Sacramento daily record-union., 1882-01-16
DEBRIS.
poRTY-sEcoND DAY OF THE sLIcKENs
CASE IN COURT.
and Interesting Evidence of
Witnesses for the Defense-Efects
Of Frosts, Fires, Etc.

The debris case was resumed at $50 A. N. Satur
day, Judge jackson Temple presiding
Direct examination by w. C. Belcher Of L.
Robinson continued
| Question What amount of gold have the presen
| owners of the Milton and North Bloomfield mlne
taken out Of their mines what did their predecessor
take out, and what still remains in their channels
| TO be yet taken out?
Counsel for the plaintiff objected, and objection
sustained.
Mr.. Belcher-Thep, il it please your Honor, w
offer to prove by this witness, and expect him te
testify il allowed, that the present owners Of thes'
mines have taken out S. 600 900 of gold, their pre-
decessors took out s. 600 Of gold and that there
remains in the channels Of their mines over $50,
100000 OF gold yet to be taken out.
| Witness described the canals and reservoirs com
prisiHg the water system Of those and other mines
claiming that the storage Of water in winter and
the dscharging Of the into the streams during
the dry season had beneficial effect upon the nav
| igable streams of California. He enumerated the
| causes which induce natural wash, claiming that
this natural wash is very large and annually inereas
| ing. The denuding OF the mountainous districts
OF timber and frequent and extensive forest fires
add very largely to the natural wash. When firsl
| became acquainted with the codntry along the
Yuba in 1856, there were extensive forest OF fine
timber Now it is all, or nearly all, cut OF. Some
Of the reservoirs on that divide are situated at an
elevation of 1000 feet and very many of them more
tina 6,oo0 feet When the present owners OF the
| North Bloomfield and Milton mines purchased their
property, the surface had nearly all been washed
| off-in some plac TO depth Of more than 1o0
| feet This was Of a looser and much lighter ma
terial than that at present being worked in those
NJ htrh hx-Ir
| mining annually Is about 10 COO 900 cubic yards.
| have examined into this matter very closely One
OF the tunnels at the North Bloomfield mines is over
TO- Geo feet in length was two yearsin in construction
and cost many thousand dollars. The ravines into
which those mines dump are filled to great depth
by the coarse Debris The river Is also widened and
filed TO great depth with this material and it re-
mains there to-day intact, and have every reason
to believe it will remain there forever The number
| OF mining inches taxes paid on by hydraulic
miners under the Debris Act, was 9, 800 900. The
giants and monitors do not increase the amount OF
material wash, but save labor They are labor saw
| ing machine was in the city OF Sacramento during
| the flood Of 1861 and 1862 During that flood the
overflow opposite the city OF Sacramento extended
to DAyisvie. 1t was large sea Of water, with con-
siderable current The high waters OF the American
river overowed the track Of the Sacramento Valley
Railroad at Patterson station, and large white oak
| tree at least three feet In diameter, was fioate
across the track at that point. l have observed
several foods since, but cannot recall dates at pres
ent. frequently, in the early days. during the time
l was engaged in constructing the Sacramento Val
ley Railroad had occasion to visit San Francisco,
and | recollect very well of the difficulty OF the
river navigation at that time at the Hogs Back and
other shoals. The natural wash Of Quercus creek,
small stream about seven mites in length, which is
dry nine months In the year. has changed its chan
mel in different places quite often, and during the
past four years has deposited upon my land 2600,-
| 600 cubic yards Of material. Mr.. Robinson named
| the great number of creeks rayines and gulches
which pour into San Pablo bay from the agricultural
stated tnat the natural wash contributed by those
| myrads of streams was simply immense. The fill
| ings in the harbor and bays, in my opinion, is
due almost entirely to the natural wash.
| Slickens is the material held in suspension by
water. 1t should more prorerly be called
silt. Mr. Robinson traced the debris flow from
| the Cherokee mine, through Sawmil ravine. the
valley of Deer creek and thence TO the head of Butte
ough. The tailings allimpounded and the slick
ems caused to be deposited on the soil to such
tent that the water when it reaches the slough is
just clear it was when it first entered through
the pipes in the Cherokee mines. In this case ths
miner is enriched, the farmer is enriched and the
water enters the yer in all its original purity
have seen deserts reclaimed IN the southern portion
of the State by irrigation Prior to the of water
for rrgating purposes water could not be obtained
| by the digging OF wells. Now water can be thus
obtained in the desert regions in great abundance.
The hydraulic mines in which am engaged in could
not be worked with profit in any other way except
by the hydraulic process. They would not pay ex
penses by the drifting process, but by the hydraulic
process they would pay very largely.
Cross examination 10y Attorney General Hart}-
l have invested more than half million in the
Bloomfield mines. Our largest investments con-
sisted in constructing canals and reservoirs. The
dividends from those mines have been over $780,
coo, and if we had not been enioined This year
we should have declared additional dividend of
more than s5O0,o0h The gross amount of Id that
has been taken from those two mines amounts to
s., ,s35, COO. EWitne described Butte creek Butte
slough, the Yuha river, Parks dam and Bottle creek
season. The Cherokee mines are about twelve miles
from 0rove and about thirty miles from Butte
slough. Those mines worked by the hydraulic
process. Their deepest tunnels are not yet com.
pleted They are working in the upper gravel and
have not yet mined deep enough to get the heavy
blue gravel These mines owned and workedb by the
| Spring Valley Gold aud Hydraulic Mining Company.
The grade OF Sawmill ravine think is equal to 200
feet the mile. MIR Robinson explained in q very
| interesting manner the way in which the debris
| from that mine is distributed over the fiat areas
| in the neighborhood Of Sawmill ravine and Deer
creek.l vas the plaintiff in the case OF Robinson
vs.. the Black Diamond Coal Company. LMr. Robin.
inson described Quercos creek, its watershed, and
| the character and amount OF material washedl The
delta of the Mississippi river undoubtedly COM
mences at Memphis, and IS constantly extending
farther into the Gull of Mexico Natural levees are
| the result of the deposit of overf We | do not
know Of any important river that has had its
| or ginal channel filed with debris to average
depth of twelve feet can recall to mind at this
time stream whose current OF water does not take
care of It's channel In the mines it is our aim te
Iverze all the material in the gravel beds except
The stones themselves.
| Afternoon Session.
b. p. Fairchild sworn-I have been resident o
California for twenty two years. went to George
town, El Dorado county, fret in 1850. Since 1876
1 have been engaged in ditch aud mining enter
p;ises. The Mount Gregory Water and Mining
Company, with which 1 have besn connected fol
quito a period, has about coo acres of mining
ground, and take their water from Pilo. creek
| Smith and Swain at present have control of the
property Of the corporation. Witness pointed out
| on map the location of the Tines and canals Of
the Mount Gregory Company The Rubieon claim
is the largest Of the mines owned by that company
D. he DUMP from that mine is into Missouri canyon.
| The deposit in that is very hard quartz
| some of the powders weigh twenty tons. A great
many Of the powders blasted with giant powder
| and the largest pieces of the are hosted by
derrieks aud placed in the mine in position where
| they are not in the way OF working. The surface
| is Of Light material and volcanic ashes The lower
material is very dense and hard WITNESS described
the deposit and the mode or manner Of mining the
same and also described the mines the divide at
| the Spanish Dry Dgsings, Greenwood, Georgetown,
| Georgia slide, Spanish Flat, Kelsey, Jones III II,
| John Town, Vocanoville and other mining camps,
and stated that the principal work was done
| in those mines at early date, and that the ma
terial from them of light material, and that at
least Is per cent. OF the same light, al uvial
SOIL and brought down in suspension by the streams
and rivers Witness described several slides. some
Of which very extensive, that went ,into the
| Middle Fork.l There also some very extensive
shdes on Pilot creek. The granite region CON-
! mences some ten or twelve miles east Of George
town, and continues east for some twenty miles,
until you come in contact with the harder material
| near the summit. Pilot creek has discharged a
great deal of material The reservoirs in the neigh
! bofhood OF Geo getown filed up annually from
to feet from the silt and sand caused by natural
wash. The bitches also are filed to considerable
extent each year, and they have to be cleaned out
| quite frequently There is no mining above where
the e bitches take their water and it is entirely
caused by natural wash. Frost is one OF the most
productive causes Of natural wash in this section
Witness described the effect of thu frost on the sur
face OF the hillsides Witness produced sample OF
material taken from one superficial foot OF ground
near Mt GregoIy.l The material in question was
elevated two in hes above the surface resting on ice
and forming t. The evidences Of early mining
| are all over-in every ravine, gulrh and
canyon. The early mi ing much greater
| in extent than the present washing.
The denuding of the timber and the forest fires bas
Above Georgetown about ten miles, you find belt
of timber that has been cut cut but very little.
! Below that point the timber has been very much
cut out. There is from 500 to 5000 acres Of
| ground on that divide cultivated. There il very
little level ground in that section. 1t is steep
generally that the plowed ground annually washes
to considerable depth. From 5000 to 7, 500 head
Of horned cattle and about Isl, coo head OF sheep
and goats are grazed every year the headwate,s 8
of the rivers on this divide, and their constant
tramping causes thousands of tons OF material to