Webster v. Harris

This case is presented to the court in a most voluminous record, and involves the title, ownership, and navigability of Reelfoot Lake, situated in the northwestern corner of the State. It also involves the hunting and fishing privileges and the general riparian rights of the complainants in the waters of said lake.

In August, 1899, the defendant J. C. Harris, assuming to be the owner of the soil under the waters of the lake, began to excavate a canal for the purpose of connecting the lake with the Mississippi river, and in this way drain the water from the greater portion of the lands…