Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-11-30
DEBRIS.
TENTH DAY OF THE sLIcKENs CASE IN
COURT.
An Engineering Opinion Of the River g
condition-Further Testimony as to
Slickens IN the Waters.

The Slickens case-The People VS.. Gold
Run Ditch and mining Company-was re-
sumed Yesterday in the Superior Court, at
$50 A. NJ, Judge Jackson Temple presiding.
Joseph r. Wilkinson sworn-(to Mr..
Hart)-I have lived in Sacramento since
August, 1865. am acting as Civil Engineer
for the Central Pacific Railroad Company.
Every winter since I have been in Sacra.
mento have taken observations of both
Sacramento and American rivers. [ have
charge of the roadbeds of the Central Pacific
Railroad Company. Both of these rivers
are crossed by the roads of that company. In
1865 the American had well defined banks
The banks on the north side where the bridge
crosses were we'll defined, and eight or ten feet
high. The banks on the south side were also
well defined and nearly as high. We bought q
piece Of land on the bank OF the American
1000 feet in length, west of the American
river bridge, about opposite the Tvoli House,
for sand-pit. We found that the entire
surface was covered with fine sand and slick
ems from two to six feet in depth. These de.
posits were all along the river in about the
same quantities. Witness was shown SAM
Piles of sand and slickens, and he selected
Hodgdon No. 8, and said that was the char
acter of the deposit he had described. He
also said portion of it was similar to sample
No. 81 The bars in 1866 were several feet
below the banks. At present the
TOPS OF THE BARS
Are almost equal in hight to the banks.
The American, where the railroad bridge
crosses is. about 600 feet wide between the
banks as they now exist. The distance be-
tween the banks is much greater now than it
was in 1865. The old river channel opposite
Rabels tannery is entirely filed up. It is
filled with sand and sediment The first rise
in the water has securing effect on the chan
mel. I noticed this particularly last winter.
1t was secured out in some places last winter
to the depth of twenty-five feet. l took
soundings in front of the city during Febru-
ary and March of this year. This securing
was done to. this depth from the foot of K
street to the Pioneer Mills. I presume this
same securing continued further up,
but did not take soundings beyond that point.
The truss-bridges are built on pile founda-
tions. The deposits thst L have described
wash rapidly during strong current. Have
tried to take soundings during very high
stages of water, but the current was SO strong
that we could not do so. 1t is about half
mile from the railroad bridge on the Ameri.
can to its mouth. The sand-bar in the Sac
ramento below the mouth of the American
CHANGES EVERY YEAR.
Some years it extends 500 feet farther down
It L
American Immediately after the high waters
of February, 1881. The bottom of the river
at the bridge is composed of sediment and
sand, similar to No. s. During six weeks in
February and March of this year we took
soundings very frequently. We use lead, in
the bottom of which was cavity, which
would bring up at each sounding sample Of
the river bed As soon as the water began to
subside, the river bottom began to fill up and
bars form. When the water became slug.
gish and slackened in speed, the large amount
of debris carried in the water was deposited
in the bottom and along the river banks. [
visited CORTLAND last summer with the Board
of Supervisors, in small steam launch, on a
tour of inspection. The current from the
American strikes across the Sacramento
and makes the channel of that river along
its west bank Just above the bridge
By coming in contact with the Yolo bank
the current is repulsed and thrown back to
the east bank, and makes the channel of the
Sacramento below the bridge on the east side
or along the city front. These same causes
have produced the two immense bars on OPP
posite sides of the river, just above and
below the bridge. When we visited Court
land. as stated, we found the same charac-
ter Of filling up and the sams quality of de-
positP. The water, in my opinion, Is little
thicker now than it was in 1865. The water
in the American is much thicker-more
heavily laden with detritus-thsn the water
in the Sacramento. The water in the Sacra-
mento has been somewhat clearer this year
than usual. The river, in the present condi-
ton of the channel, caunot carry rear az
much as it did in 1865. 1t requires not near
as much water to get the river out OF its
banks now than then. When the railroad
bridge was carried away On the American
the amount of water in the river was quite
large.
Cross-examination Ito Mr.. Catlin)-I took
soundings above the bridge as far as the old
gas works, distance, I should judge, of 500
or /, 600 feet. do not know the exact dis
tance from this bridge to the present mouth
Of the American. l sounded below the bridge
TO point opposite the south line of J street.
We found depth at the bridge one day OF 81
| feet That day the water stood &c feet at the
| k-street barge. The piers ca1sed some OF the
wash at that particular point. During that
high stage Of water the old bed of the Amer
lean carried considerable water. | think that
the bar above Pioneer Mills was
ALL WASHED OUT
| Last winter during the first high water. The
current of the American is SO slight at the
present time that don't think it reaches the
| Yolo shore, but mingles with and takes the
course of the Sacramento as soon as It enters
| that stream. The Sacramento floods for days
and weeks after all the food waters Of the
American have passed down. My sound
| ings were very complete. Took them
often and in many places. The first
high waters of last winter GER
tainiy secured out the bottom of the chan
mel to the depth OF twenty feet or more and
carried away tbs bar above the bridge. My
soundings indicated that if the channel could
remain as it was the latter part of February
we would have depth of fourteen feet at
! low water. don't think that the high water
secured the channel to its original bottom. I
don't think the carrying capacity OF the chan