El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-12-27
BY the Elephant Butte Dam
Company In the Recent
Hearing
THB C0MPANY'S CASE
Details Of the Water Supply
Of the Rio Grande And
Enumeration Of Its
Tributaries
Special Dispatch to the HERALD.

Special Dispatch to the HERALD.
LAS CRUCES, N. NJ, Dec. 27.-In-
terest in the great dam case shows no
sign of abatement. At this writing
the court has not yet announced his
decision, but probablywil have done SO
before this letter reaches the HERALD
readers. Nevertheless the followi
findings of fact which the defendants
asked the court to make, and which
were filed after the hearing was con-
cluded, are of both present and per-
manent interest in connection with
the case. They constitute summary
OF the defenda ats side of the case, set.
ting forth both the theory of the
defense and the facts which the
defense contends were established by
the evidence brought out at the trial.
The findings of fact requested by the
plaintiff have already been published
in the HERALD.
The defendants request the court to
make the following fiudings of fact, to-
wit:
W That the Rio Grande river is
navigable only between the American
points lying between Rio Grande City
and the mouth of such river, distance
OF 2l7 miles measured By the sinuosi-
ties of the river; but is naviga.ed only
between Rio Grande City ani Browns
ville, Texas, distance of III miles by
such sinuosities, and that no interna-
tional navigation between American
and Mexican points is carried on upon
such river.
(2) That such navigation began to
decline on account of scarcity of water
in such river in 1873 and has con sinued
so to decline until at the present time
the same consists of occasional trips of
one small vessel of about one hundred
tons capacity. Such trips are irrep-
ular and uncertain and SO spasmodic as
to time as to render such navigation of
small benefit to commerce between
points reached thereby.
(3) That the decline of such nayipa-
tion has been occasioned by the build
ing OF ratlroa Is to points formerly sup
piled by river navigation and by q
gradual decline ia the navigable capa-
city of such rive- and the increased
difficulty OF navigating the same on &C.
count OF scarcity Of. water compelling
the constant substitution of boats of
less capacity.
az The decline in the navieable capa-
city of water in said river.is due so far,
as shown In this case, to.a drouth of
great severity which has continued
with only occasional Interruptions
since 1880 and has extended over a vast
area OF country several hundred miles
In width and length along the general
course of said river from its mouth up.
and which has affected portions of both
Texas and Mexico, and to the driving
up of the following named tributaries
Of such river lying either in Texas or
Mexico, to-wit: Elm Greek, Las Mo-
ras, sPledras Pintas, Sycamore. San
Felipe, Escondids, San Diego, Las
Vacas, Treinta. Uno, Santa Carlo, Gle.
negas and Salado, all referred to in
'he report of Major Emory as we'll as
described by the witnesses in this case,
Ind all of which were from ten to
yOoAo okO UOlu ruuQlpP
streams.
(5) AT the measuring station at San
40 miles above Elephant Butte,
he Rio Grande is shown, from the evil
lence and measurementssfled in this
;ase, to be largely torrential stream,
'arying from dry bed to floods OF con-
iderable size and short duration, aud
his torrential flow characterizes its
'ntire course through New Mexico.
(6) That in Its course, both in Colo
ado and New Mexico, a large percent
'ge of its waters are constantly lost by
auses not accurately determined, but
clsssed as seepsge and evap-
ration, and between Ssn Marcial. New
dexico, and Ell Psso, Texas, a distance
Il 300 miles measured by the sinuosi-
les OF the river elephant Butte living