The record-union., 1892-08-23
PETE ST. CLhIR'S WARNING.
The Veteran Hunters Fear of the
Jacobs Leyee Break.
Danger of the Sacramento River Being
Turned and Brought Across -.
Into the American.


ents of the RECoRD-UNIoN have fire.
quently called attention to the dangerous
condition of the levee on the east side of
the river several miles north of this city,
where serious break occurred some
years ago, and which has never been re-
paired. To say nothing of the injury
threatened to large extent of farming
country, the existence of this break is a
constant menace to the safety of Sacra-
mento, in the opinion of many persons
familiar with the lay of the country. ow-
ing to the alleged danger of the river be-
ing diverted across the country, and
striking the American just above the lat
ter's point of debouchment In this con-
nection the following statement written
by Peter st. Clair, the veteran hunter is
| OF interest. He says:
IN A PHILosoPHIC MOOD.
EDS. RECoRD-UNIoN: 1t was in the
| spring Of 1853 that | first landed in Sac
ramento, and l will not soon forget my
advent into the City of the Plains. We
| had just passed through one of our wet
winters, and the waters had crowded into
| the city, and it was about rising out OF
the waters, dripping and wet; but that
| seemed 10 make little difference. BusI-
IL.
[ every one was determined TO go ahead
The gamblers made more money than
! they could spend, and every one seemed
| to have plenty of money and was happy
In those early times travelling by stage
| was rather an expensive business, as |
| found out In coming down from the
| mines, but 1t did not take me long to find
| out that it had some advantages. We
| were allowed to get out and walk when
we struck any bad places on the road,
and the next Gay my aching limbs testi-
| lied to my sympathy for the poor stage
! horses However, | was in Sacramento,
| the city OF my dreams; the mountains
| that | had left behind me had little at
traction for me, with their rough men
and their ways, and | left them with little
regret. But Sacramento, with her people,
their different ways, her flower gardens
and snug little homes, reminded me OF
| the home that had left to come here.
and the dear, old mother and her love,
and resolved that here | should remain.
l have kept that resolution well, for
| though many years have passed and the
| boy has become man, with silver hairs
showing themselves in his head, he still
loves the dear, old city Of tho plains as
well as he did in the days OF gold
BUT EVERYTHING IS CHANGED NOW.
The big slough in the heart of the CITY
is not there now; the wild ducks build
fort that Suffer built has changed Its
| old protector is dead, with MANY other
| pioneers, but Sacramento and her people
! still go ahead, and they seem to be happy
and prosperous. The streets are better
| laid now than they were at that time. J
street, the principal one. was macadam-
| lied with little brush in the worst
places, the ends sticking up and Offering
anything but safe transit for wagons or
horses. Near the junction with Second
street notice could be seen, marked
| NO Bottom" and it seemed to he true,
for the notice itself was disappearing.
But the men i'll Sacramento at that time
had come to stay. and the city of to-day.
the proud Capital of the State, attests
how well her citizens have done their
| duty. The RECoRD-UNION and other
papers have done much to help this on
and to bring order out Of chaos.
But changes of different kind have
taken place; our beautiful rivers. so clear
and limpid, and teeming with fish of
| various kinds, are that way no longer.
The busy hydraulicke has been at work,
and with his monitors has done his worst.
| Well, our beautiful water highways are
now filled up with sand, so that naviga-
| ton is almost suspended. Thousands of
| beautiful homes are ruined, covered UP
! by the floods of slickens and sand which
| have been sent down upon us; and the
end is not yet, for, although this class Of
mining has been stopped by our Govern
ment, aided by almost the entire press of
the State, the consequences will remain
for many years to come. This class of
miners imagine that the valley is only
| dumping-ground for their monitors, but
some OF them are coming to the couclu-
sion that they do not own the beautiful
Sacramento Valley, and that it belongs to
| the people who live there.
THE JACOBS BREAK.
Our Government has helped us in the
past, and will help us in the future to
bring our river into q more navigable
state. making some handsome appropria-
lions for that purpose. Among these is
one, l am informed, to repair the break
in the Sacramento River about fifteen
miles north of the city on the east SIDE of
the river. How few there are in the city
who know the extent of this break, or
realize its future bearing on the city,
when the river finally cuts it's way
through this opening. And yet this is
only question Of a short time.
AS the break becomes deeper more
water will pass through it, almost at
right angles, causing circular motion to
the current and depositing more sand
below the break and filling up the old
bed of the river. This will deepen the
channel through this opening and in
short time will compel the river to pass
through entirely. The result of this will
NC luc III Vi ZIG Ola Dou
of the river below the break and the
formation of new river through this
| opening. Now, let me take the reader
with me on
A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY,
And we will follow the newborn river
| and see where it will take US to- Pre-
missing that most of the water is passing
through the break, the current will be
very rapid, and going almost due east
| will soon take us into Ten-mile Lake,
now merely an apology for shallow
| mud basin. Here the river will spread
over all the low land and most of Judge
Beatty's land, depositing a heavy body
of sand and slickenS. Now we are in the
north end of the Fisherman's Lake. and
passing down this deep slough we come
out again on what is known as the Over
f1ow," going south by east and spreading
all over the hat and covering UP this fine
body of land with sand.
We are now passing Bannon Slough
Here the river will be turned by the
timber and the delta of mud formed by
previous overflows little to the north
by east. We then pass over the Chinese
potato gardens and toward the American
River, and will reach that river between
the Twelfth street bridge aud where the
old Rabel tannery used to be.
Now our voyage is ended. 1t has not
been a very pleasant one, and the pros
pect ahead is still more discouraging.
THIS is NO IDLE DREAM,
But the result of years of experience by
one who has passed some months every
winter on this overflowed land, and who
knows thoroughly what he is writing
about. / have had to swim for my life
three Or four times in its treacherous
waters, and if the experience of years
will teach a man anything, then the