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and of the State of Colorado, which authorize and provide for the location and prosecution of such tunnels and which define and determine the rights pertaining thereto; and that said pretended Ocean Wave and Little Mary lode mining claims, so far as the same may be now claimed and possessed by said plaintiff, were taken and held subject to the rights of this defendant as owner of said Uinta tunnel, located in accordance with section 2323 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, and also subject to the rights of this defendant to cross said claims and to drive drifts therein and to follow said lode claims. as located by this defendant and to reach lode claims so owned by this defendant, as hereinbefore and hereinafter stated.

"It alleges that it and its grantors have expended in and upon said tunnel the sum of more than one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars ($125,000), and in addition to said expenditures have also expended upon surface work, in improvements and expenses, the further sum of not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

"It alleges that its work and the work of its said grantors in and upon said tunnel has been done openly and without concealment; that the same has been at all times prosecuted under the claim of the defendant and its grantors of the right. so to do by virtue of the location of said tunnel and tunnel site location, under and by virtue of the laws of the United States, and under the provisions of section 2323 of the Revised Statutes of the United States; and that the expenditures thereof and the developments made thereon have been made in compliance with the terms and provisions of and in reliance upon said statute.

"That the plaintiff, by permitting and allowing this defendant to expend more than the sum of one hundred and thirtyfive thousand dollars ($135,000) as aforesaid in reaching, uncovering and discovering said ore body, has no right to interfere with the defendant in operating its tunnel over, through and along said pretended Ocean Wave and Little Mary lodes and lode mining claims, but that, on the contrary, the plaintiff

by its conduct and actions in the premises as hereinabove recited and set forth has permitted and allowed the defendant to expend said sum of one hundred and thirty-five thousand dollars ($135,000), and has permitted and allowed the defendant so to proceed with said tunnel through and across said pretended Ocean Wave and Little Mary lodes and lode mining claims until the same has ripened into such a license and permission as entitles the defendant to use its said tunnel as it penetrates said pretended Ocean Wave and Little Mary lodes and lode mining claims, and that said license and permission is such that the defendant cannot be disturbed therein."

It was also alleged that the tunnel had been driven some 2,200 feet; that it entered the ground of the plaintiff at about 550 feet from its portal, and in running through that ground the tunnel was driven 625 feet, leaving the plaintiff's ground at about 1,175 feet from the portal; that after passing it the defendant discovered in the tunnel three or four blind lodes, which it duly located; and it was not until after the discovery and location of these lodes that the plaintiff commenced this action.

Was there error in striking out these defenses? By section 2319, Rev. Stat., "all valuable mineral deposits in lands belonging to the United States, both surveyed and unsurveyed, are hereby declared to be free and open to exploration and purchase." Until, therefore, the title to the land passes from the Government the minerals therein are "free and open to exploration and purchase." A lode locator acquires a vested property right by virtue of his location, Clipper Mining Co. v. Eli Mining & Land Co., 194 extent of that property right? follows: "The locators of possession and enjoyment of all the surface included within the lines of their locations, and of all veins, lodes, and ledges throughout their entire depth, the top or apex of which lies inside of such surface lines extended downward vertically, although such veins, lodes or ledges may so far depart from a

U. S. 220, but what is the Section 2322 defines it as shall have the exclusive right

perpendicular in their course downward as to extend outside the vertical side lines of such surface locations." The express grant to the locator made by this section includes only the surface and the veins apexing within the boundaries of the location. Until, therefore, by entry and payment to the Government the equitable title to the ground passes to the locator, he is in no position to question any rights of exploration which are granted by other provisions of the statute. The fee still remains in the Government. By section 2320 it is provided that "no location of a mining claim shall be made until the discovery of the vein or lode within the limits of the claim located." And by section 2324: "The miners of each mining district may make regulations not in conflict with the laws of the United States, or with the laws of the State or Territory in which the district is situated, governing the location, manner of recording, amount of work necessary to hold possession of a mining claim, subject to the following requirements: The location must be distinctly marked on the ground so that its boundaries can be readily traced. All records of mining claims hereafter made shall contain the name or names of the locators, the date of the location, and such a description of the claim or claims located, by reference to some natural object or permanent monument as will identify the claim." Tunnel rights are granted by section 2323, which reads:

"Where a tunnel is run for the development of a vein or lode, or for the discovery of mines, the owners of such tunnel shall have the right of possession of all veins or lodes within three thousand feet from the face of such tunnel on the line thereof, not previously known to exist, discovered in such tunnel, to the same extent as if discovered from the surface; and locations on the line of such tunnel of veins or lodes not appearing on the surface, made by other parties after the commencement of the tunnel, and while the same is being prosecuted with reasonable diligence, shall be invalid; but failure to prosecute the work on the tunnel for six months

shall be considered as an abandonment of the right to all undiscovered veins on the line of such tunnel."

It does not appear from the answer or testimony that the tunnel had reached the boundaries of the plaintiff's claims prior to the entry or even prior to the patent. For the purpose of this case, therefore, we must assume that, although its line had been marked out a line extending through the plaintiff's ground—yet in fact no work had been done within such ground prior to the patent.

The propositions upon which the plaintiff relies are that discovery is the initial fact; that the patent when issued relates back to that initial fact and confirms all rights as of that date; that no inquiry is permissible as to the time of that discovery, it being concluded by the issue of the patent; that such time antedated anything done in or for the tunnel; that no adverse proceedings were instituted after it had applied for patent, and that, therefore, its right became vested in the ground, the same right which any other landowner has, and which could not be disturbed by the defendant by means of its tunnel. St. Louis Mining Company v. Montana Mining Company, 194 U. S. 235.

On the other hand, defendant contends that, as the first record in any office of the Government was the record of the entry on August 5, 1893, the patent issued in an ex parte proceeding is conclusive only that every preceding step, including discovery, had then been taken; that it in fact located its tunnel site prior to any discovery or marking on the ground of plaintiff's claim; that it was not called upon to adverse plaintiff's application for a patent, because no patent is ever issued for a tunnel, and it had not then discovered any vein within its tunnel; that plaintiff, with full knowledge of defendant's tunnel location, permitted the driving of the tunnel through its ground and beyond, at an expenditure of $135,000, and made no objection until the discovery of the veins beyond its ground, and then for the first time and to prevent defendant from developing such veins brought this action, and that by such acquies

cence it was now estopped to question defendant's use of the tunnel.

Obviously the parties divide as to the effect of plaintiff's patent. The Circuit Court held with the plaintiff, the Court of Appeals with the defendant. It may be conceded that a patent is conclusive that the patentee has done all required by law as a condition of the issue; that it relates to the initiation of the patentee's right and cuts off all intervening claims. It may also be conceded that discovery of mineral is the initial fact. But when did the initial fact take place? Are all other parties concluded by the locator's unverified assertion of the date or the acceptance by the Government of his assertion as sufficient with other matters to justify the issue of a patent? Undoubtedly, so far as the question of time is essential to the right, the patent is conclusive, but is it beyond that?

In order to reach a clear understanding of the question it seems necessary to consider the legislation. Three things are provided for, discovery, location and patent. The first is the primary, the initial fact. The others are dependent upon it and are the machinery devised by Congress for securing to the discoverer of mineral the full benefit of his discovery. Chap. 6 of Title 32, Rev. Stat., is devoted to the subject of "Mineral Lands and Mining Resources." The first section, 2318, reserves mineral lands from sale, except as expressly directed. The next provides that all valuable mineral deposits in government lands shall be free and open to exploration and purchase and the lands in which they are found to occupation and purchase. In the next it is declared that no location of a mining claim shall be made until the discovery of the vein or lode within the limits of the claim. The whole scope of the chapter is the acquisition of title from the United States to mines and mineral lands, the discovery of the mineral being, as stated, the initial fact. Without that no rights can be acquired. As said by Lindley, in his work on Mines, 2d ed., vol. 1, sec. 335:

"Discovery in all ages and all countries has been regarded