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not attempted a systematic or philosophical treatment of the subject.

The preparation of a work which will fulfill the requirements of the profession and prove measurably satisfactory, is a matter of great moment, involving much time and patient labor.

While not anticipating that the result of his efforts will fully meet the wants of the profession, the author expresses a hope that it will be found of value to those who are interested in the study of the many intricate questions arising out of the mining laws.

When in the preparation of the text he has been instructed or guided by the original work of others, it has been the aim of the author to give due credit in the appropriate place. Yet he has derived so much benefit and assistance in so many ways from various authors and writers upon mining subjects, that he deems it a duty as well as a pleasure to here specifically express his acknowledgments.

Professor Rossiter W. Raymond, lawyer, scholar, and scientist of national renown, has contributed in a marked degree to the literature on mining subjects. His extended experience in the field of practical mining, his connection with much of the important mining litigation in the west, his thorough knowledge of the ever-varying geological conditions, to which are to be applied the unyielding terms of Congressional laws, have made him pre-eminent in the field of mining literature. His reports as Commissioner of Mining Statistics abound with fruitful suggestions, and contributed in no small degree to the adoption of the act of 1872. His monograph, "Relations of "Governments to Mining" (in "Mineral Resources West of "the Rocky Mountains," 1869); his article on "Mines," (appearing in Lalor's "Cyclopedia of Political Science"); his numerous papers read before the American Institute of Mining Engineers, notably, "Law of the Apex," "Lode Loca"tions," "End Lines and Side Lines," "The Eureka-Rich"mond Case"; and his occasional contributions to the "Engineering and Mining Journal," have afforded the author great and valuable aid.

Professor Raymond's immediate predecessor in the work of collecting Mining Statistics, Mr. J. Ross Browne, rendered

valuable service to the mining industry, and his reports to the government contain much that is valuable and important, giving as they do the early history of mining in the west, and the customs, rules and regulations of miners, which formed the basis of our first mining statutes.

The author has also derived great assistance from previous works on the subject, notably "Mining Claims and Water "Rights," by Hon. Gregory Yale, the pioneer work on the subject of American mining law; "Mining Rights in the "Western States and Territories," by Hon. R. S. Morrison, of the Colorado Bar; Weeks on "Mineral Lands," Copp's "U. S. Mineral Lands," and Wade's "American Mining 66 Laws."

As the closing chapters of the work were being printed, the "Mineral Law Digest," of Messrs. Clark, Heltman, and Consaul, a conscientious and valuable contribution to mining literature, made its appearance.

The author is under special obligations to the Hon. Wm. H. DeWitt, late judge of the supreme court of Montana, Edwin Van Cise, Esq., of Deadwood, South Dakota, Hon. Jacob Fillius, and Harvey Riddell, Esq., of the Colorado bar, for many valuable and timely suggestions.

The numerous diagrams illustrating the important subjects of "Dip" "Strike," and the "Extralateral Right," are the handiwork of Mr. J. W. D. Jensen, of San Francisco, to whom all credit is due. These figures, except those used for hypothetical purposes, were all reduced by scale from officially authenticated maps and surveys.

With these grateful acknowledgments, the author submits his work to a critical but ever-indulgent profession.

CURTIS H. LINDLEY.

San Francisco, 1897.

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