evidence: A speedier result was achieved in the case of Gowen and Copeland.67 Two US nationals discovered guano deposits in the uninhabited Los Monjes archipelago, which they began exploiting in 1854. Then, another company obtained a lease from Venezuela, which expelled the US operators and seized their assets. The operators entered a sublease with the rival company to continue working the deposit for 15 months, whereupon they would relinquish their assets to the company.