David Josiah Brewer

“ If congress had seen fit to open the doors of the court to an inquiry into these matters, doubtless many questions of difficulty might arise; but, as it has only declared its willingness to subject the government to liability for property taken or destroyed, we may not go beyond that, and adjudge a liability not based upon the taking or destruction of property, but resulting from the destruction or taking of certain property to other property not taken or destroyed. ”

“ Now, as we have said, we are not at liberty to consider whether there may not be some equitable claim against the government or the Indians for such consequential damages. We are limited to the statutory description of the obligations which the government is willing to assume and which it has submitted to the court of claims for determination. We may not enter into the wide question of how far an individual taking or destroying property belonging to another may be liable for all the damages which are consequential upon such injury or destruction. ”

“ The damages were not to the property, considered as property, but simply consequential from the wrong done, and consisted solely in the fact that the petitioner, wronged by the taking away of certain property, was unable to realize the real value of property not taken, damaged, or destroyed. Nothing was done by the Indians to disturb the intrinsic value of the property left in possession of the petitioner. ”