Columbia River Packers' Ass'n v. United States

This suit was instituted by the United States and its lessee, against' the state land board of the state of Oregon and its lessee, to establish the right and title of the United States to Sand Island, at the mouth of Columbia river, and to the tide and shore lands adjacent thereto. From a decree in favor of the plaintiffs, the defendants have appealed.

Sand Island is within the limits of the state of Oregon, and the adjacent tide and shore lands, up to high-water mark, originally belonged to that state. Washington v. Oregon, 211 U. S. 127 , 29 S. Ct. 47 , 53 L. Ed. 118 ; Shively v. Bowlby, 152 U. S. 1 , 14 S. Ct. 548 , 38 L. Ed. 331 .

April 21,1863, by order of the President, the island was set apart or reserved for military purposes, and October 24, 1864 (Sp. Laws Or. 1864, p. 72) the state of Oregon passed an act granting to the United States “all the right and interest of the state of Oregon in and to the land in front of Et. Stevens and Point Adams, situate in this state, and subject to overflow between high *92 and low tides; also to Sand Island, situate at the mouth of Columbia river in this state; the said island being subject to overflow between high and low tide.” The…