Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-01-08

to protect it, and that the land has filed up
On the outside Of the levee five or six feet
deeper than on the inside. The first material
that came down upon these lands was 10 1862,
and it was covered more or less in 1865 and
1862 Since that time levees have been built
at Msrysville and in Yuba county, along the
river, and also on the other side of the river,
to protect the land in the adjacent country.
In addition to the levees so erected, about
five years ago the
MINERS THEMSELVES BUILT LEvEE
For the same purpose on the south side of the
Yuba, extending to the foothills distsncs OF
eight miles, at considerable cost, these de.
PENDANTS contributing SO per cent, That was
built for the purpose of preventing the
Feather river from overHowing to the south.
That levee broke in three places in Linda
township in June last, when the English
dam gave way, and the country was flooded
and the land between the levees was filled
with debris. This land so filed has grown
up with cottonwood and willows. The river
has no defined channel, but it flows any
where over the space batween tbs ievees,
being turned by any obstruction which it
meets from time to time and from the ac-
cumulation of drift.woo5, debris. ETC., which
accumulated in its bed in high water. The
bed of the river is higher than the original
top of the surrounding channels. The bed,
such as it is, is several feet higher than the
land of the surrounding country outside of
the levee, and which is protected in a measure
by the levees from overflow by the water of
the Yubs.
SOME THIRTY-FIvE SQUARE MILES
OF agricultural land has baen destroyed. The
filling of the river beds has been gradual, and
is generally some twenty-five feet or more. At
some plscss it is filled as high as ninety feet
This filing of the river has affected the nsvi-
gability Cf the waters of the State, as is
stated in Col. Mendeli's report and amply
supported by the other testimony. The low.
water level of the Feather river at Msrys-
billie, the head of navigation, has been raised
fully fifteen feet. and in consequence of these
changes a hi. her food-line has been estab-
lishei, and const quently greater exposure
of overflow low exists on all the lend on the
rivers. The condition Of the Yuba and
Feather rivers will illustrate the ultimate con-
dition of the Sacramento river if this process
cf mining is continued. 1t is claimed that it
will necesai5ate the abandonment OF the chan
nels of those rivers. and tbst the Sacramento
RIVER WILL LEAVE ITS PRESENT CHANNEL
At Grsy's Bend and run some distance to
the west. The rise of the bed of the Sscrs-
mento river that took place from 1849 to
1869 was about two and bine-tenths feet
During the next ten years, and while hy-
drsulic mining was prosecuted from 1869 to
1879 the rise of this plane was double that
figure, so that the present rise Of its bed is
fully six feet from 1S49 to 1881, az o conse-
quence tide water having less and less effect
upon the river, Thirty.five miles below Sac.
ramento city the Sacramento river divides
into two channels, which unite at distance
below of few miles. The distance through
the old river is about eighteen miles, while
through Steamboat slough it is about twelve
miles. Ia early days Of navigation Steam
boat slough was the channel used by all the
boats ard vessels, and it is part of the pub.
lie history of this State to-day that large vc5-
sells that had come around Cape Horn passed
up the Sacramento
THROUGH STEAMBOAT SLOUGH
On regular trips. That slough is so filed up
that it is with difficulty the present
boats which navigate the river can be used.
Its navigation has been comparatively aban-
doned. Steamers go by another route
along Old river. This filing has also shoaled
the water in Suisun and San Pablo Bays and
in the Straits of Csrquin6z. and San Fran
cisco Bay is also somewhat affected. The
various rivers named contribute their share
of debris to produce this result, but the Yuba
discharges more debris than any of the rest.
The waters Of the upper rivers have become
50 highly charged with debris that they are
WHOLLY UNFIT FOR WATERING STOCK
Or for any domestic use to which water is
usually applied. and it is often unfit for irri-
CATION.
Ia pursuance of the provision of the Drain
age Act of $780, the State, under the super
vision of the State Eogiueer, with Colonel
MenGell as consulting engineer, erected
brush dam about three miles in length across
the Yuba river. some eight miles above Ma
Iysville. TIE first fl lod that occurred in the
following rainy season csrTisd section of it
away, aud afterwards during the dry season
a fire occurred and a large portion Of the
remainder was consumed. An impoundipg
dam was also constructed By the State on
Bear river, with a comparatively similar re-
suit. Those dams cost about $500. 900. l
have not the exsct figures here, but | believe
the cost wss little over that. The North
Bloomfield Mining Company, the defendant
here, have constructed dam to impound its
debris, sixty feet high, aud that dam has filled
up with debris to level with its top, and the
debris passes over it and down the canyon,
the dam not obstructing it. 1t passes down
as THOUGH NO DAM WAS AT THAT
Point. A similar dam was erected at Marys-
vile, or near there, to impound the debris,
and it is now in very similar condition.
The complainant has owned on the Feather
river for more than twenty years, and still
owns a tract Of land, which he holds under
patent from the United States, issued by the
grant made by the Mexican Government to
John A. Sutter. He is the owner OF city
lot in Marysville. situated about 500 feet
from the Yuba, which lot is covered with a
brick building Of stores, and called the EN-
pire Block The building was erected in
1854 or 1855, and cost something like $50, 600.
He was also the owner of a steamboat land
ing on the Yubs, nearly opposite this block,
and now the Yuba has filed up
and the steamboat landing is on
in Yuba county, and about thrse-quarters
of q mile distant from where this block is.
He is the owner, also, of piece Of farming
land on the east bank OF the Feather river,
TIVE miles below Marysville, an which land
he formerly had steamboat landing, which
he used foc receiving and discharging freight,
etc. But by reason Of the filling up of the
river to depth Of ten or twelve feet, or
more, that
LANDING CANNOT NOW BE USED.
One of the tracts of land spoken of COM
prised 600 or 700 acres, and is known as the
Hook Farm, on the west side of the Feather
river. The bottom land on these tracts, be-
ing The best land, was buried with debris in
lSO2, anC subsequently, IN lSOS, and they are
still covered from time to time with fresh de-
posits These lands have become a waste, at
least for agricultural purposes. Other por-
tiona OF these tracts are still liable to over
flow.
When the food OF 1868 came tie people of
Marysville thought it necessary to build
levee around the city to protect them from
the debris that came down the Yubs, and one
was built It was found necessary to in
crease these levees in hight and thickness
from year to year ever since. In 1875 the
levee broke and the city and surrounding
lsrds were overhowed and large amount of
debris deposited. That was the first time
that Msrysville was ever flooded. In 1881,
with less volume of water, it rose higher
than ever before. This was due in part to
the filling up of the river channels and in
part also to the general lsvee system which
had been adopted for the protection of the
lands. At the breaking of the levee in 1879
the Empire block of the plaintiff in Marys.
vile was considerably injured. The under
pinning in the center of the building was
washed out and the roof fell in, and it cost
several thousand dollars to put it in repair
again. This was one of many buildings there
that were then injured, and since then the
owners of Easements in that city have been
compelled to abandon their use, as the water
line has been raised so IS to make them Of no