county of Sacramento." MONO COUNTY— Bodie mining district, July 10, 1860; amended at the Taylor cabin, August 10, 1861; amended at Burnett's cabin, June 7, 1862; amended at Leach and Monroe's cabin, June 9, 1862; amended November 12, 1862; amended at the house of J. Elnathan Smith, Jr., March 4, 1864; amended at the house of Biderman and Pooler, October 24, 1864, six members present; amended at Wand & Barker's saloon, October 5, 1865, one article being adopted by a vote of five to four; amended at house of E. D. Barker, March 3, 1866; amended at house of Robert Kernahan, March 4, 1867; amended at house of F. Swenson, November 13, 1867; amended in saloon of J. C. Smith at 7 P. M., December 30, 1876. Blind Springs mining district, March 23, 1865; amended Homer mining district, October 9, 1879; "adopted United CONTRA COSTA COUNTY— Marsh Creek mining district, May 27, 1865. SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY— Borax Lake mining district, April 28, 1873. Brier mining district, May 3, 1873. Cajon mining district, March 19, 1874. Upper Yreka Creek mining district (no date). Some of the provisions of these rules and regulations, outside of the general provisions already referred to, are interesting and instructive. SOME CHARACTERISTIC PROVISIONS. In the Helltown District, in Butte County, for instance, all kinds of placer mining existed, and the rules and regulations, among other things, define and prescribe as follows: "First-Claims shall consist of four classes: (1) River claims. (2) Bar, bench or flat claims. (3) Ravine claims. (4) Hill claims. "Second-River claims shall be all that is drained, except such parts of the ground as may be claimed previous to giving notice of intention to drain such ground. "Third-Bar, bench or flat claims shall be one hundred feet, facing the river, and shall extend at right angles across such bar, bench or flat, across the supposed channel to the final raise of the bed-rock. “Fourth—Ravine claims shall extend one hundred and fifty feet up or down the ravine, and not exceed forty feet in width, and may be located in the center or on either side. “Fifth-Hill, deep or coyote diggings shall consists of one hundred feet to the man, running crosswise of the hill, through it, or to unlimited extent. "Sixth-Claims or river bars, benches or flats that may be worked by the water from the river or creek shall be considered as wet diggings, and ravines that are dependent on the rainy season for water shall be considered as dry diggings. "Seventh-Any one holding a claim or claims shall work the same when workable as often as one day in each week, to have them represented by another, or forfeit his right to them unless prevented by sickness." The following taken from the regulations of Little Humbug Creek Mining District, in Siskiyou County, throws a human side-light on life in the early mining camps: "Art. VII-Resolved, That no person's claim shall be jumpable on Little Humbug while he is sick or in any other way disabled from labor, or while he is absent from his claim attending upon sick friends." The ease with which rules and regulations could be repealed or amended is illustrated in the following: "Sec. VIII-The laws may be altered or amended at any meeting by a majority present, provinding there shall have been notice of such an alteration or amendment given in the notice of the meeting calling it."-Regulations of Ohio Flat District, Yuba County. "Article XII-Any person at any time feeling aggrieved by any of the above Rules and Regulations and desirous to have said Rules and Regulations altered or amended, may call a meeting of the miners by giving at least three days' notice of such intention by placing up at least two notices on the most public places in Gibsonville.”—Regulations, Gibsonville District, Sierra County. "Article XII-No amendments or alteration shall be made to these laws unless a meeting of the miners of this district be called by notice posted in three public places within this district, at least before such meeting takes place five days." -El Dorado (Mud Springs) District, El Dorado County. One of the gems in the collection is to be found among the regulations of the Mariposa District, in 1851: "Resolved, That we consider all rights claimed in quartz veins, subject to the debts of the claimants or owners, as absolutely as may be other property. "Resolved, That a copy be furnished to our Sena tors and Representatives in Congress. "Resolved, That for the full and faithful maintenance of these Rules and Regulations in our county of Mariposa we sacredly pledge our honors and our lives." The humor of the last resolution consists not so much in the bombastic yet earnest imitation of the Declaration of Independence as in the stern sincerity of the omitted word. The only reason they did not pledge their fortunes was because they did not have any! Fortunes were what they were hunting. In some districts the penal regulations were no less explicit than those for the location, holding and working of claims: "Article XII-Any person who shall steal a mule, or other animal of draught or burden, or shall enter a tent or dwelling and steal therefrom gold-dust, money, provisions, goods, or other articles amounting in value to one hundred dollars or over, shall, on conviction thereof, be considered guilty of felony, and suffer death by hanging. "Article XIII-Should any person wilfully, maliciously and premeditatedly take the life of another, on conviction of murder, he shall suffer death by hanging. "Article XIV-Any person convicted of stealing tools, clothing or other articles, of less value than one hundred dollars, shall be punished and disgraced by having his head and eyebrows close shaved and shall leave the encampment within twenty-four hours."-Jacksonville District, 1850, Tuolumne County. One of the most instructive records of miners' meetings is that of the meeting held Dec. 13, 1853, in the Weaverville District, in Trinity County: "Dr. Ware explained the object of the meeting in a few pertinent remarks. He said that McDermott told him on yesterday that unless he gave up one-half of the water in the creek aforesaid, that he, McDermott, would take a body of men and take the water by force of arms and hold the same until he and his men were whipped off the ground. His party as above mentioned have taken possession of the water, and are holding it by force of arms. In this dilemma Dr. Ware calls upon his fellow-miners to assist him in defending his rights, agreeable to the old miners' laws. They said that this was a serious affair, but they were willing to defend the old and established miners' laws and the right." |