Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-12-02
DEBRIS.
TWELFTH DAY OF THE sLIcKEKs
CASE IN COURT.
The Engineers Step Into the Arena-They
Describe the Gold Run Mine
and the River.

Describe the Golo KUN mine
and the River.
The slickens case-The People vs. The
Gold Run Ditch and Mining Company-was
resumed at $50 A. NJ. yesterday, in the Su-
perior Court, Judge jackson Temple presid-
ing.
VIM. Gwynn Ito Mr.. Catlin) Jon the Middle
Fork Of the American river, from its juno
tion with the North Fork to point called
Searsville, in 1851. there were about 800
miners. There were perhaps 5000 during
the year 1858. Taking in Negro Hill, Salmon
Falls, Union Town, Coloms, Woods Diggings
snd the other mining towns contiguous, there
were perhaps 1000 engaged in mining. Dur
ing the years 1855 and 1856 the miners on
Weber creek and its tributaries, I think. were
about 5000 in number. The debris coming
down Cache creek is light and alluvial. The
tule basin fills up from one to five feet with
water from Cache and Putah creeks before
the river water comes down. This water is
discharged into Sutter, Miners and Prospect
sloughs. The body of water in Putah creek
during the last year has run through the old
channel near Davisville. Think that the
filling in of Putah creek has been more dur
ing the last fifteen years than for the fifteen
years previous. I .hink this is caused some
what from the wash of soil that has been
plowed and cultivated. Plowed soil will wash
more with rain than natural soil.
Redirect examination to Mr.. Cadwalader)
Think this basin was once laks. I said
Lisbon District was
SWAMP AND oVERFLowED
Land. / had reference to its title. The
margins of Babel Slough are similar to the
banks of the Sacramento river, and were
covered with black oak, sycamore and other
timber. It was for years inhabited and cul-
tivated. Lisbon District included 5000 acres
of tule and 5000 acres of bank land. In
mining the beds and bars of the rivar,I don't
consider that we were depositing anything in
the river. The bars were portion of the
river bed deposits. Murderer's Bar
was mined in 1S49 by rockers. They would
strip the top off until they came to the pay
earth. This pay earth was the only material
washed. The tools used were pick, shovel
and horn. The surface and strippings were
deposited in the most convenient places.
The shafts or holes sunk on this bar were
generally six feet square. The amount of
earth containing gold, aud which was washed,
averaged from one. eighth to one-sixteenth of
the whole bar.
THE PRINCIPAL PART OF MINING
On Murderer's Bar was done in 1S49, 1850
and 1851. There was, during this time. about
eighty miners engaged in working the mines
on this har. The bar could not be worked
until the water in the river became low. The
debris from Dutch Flat would have to travel
several miles before it would reach the dana
of the Bear river ditch. The Bear river
canals dam is above Gold Run. The length
of ditch from the dam to Rsttlesnake Bar is
about thirty-fve miles. The water used in
mining from this ditch empties into Antelope
aud other creeks, which emptied into the
Sacramento river. The branch ditch that
went to Rattlesnake would carry about 800 OF
400 inches of water. The main canal was six
or seven feet wide. and carried an immense
amount of water. Ninety per cent, of the
water from this canal never reached the
American river. It is prir cipslly used now
to irrigate the fruit orchards and vineyards
of Placer county The orchards and vine
yards are located on the side hills and fats.
There are places where industrious men have
collected debris where it had been
mined out, and thereby made good soil, that
produces by cultivation strawberries, fruits
ETC. The banks of the American river above
Rattlesnake Bar, up to the forks. in Ell
Dorado county. are bluffs from twen-
ty to thirty feet high, that have
been mined down at various points.
The hills were very abrupt. There are many
points opposite Auburn where miners would
work on the precipitous banks during the
summer, throwing the dirt down from the
crevices and then washing it in the ravine
below. The hight of the hills at Rattlesnake
Bar are LOO feet, Auburn 1, 400, and at
Clipper Gap ], 800 feet. From the top of the
hill at Barnes Bar to the river is about ], 200
feet. Earth deposited by shovel is more 1S
compact than that deposited by water. The
mines in the Middle Fork lasted longer than
the other branches of the American. In 1851
and 1852 there perhaps were 1,000 or more
mining on the South Fork between Folsom
and Coloms. The mining around Placerville
in early times was in placer mines. In 1S49
and 1850 the mines in that neighborhood were
what were called dry diggings. There were
no bitches in that section until in 1850 and
1851. Hangtewn creek was very rich. The
excavations in that creek were from three to
fifteen feet deep. Claims were from twenty
to thirty feet square. The mines near Auburn
were generally from thirty to LOO feet square
and very rich with heavy gold.
THE DRY DIGGINGs
In the neighborhood of Auburn were virtu-
ally worked out in 1855. The population of
the mines. generally speaking, began to de.
crease in 1855 and 1856. The hight of the
deposit from the hydraulic mines along the
Middle Fork will vary from ten to 80 feet in
hight. Gold Run is 1.200 or l, 300 feet above
the river. The width of the top of the divide
between the Middle and North Fork is about
twenty-five miles, across from Michigan
Bluff. What we call the backbone of the
divide is from one to one and half miles wide.
Hydraulic mining Ia a small way COM
menced at Rattlesnake Bar in 1854 and con.
tinued until 1858 and 1859. The first year
they were mined the water came from the
Bear river ditch after that from the North
Fork canal. There was-about fifty feet fall.
Iron ipipe and duck hcse, with metallic
nozzle from one to two inches in diameter,
were used. The cobbles from these mines
were deposited into the river. The length of
sluices varied from 100 to 600 feet in length,
and were Of various sizes. Sluice forks were
used to throw out the stones that became
lodged. Putah creek abreast of Briggs or.
chard has filled up considerably in its bed
during the last twenty-five years. It takes
very high water for the Putah to go outside
its banks. Twenty-four hours after the cessa-
ton of storm the Putah creek runs down.
Cache creek, being much larger stream,
takes from two to three days to run down.
The Lewis toll road is constructed of adobe
clay. This class of clay will not wash ex-
cspt where there is very strong current. This
road since 1862 has been an open winter road,
except when water is very high.
Redirect examination Ito Mr. Catlin)-I
should judge the tailings in the mouth of
Weber creek in 1870 were from five to ten
feet. During heavy rains the short, steep
ravines carry large amounts of water. The
tule canal is inadequate to drain the tules
during heavy water. The width of the exca.
vations in Hampton creek were from 100 to
$50 feet. The average width of the bed
of North Fork, above Rattlesnake Bar, to
Colfax, was about 2G0 feet.
]. L. GOULD.
Mr.. Hart here called J. L. Gould, Super.
intendent of the defendant mining company,
and said he did so to prove single fact only,
the extent and location of the claim of the
company. Mr.. Gould said: I am the Su-
perintendent of the defendant mining COM
pany in this case. Our claim is about one
mile from the North Fork of the American
river, on Indiana Hill, Placer county, and
west of Canyon creek, and on the west side.
The claim, believe, is about fifty acres in
extent. On the north it is bounded by the
Gold Run Hydraulic Limited on the south
by tie Indiana Mill and Mining Company
IL b.