Gear

Action to quiet title to a quartz mining claim situated in the county of Mariposa. The claim was originally located in 1879 and in 1893 came into the ownership and possession of defendant by mesne conveyances. The cause was tried by the court and it found: “That during the year 1903 . . . there was not one hundred dollars’ worth of labor performed or improvements made upon the mine by the defendant; that in 1904 defendant did not resume mining work upon said claim, or cause mining or labor to be resumed or make improvements thereon prior to January 16, 1904,” on which day the court found that the land was vacant public mineral land of the United States, subject to location, and that on said day plaintiff entered upon the land and located the same as required by law. No question arises as to the validity of this latter location if the land was subject thereto. Judgment passed for plaintiff, from which and from the order denying her motion for a new trial defendant appeals.

The question of abandonment of the mine by defendant is not raised by pleading or by evidence. The sole question presented by defendant is that the evidence is insufficient to justify the finding as to the work…