Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-03-06
Afternoon Session.

Is
the disintegrating powers of frost, air and
rain.
Afternoon Session.
Mr.. Belcher resumed-Profegsor Davidson
compared the Po and the Sacramento, as
their conditions are most nearly alike, as to
affiuents, area of drainage, length of courses,
watershed, character of deposits, latitude of
location, character Of climate, temperature,
action of frost, snow and rain, etc. Thus
they compare more nearly than any rivers
that can be chosen. The Pc brings down an
naally 81, 000 COO yards of deposits to the Adri.
atlc. Mr.. Hall placed the entire wash of the
Sacramento about Is, 000, 900 yards, and less
than one-fourth of that he charges to natural
wash. Three and half million he charges
to mining. On the Pc, 729 years of natural
wash reduces the whole surface Of It's area
one foot. The Mississippi, in 400 years,
does like work. The Hoangno, Stan
ton says, carries down more sediment than
any Eastern river, so that In q, eco years it
will fill the Yellow Sea, and has already
added a great scope Of territory to China
AS to the destruction of forests 10 India and
the effects, he referred to vol. 80, p $50, of
transactions Of the Royal Geographical Soci.
ETY.. Also referred to VOL % of the same
journal, as to the Yang tse K an; and its
delta. Suisun bay is the settling basin,
and in time it must be filled, as it is
now filling. In this way the world is
built and lands reclaimed from the sea. But
we are told the filling is all by reason of min.
ing, but the action of streams about the bay
where there is no mining disproves this as
for Instance Pacheco creek, which has
swsmped and killed off one town, and filed
up its channel and mouth. Other instances
were cited, notably Putah and Cache and
Stony creeks etc. These and the deposits
they make, the kind of soil they displaca,
ETC., he cited in support of the correctness OF
the statements of Professor Davidson, ana
the accuracy Of his estimates. While he had
due respect for Engineer Halls estimates and
experiments, he had more for those of Colonel
Mendell and Professor Davidson, as they had
broader opportunities for obsei ation, and
because their experiments had been more
thorough Counsel read in full the esti
mates made of the years required to
degrade the drainage area of several
rivera one foot, that of the Sacramento being
placed at 1000 years. He considered next
the subject CT the denu1ation of the hills of
timber on the upper Sacramento and its
tributaries, the grazing on the lands and hills,
etc., and the character of the soil along such
a large amount of material tending to Fill up
the river snd the bays, and that in nature
aud time they should do so, and must do so,
10 view Of the history Of similar rivers for
hundreds of years. The material found in
the Sacramento is fine sand.-silt Cobblss
and rocks are not found in the river, nor
anywhere up the American or Yuba near it.
THE MOUNTAINS ARE BEING DEGRADED
And must be. and tine BAYS are being filed
and must be. The outflow through the
Golden Gate is much greater than the tide
flowing in, and the sands are carried through
the Golden Gate by the outsweep of the cur
rent. The danger to navigation in San Fran
cisco ard San Pablo bays is nothing. None
OF the charts show any injury to those bays
from there causes. The channel is as good
to-day, through those bays, as it was in 1S49.
Above those bays, and in the Sacramento
rivsr, we find that navigation has been some
what affected by the filing Of the water
channels. Those channels were similarly OBJ
structed in 1919 That was not from the
effects of mining, but was the work Of nature
The leveeing of the islands of the Sacrame ITO
river has been to the effect of
COMBINING THE HIGH WATERS
OF the foods in narrow channels, and conse.
quently raining the hight of the water. Ma
ture did not intend that these islands should
be leyeed. Those Islands during food times
form portion of the outleto OF the Sacramento
river waters. They always were oveihowed
during high water. The Sacramento river
has filed to a considerable extent, but the
Pc, Nile, Hoangho and other rivers have
similarly Glled aud the beds Of some Of these
rivers are considerably above the country
through which they flow. Those rivers have
to be leveed or fenced in. This is true of
every river running through plain. The
North Fork of the American river was
NEVER NAvIGABLE STREAM.
There is cot nor never was any navigability to
the American river. This filling did not
come from the mines OF the defendant, nor
does the filling of the Sacramento river and
the debris complained of come from those
mines This material is entirely different
from that discharged from those mines. The
witnesses for the plaintiff testify that the
character Of the material complained of and
that found in the mine are entirely different.
The material complained of is such as would
come from granite formation. The defend
ants mine is in a different class Of rock. l.
the Gold Run mine TO blame for the material
brought down from the mountain streams
from other localities? 1t should not be held
liable for any material except that from the
nine All the sand found in the river is
micaceous. Micaceous sand is not found in
the mine of the defendants. The first ten
years of mining on the South AMI Middle
Forks enough materi Il was stirred up to do
all the damage now complained of. The
source of all this material was the early min.
ing First the sands of the rivers were
washed, and then the banks, depositipg the