Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-11-29
SACRAMENTO TUESDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 1881


other.
At this point Mr. Hart notified the Court
that w. w. Sheldon, of Folsom, disregarded
his subpsne, and said he would not come
unless his fees were advanced. Mr.. Hart
asked that the Court compel his attendance.
The Court ordered that a. attachment be
issued to bring him in.
ARCHIBALD HENLEY,
Sworn Ito Mr.. Catlwalader)-I have lived in
this city since 1850. / have been engaged
most of that time in contracting the con
struction of brick buildings. l was at one
time Justice Of the Peace, have been one of
the County Supervisors and served one term
as Police Judge. For the last seven years l
have owned brick.yards in the town of Wash
ington, Yolo county. l commenced the
construction of buildings in 1854. The
houses then were built on what is
called the lowgrade. The high-grade
is nine feet above the low-grade.
In those days most Of the merchants had
good cellars, and they used them both winter
and summer until after the foods of 1862
Since that date, in time Of high water the
water in the city is very near the surface, and
cellars are of no utility. The cellars have
been mostly filed up since that time. In
many instances the Health Officer of this
city has compelled the filing in of cellars.
In 1850 we had to sink nine or ten feet to get
water. At present the water is just beneath
the surface. Since 1862 all the houses built
within the city have been constructed with
what we call Easements. That is the first
floor is several feet above the ground. I have
crossed the Sacramento river nearly every day
for several years. 1 have noticed that steam.
ers navigating the river have to pass through
the east side of the draw. The west side Of
the draw is filed up with sandbar.
A very large bar has formed on the Yolo side,
Just below the bridge, that extends long dis
tance and occupies large portion of the
rivers channel. The last two years the water
has broken through and flooded my brick
yards There is deposit of sand on my
place, from two to five feet deep. The de-
posit of last winter came from the American
river, and is a coarse gray sand. WITNESS
here produced a sample of sand taken from
his land have about twenty-five acres of
land in and adjoining Washington. form
erly cultivated it, but the deposit of sand has
entirely destroyed it for agricultural purposes.
I know that this deposit came from the
American, from the fact that the current
from that river flowed over the land. My
property adjoins that of Mr.. Hoagland. Mr.
Hoaglands house was thrown drown, and de-
stroyed by the flood Of last winter. 1 be-
came possessed of this property in 1874. AT
that time it was good soil and produced
abundant crops. The first deposit of coarse
gray sand was last year. The previous year
the deposit was of finer nature. The sand
deposit Of last winter is what we term excel
lent building sand. During the winter of 1862
I lived south of the r. street leves, near Tenth
street. The deposit on the land south of r
street left by the food Of 1852 was of
a loamy nature, and made good soil. It
was entirely different from the sand de-
posit of recent floods. The debris of
1862 was soil |; that of last winter sand
The American up to o1S61-2 showed no filling
of consequence. Have examined the water
of the river frequently in the last ten years.
It has been about as thick with mud as could
be stirred into water and be water. The Sac
ramento river water was by the city formerly
pumped up into tanks, and they had to be
run off every two or three months and
there would then be from one and half to
two feet of mud on the tank bottom. The
city water has grown noticeably bad only
since 1862. 1t has been about the color of
cider and couldn't be used for washing with
out settling. This year, since about the first
of June, has been very much clearer than for
the five or six years Heretofore. It has been
more exempt from mud. Have noticed it at
the house hydrants. Remember the Lovdall
break (1S7S). The water fcom it covered the
lower portion cI LuS Clty CeueISTf.
The Court think l snail have to limit
you, Mr.. Cadwalader, as to the number of
witnesses on these points. We had fifteen OF
twenty testifying to oveIfows st Sacramento.
Witness-'rhe wihd ON the overflow below
the city created waves that washed the levee
badly, and at one time it was considered that
there was danger.
CRoss.EXASINATIoN.
Can't state exactly when the first cunning
was done over the r street i-vev. I think I
do remember when W. S. Long took the con-
tract to pump the water cut of the city. 1t
was, If at all, before 1860. Have in hard
rains seen water over lots on P street, but
not SO late as April and May. I lived three
years between and L, Ninth and Tenth
streets. Saw deposits on the land about
there left in 1868. l excavated to
the black soil and for 800 feet square found it
from one to three feet. That was soil left
there by foods. 1t was finer than that which
came down last winter. It was mixed with
sediment and produced well. There are two
breaks in the levees above Washington that
are now open. I think the Sacramento at
eighteen feet above low-water mark flows
through these breaks and goes into the tule
basin. Since the breaks of 1873 ON the Yolo
side the waters, except in one season when
the levees were repaired, have run over my
lands in Yolo. The deposit of last winter
was the first in which the sand you hold
building sand exhibit was deposited. If
the Freeport levee had been secured the
water below the city LAST winter would still
have not gone off rapidly enough. That
levee affected the water, think. Never OBJ
served sipaSe watsr before 1860 inside the
levees.
(To Mr.. Cadwalader)-I don't mean to be
understood that this gray sand will grow any
thing but willows. I know nothing Of the
cutting through the Freeport levee as affect
ing the drainage of the Sacramento, except
by hearsay.