El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-12-16

characteristics of the river channel
and gave distances as scaled from gov
| erpment maps. Witness was question
| ed about the character of the Rec
river in Arkansas and Louisiana, as
previous witness, Thor ham, had beer
with q view to showing similarity be
tween that river and the Rio Grande
But the court ruled that the Testimony
should be confined to the Rio Grande
Witness testified that he has been ir
charge of the river gauging station 81
Ell Paso since 1897. He presented {
statement of the time it would have
taken all the flow of the Rio Grande
to fill the Elephant Butte reservoir.
supposing it to hold 253, 600 acre feet
during the maximum flood each year
from the records of the Ell Paso aud
San Marcial guaging stations as fol
lows:
RECORDS PRESENTED.
IsS9.-All of May and 8 or 10 days o.
June. 40 days.
1seO.-Msy Is to June, 3, 10 days.
IS91.-May IL to May 20, days.
I 1882. May 2 to May II, Is days.
IS93.-April t25 to May 81, 81 days
1S94.-No record at Ell Paso- but nc
flood there.
IS95.-San Marcial record (approxi.
mste) April IA to May 5, % days.
1OSO.-ApFlI IL W Ihdy IL,
1S97.-May "a TO June 3, II days.
I8S8.-Two floods, April % to May 8,
July IL to July %, 26 days.
1S99.-No food at Ell Paso, and total
flow for year 1000 acre feet.
Mr.. Toilet also testified that on re-
cognizance made in 1896 he found IL
bitches taken from the Rio Grande
between Elephant Butte and Rincon
or Fort Selden, whose carrying capa-
city he estimated at 295 second feet; in
the Mesilla valley IL bitches, $40 sec
bitches, 500 second feet. He presented
q table covering the past ten years
showing "the time necessary each
year To fill the Elephant Butte reser-
voir, supposing it to hold 253, 900 feet,
starting at the beginning of the spring
flood and allowing enough to pass to
supply all the bitches below, and as
Stunning this amount to be 500 second
feet for the Ell Paso valley" as follows:
1889-May / to June Is, 46 days.
1890-April IL to May 10, 33 days.
1891-April II to May 3, % days.
1892-April Is to May Z, % days.
1891, 900 acre feet short of filling
the reservoir.
1s94-Thirty per cent less water than
in 1898.
ls95-Allowing 1900 feet on San Mar
cial gauge, March to May 4, Is days
1896-San Marcial record (spproxim-
ate) shows 100000 acre feet for the
season, a surplus OF about 1900 second
feet for the season.
1S97-El Paso station. April 13 to
May IL, 20 days
1898-El Paso station, April II to
June 20. So days.
IS99-During the whole season only
$500 acre feet passed Ell Paso gauging
station above the 500 second feet.
Witness explained that second feet
means a flow of enc cubic foot of
water per second past q given point,
and acre feet the number Of cubic feet
necessary to cover al acre of ground
0ne foot deep.
Witness also presented a cross Sec
ion of the Rio Grande river near Rio
Grsnde city, where he found the low
water depth of river to be feet aud
nigh water depth 81 feet; and cross
section $50 miles farther down, 81 miles
above Brownsville, where the low
water depth was 5 feet and the high
water depth II feet. The fact of lower
water at the station farther down was
water into lagoOps and arrOyos.
Cross examined witness stated that
Turing the big food Of 1897, Is, 900 Sec
md feet of water passed Ell Paso in
,ne day. That amount of water at Rio
1rande city would raise the river to
eight feet above low water mark; 5000
second feet would raise it 5 feet; ] 900 |
econd feet less than one foot, and 500 |
econd feet would just start 8
'ise.
DISTANCES ON THE RIO GRANDE
Witness gave the distances between
POINTS on the Rio Grande as fol- |
Ows:
Headwaters to FL Paso measured |
long the axis mot the sinuosities) of
he river, 5S5 miles. To follow the |
inuosities might make the distance |
100 miles.
Ell PasO to the mouth of the Concho, |
the axis, 205 miles:
Mouth of Concho to mouth of Pecos, |
so miles.
Ell Paso to RIO Grande City, 772 |
niles.
Ell Paso to Laredo. SOS miles.
Laredo to Brownsville, 3l9 miles by |
he sinuosities of the river.
Witness testified that he made sur
eys in 1889 for the proposed interna-
vas employed by the United States |
BIOLOGICAL survey to make.a recogniz-
nee up the Rio Grande through New
1eXicO and prepare report on ques-
ions relating to the proposed interna-
ional dam. Witness Thought the
of instructions to him
hen he took that employment refer
ed to the international dam, but
ouldn't remember positively. Wit
ess said:
81 very zealously carried out these
lstructions, as | always did every
hing referred to me for report. had
w nrOfa saiOna1 nvsida in and lid |
est to gather the information requir-
d."
"As 1 understand you, there was an
bsolutely impartial disposition on
our part to gather data with refer
nee to the general subject of the