105 Iowa 688 | Iowa | 1897
— I. This case relates to certain parts of townships 79 and 80, Harrison county. During the years 1851 to 1853 the United States caused a survey to be made of said townships, the western boundary of which was fixed by a meander line supposed to, have been along the east bank of the Missouri river. In 1858, therebeing considerable land between said meander line and the Missouri river, the government caused the same to be surveyed into lots by one Davis, who established another meander line west of the former, and as the west line of his survey. There is now a considerable tract of land west of Davis’ meander line and the present channel of the river. The lots platted by Davis were conveyed to the county under the swamp-land grant, and the plaintiff has title, through the county, to,
Ill, Owing to the number of parties to this action, and their various interests and claims, the pleadings and proofs are quite voluminous, yet the controlling issues of fact are these: Was the land included in thé-Davis survey so formed as to constitute an accretion to' the adjoining lands in the original survey? Was -the land now lying between the meander line of- the Davis survey and thé present channel of .the: river formed by .accretion, or was it severed, from its former connection by a sudden change: in, the course of the river? The testimony as to the ‘chgr-, acter.and condition of these lands, and the action of tfig;
Supplemental Opinion.
Jesse T.. Davis and S. H. Cochran for appellee.
The questions of fact in- this Gase-aré much confused. It is now before us on re-hearirig, which we granted for a more careful review of the evidence. The result of our former consideration was a practical modification of the judgment of the court below, reversing the judgment only .as to the inter-vener, Noyes. The case has been re-argued and re-considered; five judges of this court having given the record' a separate examination, besides an extended discussion-in consultation. This extended and careful consideration of the case has served only to convince ps of the ¡correctness of our former conclusion. We regard our conclusions of fact as being in accord with the weight of the evidence, and the result seems entirely equitable. The former conclusion is adhered to, and the judgment as therein stated will stand reversed.
Ladd, J., took no part.