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."