Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-12-02

cubic yards. From Rattiesnake Bar to
| Doten's Bar it is four and balf miles. and
| the river has the same general character as
above. Gravel deposits in the hills aud
ridges along the river are here more exten.
| sive, and many of them have been consider
| ably mined. Deposits in the river appsrentlv
| in several cases are very extensive. but are
| probably not of great depth. Large bowlders,
| from twelve to fifteen inches lie in the bed at
| different points. from side to side, where the
width of the stream is great. Rough estimate
of fetal deposit in this section, LOCO, GOO cubic
wards, From Doten's to Carrolton, two
miles, the character Of tho river is the same
| Saw yater-washed rocks at considerable ele-
| vations above the surface of the water. Re-
cent deposits there l estimated at zero. From
Carrolton TO the junction cf the North asd
South Forks is three miles. That is Section
| Is, and in it the river flows over a bed OF
| rock and has fell sufficient to keep the
canyon clean. Section IA is from the juno
ton of the North and South Forks to Folsom.
| Throughout this distance
IT FLOWS IN RIFLES
| And slight fallF, and the deposits are very
| small. | have seen portions OF the river from
| Folsom to Sacramento. It widens near Fol-
som, flows on bed which consists of cobbles
and finer material, varying in quality with
its position on the cross section of the stream.
| The old channel of the river is not always
| traceable to ore who Was not originally &C
quainted with the country. The river has
| in places cut into the banks and formed
new channels. These cut-offs are filled with
coarse material at the upper end. and finer
material at the lower end. I am not able to
make an estimate of the depth of the deposits
| between Sacramento and Folsom. The
original banks go far as | saw, are not al
ways dis ernible. Within four miles of Fol-
som the bed of the river is composed OF
cobble. Below that point the material is
finer. I followed the river down as far as
Alder creek, and even then not over all its
parts and windings. but saw it at various
points Below, the deposits we're generally
sand aud gravel l examined, when in pit
No. at the defendants mine, the character
of the earth by simple inspection only. I
saw, near the surface, red gravelly soil,
from 20 to 40 feet deep; below it was q
material OF blue color, which in some
places was firmly cemented, consisting of
rocks of various degrees of hardaess, which
were imbedded in a csmenting material with
sand and gravel; the substance holding them
| together having the properties OF csment.
Some Of the stones were hard, some were like
soapstone, aa1 would crush under the heel.
and have a soft, moist feeling. The character Of
the material in the section Of the river whare
i
latter Of dimensions of from four TO six
inches lin disneter-I mean cobble-stones.
| In the deposits il the mountains, gravel or
| rocks of size from one quarter of an inch to
| two inches predominated. I would think the
sand was enough to fill up the interstices be-
tween the rocks. The fall of the river is
greatest where the river flows over bedrock,
IN ROCKY CANYONS.
Where the material is deposited in about a
uniform grade the fall is, should say. forty
| feet to the mile, and in other places greater,
| but can't state how much, as made no in.
strumental survey. The flow was about
eighty cubic feet per second, estimated by
the eye. On uniform grades the flow of the
water was from two to three miles; in narrow
canyons its flow was much greater. It has
water. In some places could see high-water
mark evidences. Above the Middle Fork
were water-washed rocks, and the shrubs on
the sides of the canyons showing the high wate T
to have been up thirty or forty feet there.
Estimations cf the velocity of the current
during high water in those canyons would
only be rough approximations with the avail
able data. At high water the river would
have the character of torrent in al its can
yons. 1t would move in the greatest velocity
in the center of the stream. There are differ
ent formulas for ascertaining the velocity Of
water according to the facts known. The
character of the river is entirely different in
| different stages of water. In smooth places
it would run with smooth, stiff current
The river had general current Of about two
feet per second where it was two feet deep,
when l viewed it. The velocity of river is
| infuencedsby the river bottom and banks.
know Of no way of determining how much
sand or sediment this river can bring down.
l an graduate of the Polytechnic Institute
of Stuttgart, Germany, and have diploma
covering all the engineering branches taught
| in that institution. Since [ have been in the
employ of the State Engineering Department
my study and experience has been confined
almost exclusively to hydraulics-the exam
ination of rivers and streams.
| Witness here explained the rules of esti-
mating velocities of streams. and was exam
| ined as to the material carrying capacity of
! flowing water He said he could not estimate
the amount the river would carry of sand and
slickens, because the conditions are so vary
| ing, and he is not informed as to the elements
in any given quantity of water. He said he
did rot recollect theoretical principle or
rule by which the size of cobble just move
able by any velocity of current could be de-
ternined, but from his experience and obser-
vation he could state what he had seen moved
by rivers. On this
THE DEFENSE OBJECTED
That the witness had shown he was not quail
ifed to testify further on that subject. Pros
ecution thereupon proposed to give witness,
as proposition, certain materials and ask
him to state the effect of water in stream
at given velocity upon item.
The Court held that it was unnecessary, as
it had been shown what the water did carry,
and the facts proven are better than theories
az to what may or might be.
Witness continuing: The water near Can.
yon creek, in the North Fork, at the time of
my observations was clear. The bottom of
the river could be seen through depth of two
feet of water. Near the junction of the North
and Middle Forks it was somewhat discolored.
The water was clear above Canyon creek. At
that time there was no mining going on. I
have made soundings OF the American and
Sacramento rivers during high stages of wa
ter | made those soundings in April 1879.
l have visited the mouth of the American
frequently since to observe the bars and note
the changes. On January 8, 1879, visited
the mouth of the American and found the
water flowing near tie south bank. On the
north side was q sand-bar several Thousand
feet long and four or FIVE feet deep. Subse-
quently 1 found that the river channel had
changed to the opposite bank, and the posi-.
tions of the sand-banks were changed. One
bar had been washed out on the north side,
and another formed on the south. The first
observation was made January Q, 1879. The
second November 2, 1879, and tho third No
vember 20, 1881. These examinations were
all made at low stages of the water. 1 made
soundings across the mouth of the American
in April, 1880. The river at that time was
at
HIGH STAGE
But had slight current. TIE water aver.
Il g. H. 6 81 40
from bank to bank. Above the mouth a
short distance it was 500 feet wide. The
water was very muddy. At the time l took
the soundings in the American just referred
to, the wate1-gauge at Front street showed
hight of twenty three feet. When first saw
the bar at the mouth of the American it APP
peared to be Of pure sand. The next time l
found tx foot layer of clayey substance
some four feet below the surface of the bar.
Slickens is local term, applied to ary
fine powder deposited by these rivers. saw
material at the Gold Run Ridge that would
| make 'tslickens." ''Slickens in the Amer
lean is mineral in character. From observa.
| tions | am certain the river in its channel
| moves material therein, for at one time there
| is more there than at another. At the high
stage. and while rising, the American
river did wash out its sand-bar at its
mouth, but when the water was again
checked in its flow, the bar was replaced.
When the river goes down it leaves this bar
| as level plain, and washes out a narrow
channel through it. until the low-water plain