Forestier

Appeals taken from the judgment and from an order denying a new trial in an action to enjoin trespasses upon and injuries to land alleged to belong to the plaintiff.

The plaintiff claims ownership in fee of 302 acres of land which at ordinary high tide is covered with water and is known as “Fly’s Bay.” The defendants are residents and citizens of the state. They deny that the plaintiff is the owner of the land, but do not claim ownership in themselves. Their sole affirmative claim is that as citizens of the state they have the right to go upon the premises for the purposes of hunting, fishing, and navigation. They assert that Fly’s Bay is a side channel of the Napa River and is a navigable stream or channel and as such belongs to the public, so far as may be necessary for the purposes stated. The plaintiff claims title from the state of California, under a sale of the land as tide land made by the state to him on January 15, 1906. The action was begun on January 26, 1906. Afterward, on March 4, 1907, in pursuance of said sale, a patent was issued to him by the state.

The court below found that the plaintiff is not the owner or entitled to the possession of the premises; that…