The Government Bans 'Holy Moses' Mining Claims
A federal ruling in Washington state aims to put a stop to 'tenderfoot' miners who give their claims offensive and profane names like 'Jumping Jesus.'
A ruling has been made by the general land office in Washington City regarding a case in the Waterville district. The ruling is designed to stop the practice of giving mining claims blasphemous or indecent names. Two parties had filed claims designated 'Holy Moses' and 'Jumping Jesus.' While the local registrar remonstrated, the men insisted that such names were common practice. The acting land commissioner ruled that while there is no specific law prohibiting such names, the government will not allow them to be incorporated into patents, citing that they are objectionable and indecent. The names have been struck from the records.
“It is only the tenderfoot who oversteps these boundaries under the mistaken notion that the chief characteristics of a miner are blasphemy and filth.”
This reflects the ongoing tension between the informal, rowdy frontier culture and the emerging bureaucratic standards of the federal government in the West. It highlights how naming conventions were used by authorities to exert 'propriety' over the rugged mining landscape.
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