David Josiah Brewer

“ But the fact that it was swamp and overflowed land in 1872, when Wylie entered it as a homestead, does not prove that it was of similar character in 1849, nor that the title passed to the state under the act of congress. It is a well-known fact that land, by subsidence or elevation or through other causes, in a series of years may change its character, at one time being swamp and overflowed, and at another dry upland. ”

“ With reference to its location within the limits of an incorporated town, even if it be true that Wylie, as the party entering, was charged with knowledge of the territorial limits of the town, and that this tract was within such limits at that time (a matter upon which we deem it unnecessary to express an opinion) , it must be borne in mind that neither the receiver's receipt nor the patent disclosed when Wylie first entered upon the land for the purpose of making it his homestead, or when he first initiated his rights in respect thereto. ”

“ There may be a question whether the patent in this case was not something more than the 'just title' needed in prescription, and whether it was not conclusive as to the full title upon all the parties to this litigation. But that matter we shall not stop to consider, as it does not seem to have been discussed by counsel. It is enough for the purposes of this case if it be only a 'just title.' Articles 3481, 3482, and 3484 of the Louisiana Code are as follows:
'Art. 3481. Good faith is always presumed in matters of prescription, and he who alleges bad faith in the possessor must prove it. ”