202 U.S. Statement of the Case. on the natural reefs in the waters of the State of Louisiana, said fishermen claiming that they were in the waters of the State of Mississippi and consequently not violating the laws of the State of Louisiana." The bill then set forth that "to avoid an armed conflict between the sheriff and officers of the parish of St. Bernard in the State of Louisiana, and the sheriff and officers of the county of Harrison in the State of Mississippi," a meeting of citizens of Louisiana was called by the Governor of that State, which met in New Orleans, and resulted in the appointment by the Governor of commissioners on the part of Louisiana "to consider the determination of the water boundary line between the two States, and arrange for its easy location and identification by a proper system of buoys," and to request that the Governor of Mississippi appoint like commissioners on the part of that State, which appointment was made. The joint commission met and considered the subject, and subsequently the Mississippi commission reported its inability to agree with the Louisiana commission, stating, among other things, "It is apparent that the only hope of settlement is a friendly suit in the Supreme Court of the United States, and we respectfully suggest that course." The bill continued: "24th. That the eastern water boundary line as claimed by your orator, viz: a line beginning at the most southern junction of the channel of the east branch of the Pearl river with Lake Borgne and thence eastward following the deep water channel to the north of Half Moon Island, through the Mississippi Sound channel, to Cat Island Pass, northeast of Isle à Pitre into the Gulf of Mexico, thereby dividing the waters between the two States, agrees, and is in accord, with the acts of Congress creating respectively the State of Louisiana and the State of Mississippi as already shown by diagram No. 5; that any other boundary than the deep water channel as aforesaid would cause the limits of the two States to conflict and overlap, and that it is not to be presumed that the Congress of the United States Statement of the Case. 202 U.S. intended to, or would, establish, in its description, a boundary for the State of Mississippi, conflicting with the already existing Louisiana eastern boundary, when there is a construction of the wording of the two acts, in fact the only construction that suggests itself, that shows a boundary readily ascertained, harmonizing with the words of the acts as they now read, and clearly defining the limits of the two States in the waters between them. "25th. Your orator further avers that the use of the word 'westwardly' in the description of the southern boundary of the State of Mississippi, as that southern boundary line extends westwardly from the Alabama state line to the Louisiana eastern boundary line, shows that it was not the intention of Congress to have it run direct or due west throughout the whole course, and that it was evidently the intention of Congress, in giving to the State of Mississippi the islands north of that westwardly drawn line, that the eighteen-mile limit shall gradually decrease as it approached the Louisiana line on the east till it met and followed it to its source. If the Mississippi line ran parallel to the southern coast of Mississippi, at a distance of eighteen miles from such coast line following the meander of the coast, and thence joined at right angles a line emerging from the mouth of Pearl river, such line would not only include Grassy, Half Moon, Round, Le Petit Pass Islands and Isle à Pitre, already belonging to Louisiana as being within nine miles or three leagues of the Louisiana shore line, but such line would also include part of the mainland of the State of Louisiana as will be seen from the following diagram (No. 6) made a part of this bill and it certainly could not have been the intention of Congress to take away from the State of Louisiana any islands or mainland already belonging to it and to give them to the State of Mississippi, as such a proceeding, without the consent of the legislature of the State of Louisiana, would be a violation of sec. 3 of art. IV of the Constitution of the United States. "26th. Your orator avers that the marsh lands claimed by 202 U.S. Statement of the Case. the State of Mississippi to be islands are in truth, with the exception of the Isle à Pitre, Grassy, Half Moon, Round and Le Petit Pass Islands, low lying marsh lands forming part of the mainland of the State of Louisiana; that said swamp or marsh lands and islands have been known as and called since time immemorial 'the Louisiana marshes;' that they were approved to the State of Louisiana by the Commissioner of the General Land Office on May 6, 1852, as will appear from a certified copy of said record of approval from the United States Land Office made a part of this bill, marked Exhibit (G,) and where not since sold by the State of Louisiana to private purchasers have always stood on the books of the register of the Louisiana state land office as state lands, to be offered for sale, until recently transferred by the State of Louisiana to the board of commissioners for the Lake Borgne basin levee district by the provisions of act No. 14 of the legislature of the State of Louisiana for the year 1892, for the purpose of enabling the said levee board, by the proceeds of sale of said lands to secure the funds to aid in the building of levees in that levee district, to protect the lands from overflow. "27th. That parts of said disputed territory claimed by the State of Mississippi to be islands within eighteen miles of its shore line are in fact part of the mainland of the State of Louisiana, and therefore belong to and form part of said State of Louisiana, but if your honors should feel that any part of this disputed area was islands by reason of the presence of shallow water, then as islands they are within the nine-mile limit of distance from the shore line of the State of Louisiana and therefore belong to and form part of the State of Louisiana by that second provision of the act of Congress giving Louisiana all islands within three leagues of its shore line. "28th. Your orator further avers that where contiguous States or countries are separated by water it is, and always has been, the custom to regard the channel as establishing the boundary line of such States, and that the State of Mississippi has itself recognized this principle in the description of Statement of the Case. 202 U. S. its territorial limits as found in the second article of its own constitution adopted November, 1890, in the following words: * "29th. Your orator avers that as heretofore stated the Congress of the United States, as well as the various departments of the United States Government having authority in the premises, have themselves recognized the boundary line contended for by the State of Louisiana by reason of the fact that the United States Government has confirmed to the State of Louisiana the lands composing Half Moon Island which is just south of the deep water channel," [by sections and townships as set forth,] and also "the lands forming what is commonly known as Isle à Pitre," [by sections and townships as stated,] all of them "recognized as belonging to and forming part of the State of Louisiana by the said United States Government and have always heretofore been so recognized by the people of the said two States; that the lands forming the Isle à Pitre were sold by the State of Louisiana," &c., &c., "and said lands have been assessed on the assessment rolls of the parish of St. Bernard, State of Louisiana, and taxes thereon have been paid to the State of Louisiana for the past 35 years, and said lands have never been assessed on the rolls of, nor have any taxes ever been paid to, the State of Mississippi and that this is the case with all other lands and islands now claimed by the State of Mississippi, but which in truth and fact belong to the State of Louisiana. "30th. Your orator therefore further avers that all constituted authorities competent to create, adopt or consider the said boundary line have declared the water boundary line claimed by the State of Louisiana, viz: the deep water channel running from the most southern junction of the eastern mouth of Pearl river, through Lake Borgne, north of Half Moon Island, through Mississippi Sound, north of Isle à Pitre and southwest of Cat Island, through Cat Island Pass, through Chandeleur Sound northeast of Chandeleur Islands, to the Gulf 202 U.S. Statement of the Case. of Mexico, to be the true water boundary between the said States." The bill prayed that it be adjudged and decreed "that the boundary line dividing the States of Louisiana and Mississippi, in the waters between the said States to the south of the State of Mississippi and to the southeast of the State of Louisiana is the deep water channel, commencing at the most southern junction of the eastern mouth of Pearl river with Lake Borgne, thence by the deep-water channel through Lake Borgne, north of Half Moon Island, through Mississippi Sound, north of Isle à Pitre, through Cat Island Pass Channel, southwest of Cat Island, through Chandeleur Island Sound, northeast of the Chandeleur Islands, to the Gulf of Mexico, as is delineated on the original map submitted by the Louisiana Boundary Commission to the Mississippi Boundary Commission and now made part of this bill, marked Exhibit 'E;' that the said deep water channel be located throughout its course and permanently buoyed at the joint expense of the two States; that the State of Mississippi and its citizens be perpetually enjoined from disputing the sovereignty and ownership of the State of Louisiana in the said land and water territory south and west of said boundary line," and for costs and general relief. [Exhibit "E" is not reproduced in the printed record, but is to be found in the Louisiana Atlas of Maps, p. 60. It consists of Coast Survey Charts Nos. 189, 190 and 191, showing the coast from Mobile to Lakes Borgne and Pontchartrain, with boundary lines added in red ink. The maps given in this statement are sufficient to supply the lack of this particular exhibit.] The State of Mississippi, by leave, filed a demurrer to the bill, which was by stipulation submitted to the consideration of the court on printed arguments, and was subsequently overruled. Thereupon the State of Mississippi on leave filed her answer and cross bill. |