Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-11-22
rae NISerEENra DAY.
The Land Case Drass Its Slow
Length Along.

"Aen VIC INV . AclOtt VI tue oc8cu
: lands contest casa closed yesterday
: afternoon. In the course Of his
answers the witness said that beach
land, as he understood it, was that
embraced in an area near the lake
and running, as q rule, with the
original meander line inside or out.
His testimony throughout the after
Moons cross-examination was al
most entirely of a purely technical
character, and was OF interest only
to those directly interested in the
case.
This morning Mr.. Mccormick
again took the stand for the purpose
Of further cross-examInation. He
expressed the opinion that the sand
ridge referred to at q previous stage
Of the inquiry was unquestionably
formed, as had been all the lands of
this valley, ty the sands washed
down from higher ground, and the
concretionary sands formed in the
lake itself rs the lake receded. He
did net deny that the sand ridge
SPECIALIZED, was formed hy the &C.
ton Of the waters OF the Great Salt
Lake. To be sand ridge Sin fact"
would be to falsely assume, he
thought that all Of its PARTICLES
We're sand. At times, the sand
ridge, so-called, was composed almost
wholly Of sand, and at others the
clay and earth were more mixed
with the sand. The most sandy
portions. as q rule, were upon the
highest points. Any statement that
he might now make, however, rs to
what made these different changes
or varied the character Of the soil
would be purely theoretical, but
they were probably caused by the
varying con iitions Of the wind and
by waters Of the lake when at
higher stage. The railroad grade,
as shown upon exhibit "B.", was
between the salt ponds ami the
lake. The sand ridge, SO called, be-
gan to get lower as n whole from,
he thought, about the end of the
Thompson entry. The raiiro3d
graie ran through and on the sand
ridge, so called, north Of station 40;
but it did not follow that it was Off
the sand ridge-i.e., on the beach.
Witness was asked to stste the
character Of the grounds between
the salt ponds and the margin Of
the lake as shown upon exhibit b,
as to being agricultural, which he
did at some length. AS TO whether
any part OF such land was suscept-
ible OF reclamation by irrigation to
an agricultural state, witness said
that from the growth thereon. with
water, one could form no other con-
clusion. Beyond all question it was
susceptible Of reclamation to an ag-
ricuitural state by artificial irriga-
ton.
Major Bird-lf the lake were to
rise TO the elevation IL had IN 1881,
what would become of all the land
outside the actual sand ridge, in
GLIDING within the answer the west
half of the southeast quarter Of sec
ton q?
Witness said that while he was
sure that the lake was higher in 1881
than at the present date, he did not
know how much; and this informa-
ton would be necessary to enable
him to state whether the tract
mentiured would be covered
with water or not. In attempting
to irTigate so as 20 properly reclaim
to an agricultural state all the lands |
west Of the salt pom Il, he should do
so by the Use OF water as il was used
over the jordan valley, irrlgsting
the ground. Witness dug number
Of holes on The ground in question,
but none exceeding eighteen inches |
deep: he did no. strike q |
regular clay layer ri ali, but |
clayuy soil. The question of the !
reclamation of desert lands was one |
that was SO controlled by the r
ticular manner in which : particu-
lar individual might conduct the
operation to effect such reclamation,
that II would be impossible fer him |
to say whether they could be made |
profitable or not for agricultural
purposes, without more thorough
study.
Mljor Bird-Do You wish to be
understood as testifying that the
ridge to which you before referred
can be prcf:tabiy reclaimed by arti-
fetal irrigation 10 al agricultural
state?
Witness said he had already stated
that the lsnls could lie reclaimed. |
He wouiI not, however, undertake |
to express an csihlon upon the point |
OF Yrc!i.ab.e reclamation On ac-
count OF the different methods that |
might b. employed by different in
dividuals. This was exactly on the |
same basis as that OF two farmers
taking hold of the same farm. Du-. |
ing his residence the one would,
perha IS, continually run in debt and |
injure the place, while the other |
would make money and improve
Msjur Bird-Now DO you
class yourself as the farmer
who would cultivate The |
farm profitably of unprofitably in |
the connection in which you have
used it in yoIr explanation.
Witness-AsI would bejudged by |
your standard, l would uIquestior- |
ably be the uuprofitable farmer,
no matter what l might think or |
whatever evidence there might be |
on the other side OF the scale. While |
the method that l might pursue
might certainly not be the beet, |
and while have not given the cub |
ject rs much thought as to what it |
could be made to raise as 1 would
wish, yet If L were directly con-
cerned in reclaiming ii might re-
ply that in seeing sandy lands re-
claimed / have usually seen them
first sown in grasses. This is the
method which has been prac-
ticed upon the sand beaches
and ridges from which Golden
Gate Park in San Francisco
is being made the mos, beautiful
park in the world. l DO not, how
ever, mean to say that this would
be the best method.
Major Bird-Under what cond:-
tons could these lands be reclaimed
at all?
witness-By taking out the dam
and by letting these lands become
in the same condition that all other
lands CT a sloughy nature in the came
neighborhoode exist under, and then
by a simple process Of using fresh
wafer. Witness added that the lands
within the salt ponds upon the dis
puted area could not be reclaimed
to an agricultural state by irrigation
under the conditions which gov
erned the salt ponds at the present