Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-11-15
UNTRODDEN GROUND.
The Land Contest Inquiry Resumed
This Morning.
A FRESH WITNESS CALLED.
He Takes a Slight Departure frtm
the Beaten Track.
A FRESH WITNESS CALLED.

The beach lands contest case
which has now been In progress.
just fortnight, was continued thi.
morning at the United States land
Office.
At the close of our report yester-
day afternoon Mr.. Obad A. Palmer,
mining engineer, was under cross
examination by Attorney Stephens.
who called the witness attention t.
that portion Of his evidence wherein
he stated that he did not think il
practicable to reclaim the higher
portions Of the land in dispute
shown upon the exhibit as sand
bars, Islands, or the land east of the
salt ponds aud in the southeast
corner of section "a, for the reason
that the water lay too elise to Ii G
surface, and that the soil was almost
saturated with salt and alkaline so.
iu.ions. He now wished to know
how the witness arrived at the con.
ciusion that the lan6 in the i'm
mediate vicinity of the shanty, for
instance, was saturated with aka
line solutions?
Witness replied from the incrus.
tations on the surface and from the
character Of the soil coming from
holes dug in that vicinity. He made
no chemical analysis. but examined
the soil by taking 1t in his hands and
touching his tongue with IL. This
gave strong evidence OF salt anu
aikalies. He did not examine the
water in the wells other than by
tasting it. He had not made a study
OF the rise and fall OF the Great Salt
Lake, and all he knew OF the oscilla-
tons OF the lake were such as hau
come to his knowledge in a general
way. 1t was a certain thing that
II the dam were removed all the
water in the pond could not drain
out because the sand bar at the
south inlet was, at least. half a too.
higher than portions of the present
bottom Of the big pond on the land
in dispute. Were il not for the sand
bar between the "big dam" and the
lake, the water Of tue lake would
recede from these ponds or inIeus
after stages Of high water, lust a.
II receded from the shores ali along
the lake. There had probably been
little, if any, change in the line OF
salt or water in the ponds since 1857,
Any salt in water, he shouId say.
rendered the latter detrimental 10
vegetation, but what percentage of
salt in water would actually destroy
vegetitiOn would be hest determined
by experiment. He had never made
such experiment himself. He did
not know what percentage of
salt there was in the artesian
wells Of which he had testified, but
he thus based his opinion: that the
water was too salt for irrigation
that upon attempting to drink it he
found il so salt as 10 be nauseatiuC,
and he did not Lelieve that such
water could be successfully en-
plOyed in irrigation. Upon lands
subject TO desert entry the finest
kind OF bunch grass Ia connection
with sage brush was found.
Mr.. Stephens-Taket the first sec
ton Of land susceptible Of reclama-
ton east Of the lauis in question,
would you want 10 put five head Of
cattle Of your own thereon and
leave them there q year, with nC
other feed than what they could OBJ
tain from IL?
Witness-If 1 had the five head l |
would be willing to try it.
Nh. Stephens-GOu would want 1
the privilege Of removing them be- !
fore the end Of the year, would you
not?
Wituess-No, as an experiment l |
would let them fightit out. Laugh |
teri
Mr.. Stephens-I am afraid that |
the statute against cruelty TO ami |
mails would be enforced
Witness. asked as TO the value Of |
the ''shanty," so called, erected on
Nessrs Jeremy & Co.'S land, replied |
The value Of that house, erected 1
in that place, anu judging by the 4
cost Of building today, would be at
least $3.50.
Mr.. Stephens-If the waters Of 4
the Great salt Lake We're piped on
10 a ten acre tract Of Liberty Park |
and there allowed to evapOrate,
leaving an incrustation Of salt,
would that make that portion Of the
Park saline lands within the mea-
ing OF the United States law?
Major Bird protested against the
question for several reasons.
Witness-In time it might be con-
verted iatO artificial saline lands.
Mr.. S;ephens-In so far, If it be
true, that salt water has been
arlisicially retained upon the lands
in question, just so far they are
artificially saline, are they not?
Major Bird objected to the qnes-
ton, rs calling for a hypothetical
by the witness.
Witness answered in the affirma-
tive, but stated that in this case il
would be naturally saline land
artiticially intensified.
Mr.. Stephens-DO you regard the
shores OF the Great Salt Lake from
which the water has receded, lelv.
ing no ponds, as you term them,
hut where the slope is gradu-
al 10 the waters edge, as sa-
line lands? II so. how far hack
from the shore are the lands saline?
The question was objected to.
Witness--In places they would
undoubtedly be saline, and the dis
lance they would extend back from
the shore would depend upon the
natural reclamation which had ]
in ages past taken place.
Mr.. VIM. Z. Langford, farmer,
North Point Ward, this city, was
the witness called this morning. |
He said he was formerly engaged
with his brother and J. b. Mere
dith in the manufacture aud gath
ering Of salt on the borders of the |
Great Salt Lake. He had gathered
salt upon the same lands as were
row occupied by Jeremy & Co., to
whom he and his partners sold the /
occupancy by deed and certificate.
The deed was put in. 1t showed |
upon its facethat the irm of Langford |
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