Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-04-15

river with white sand from six to ten feet in
depth. Is it white sand that they complain
of | have understood them to say all the
way through that it was this white sand that
contained none of the elements of agricult-
ural production, and that il was the deposit
of which they particularly complained. Ger
tsinly there was no statement by him that
the flood of 1861 2 brought down rich loan.
Mr.. Reuter- is tie highest one up the river
who has received any injury. lie owns 81
acres, one-half of which is bottom land, subj set
to overflow, and one-half high land, above
the reach of all floods. At page 1922 he
says THAT the greater part of that sand
came on the land in 1862" He says " the
heavy food of 1855, that covered half of my
orchard for two days, did no harm, and was
glad to have it. Had little freshets from
time to time. My bottom land has been coy
cred twice-once in 1862 and once in 1851
Had a young food this year" Some OF the
counsel have spoken of this food of last year
as being one of our largest. Had young
food this year, but the water was not up
within four feet as high as it was in 1867.
Ia 1862 the big food washed away 25O acres
of bottom land above me. 1t washed it down
ten feet, to the gravel ard cobble' stones. !"
That was one of the notable effects
of the food of 1862 on this river.
Just above Mr.. Reuters place there
is bottom which, prior to that time, was a
fine, level piece of sandy, loamy land. On
one of the maps here, it seems that it at
tracted the attention of Colonel Mendell, and
that veiy place is marked there as having
been washed out by the food of 1862 Rsu-
tier says that that food took the whole of
that bottom off down to the cobble strata be-
meath. which underlies the whole of that sec-
ton of country. That cobble strata under
liou he u,holo p,ar;oar yalla,, &c he
mony of several witnesses show. About two
or three miles further down the river, Mr..
Eli Wells states that he sunk four wells on
his place-one within about twenty rods of
the river, one quarter of mile from the
river, and two near his house, half mile
back from the river. AT twelve feet he came
to this same bed of cobble and sand, and
there he got water. He also states that
he has worked that land, and known it init
mately, ever since 1852; and that the water
level has never been raised upon that land.
Now, Mr.. Routier said, in regard to the river
generally. that the greatest change made in
the river itself, and in its banks at his place
and in his vicinity. was by the food of 1862
He said the river has gradually worn away
the bank there 40 or 80 feet and that the
banks commenced to drop in in 1862, and
dropped in also in 1867. Some of these wit
nesses who lived on the banks of the river
from an early day-Mr. Rooney and Mr.
Taylor-referred to one circumstance which
of itself is q very instructive one, as showing
the effects of the food of 1862. They say
that prior to that time salmon were
plenty in the American river, but that since
1862 no salmon had been seen there. Now
the salmon still come up the Sacramento
river in spite of its muddiness. They go
above the mouth of the Feather, where they
still find their spawning places in compare
lively clear water; but the American river,
for its whole length, was completely de-
stroyed by the food Of 1862 for any purpose
for which o salmon could use it. That fact
shows the effects of that food and supports
me in saying that it was the food of all
others which produced the injuries which are
complained Of and for which the defendant
here is said, in a measure at least to be re-
sponsible. Now Mr.. Rooney said-he is
farther down the river-shat the banks at his
place were cut away in 1862 and that he had
about eight hundred acres of land covered up
and destroyed with sediment and sand during
that food. Surface slickens that came
from the hills and sand mixed" At one
place, he said, it left good deal of white
sand like the specimen produced by Mr.
Hodgden, and also some like the specimen
marked "a. S. e., No. T." which, if
recollect, was the coarsest specimen of sand
which was produced by Mr.. Greenlaw. He
said that the next food came in 1868, and left
three or four feet of white sand on his land,
and filled the bed of the river fifteen or
twenty feet deep; that the river at that time
carried white sand and sediment mixed
together, and it had such an effect on his land
that he had to change his whole process of
farming. He said also the food of 1862
carried away thirty or forty acres of his land :;
that it made new channel for the river
above him. and carried away the banks and
took away large oak trees. In 1852 there
was no deposit left there on Mr.. R1oney's
land. His land suffered some in 1857. At
that time the north levee had not been built
Immediately after the big food of 1862 this
city, seeing what results might be expected
from foods, began an entirely new system Of
levesing, and built levee which ran nearly
up to Mr. Roorey's land, shutting eff consid-
cradle bottom land and fencing out Smiths
gardens, together with the ranches of Mr..
Greeulaw and other witnesses. During the
trial it was ascsTtained that the land lying
within the space between the north levee and
the American river, and extending up from
the mouth OF the river as far as they have
hean affected by mining debris, amounted to
about l 900 acres. Mr.. Rooney estimated it
at that, although he could not enumsrate
sufficient in detail to make up that amount !;
but will put it at !, 600 acres.
If there is anything that has been plainly
established in this case by the evidence. il is,
as far as theie lards are concerned that the
food OF 1861 . covered them with the ordi-
nary debris that comes from mining opera
tions and that the f)cd of 1867, which was
not large fl BOD, though its hight on these
lands was much affected by the construction
Of the north leyee, made a further de oosit
upon them. Now, with the exception of
-. l. -
70 complain of except by the food of 1881.
which was a small food compared with that
of 1862. It was quick rise and an active
food, and it has been described by Mr..
Reuter-, who is as familiar with it as any
man living in this county, perhaps. He said
he never knew the American river to act 80
wickedly, with go little water in it, before.
1t was q sudden rise, and the waters. imping-
Jag on these bars of fine sand below, AID of
coarser material 80 you so up, threw some Of
the debris over upon some of these low lands.
The effect Of the north Ieyee was to back
the water up, and to prevent its escape and
although the American river had been
Strengthened and its outlet facilitated about
1868, yet all the fl 1ods since that time have
been affected by the north levee, which backs
the water up about eight miles. Mr.. Wells
tells US that he and his neighbors on three
different occasions in floods, stood upon the
bank and saw the down coming waters of the
American and the back waters of the Sacra-
mento meet between his place and
that Of his neighbor above. He de-
scribes that in such a positive
way that it may be taken as an undoubsed
fact in the csse-hs mentions the fact that
the fences from the next ranch below were
hoated up the river and deposited on his land,
by a current sufficiently strong for that pur-
pose coming from the Sacramento river. Mr..
Rooney says: "It is plain that the north
levee backs the water up over every foot Of
my land, and except for the house being on a
mound | think it Is clear that is would over
how that too"
Mr.. Sheldon, one of plaintiffs witnesses,
says that the food of 1852 brought down
largely more debris than any other food, and
that the foodof 1867 brought down consider
able. Mr.. Sheldon isa very int .lligsnt witness
He gave US all the information which his
very long experience enabled him to give /; he
had special qualifications which enabled him
to describe the effects of the floods on the
American river, as his occupation for
some twenty-six years had been closely
connected with the operations of that
stream. He had been intimately &C.
quainted with all the mining that had been
carried on there during that period. AS
water agent, he had sold nearly all the water
that had been used for mining purposes on
the north side of the North Fork from nearly