claim jumping

Claim jumping refers to the illegal act of taking over someone else's mining claim or land without permission. This often occurred during gold rushes when individuals would stake a claim to a piece of land believed to contain valuable minerals. If someone else decided to exploit that same land, bypassing the legal owner, it constituted claim jumping. Such actions not only created conflicts over resources but also led to disputes that sometimes necessitated legal intervention. The term can also apply more broadly to any unauthorized takeover of property or rights that legally belong to someone else.