Castle v. Womble

Womble (defendant) filed a declaratory mineral claim in 1889, and the following year Castle (plaintiff) located the Empire Quartz mine on overlapping land, prompting the General Land Office to cancel Womble's claim to the extent of the overlap; Castle protested Womble's later attempt to submit final proof, showing he had already located his mine and that the land contained gold-bearing quartz sufficient for profitable mining. Local land officers found the land contained enough gold to develop a mine, that Womble's declaratory statement had expired, and that Castle's claim had properly attached by location, ordering Womble to segregate the Empire mine from his claim before entry; Womble appealed through the land office to the Department of the Interior.