The record-union., 1899-06-09

twelve at the base, excepting imme-
diately I'M front Of the city, where these
proportions were considerably expand
ed. Sad experience proved that tins
levee had neither strength to resist the
pressure of an increased volume OF
water from freshets, nor hight nor
solidity sufficient to prevent overflow
and percolation.
ct was therefore abandoned, after
large sums of money had been expend-
ed in repairing and patching it at
various times, for better and less
extensive plan which was adopted in
the summer of 1853, and has been
since then improved, strengthened
and perfected Commencing at
the Sacramento River on I street, to
the south Of Suffer Lake, it traverses
the line Of that street to the intersec-
ton of Sixth street, where it changes
| its direction by an acute angle to the
| north, and follows the last-named
street to the banks of the slough;
| thence along A street to Thirty-first
street; thence south, inside of the
slough, to the intersection of R street;
thence along r street to the Sacra-
,
widened, partially planked, raised and
materially strengthened against crew
| asses, to the place of beginning. Its
grade is twenty-five and half feet
above low-water mark, with a surface
| breadth of about ten feet and base
ranging from fifty to seventy feet. Its
| altitude in front of the city is thirty
nine feet above the mean level of the
sea at San Francisco.
1.-The river gauge was set up by us
near Suffer Lake in September last
| 1856. It is proper here to add THAI
the hight of the natural bank opposite
the locality of the gauge is about
| thirteen feet, and the mean depth ct
| the channel of the river in this neigh
borhcod is sixteen feet below low-water
mark The width of the river here is
from 225 to25O yards.
| LAS has been already stated, the
winter of 1S49-5O was season of con-
tinued outpourings. The first settlers
| tell us that the rain came down in
torrents, and that tubs and casks left
out at night were found full and over
flowing next morning. This must, or
course, be taken cum granO sails.
| There We're no ombrometers Grain
gauges) in those mythical days, when
| the rain appears to have been as
| abundant as the gold. Doubtless the
rains were copious; certainly, they sct
| in earlier than they have ever done
since The first rains of 1S49 took
place on the 23d of September. Through
| the month of October they became
much more severe and cold, and as
no adequate preparation had been made
for protection against this element, the
sufferings Of the immigrants were con-
sequently aggravated by the diarrhea
and typhoid fever that ensued.
Through the latter part of Deem
Der and beginning of January, 1850,
the rains were so heavy that serious
apprehension began to be entertained
for the first time of an inundation.
BY Christmas the water was over the
lower portions of the city. On the Sth
Of January. 1850, it rose rapidly, and
on the 10th and for several days after
there was no dry land in town, except
the knoll at the public square, which
was crowded as a place of refuge by
the domestic animal creation. In
| few days the water subsidized, the sun
broke forth from its cloudy confines
and shone bright and beautiful again
This weather continued until the heavy
rains of the following March. On the
| It'll Of April the waters began again to
rise into the town, and on the 9Th the
Council voted an appropriation OF
money for constructing temporary
levee, which was. made, and the prin-
cipal business portion of the city saved
| from an overflow.
| THE opening half of the winter of
1S5O-51, when commenced our own OBJ
servations, was rainless, consequently
| the river remained at low-water mark
until January, 1851, during which
month about rs of an inch of rain fell,
and a corresponding rise in the river
occurred. From this period the river
remained very low until April 9th,
when it attained, although by no means
high level. still a greater elevation
| than at any prior date of the season,
and navigation continued open to most
of the upper trading posts on the Sac
ramento, as well as to Marysville, un-
til the summer. The rain that fell dur
| ing this interval (season) amounted to
about four inches.
! (Note-This is the first report ac-
! CUI dtcly given etlldL IldS Guile W llSuI
in reference to that extraordinary dry
season of 1S5O-51, which has been said
I by some to have been a mistake in
| the records, but with the above report
| of DR.. Logan, who was a most pains
taking and accurate observer, no fur
| Their doubt can be legitimately raised
about the dry season Of 1S00-51.)
THE rainy season Of 1912 COM
menced early and the river rose cor
respondingly. BY the Both of Deem
| Der it was up to within four feet Of
it's natural banks, in consequence of
the heavy rains which fell up to that
date, amounting in the aggregate, dur
ing September, October, November and
December, to about ten inches, thus
compromising in a measure for the de-
| felt of the previous season. The rain
of the year 1852 was we'll distributed
among all the months of the wet sea-
son, and amounted in the aggregate to
about twenty seven inches. The heav-
lest rains occurring in March and De-
cember, and consequently the city was
overlooked both these months, the
levees not proving adequate.
1.-THE first of these foundations oc-
CURED on the 7th Of March, owing to
the washing away of the embankment
at the f1oodgate in the levee at Suffer
Lake, as well as to a crevasse on the
| American River; and for one week
nearly the whole city remained sub
merged. The rains which followed af-
! ter the great fire Of November, 1852,
:, vs<,<xk l. e. I--k