Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-01-10

river had so filed with tailiogs that the bee
OF the stream could not be worked. Int
removal Of material by the miners prior tC
1862 was forty times greater than was re.
moved between 1862 and 1870. small
percentage has been moved since lo7O-aboul
hundredth as much. Inc material
washed prior TO 1862 was hight, ioauy, ano
formed solution that nearly all passed away
in Suspension. Since 1870 the materisl washed
has been much denser in character. The ma
terial remaining in the gravel channels YET
to be worked is composed of gravel, cement
rock and cobble, of which 80 per cent. vii
find a permanent Judgment at the dump
The dumps OF the gravel mines are from
seventy to eighty miles, by the water course
distant from Sacramento City. About 81
per cent of the material from gravel min,
will remain in the dump. and at least 10 pei
cent more will remain in the stream near tht
dump. | know this to be a fact from observa
tions made at the mines on Coon Hollow anC
Texas Hill. There are from ten to invent,
quartz mills in I'll Dorado county, which rur
from 800 to 400 stamps. A portion of thes'
are used in crushing gravel. The sand tha
comes from these stamps il as fine as -four
1t is finer than the sand from the grave
mines, is light, white. and moves in water with
almost the readiness of quicksand. Outside
is quite large natural wash. occasioned by
the washing Of cultivated and natural sur
faces by the winter rains, the denuding OF
the billsides of timber, the herding and graz
ing of stock IL the mountainous districts, land
slides, and various other causes. The con
struction of roads by grading side hills, adds
greatly to the natural wash. In some sec.
tions the roads are quilted and washed out tc
a great extent every winter. have never
seen q land slide, but have seen the effect oi
several, on the mountain sides of the South
Fork. I have seen their track, and have
been told that some of them are three and
four miles in extent. WitDess described the
location of several slides.] These slides vary
in depth from four to twenty feet, and bring
down with them immense pine trees. Have
seen slides in Big Canon, Lear Placervllle.
These slides are caused by the earth becom.
ing SO thoroughly saturated to the bedrock
with water, that owing to the steep grade o.
the hillsides they slide out with their owI
weight. These largest land slides are abou
100 miles distant by river from the city o.
Sacramento All the material OF those slide;
has been washed down the river. The nat
ural wash in Ell Dorado county to day is fifty
times greater than the amount Ct materia
displaced by the miners.
Afternoon Session.
A. A. Howard continued his direct test
mony Ito A. B. Dibble)-The great area o
the watershed contributing to the natura
wash of Ell Dorado county, in comparison t,
the very small amount of miaeral wash
plainly shows that the debris from the former
is greatly in excess Of that from the latter
The natural wash of the water shed of ths
South Fork of the American, in comparison
to the mining wash, is in the proportion OIL
100 acres to one acIe. The natural wash in
81 Dorado county is annually increasing
The increase of the agricultural area also
increases to large extent the amount Of
natural wash. Very valuable and productive
lauds have been made in FL Dorado county
10y the iu.poundirg of slickeus. Assembly
man Frazier thus inp9unded fifteen acres
last winter. Lewis. Lyon, Creighton, and
numerous other parties that [ cGn,d mention
have been making land by thus impoundina
slickens. There IL in the neighborhood of q
thousand acres OF this character ,f land made
throughout the county, and this land is
considered Of much more value than the
original soil, and is the bsst and most pro-
ductive land OF that section. Farmers seek
for muddy water for irrigatiug purposes, it
being considered fertilizer.
Craes-examination 10y Attorney General
Hart)-The effect Of irrigating with muddy
water has always produced a fertiliziDg effect.
In inigating, the soil is washed to some ex.
tent. but it is always constantly watched, and
washing prevented as much as possible. On
the most of our soil we do not want any more
sand than we can help, except on adobe soil.
The land at Green springs is adobe. | would
rather have 10 feet of sand, than adobe soil.
Some of the land that l speak of being made,
was impounded on the bedrock, and in some
places it was impounded on the original SOIL
l don't know of any hydraulic mines running
in Ell Dorado county at the present time. I
don't know the grade of Hangtown or Weber
cieeks; they vary in different places. The
drifting at Texas Hill has been quite ex.
Seusive. There are two or three quartz mills
that dump into the American river. The other
mills dump into Weber creek and its triou-
taries. There IL seam mine at Union
Town. Most Of the seam mines are in the
vicinity of GAINESVILLE. The removal of ma.
terial from seam mine is quite small Ia
some of those mines water Is not used. the
deposit is in small pockets, is crushed in a
hand mortar, and then washed out in n pan,
or as miners term it, 'panned out" The
o. dumps of abandoned OF worked-out miues
are continuity d composing, and the winter
caused ~ this dee mpo-i;ioa. Batweei. :2i9
and 1862 tAsre were twenty times AZ many
msR egg ,ged lie mining in FL DoraiJ cuuGty
- there sIe at presstt. Gid Springs. Coon
Hollow and Weave! vile, once large aud i'm
purtant mining camps, are nOw entirely
abandoned. The force of the food in Web
er creek is very great
n. a. KIDDSR
Sworn. Direct examination (by A. P. Cat
lip)-In 1850, 1852, 1858 and 1854, / was o
for Harding ana commission sgebt in this city.
The first pumping OF wattr ont Of the city
was done by Frank Nolan IN 1858 Taey
pumped the surplus water cut of the city aud
into the river. He had large wheel with
buckets propelled by steam. TIE wafer
from the wheel was carried by sluices into
the river. ] used to measure the water with
a stick from Day to day. He would lower
the water every day about an inch He did
lot succeed in freeing tie city from water.
and pumping was abandoned. Afterwards, /
have forgotten the year, Hubbard pumped
the water over the R-street levee. They had
bucket pumps. or Chinese pumps. They
lowered the weter in the city, but did not
free it from the water. The water that per.
colatsd in when the river WAS high, perco.
lated out when the river was low. There
were other times that pumping was rescrted
to, bat cannot recall the dates.
Cross examination (by George Cadwalsder
I do not know as l could STATE tee number
Of blocks covered with water IL the city dur
ing those ovelhows. The principal resi6er ces,
up to 1853, were or Front, Second ard Third
streets. The Nolan pump was situated neal
the river. at Il street. The Hsnsbrow pump
ives q Chinese pump. There was pumping in
1878 and 1881. This pumping had to be re.
sorted to during these yesrs, owing to the
overflow Of the drainage canal below the city,
occasioued by the breaks in the levees al
Lovedal's and Ferns.
Recalled. Direct examination (by J. K
byrne)-In estimating the amount of debris
in the North Fork OF the American river,
estimated the depths On the judgments Of
those whom l tEiak knew their depth, and
from observations made of the banks of the
stream. My information of the depth of the
fill of the North Fork of the American river
was obtained from Messrs. Van Vaetor,
Warner, Bears aad White. Witness de.
scribed the different sections of the riyer
above Rice's bridge.
Cross-examination 10y Geo. Cadwalader)-
No material passes down the North FOX De-
low Rics's bridge, except that carried in su s.
pension by TIE water. The witness was sub
jected to lengthy cross-exsmination touch
ing his knowledge of civil ensiu eeriHg. Tn,
summer water does not wash the taiipgs from
the dumps. The winter water Levels then
off and grades the tailings in the channel
The winter floods move with great velocity