Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-04-22
THE STORM.
IT'S BACKBONE BELIEVED TO BE BROKEN.
condition of the Rivers and Leyees-Eotes
of Interest-on the Mount
ains-Yolo-Trains.

The RECORD UNIONS detailed report of the
great storm closed at 2 a. NJ. yesterday. The
rain fell heavily until 8 A. NJ, when it lessened
considerably, and from that time until 9 a. NJ
fell without violence. At 10 it ceased, the
wind, which had been auctuating from east to
west, finally settled steadily in the southwest.
The solemn dark gray of the sky was at this
hour relieved by line of light along the
northwestern horizon, and presently, as the
murky curtain broke into whitening fringe
and began to lift, losing its leaden hue as it
was driven up the vaulted armament, long,
blue streak of sky appeared, the first bit of
sky-blue which had been visible for more than
two days. Presently it broadened and
heightened, and then, as it widened. blue
patches were seen here and there between the
riffs in the defeated clouds, and directly the
sun struggled through the gloom and put to
rapid flight the breaking masses of storm
clouds. Meanwhile, far down the southeast
ern horizon long, low frowning line of dense
rain-clouds were seen sweeping off to the east
and around to the north. and these diminished
| not at all for four or five hours, but IN long
| trooping lines rolled along freighted with rain
and snow, and finally massed and hung over
the distant Sierra tops, upon which they
| could be seen discharging their wrath. Thus
it was that we had
SUNSHINE AND CLEAR SKIES
Over the valley and rain and snow upon the
mountains, and the beholder had but to half
turn his head to witness the anger of the latter
or bask in the smiles of the former. At noon
it was very evident that the backbone of the
great storm had been broken, and men on all
hands congratulated each other on this tri-
umph of nature over herself. The barometer
steadily and slowly rosa gratifying fact,
for sudden change either way is not a pleas
ant indication on the part of s. the machine
that cannot lie" The slow and agreeable
change went on, the instrument showing. for
instance, at 2 P. NJ. 29.7S and at P. N. 30 SO.
At the same time the thermometer rose, the
temperature being very plainly marked as
| much warmer. This was not 80 pleasant as it
was the general wish that cool weather
| should continue, to the end that the mountain
SHOWS should not be melted rapidly and swell
| the streams disagreeably.t Accommodating
nature responded to the wish of man, and at
P NJ. the thermometer began to fall, and
kept up its descent until s P. NJ, when
it registered 49,, and after that there was
Sergeant Sickler of the Signal Service, who
moves, breathes and exists in the midst of a
perfect armory of meteorological apparatus,
| and whose tastes incline to the study of
scales, registers and fractions of inches of
| RAINFALL.
He estimates by the Smithsonian gauge in
use in his office that the rainfall for the
twenty-four hours ending at o'clock and two
minutes last evening-and that two minutes
is regulation division of time that Uncle
Sam insists upon-was 800 inches. This
would give from SOP P. NJ. on Monday to the
close of the storm S.37 inches of rainfall, and
for the month Of April 1884 inches, and TOR
the season $50 inches.
According to the gauge kept by S. III.
Gerrish, a somewhat different record is made
up, but the Signal Service pluviometer is
fixed upon high roof, while that of Mr..
gives the rainfall for Monday at .472 inches,
Tuesday 5.106, Wednesday 1.784 1.-THE even
days being given, it will be observed.) This
makes total for the month of 1880, and
| for the season %. 535. In 1879 to date. by
the same record, we had 1902 1873, %. 800 !;
| 1877, S. 100; 1876, $3.50 inches. In April,
| 1850, there fell 1880 inches and in April,
| 1854, 4. 80 inches These were the heaviest
rainfalls in the 'month of showers" ever
known in California since the American &C.
cupation until the present year.
At 10 o'clock last night there were some in
dications of more rain, as the sky became in
part overcast, and heavy rain-clouds were
| banked in the far southeast but in the west
it was clear sky, and over all bright moon
shone.
THE RIVERS.
The Sacramento river, by the K-street
gauge, at 9 A. NJ. yesterday stood % feet Q
inches; at $780, 22:l1; at u. noon. 23:2; at
1 P. NJ, 23:3; at 3 P. NJ, 23:4 at p. NJ,
23:9; at 10 P. NJ, "A feet even, and at mid
night it stood PAL. The indications point to
still higher water, and it is entirely probable
that the high water of 1873 will be reached
25:11 (which occurred February Goth of
that year, at 8 P. u. Drift wood came
down the river all day freely, indicating
that much of the water was from far up the
stream and that it was supplied largely also
from overflow waters, and that the basins up
stream had filed and reached the river level
probably on the east side of the river mainly.
From the lower islands no definite reports
are at hand-only general statements Of
passers-by on steamers that the levees are
holding well Those here well posted on
island levees are divided in opinion as to the
capacity of Grand Island defenses to resist
present high water, but it is certain swamp
| land men are very uneasy about the situa-
! ton.
Rumors were rife at noon that the levees
at Merkleys, Lovedall's and Flint's ranches
were in danger. About that hour Mr.. Merk-
| ley came up to the city to procure leyee sacks,
and said the levees held well, but confessed
that he felt uneasy about them and was max
ing preparations to sack the levee on the
slightest indication of weakness or overtop-
! ping. At II 80 P. NJ. a rumor was anoat that
the Merkley levee had given way, but it
could not be traced to any reliable source.
Should any of the river levees below the city
go, back water would probably come up to
the Y street levee but could not otherwise
affect this city in any way.
THE AMERICAN.
The interest of the people in the American
river levee all day yesterday and during last
evening was striking illustration of the
eagerness and willingness of the majority of
citizens, that any possible threat or menace
in that direction shall be removed utterly by
making that levee impregnable, and so strong
and high as to give confidence to the most
timorous, and call on no one to found his
faith in the opinion of any one as to the ca
pacity of that defense to resist high waters.
| These ideas were common on street, in store,
shop and factory, all over the city yesterday,
and comments on the subject formed the
current topic of conversation wherever one
went A reporter of the RECORD UNION
went over the north and east levees between
u noon and $50 P. NJ, from above the old
beet-sugar works down to the city front, and
also went out to the river channel at Twelfth
street. All along the line he found that the
Levee Commissioners have watchmen sta
toned, provided with shovels to dig suit and
! fill in any gopher holes that may 6evelop.
Over the whole line he found the back-water
of the river touching the levee, but in no
place was it high, and the whole inspection
developed the fact that the American,
up to $3.50, was not as high as at
one time in 1878. At the lowest point
on the levee-at Rsbers tannery, the
| old sore spot-the water was seven
feet below the levee top by vertical measure
ment. The river was rising quite rapidly.
Smiths Gardens were under water, and op-
posite Hooker's ranch the fields were over
flowed outside the levee, while the current
quarter of a mile away-was angry and
crowned with white caps. The water on the
fat lands outside the levee in that vicinity
was from four to FIVE feet deep. He met ex-
| Trustee Knox, who expressed the opinion
that the river would have to rise seven feet
more to endanger the levee at all. Above the
old beet-sugar works several gopher-holes
were seen near the top OF the levee on the
outer slope. On the levee above Smith s
Gardens and out to far beyond the beetsugar
| factory no watchmen were seen during the
ride; but below that point there were fully a
/ Ill Al H.