as to when such posting commenced. Where the owners reside out of the district, or are absent therefrom, the affidavit of an authorized agent who is acquainted with the facts, will be sufficient. The amendment of January 22, 1880, to Section 2325 of the Revised Statutes, authorizing the affidavit by an agent, was held to apply to all cases pending at the date of the amendment.5 In the absence of more convincing evidence to the contrary, this affidavit, when specific in its statements, is deemed satisfactory.6 Where the affidavit of the party who posted the notice could not be procured, the testimony of two credible witnesses has been received in lieu thereof.7 The notice and diagram should be drawn and posted in a manner best to subserve the purposes for which they were intended, and when it is evident that they were prepared in a manner to deceive or mislead, the general land office will reopen the case for investigation, or reject the application and require proceedings to be commenced de novo.8 But when the notice is merely somewhat indefinite, the test of its sufficiency is whether anybody was, or could be, misled thereby.9 The posting of notice five days after publication, and thereafter for the full time, was held to be an irregularity, but not fatal to the application.10 1 1 Landowner, 134, 178. 2 1 Landowner, 2. 3 1 Landowner, 134. 4 1 Landowner, 178; 2 id. 2; 6 id. 71, 92. 5 Sickel's Min. Laws, 495. 6 3 Landowner, 36, 163. 7 Copp's Min. Dec. 233. 8 Copp's Min. Dec, 75. 9 3 Landowner, 162. 10 2 Landowner, 2. § 111. Same-Publication of notice.-When the published notice does not properly describe the locus of the claim as the same is set forth in the application and diagram, proceedings should be commenced de novo.1 And adverse claims filed during the time of the first publication should be re-filed, upon notice received of the publication of the corrected notice; but no fee should be charged for such re-filing, and in case suit had been commenced prior to the correction, it will be a stay of proceedings subsequent to publication.2 An error in the description of the claim, making the published notice inconsistent with itself, will put the adverse claimant on his guard, and will not be treated as fatal to the application unless it is misleading in its character.3 The law leaves the register no discretion as to the newspaper in which the notice shall be published, except where two papers are equidistant from the claim, or nearly so. He is required to designate the paper, and his designation seems to be conclusive upon the applicant.4 And where the daily issue of a paper is designated, it is not a compliance with the law to publish the notice in the weekly issue of the same paper without the authority of the register.5 It is no objection to the paper, the same being published nearest the claim, that a part of it is printed in another city or state.6 Publication need be in only one newspaper for the period of sixty days,7 and in estimating this period, the first day must be excluded.8 Nine insertions in a weekly newspaper is not publication for the period of sixty days. Notices must be published ten consecutive weeks in weekly papers, and in daily papers sixty days must elapse between the first and last insertions.9 1 Copp's Min., Dec., 51, 69. 43 Landowner, 163; id. 50. 6 3 Landowner, 196. 7 1 Landowner, 50. 8 1 Landowner, 66. 9 1 Landowner, 34; 2 id. 130. § 112. Same-Survey-Plat-Extent of claims.-The survey should show the exterior boundaries of the claim and the width shown by the plat should not exceed that allowed by the act of Congress, and the local laws, rules and customs of the state, territory or district.1 The end lines of a patent survey of a lode claim must be parallel, and where there is a conflict between the description by courses and distances, and that by tying to natural objects, the former must give way to the latter.2 The field work of such survey may be made at any time by a United States deputy surveyor,3 and where any material error occurs in the survey, the applicant should commence de novo by filing with the local land officers a corrected plat and field notes, and publish a notice as required in the first instance.4 An application for patent has the effect of withdrawing a claim from market, and no other survey of the same tract should be approved by the surveyor-general until the first application is approved of.5 But the mere approval of a survey does not have this effect unless followed by an application within a reasonable time. And parties desiring an order of survey of a claim already surveyed should file with the surveyorgeneral the register's certificate that no application is pending under the prior survey.7 The surveyor-general must order the survey of claims as originally located. He has no authority to determine conflicts between rival claims to the same ground.8 And it is his duty to assign and approve surveys in their regular order, regardless of conflicts. Placer claims embracing five acre lots are required to be surveyed for patents.10 It is otherwise where the claims conform to the legal subdivisions of surveyed lands.11 The act of the surveyor-general in approving a survey is not conclusive, as an appeal will lie to the commissioner of the general land office.12 Lode claims located since May 10, 1872, cannot exceed 600 feet in width. Whether they can equal that width depends upon local laws; but in no instance can they be limited by local laws or regulations to less than fifty feet in width, except where adverse rights render such limitation necessary.13 Claims located in Montana under the territorial act of December 26, 1864, are entitled to fifty feet of surface ground on each side, exclusive of the width of the lode.14 Placer claims, located prior to July 9, 1870, were regulated as to size by the local laws then in force. Subsequent to that date they cannot exceed 160 acres. Subsequent to May 10, 1872, they cannot exceed twenty acres to the individual, or 160 acres for an association of any number of individuals.15 Errors in the field notes of a deputy United States mineral surveyor should be corrected by himself. It is not proper that the register and receiver should make such corrections.16 Where a location of a placer claim by legal subdivisions would conflict with the rights of bona fide mineral, agricultural or other claimants on the same tract, this requirement is waived, otherwise it is mandatory where there has been a public survey of the land.17 Lode claims may not be patented on surveys triangular in shape, unless the lode runs into the acute angle, and then only to avoid conflict with prior rights. The end lines must be parallel, so as properly to limit the rights of owners, in following the dip between the extension of the end lines.18 The form of a claim must be substantially a parallelogram.19 All surveys of mining claims must be connected with some corner of a public survey, or with some mineral monument, or permanent natural object.20 Trees on the water's edge of streams will not be accepted as permanent natu ral objects. The confluence of streams only serves as a point of reference to determine the situation of a mineral monument which has been erected in close proximity.21 Under the present law adjoining proprietors have no right to object, protest, file evidence or appeal on a mere question of survey, until the survey is offered as evidence in an application for patent.22 In applications for claims located under the act of July 26, 1866, the surveyorgeneral is instructed not to approve surveys without a certificate from the register that no adverse claims are pending. It is the duty of the register to determine the regularity of proceedings before him, subject to the right of applicants to appeal.23 1 Copp's Min. Dec. 191, 195, 223; id. 340. 2 3 Landowner, 82. 3 1 Landowner, 133. 4 Copp's Min. Dec. 193. 5 1 Landowner, 133. 6 4 Landowner, 34. § 113. Instructions to deputy mineral surveyors. where commissioner is ex-officio surveyor-general, -(1) Must make arrangements with claimant for pay |