Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-11-23
Afternoon session.

Peter Spencer sworn l live on block be-
tween and C, Twenty-second and Twenty
third streets, city of Sacramento. 1 came to
Sacramento in the fall Of 1853 l lived in
the city two years, then moved on d north,
bstween Nineteenth and Twentieth streets.
In 1855 moved TO the place on D north. I
had at that place six acres Of garden. 1t
was one block from the river. first saw the
American river in 1858, at Patterson's, about
ten miles east of the city. The river was
very clear at that point, and could see fish
in its waters in large quantities. The bottom
of the river was sandy and grsvelly. The
banks were high and well defined
I cultivated my land as a garden from 1858
| to 1862. The winter of 1852 water came into
my house three or four inches. Prior to that
time there had been no overflow. The de-
posit left on my place the winter of 1862 was
from six inches to foot in depth. In 1867
the floods washed away my house, and left
| from two to FIVE feet of coarse sand. I tried
for three yesrs to cultivate the soil, but could
not succeed in growing anything. My neigh
bors also Lost their houses, barns, etc., and
some of them came near losing their lives.
| Last winter the water was five feet deep in
that locality. The reason Of this overt w is
{ CAUSED Dv lEio HING up U. IU5 tLlSiudi CudH-
| mel The channel near my place filed up
| eighteen inches last winter. Prior to 1862
there were go levees TO amount to anything.
Cross-examination Ito Mr.. Catlir)-My
| land was outside the city levee. There was
an old levee two or three feet high along on
the river in front of my place.
JOHN ROONEY, SWORN.
live in Brighton, about five miles east of
Sacramento, NV land lies along the south
| bank of the American river. | purchased
my land in October, 1850. My place is
shout seven miles above the mouth of the
American river. l have been acquainted
with that river since April, 1850. At that
| time the water was clear and the bottom
gravelly and peb5ly. The banks from
| the mouth to Folsom on the south side
would average about twenty-five feet.
| l have seen salmon on the American river
bottom where the water was twenty feet
deep Oak, ash ard wild grapevines grew in
great profusion On its banks. Timber extend
ed back from the river for some distance. In
1851 put in 80 acres. The first farming in
this vicinity was done By Mr.. Stevens in
1850. The farms were very close together.
| They Joined each other. There were raised
then barley and wheat principally. We
began to put cut orchards ia 1852. We bad
no levees. We had 10 difficulty in farming
/
saw any water over it.. The water first came
over the lands in the fall of 81 and the win
ter of 81 The American river channel then
| began to fill up with sand and sediment and
she banks began to cut out. In 1862 the
river filed up at my place on some parts OF
my land three feet. The banks were twenty
! feet from low water mark. l cav large
steamers up there all that winter. Hobolsen
was the town then, Sacramento being flooded.
a. h. l.o1o
valley in 1912, and the water for
twenty-four hours was from four to six
feet over my place. l had in then 500 acres
of grain, and it was all covered by sediment
and sand, and destroyed-the matter from
the diggings in the hills-ssnd and red clay
mixed. Some of this [Greenlaw slickens No.
81 is like it. Mixed il it were oak and pine
leaves. On some parts of my land it left
white sand, and on Others sediment. 1t left
on the banks good deal Of this Hodedon
sand] and some of this tGreenlaw sand No. Al
and sediment mixed.
THE NEXT FLOOD
! Came, think, in 1868. It filed up the bed
| of the river pretty fast. at my place it
filed very nearly level with the banks. After
the flood it left white sand in some places,
and ON the banks Of the river three or four
feet deep. In the channel 1t must have filed
up from fifteen to twenty feet deep. 1t
| filed from the mouth of the river to Patter-
sons; it filed in places level with the banks. I
| think the sand came from the miues know it
| did not come from below. saw it in the water
| saw it floating pretty thick in the water.
! Have often taken up bucket OF the water,
and let it settle, and it would deposit shout
| half an inch of sand and sickers. I've only
noticed the filling some fourteen miles up
say four miles this side of Folsom. I've seen
= r. he or Of t1a
which carries it right along. Sometimes if
tire wind is from the north. it blows il in on
my side, and SO the other way. | have ssen
the river clean itself ous, and then ill up
! again. l saw it do 1t last year. Then is
| broke out bank from my place right down
| fifteen OF twenty rods, and left there deep
| place, but in the spring freshets it all filed
up again. The first high water leaves much
sediment on my place, and then in the next
! freshet it may wash out again, and SO on. 1t
is filed up at Farmers diegipgs now with
sand, sediment and cobbles. At my place
the current is vary swift. and when the Amer
lean river rises first il is swifter than the Sac
rsInento. To pull up against it in high water
you have TO be mighty good bostnan. In
the uast ten years the sand in the river has
increased very fast. Last year the increase
began with the first rain, and continued.
I've noticed round
ROCKS AID coBBLEs
Ccmipg down now. About 100 acres Of my
rlsce is now covered from one to four feet
deep with sand ard slickens. Arou: Brigh-
ION. where 1 know, there must be 500 acres
covered. The deposi5 kills everything 1t
strikes. 1t produces nothing; it may after
some years, but can't say as to the sand last
year, for it was different from say other
finer ike. 1 put alfalfa on it and it came up,
but burned right out and came to moth.
ing. About seventy.fve acres Of my land is