The herald., 1896-03-30
An |NC|P|ENT WATER WAR
CITY W0RKMHN TAKE FORCiBLE POSSES.
SION OF A WELL
Sought to Be Prevented by the Beck Brothers,
Acting for Hooker & Pomeroy-The Police
Called Upon to Prevent Free Pight-The
Legal Aspect Of the Case

Pomeroy & Hooker, to condemn certain
lands for headworks for the proposed
water system, has dragged along in the
courts. The case has been bitterly fought
on both sides. it being sought by the Pome-
roy interests to prove that the land in ques-
ton Is water bearing and by the city to
show the contrary. In the course of in
vestigation the city authorities bored three
wells down to bedrock to demonstrate that
no flow of water existed underground.
These holes were put down on public
thoroughfare, Columbus street, which is
situated just west of the Arroyo Seco and
north of the river.
The last one of the wells was sunk little
over week ago, and. like the two pre-
viously drilled, proved, on reaching bed
the part of the city was submitted to the
jury, demonstrating that the wells had
reached the bedrock without coming into
wa er bearing gravel. Permission was
given in court, as matter of courtesy, to
the Hooker and Pomeroy interests to in
vestigate and bore in the we'll, provided
that representative of the city was pres
ent. On last Wednesday. without notifi-
cation of their intention, Hooker and Pom
eroy commenced operations in the hole.
A firm OF we'll borers, Beck Bros, had
sunk the we'll for the city. and had not yet
removed their derrick and boring outfit.
These men were hired by the opposition to
proceed with boring in the hope that it
might be proved that bedrock had not
been reached. On Friday afternoon, just
before the adjournment of court, one of
Pomeroy's men came into court with
bucketful of wet gravel, which had been
taken from the bottom of the hole by the
sand pump, and it was placed in evidence
as showing that the city had failed to reach
the bottom rock. This would put very
different aspect upon the entire case, and
time for refutatory evidence was short.
SntV vrd- tl~ skv,f- H.
we'll and demanded possession of it to find
out for themselves what had been devel-
oped. This was refused them by Beck
brothers. who stated that they would hold
the hole at all hazards. In the afternoon
OF the same day gang of men appeared
upon the scene and forcibly removed from
over the we'll the derrick and machinery
used in operating it. The Beck brothers
for time seemed disposed to use force to
prevent this, but, on second thought, de-
sisted. Yesterday morning the city's men
again appeared upon the scene with a
drilling rig, and proceeded to erect it.
There were eight or ten laborers under di-
rection of City Engineer Compton and
Fred Eaton. A watchman had been upon
the spot all night to retain possession.
While preparing to work, gang of men,
headed by the two Becks, came upon them
and commanded them to desist. The
Becks claimed to be in the employ of Pom
eroy & Hooker and were prepared to use
any means to prevent the city from pro-
ceedng to put sand pump in the hole.
Loud words followed and the Beck crowd
lined up in martial array to advance to the
fray. Compton stood his ground and an
nounced that he should hold the we'll at all
hazards, and for the Beck crowd to ad-
vance at their peril. For q time a clash
seemed imminent and word was hastily
dispatched TO the police station for officers
to come at once.
When they arrived at the spot the Becks
thought discretion the better part of valor
and retired with what grace they might
Thereupon the derrick was erected and the
sand pump put in. The well is down 1928
feet and, as has been stated, in bed rock or
sandstone.
While the Pomeroy witness who pro-
duced the gravel in court did not make the
direct claim that it was water-bearing, it
was evident that that was the inference the
jury was expected to draw. On the pump
being drawn up it was found that the
much vaunted gravel was but a streak of
what is known as cement gravel, hard and
impervious as rock, streaks of which are
supermposed in the sandstone. The stuif
is composed of conglomerate of finely
powdered sand and boulders and pebbles,
so amalgamated and hardened as to be
rock conglomerate. This was the gravel
which it had been sought to convey indi-
Gated bedrock had not been reached.
The drill was below the point were the
cement had been encountered and in the
sandstone. What little of the stuff was
brought UP came from the action of the
sand pump. which in churnng up and
down against the sides of the we'll dislodged
q few pebbles and they eventually were
brought up in the pump. The evidence in
the case has been closed and the absolute
certainty that the stuff is portion of the
bedrock cannot be offered to the jury, and
this has been callsed by the tactics adopted
by the we'll drllers acting under the di-
rection of Hooker & Pomeroy, who went
upon the property without giving the re-
quired notification and VINO introduced
the bucket of gravel in evidence late Fri
day evening.
Drilling is still going on, although the re.
suit is, as stated, only bedrock is being
penetrated. Argument iu the case be-
gins this morning and some means may be
found OF bringing the true facts to the Of
fetal knowledge of the court.