Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-11-28
GOLD RUN CASE.
THE DECISION OF JUDGE TEN
PIE SUSTAINED.
Perpetual Injunction Against the
Dumping of Debris in the
Rivers Affirmed.


| Rivers Affirmed.
Following is the decision of the State
Supreme Court upon the appeal in the Gold
Run case, which was rendered on the 25th
| instant II will be seen that the decision
of Judge Temple, granting perpetual
injunction against flowing tailings from
| hydraulic mines into the rivers and their
| tributaries, is fully sustained:
The People VS.. The Gold Run Ditch and Min
| ing Company No. $685. This appeal is from
an order denying motion for a new trial, and
| from Judgment which perpetually reS;rainS
| the commission and cOmpels the diScontinuance
| of certain acts rs wrongful and injurious to
| public rights.
The record of the case shows that "the Gold
| Run Ditch and Mining Company has been since
| August, 1870, . corporation existing under the
| laws of the State OF California for the purpose
| OF mining by the hydraulic process, and selling
| water TO miners and others; and that it is now,
and its predecessors have been for several years
last past, in possession OF five hundred acres OF
mineral land, situated adjacent TO the North
Fork OF the American river, and of certain mines
| on said river which it works by the hydraulic
| process The natural surface OF this land lies
/ about one hundred feet above the river; and all
| the material of the mines upon the land-con-
| ssting of about twenty millions cubic yards of
| material composed mostly oil Sanu, grdNei,
| stones, cObblsS and bOWlders mixed with small
| particles of gold, is capable of being worked off
| into the river For the purpose Of mining this
| tract Of land by the hydraulic process the COM
| pany has conducted 10 its mines, by means of
| bitches and iron pipes, a large quantity OF wa
| ter which il uses and will continue to use uL-
| der vertical pressure of several hundred feet,
| discharging water through little giants and
| monitors, and dumping all the tailings from
| its mines into the river. In that manner il has
been carrying on its mining operations upon
said land for about eight years last past; and up
! to the time OF commencing this action and
| during about five months Of each year of said
| period has been daily discharging into the said
| river between four and five thousand cubic
yards of solid material from its said mine, to-
! wit, of powders, cobbles, gravel and sand,
| making yearly discharge of at least SIX hun
dred thousand cubic yards, and will continue to
| discharge that quantity annually If the working
| or said mine be permitted to continue, and at
| such rate it will require some thirty Years to
| mine out and exhaust said mineral land
| OF the material thus discharged into the river
| q large portion has been washed, from the place
| of discharge or dump, down the river, and,
| 'comminged with tailings from other hydraulic
mines ana still other material which is the pro-
| duct OF natural erosion, has been deposited in
| the beds and channels OF the American and
| Sacramento rivers and their continents, but
| mostly in the American, and upon lands ada
/ cent to both rivers. The deposits of this mate
| rial upon the beds and along the channels of the
rivers, and through the Suisun bay and INTO the
san Pablo and San Francisco bays, have already
! filled and raised the beds of both rivers. The
| bed of the American has been raised from ten TO
4! twelve feet and i'll some places more, and the
| bed of the Sacramento, to u great extent below
| the mouth of the American, from six to twelve
| feet. In consequence, the beds OF The two rivers
! have Swallowed, and their channels Widencd so
| that the depths of the rivers have greatly less
| ened and their liability 10 overflow has been
} materially increased, causing the frequent floods
l to extend their area and TO be more destructive
| than they otherwise would have been, and COW
| ering thousands Of acres OF good land in the
| Sacramento valley with mining debris. And us
the rivers are at all times carrying in suspension
| the lighter earthly matter from the mines, and
washing down the heavier debris, they are like
~ to fill more rapidly il the future in proportion
to the quantity OF hydraulic tailings than III the
| past, ard to cause much further and greater in
| jury in the future to large tracts of land-prob-
| ably rendering them. within few years, unfit
! for cultivation and lnhabitancy: Besides the
| discharge from the mines so fouls the water of
| the American r-Yer at all points below as TO
| make il unfit for any domestic use by the inhab
itanIs. And from the same cause the naviga-
ton of the sacramento river has been 50 greatly
| impaired that the river. which, until the year
| 1862, was uavigatCd as far the city OF Sacra-
| mentO without difficulty by steamers of deep
| draught. to-wit.: by boats drawing nine or ten
| feet OF water has been, since the year 1862, I'M
| nayigable as far as the city OF Sacramento by
| boats of deep drGu%ht, except during high wa
| ter, instead of at all times as formerly. And
| there is imminent danger If the acts OF the de-
| PENDANTS and others engaged in hydraulic min
| Alls9 'sA' '''-N'
| channels of the lower portion of the American
river, and o. the sacramento river be.ow the
| mouth OF the American VIII DC 50 hiIeu anu
| choked up by tailings and other deposits that
| said rivers Will be turned from their channels,
cutting new waterways, inuring or deStroyin ing
! immense tracts of land, and probably viii re
suit in greatly impairiag the nayigabllity of the
| Vast as may be the interest bound up in the
| lugdtloll; YET me questions lof tHc cohsloeft-
Itloh oI tEi3 Co,Itr arising out ol tle idcts as
| ~ n
paratiVely H@rlon compass. AZ OF the9 now
INTO one a. tile main question: ~ Lssut' ana tht
| Is, Whether thc utlehuaut a9 owner % us
| hydrau!lc mines situate on liie Drinks OF tIle
| American flNer-ah uhhi'ElgaDle stream Whlch
| emptieS us waters mo tHc StCtaheHto river,
ihe pFlhclpaI hayigable flEet NliHll the state
nus the rISht 10 uuIlP its l!uIauiIc W Gepils mo
the river TO the enlargement Qi habltatlon ana
| cQiilYatloh OF AfEe trdcJS OF country; upon
Whlch are cltles town: ana villages, ana to the
| impairment OF 'le ha!lsatloh OF lle2acIanelto
| river ana II thcTe exists no SucA Ilght IN the
| dGlendahl, 90 the acts committed Dy u ana
| Wnlch II threatens TO continue 10 commit m
| volving such consequences, constitute Il public
| nuisance Whlch may De enJoi4ed III an ACTON
| in the name OF the People OF the state.
| Courts take judicial notice OF the navlgablllty
oil the sacramento flNer: IN aqdltlOn TO WAlch
| the Court below has found that the river has
been declared ny II" naFlga0te 10 tile mouth OF
| Middle creek, winch IS above the confluence of
! the American and Sacramento rivers; and has
been continually navigated by steamers. barges,
4
was nayigated as tar as the city of Sacramento,
without difficulty, 10y steamers OF deep draught
| tO-wit, by boats drawing niue or ten feet Of
water" Nayigability in law and in fact has
therefore been established. As d navigable river
the Sacramento is great public highway in
which the people OF the State have paramount
and controlling rights. These rights consist
chiefly of q right of property i'll the soil and Il
! right to the use of the water flowing over it, for
the purposes of transportation and commercial
intercourse The soil of navigab!e river is the
GfUeus or bed of the river the river itself is tie
| water flowing in its channel. An unauthorized
invasion of the rights of the public 10 navigate
the water flowing over the soil is a public nui-
.ance: and an unauthorized encrOachment upon
the soil itself is known i'll law as purpresture
Purpresture is also particular kind of nuisance
The word is derived from the French word
pou7pris, which signifies an inclosure: That
is" saws Coke. when one encroacheth and
makes seryiceable to himself which belongs to
many. And because it is properly when there
is an inciosure made of any part of the Kings
demesne. or of a highway, or a common street.
or public water or such like things" q Coke's
Iusts 27l.)
Great water highways belong to the same class
of public rights and are governed by the same
general rules applicable to highways upon land
ANY contracting or narrowing of a public high
wav on lond * n nuisance 1Russpfl IN Crimes