George Sutherland

“ That court, upon the report of a master, entered a decree for the plaintiff and awarded damages for the value of the oil removed, after deducting the cost of drilling and operating the wells by means of which the oil was recovered. ”

“ The defendants rely upon the rule that where lands are patented according to an official plat of survey, showing meander lines along or near the margin of a body of water, the plat is to be treated as a part of the conveyance and the water itself constitutes the boundary. ”

“ It is clear, however, that the United States cannot be so estopped. Lee Wilson & Co. v. United States, supra; Utah Power & Light Co. v. United States, 243 U.S. 389, 408, 37 Sup. Ct. 387, 61 L. Ed. 791.
We think the measure of damages adopted by the courts below was correct. The defendants were in possession of the land and extracted the oil therefrom in good faith. The land had been for many years treated by the officials of the government as having been conveyed by the Pitts patent. The defendants were innocent trespassers within the rule laid down by this court in United States v. St. ”