Sacramento daily record-union., 1882-01-24
DEBRIS.
FoRTY-NIHrH DAY OF TIE sLIcKENs
CASE IN COURT.
Further Testimony in Rebuttal of the De-
fendant's Case-fhe Testimony
Concluded.

furbQeI GeSglmOQV III 1cDubso& oi eAS 10
fendant's Case-fhe Testimony
Concluded.
The slickens case-The People Of the State
of California w. The Gold Run Ditch and
Mining Company-was resumed at $50 A. NJ.
in Department Two of the Superior Court,
Judge Jackson Temple presiding.
Urias Hulburd, sworn (direct examination
by Attorney General Hart)-I reside in the
western portion Of Hamilton township, Butte
county. know Lewis Posey; he resides in
the same township. harvested the crop that
was raised On his slickens land One tract
raised twenty bushels, one twenty five bush
els, and one raised twenty-six and a quarter
bushels to the acre. Il had been covered
with debris great many years ago. 1t was
old slickens soil. Mr.. Keppel has produced
on his slickens land very poor crops. He has
harvested grain on that land that would not
thrash three bushels to the acre. The SLICK
ems ON the land in that section came from the
Cherokee mines. The fertility Of the soil is
DESTROYED by being covered with slickens.
The crops of 1873 in several places were de-
stroyed by slicksns deposit. Warren Green
ran the debris water over his place, and after
Moving the productiveness of the soil
was found to be entirely destroyed. l
have never known any one to use
sliekens as a fertilizer, but have known
them to use it to fill up hog wallows
and low places. Mr.. Posey's land had never
been cultivated prior to its being covered
with slickens. Warren Green's land pro.
duced much larger crops prior to its being
covered with slickens than since. The canal
emptiss into the tule. The waters from the
Cherokee canal get into Butte Slough seve-
raj miles below the terminus of the canal
The waters frein the canal spread through the
tules and into Butte creek. Dry creek is en-
| tirely oblitsrated. filled with debris from the
canal. The country Is covered to a width of
| from ore-half to one and a half miles, and
to very great depth. This filling is mostly
debris that flowed through this Cherokee ca
nal. have followed the waters of this canal
| from its mouth eight miles to point where
| it is lost in the tules. 1t has filed up and
destroyed Butte creek for long distance.
| The water at the mouth Of the canal is very
muddy, and still remains muddy in character
as far as followed it. The debris from those
mines is principally pipe-clay and sand. l
| find sand as low down as French crossing, a
distance of about mile and half below the
mouth of the canal. Pipe-clay is carried in
| large quantities into the tules eight miles be-
| low.
Cross-examination tby w. G. Belcher)-l
live about FIVE miles south of the town Of
Riggs, and about fourteen miles west of the
Feather river have been engaged in farm
| ing in that section since 1870. Prior to that
for five years 1 resided in Suttsr county, op-
posite Marysville. I have examined the
canal from its terminus to the railroad. |
| live in township II north, Of range l east, and
the end of the canal is in township Is north,
range l east. Was at French crossing as
early as 1859. There are large stretches On
Butte creek that have strong currents, apd
others where it barely moves over. L meas
ured the speed of water in these slow places,
where it goes over high stretches, and it ran
from one and three. quarters to two miles per
hour In the Keyes case l testified about
Posey's crop that was harvested In
1877. 1 harvested much land by
| Posey's farm I think LOO acres in all.
then what had harvested, and had every
reason to know that it produced %
bushels to the acre. / am sure it ranged
| from 20 to % bushels. Know % was the
highest amount Can't say if that year I
harvested for Posey over 400 acres in one
piecs-that is his land, but not for him di.
rectlY; the crop fell into other hands. DOME
know if Keppel got leave to flow water from
the Spring Valley canal over his lands.
| Knew that Green's land has been flooded by
Butte creek. In 1879 we had heavy food
there, and Green's land was overhowed
The water was over all the country,
save about three rods of this land,
near where the house now stands.
We had food in the winter of 1901, and
Green's land was eIaowed, but can't say
for how long, but not beyond three weeks. [
do know two weeks of flooding would not
entirely destroy it, if the water was running
water, as it was there. Except knobs here
and there, KeppePs and Green's lands were
adobe ten years ago, and after floods there
would be little lakes on them. Don't think
the lakes would cover quarter OF the land
Knew Dry creek from the railroad bridge
down since 1870. Below BiPgs' it was a
crooked stream, doubling or trebling its
length It had banks in many places three feet
deep, an average depth of two feet, and in
width varying from twenty to sixty and
eighty feet, and with little sand in tie bot
tom. Dry creek couldn't carry it's food wa
ters but would overflow from half miie to q
mile on each side, 1 would judge. Rogers is
north and west of Biggs'. He has varied
good crops. His success was Indifferent when
the slunl first came The last crop he raised
there was a very fine crop. There are two
Dry creeks, and one Dry creek is not yet de.
stroyed-it flows toward the Hamilton
bend through the plains to the south
and east of what we term Old Dry
creek. At Kusicl's place there is but
one Dry creek Kusick's land has never
raised good crop so far as l know, and l
! know it during all the time of its cultivation.
know this Just as man knows of the con-
Germs of his neighbor. l live right there.
Re-direct)-Before 1872 bushel or two of
sand here and there could be found in Dry
creek In 1872 it came in large quantities.
It came down in the slum water from the
Cherokee mine. The stream opposite my
placa was half destroyed. We had no fill till
. 1870. The channel is for miles all filed with
sediment and sand. all done since 1870.
Recross. Observation-Disclosures creek is
an affiuent of Dry creek, and runs through
an open porous soil and through land eonsid.
erably cultivated, and cultivated some as far
back as fifteen years ago.
f. Comstock swcrn-Lived on the Sacra-
mento river between here and Fremont for
twenty-nine years. Know Cache creek well,
and for wears knew about stock-raisibg on its
banks, and farming also, and their extent
Stock raising has been very extended there,
very largely, aud in early days it was almost
exclusively stock raising in that valley.
Later sheep raising came on, and now great
bands of sheep are on the creek. This sheep
heIding has had the effect to harden what
before was miry ground. This is true also
Of cattle raising. Farming has bsea extensive
also for ten years. The bed of the stream is
now, as when l knew it thirty years ago,
clear, giavelly bed, and the water is clear, ex.
cept in late years in freshets it is c,lored
some since they have farmsd those bald hills
up the creek, and there has been some wash !;
but little OF it comes into Cache creek it
drains another way. Have driven cattle over
and through the Sierras. l wintered on the
| divide two winters between Yankee Jim's and
| Todd's valley. The soil was red like, and in
the little valleys was miry. Cattle and sheep
running over the mountains have packed the
soil harder than it was in the early days and
the wash has been less as a result. Know
the Elkhorn ranch and Fremont. Be-
fore 1865 the river between was leveed pretty
generally, but since they have not been kept
up, except near Fremont. In ten miles be-
tween Elkhorn and Fremont not half the dis
tauce has been lsveed for ten years
Cross-examination-7Si 1865 the leveeing
in that ten miles has only been in spots. Wit
ress described lands on Cache creek and in Ca
pay valley, ard the course andcharacter of the
stream. At the mouth Of the creek several