Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-02-23

reported lat the JalI there was from elRD
| 10 ten feep deep. This storm was followed
! by clear weather and hot sun. The freshly
| fallen soft snow melted rapidly, and b,
the 10th of April the greatest spring freshe
| followed that I have seen in forty years
Nv store. on Skaters Addition, was set ~
| two feet above the ground, but the wafer
of the Sacramento and American river:
day after day kept rising, until they reached
the under side of my counter. Outside o
the store it was four feet deep. Had it moi
been for the perseverance and energy OF J
r. Hardenburg, Sacramento would have
been completely submerged. With not less
than 500 men, armed with picks, shovel:
and sacks of sand, every low place around
the CITY was carefully watched, and tempo
rary levees were thrown up. This con
tinued some days and nights. He saved
the city from complete submersion thai
year.
1.-THE past six years have been the vol
unteer signal observer for this section o.
California. Ny rain gauge is the same as
is used at the regular stations and is
authentic. l have no record of my own tc
compare the daily or monthly rainfall fol
October, November, December, 1849 and
January, 1850, with the same months OF
1889 and 1890. but through the kind
l have been allowed to take rain statistics
from 40 records that cover these months.
Thomas Tennent has the only correct rain
fall record for 1S49 and 1850 in this State.
He arrived in San Francisco early in the
summer of 40, commenced his record with
the first rainfall in October and has daily,
monthly and annual record up to the pres
ent date. l have already stated that the
first rainfall in 40 commenced October 9th.
RECORDS COMPARED.
"Mr. Tennents record shows that about
the same time the rain set in in San Fran
cisco. He says it rained in October three
DAYS with precipitation of g. IA inches. In
Oroville in October, 1889, it rained for
twelve days, with fall of 7 Al inches. In
November, 1S49, at San Francisco it rained
eight DAYS, with S66 inches, and in Oro-
Vile in November, 1889, it rained seven
DAYS with 489 inches. / have also stated
that in Sacramento in 1849 it rained or
sprinkled in every twenty-four hours in the
month of December. According to Mr..
Tennent's record we had more rainfall in
Sacramento then than they had in San
Francisco. The following is Mr.. Tennents
daily record for December, 1S49: The first
rain was on the Sd, with As of an inch; on
the 18th there was 80 inches; the 18th, "a;
the 18th, 10; the 10th, "a; the 18th, %;
the 18th, %; the 10Th, 81; the goth, 81;
the 21st, "a; the Goth, Al; the 3lst, 30
The total rainfall was go inches. Mr..
Tennent says it rained for fifteen days in
January, 1850, with a rainfall of 8.34.
This makes the rainfall for the season of
1919 80 to February LIST, 1854. My record
of the rainfall for The season OF 1889 80 to
February LIST is 50 10 inches. The
excess for this season to that date is there
for IS inches. Mr.. Tennent says that up
to this date the season of 1861 and 1862
goes ahead of this season, and it is the only
one. Up to the end of January, 1862, we
had So OF inches of rain, and in January
"a Sc inches. More rain fell during the
season of 1861 81 in San Francisco, accord
ing to Mr.. Tennents record, to January
3lst, than in any other season since the gold
discoveries. Admitting this to be fact, it
does not prove that winter the most dis
agreeable, long and tedious rain on record.
1t will be noticed that nearly two-thirds
of the rainfall that season was in Janu-
arg, 1862. and the total rainfall for the sea-
son to February LIST, was 50 OF. Now sub
tract "a SO from the total to that date and
there remains a rainfall 10 that date, JAM
uary 1st, of Is Sc.
"Now let us see how 1S49 and 1889 COM
pare with this season. In 1849 90 the rain
fall from October to February 1st. was &c SO,
and the rainfall in January was 81. Sub
tract this from the total and there remains
for the season to December LIST, 1902. The
rainfall for 1889 80 from October to Febru-
airy LIST, was 1882. and in January the rain
fall was 9.52 Subtract this from the total
and there would remain for the season, TO
December 31st, 25 80. AS these statements
are from authentic records, they prove the
fall and winter of 1S49 and 1889 were longer,
more severe and dissgreeable than the win
ter of 1861, and that 1859 was the worst
winter in the past forty years.