Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-10-19
SLICKENS.
Further from the Trip Of the In
vestigating Committee.
From the RreonD-usIos's Special Reporter ]


this morning the Investigating Committee
from the San Francisco Board of Trade. &C.
companied by prominent citizens of this city
and vicinity and members CT the press-in all
numbering thirty-left in carriages to visit
the west side of Feather river down as far az
opposite Nicolsus. The morning. was. fresh and
beautiful, and the party started out with a
good supply of overcoats and wraps. Ar
irving at Yuba City, on the opposite side OF
the Feather river from Marysville, a halt was
made Immediately against the confluence Of
THE YUBA AND FEATHER RIVERS.
The party alighted from their carriages. and
going to the edge Of the landing at the
Farmers warehouse, gentleman called at.
taution to the condition Of the rivers, saying.
:. You see that the Yuba river, as far ur
as you can see it, IS only an unbroken plain
Of sand, or rather what we call slickens
and the water that is flowing down over it i.
so thick and SO near the same color that it i:
difficult to tell where it runs. Here at the
junction Of the two rivers you see that the
mining upon the Yuba has been a great dsal
more extensive than upon the Feather, anc
the banks Of deposit stand from three to foul
feet higher than the water Of the Feather
which runs down upon this side. Tha;
crane there standing on the slickezs il
the middle Of the Yuba river lone hap
pened TO be standing ia full view, about SCI
yards awayl, would, twenty-five years ago
have been eighteen feet above standing
ground, and 10 place of his present comfort.
able fishing grounds, peering into thick mud
for breakfast, there was flowing clear, pure
water, and large steamboats, and schooner:
piled to and from tie wharves at Marysyille.
You can gee the manner in which the deposit
in the Yuba. which is so much higher than
here il the Feather river,
DAMS AND BACKS Up THE WATER
In the latter, and this produces one great
source of danger to US in high water"
Mr.. Cert, of San Francisco-I should
hardly know this place. l used to come here
frequently in early timer, and came up this
river on large steamboats,, and nave often
seen large schooners up there at the Marys-
vile wharf unloading mining supplies, for
which Msrysyilie was headquarters. The
large warehouses along on the street next to
the wharves were lively with business. 1t
don't look as If those big steamers and
schooners could get up there very easy now,
over those slickens.
There" said DR.. Rogers, pointing to a
residence in Yuba City, few yards away,
which stands upon high piece of ground
close upon the bank of the Feather river
"is Judge Keyser's house, ard that Is the
property which has been the subject of the
recent decision of the Supreme Court, that
the Judge was disqualified from trying the
mining cases by reason OF his being an in
terested party"
Mr.. Ohleyer, President of the Anti-Hy-
draulic Mining AssociatioB-The house, 1t
will be noticed, is up on very high ground,
which was once an Indian mound, and above
the highest point the water has ever yet
reached
The party, after taking the carriages again,
were driven through the grain warehouse OF
the Farmers Union, which stood near By,
and in which 10000 tons of wheat is now
stored.
Soon after leaving Yuba City, the carriages
were driven along the top of the levee for a
distance of two miles. The levee here has an
average hight of thirteen feet, and DIVORCES to
a wide distance from the river.
RUINED ORCHARDS.
Calling the attention of the committee to
the fruit trees which were standing 10 the
abandoned grounds towards the river, a
gentleman remarked, "There is what is left
of what was known as Briggs second orchard.
His first was Oh the Yuba above Marysville,
and when he saw that it was going to be de-
stroyed he came here and planted out 300
acres, which you see there, and now that i
abandoned. Besides the orchard you see
also many hundred acres more of what was
fine orchard land thrown outside Of the levee,
and is now Of the same barren waste,
from being covered deep with sand and
debris. On the other side Of the levee
you see the difference. and the quality of the
land we are trying to save. This alfalfa you
see lying here in winroSs and piles on the
side which we have thus far been able to levee
the water from, is the third crop cut here this
year, and any of this land, as far as you can
see, is OF the same general quality"
LEvEE BUILDING.
Just below this point an active camp of
levee-builders, with small city of white
tents for temporary quarters, was reached,
and another stop made There were 240 men
and 140 teams engaged in blowing snd
scraping TO raise and strengthen the
levee. It is in Levee District No.
l of Suffer county. which district
extends down the west side of the Feather
river distance of eighteen miles from Yuba
City. A uniform levee is being built $50 feet
feet wide at the base, including the bernie or
spsca at the bottom on the land side, along
which road passes, and is twelve feet wide
at the top, with three and half feet slope
on the river side, and is thirteen feet in
hight. The inside face Is to be covered with
brush. It is claimed by this leyee district
that this is the finest lsTee in
the State. Seven miles out OF the
eighteen in the district is being built to the
above uniform dimensions this year at q cost
of SSO,000. There are $4,000 acres in the
leyee district. It is being raised three feet
above thu former leyee, and nearly doubled in
Width At this point the leves Is set a long
81 f-os,, Nla nd crooI
land and an occasional farmhouse is outside,
between the 'eTee and the river.
As the party was about to leave, one Of
the investigating committee remarked, THIS
is terrible, to see this fine land destroyed and
abandoned to such desert of sand"
Two or three miles farther down another
company of levee builders, composed OF
twenty teams and twenty five men, was
passed.
Shortly afterwards, as the party was pro-
ceeaing down the river road, a short distance
away from the levee, the steamer d. e.
Knight, from Sacramento, was passed, but
the high levee between hid all but the smoke
stack from view.
whats that?" asked committeeman.
ITS tie Sacramento steamer" was the
reply.
"WeIl," asked the committeeman. "hss
not the Sacramento steamer got anything but
q smokestack p
"Yes," was the response; "tha rest of
her is over the levee there padding in the
shekens."
GENERAL Suffers OLD FARM.
At the Hook farm, General Suffers resi-
dence after he left Sacramento, and which is
seven miles below Marysville, another stop
was made. Here was pointed out TO the
committee several choice kinds of trees set
out by General Suffer in his front yard, be-
tween his house and the river, but which are
now outside the levee, and in reference
to which it was remarked that they had
oceans of company" as they now
stand in jungle of cottonwood and willows,
which have sprung up since the debris de-
posts were made there. 0ne Of these pointed
out as having been planted by General SUIT
ter is said to have been brought by him from
Palestine.
The committee concluded that as it would
make it late to go further. and as the state
ments made by the reception delegation as to
the condition of the country between Marys-
vile and Nicolaus had been found to be as
represented. they would accept their state
ment already made as to the balance Of the
way and not go over it.
Upon the return of the party to Marys-
vile, banquet was spread and a social hour
enjoyed.
Tomorrow the committee and party will
go down on the east side of the Feather river
to the mouth of Bear river, and up Bear river
to Wheatland and the brush dam in that
vicinity, and return from Whestland by the
cars In the evening another public meeting
1. Ii L A Ill