Monte Cristo’s Residents vs. the Placer Claim

The wrangle between residents of the Monte Cristo townsite and J. P. Hendricks over the character of land included in the latter's consolidated mineral claim, which was temporarily settled last spring, has come up again on an order from the general land commissioner for a rehearing of the case.

On December 1, 1891, J. P. Hendricks located the Rattler, Union, Junction, Prairie, Washington, Condor, Seattle and Jones placer claims. These claims constitute one compact body of land, having a linear extent of about 10,000 feet, with an average width of about 600 feet, on unsurveyed land in the Monte Cristo mining district. The Sauk River, a stream about fifty feet wide, runs through them. January 10, 1893, Hendricks applied for a patent to the claims and on March 31 following was allowed to make entry. March 18, 1893, John C. Denney, judge of the superior court of Snohomish, filed an application to file a declaratory statement for the Monte Cristo townsite. On April 4, 1893, J. J. O'Donnell filed a protest against issuing a patent to the Rattler placer claim, alleging that it was non-mineral in character, improvements had been made, and that others had taken steps to found a townsite on part of it.

By decision of the general land office September 13, 1893, the townsite claimants were allowed thirty days in which to apply for a hearing. From the evidence submitted it appeared that the townsite claimant on September 20, 1893, filed an application for a hearing, but before any action had been taken asked for a dismissal of application and that their townsite application be allowed to stand as to the ground not in conflict with the Rattler claim. The order for a hearing was revoked, and on May 22 the entry was approved for patenting, but the patent has not been issued.

On June 21, 1894, a protest was made against the entry and a hearing asked. The protest consisted of two affidavits, one sworn to by M. J. Gill and S. P. Avers and the other by J. H. Campbell. Seldon Avers, M. McMullen, Robert Keon, T. J. Kruxner and others joined. The protestants claim to be residents of the government townsite of Monte Cristo, and say that the townsite was settled long before the making of an application for patent by Hendricks, and that prior to final proof on the placer application the residents of the townsite applied through Judge Denney to be heard. They claim that J. J. O'Donnell, on behalf of himself and the occupants of the townsite, entered a protest against the placer application, but that without the knowledge or consent of the other occupants of the townsite he ordered the protest withdrawn. By this action the people say they have been deprived of their rights and injured, in that they have made valuable improvements upon the land, believing that a hearing would be held. It is also claimed that the land is non-mineral and has never been worked.

Commissioner Lamoreux decides that a hearing should be held, at which evidence shall be submitted to show whether the land embraced in each location of the mineral entry is mineral, and whether the mineral claimant has expended in such manner as to develop or tend to develop each location embraced in the consolidated claim.