Thurston v. United States
Headline: Court blocks 1857 Mountain Meadows heirs from recovering property under the 1891 Indian Depredation Act, ruling older claims not covered unless properly presented earlier, leaving heirs without federal compensation.
Holding:
- Prevents heirs from recovering 1857 Mountain Meadows losses under the 1891 Act.
- Requires earlier presentation to Congress or Interior to preserve pre-1865 depredation claims.
- Limits Court of Claims jurisdiction to claims authorized by statute.
Summary
Background
This case began in the Court of Claims in 1892 under the Indian Depredation Act of 1891. The claimant sought compensation for personal property taken and destroyed at Mountain Meadows, Utah, on September 11, 1857, when her relative was killed while traveling with an emigrant train. In 1877 and 1878 one of his daughters petitioned Congress on behalf of the heirs, but those petitions and accompanying affidavits described the attackers as Mormons acting under Brigham Young, not as Ute or other Indian depredations. Congress introduced bills in response but did not pass them, and the claim was not presented to any other government department before 1891.
Reasoning
The central question was whether the 1891 Act allowed a claim that arose before July 1, 1865. The Court noted that the Court of Claims can only hear claims Congress commits to it. The Act’s first section covers property taken by Indians in amity with the United States, but the second section excepts claims accruing before July 1, 1865 unless they had been allowed or were pending before Congress, the Secretary of the Interior, or authorized agents. The Court concluded the 1877–78 petitions did not present the present claim because they asserted Mormon, not Indian, responsibility, so the claim was not “pending” under the statute. Therefore the Court of Claims lacked jurisdiction.
Real world impact
The ruling leaves the heirs without federal recovery under the 1891 Act for the 1857 loss. It confirms that very old depredation claims must have been properly presented or allowed before 1891 to survive the Act’s time restriction. Claimants with similar pre-1865 losses must show prior allowance or genuine pending status to proceed.
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