Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-10-24

the Way to their homes. The party from the
Smartsyilie mines came on, in addition TO
the committee of nine and the representatives
of the press, Hamilton Smith, President OF
the Miners Associstion;J. O'Brien. Superin-
tendent of the Excelsior mines; Il. G. Sheath,
Judge Niles Searles, besides prominent
representatives from the valley. including
George OhleYer, Secretary and Manager OF
the Farmers Union of Sutter county; w. ).
Green. of the Colusa Anti hydraulic Com
mittee IL. L. Jones and A. III. Wilber OF
Yuba City It required quite retinue CT
carriages to carry the party, which work was
most acceptably done under the supervision
of Thomas Conlin. who was master OF trans
portation.
At Smartsvills tie committee were shown
the brush dam recently pat across the mouth
of the little gulch leading up to the mines OF
the Excelsior Mining Company, of which
James O'Brien is Superintendent. This was
one of the companies included in the anti
hydraulic suit of Marysyille against the
North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Company
ct al, in which injunctions were issued
against twenty-seven mines located upon the
Yuba river and its tributaries; but ssrvice
was not obtained upon all of them. The
committee was Informed that this was one of
the defendants now said to be in contempt OF
Judge Keyser's order, but that the company
was not guilty of contempt, inasmuch as 1t
was holding back its tailings by the use Of tha
new brush dams, and the spirit of the order
was to prevent such isilings being deposited
in the Yuba river. The dam was visited by
a portion of the committee. Il is 500 feet
long and 16 feet high, spanning the mouth OF
the gulch is built Of small pine trees and
boughs, the water percoiating through 1t.
The dam, said member of the commit
tee, is successful in holding back the
coarser materials. but does not hold the
water in check sufficiently to make it throw
down anything which is carried in suspen-
sion, including the finer sand. Another dam
of the same character is being constructed
about /. 600 feet above IN the same g1lch, for
the purpose of making the process more
effective. This one will not be more than
about 250 feet in length. by reason of the
narrowing of the gulch. The Excslsior Com
pony has eight hydraulic mines in this local
ity. Three empty into this gulch and two
more into another raviue, with similar brush
dams, and three not now worked, and which
would discharge into Deer creek above. At
the FIVE mines in operation 5000 miners
inches Of water is used in winter and about
5000 in summer. The latter amount is now in
use. The Superintendents states that the annual
production Of this company's mines has been
about 5000 600. Tie Yuba, at this point, is
filed up with mining taiiings about $50 feet.
Immediately above, the banks OF the river
are rocky and abrupt, rising to 800 or 400
feet, and about half mile above. The dis.
charge from these mines is the site selected
by Colenel Mendell and State Engineer Hall
to erect the high stone dam for holding tail.
ings now discharged down .he Yuba. The To-
cation was visited by the committee. The
method of constructing the dam and data in
connection with the project were explained by
III u1hn tot lat
gineering proposition he was satisfied that it
was entirely practical; that it could be made
successful to the extent of storing, all
the detritus except the fine sediment
held in suspension by the water,
and that it would protect the
valley lands below from all the minss in ST.
ezra county and nearly all of those in Ne
vada county. At the site of the dam i'm
menss rock walls rise on each side to a hight
of 250 feet, with a width Of not to exceed 250
feet at the bottom and 800 feet at the top
between them. and hack of these the walls
continue very steep, and to "a further hight of
500 or GOO feet. The plan, MIR. Smith said,
was to throw down these lower walls by large
blasts of powder, for g foundation, and to
complete and extend this to a hight of fifty
feet at FIRST with rock which would be SO large
that they could NOT he moved by the water,
and with an apron-like descent on the lower
side, to prevent cutting under. This would
hold the debris for quite length of
time, and when filed the material
would be largely Of small rocks and
powders, ard very firm. Then starting Just
above 5as e6.e of the dam, extsnd it fifty
feet his her, with heavy masonry, construct
ing tie addition in the form OF V, with the
extended points SIS the base and upper side
resting upon the filing Of tailings When
the reservoir capacity thus added shall have
been hlled. another similar addition of fifty
feet wcuia BE- built. Mr.. Smith said he YVES
satisfi-d d that dam could be Constructed 10
hight of $50 feet, il necessary, or even much
higher; that this location being Just belo;a
Deer creek, upon which are extensive mi:es,
and also below the three forks Of the Ynba,
could form Z reservoir wiiich would include
the beds ef those streams without interfering
with the miles, and SIS the fall OF the Yuha
above that part is not great, dumping
ground OF nearly thirty miles in length would
be obtained, which would hold all the debris
that could be sent down By the mines above
for q great number Of years. He said the
miners were willing to do this, and desired to,
so as rot to injure the farmers.
A member of the committee asked why
they did not do so, then, aud remove the
cause of complaint.
Mr. Smith replied that at present they
could not, as the farmers had instituted suits,
and demanded not only that the debris be
held back, bnt declaring that the discoloratiou
even Of the water was nuisance not to be
tolerated. He said that while the miners
could hold back all the debris which does IN
jury below, they could not prevent coloring
the water, and therefore il was impossible.
with tie presentsuits brought to complylwith
what was required.
Superintendent O'Brien mads statement
4 IL. IT,,
claimed that dam 200 feet high at the point
river and tributaries above, and all that will
ever come from the working of the mines
discharging into them. He said this would
be found to be true from the fact that the
reservoir capacity of the canyons to be filed
would be larger than the mining grounds or
banks which would be washed into them.
r. G. Sheath, who represents the Polar
Star and Southern Gross mines on the Bear
river, stated that from experience at their
mines the proposed dam would be successful.
The proposition had been put into practical
operation at those mines, when during the
last six years dam has been formed from
100 to $50 feet high from the large proportion
of stone in the debris washed down and
dumped into the side of the river; that this
has formed large reservoir above, in
which water stands so feet deep or more,
and all the debris from the mines above are
effectually settled and stored in it. Some de-
bris, he said, was sent down the river from
the Polar Star mine, because part of the tail
ings pass down the lower side of the dump !;
but that this dam was storing far more de-
bris than the mines he represents produce.
This dam, he concluded, acts upon the same
principle, and with the same effect, as would
one built upon the Yuba as proposed.
Smartsville and the little villages about
connected with the Excelsior mines, and one
or two others, have population of about,
1,S00, and about 450 miners are employed.
The Deer Creek tunnel, through which
the Mooney Flat mine near by discharges,
was described as being 4. 400 feet long. Six
years were occupied in drilling it with an In
gersoll drill driven with compressed air, and
cost s240, 900. 1t was completed two years
ago.
Leaving Smartsville on Saturday forenoon,
the party proceeded up the mining districts OF
the Yuba river and Deer creek. At the
mouth of the latter, which is about mile
above the site of the proposed dam, the can
yon was viewed which would form the lower
part of the reservoir.
General Rosecrans expressed the belief that
the probabilities of the dam being successful
in accordance with the views Of the engineers
were SO great that it would be wise to give it
q fair trial, and he presumed it would at least
be 30 far success as to enable the mines
.t.ox,o tho~a -, ho xyorbod fo~ .ava-.1 .ron~c