Sacramento daily record-union., 1881-11-17

late years than at Ike stages in the sos. In
1850 the water was tweLty and twenty-five
feet at the shore for the whole width of the
river. There was as much again water then
as now, as the river channel was then deeper.
Maybe as much water passes now as then
can't say as to that; but the amount of water
IN the river, from shore to shore, was greater
in 1850 than now. We had tides then here.
eighteen inches to two feet, and had a stiff
current from shore to shore. In 1868, after
the railroad came into Washington, very
strong levee was built by the company. Two
years ago the river broke through that. A
break has been open all the past summer on
the Yolo side 500 feet above the railroad
bridge. About 500 feet above is another large
one, with one or two small ones between.
The Sacramento river will go through these
when it rises. Those breaks are not repaired
because the people are
NOT ABLE
To do it, and not because the American river
current would destroy the levee. There is
some 400 feet of slope or shelf bank outside
the breaks now, and until the river wears
it away the levees are only question of
hight. This. side of the English break the
levees have been mended up to the English
dam. That is at Bryte's place. The Amer
ican overfows Cox Il Clark's place, above
the mouth and opposite Bryte's and the En-
glish break, long before the river threatens
the levees opposite its mouth. The building
of levees on the lower Sacramento causes,
some think, the river to be higher at Sacra-
mento. 1t is not settled question if they
cause the water TO back up, and am not set
tied if the leveeing up won't create a stronger
current and make the river carrying capacity
greater. If the river beds were now as they
originally were, with the levees on them. the
streams would carry all the waters. That ths
best engineering opinion. ALI the breaks are
the result of cross-currents-that is the gem
eral opinion. The cutoff of the American
river is all an artificial canal-ail dug out.
Don't know what was doue with the ma
terial part OF it was put in the river. There
was slough there between the two rivers
"Brannan slough" There wss 50-foot-
wide strip of land between, and the Commits
sioners cut it for 500 or 600 feet. The water
never materially enlarged the cut. They cut
down some sixteen or seventeen feet. They
thee went above and cat into the slough.
That formed
a DIRECT CANAL
That conveyed the water from the old bad to
the new mouth through new bed. For
time part of the water came still in the old
bed, and wing-dam wa5 built TO turn it into
the new channel.
Redirect examination BIZ Mr. Csdwsis-
der-The bar that forms in the old mouth of
the American river is annually largely
hauled into Sacramento for filing. Large
numbers of teams begin in August, and work
on till rain falls. On two or three occasions
all the bar was hauled into the city. Teams
are now engaged there Each year new
bar is formed there. The American river, q
think, on all occasions rises after storm
before the Sacramento river does. So it
strikes across the Sacramento and controls
the current of the latter. The American
river current shows itself by high swells, and
they can be seen three-qdarters OF a mile otf.
and steamboats, generally avoid them If they
can, and get into shoal water on tie
other side, and small boats strike in.
land, as they can't resist them at all.
These waves or swells appear to be
three, four and FIVE, or even six feet
high, and squirt away up as if some
impediment was met. All this time the Sac
ramento river would be unaffected and quies.
When the Sacramento current arrives 1t
eoualizes the American, and generally the
American goes down early. After the Amer
ican current strikes my place, and goes over
it, the water goes southwesterly, toward the
tules; it spreads out some of it may go
along sloughs down the river, along the river
side. Some sloughs lead out direct to the
tuies. Ore current l saw lead out toward
the eastern margin of the high land in two
high-water ways, and the sand remains to
show the course taken. There used to be an
upstream current in early times, say in 1867.
The American waters came over and struck
the banks at my place, divided, and one.half
ran up the Sacramento raile or more and
one-half down stream. This was before the
waters went over the bank. But these currents
cut under, SO when the water got higher the
levee gave way and fell in. Up TO 1860 /
was on the river every day. After the food
of 1862 we never saw any perceptible tide
in the river here any more, though we have
thought occasionally we could see soma tidal
rise since.
ECROss-EXAMINATIoN.
The English break is in short angle Of
the river above Bryte's. That was always n
dangerous place. Tho waters gathered in
there and made deep cut. There used to be
an old slough through there. | wasn't there
when the break took place, aud don't know
how it occurred. 7 don't think the tule land
has been benefited by the river deposits; no
one recognizes such q thing. The margins OF
the tule lands have been cultivated, and
sometimes the land clear ont into the tules.
Vegetables have been grown on such land.
Tule lands along their margins are considered
among the richest of lands.
W. HoDGDoN
Called and sworn for the plaintiff live in
the town OF Washington. ! have resided
there thirty-one years. I came to California
in a sailing vessel around the Horn in 1S49.
/ stepped few days in San Francisco, and
then came to Sacramento. | arrived in
Sacramento in March, 1850. The Sacra-
mento river was then q clear stream could
see fish in the bottom of the river twenty-five
or thirty feet deep. The vessel l came up to
Sacramento city in was two or three hundred
l>-,r Shine harl
and ocean vessels of all kinds came to Sacra-
mento city. have seen vessels Of 400 tons
capacity anchored at Sacramento. The water
of the American river at that time was clear,
and its banks were high and bold, and twenty
feet above low-water mark. l have seen ves-
sels anchored in the American river, opposite
Fourth street. Tho Sacramento river runs
through ridge. The American river ran
through hollow at It's mouth, and above
that to the foothills through a basin. The old
mouth OF the American river is all filed up
with sand and sediment Every trace Of river
bed is obliterated This filing in is a coarse,
gray, loose sand. | have been farmer since
1850, on the Yolo side of the Sacramento
river. The water that comes down the river
is heavily laden with reddish or yellow
mud. The water OF the Sacramento river,
above the mouth of the American river, is
not so muddy as that below the confluence.
This mud is deposited IN the Ded5 OF
the rivers and along their banks. The Sac
ramento river, in my opinion, has been filed
up two.thirds of its original carrying capacity
since 1850. In that year there was always
90 feet of water in front of Sacramento city.
Il would then carry vessels OF the largest
size. 1t now would not float an ordinary
ocean vessel. Tho filing in of the river
channel has ruined its navigation. As esrly
as 1865 or 1866 boats Of large size had to stop
plying between Sacramento and San Fran
cisco. They could not get up to the landing
at the foot of K street, but had to discharge
at the foot of Il street. Since that time no
vessel of the size of the Senator or
New World has come to Sacra.
nento. They could not have done so.
My place consists Of about 90 acres. It
lies opposite the city Of Sacramento. The
slickens, sands and debris have killed my
peach, cherry, apricot and plum trees, and
injured the apple and pear trees. Last win
ter on twenty acres of my land deposit was
left about three feet deep. This part of my
land lies in the west portion Of the town of
Washington. The vessel In which l came to
Sacramento in 1850 was of between 200 and
800 tons burden, and drew on that occasion
about twelve feet Of water. 1t bas been six
or eight years since vessel OF that kind
could have come to Sacramento city.
AT this point (5 P. NJ J the Court adjourned
to $3.50 A. n. to-day.