El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-01-03
THE COURTS
FINDINGS
Judge Parker's Decision In
the Elephant Butte Case
SUMMARY OF THE FACTS

The Government Will appeal 10 the
Courts, And the Defendant Com
pany Will Appeal To the Gov
eminent.
Following the course which it has
pursued throughout in reporting the
recent Elephant Butte dam trial al
Las Cruces, the HERALD prints below
very full summary of the decision OF
Judge Frank w. Parker, emitting
some complex tables.
FINDINGS OF FACT.
From the evidence in this case the
court makes the following findings OF
fact:
The Rio Grande is nsvigable only
from Rio Grande City toits mouth, 1852
miles. and is navie ated only from Rio
Grande City to Brownsville, III
miles.
Navigation began to decline from
lack of water in 1888, now consists of
occasional trips of one mall vessel OF
about 100 tons capacity, and is of small
benefit to commerce.
The scarcity of water is due largel y
to q drouth of great severity since 1887,
with only casional Interruptions, ex-
tending over an area several hundred
miles in width and length along the
general course of the river from its
mouth up, in both Texas and Mexico,
and to the drying up of the following
tributaries of The river in Texas or
Mexico: Elm Creek, Las Moras, Pie
dras Piutas, Sycamore, San Felipe,
Escondido, San Diego, Las Bscas,
Treinteuno, San Carlo, Cienegas and
Salado, all formerly bold running
streams.
There is no evidence from which the
court can estimate the diminution OF
rainfall, or determine whether it is
permanent, or the extent of its effect
The Rio Grsnde Is shown to be
torreutial stream In New Mexico.
In its course through Colorado aud
New Mexico much of its water is
lost by seepage and evaporation, and
between San Marcisl, N. NJ, and
FL Psso, Texas, 300 miles, such loss Ia
one-tnird the Ell tire volume Of water,
and elsewhere in New Mexico similar
ly large losses occur.
Below FL Paso the general character
OF the river bed, banks, soil and forma-
ton is the same a. above, and for 400
mile5such losses by seepage aud evap-
GRAFTON continue.
Between Elephant Butte and Presid-
10 del Norte. $40 miles, no living trib-
utaries enter the Rio Grande, and
there is no perennial flow of the Rio
Grande at Preside.
The first perennial tributary of the
Rio Grande below Elephant Butte is
the Con,ho rising in the mountains Of
northern Mexico and flowing several
hundred miles northerly into the Rio
Grande at Preside del Norte. In sea-
son it is torrential stream of great
magnitude and at all times carries
much water A cross-sect.on OF the
Rio Grade just below where the Con-
chos joins 1t, shows an area at least
% times as great as the area of a cross
section of the Rio Grande just above
the mouth OF the Conchos, measured to
the highest water mark known, accOr-
ding to the evidence, in 33 years; the
carrying capacity at the lower CROSS
section being variously estimated at Is
to % times as great as at the upper
cross-sectiOn.
1t has only been shown by the evil
dence that the waters In the Rio
Grsnde bed passed Preside del Norte,
the mouth of the Conchos, in consider
able quantities upon one occasion, in
May, 1897, but it is fairly inferable
from the testimony that such waters
have passed such point on other occa-
sions in such quantities. One witness
testified that in May, 1897, the flow of
the Rio Grande raised the height of
the water over a ford at PrdsidiO del
Norte three feet for eight or ten days
And some estin ates were made base1
upon the above mentioned cross Sec
ton, showing the flow to be 3 $50 cubic
feet per second. And l find that the
evidence fails to show that at the
period mentioned the waters so flowing
by the mouth of the Conchos affected
the height OF the river at Laredo, Tex
as, to any considerable degree.
The Rio Grande was navigated in q
row boat in the winter of 1894 from
Ell Paso to the mouth of the Conchos,
400 miles, and from there to Del Rio,
562 miles. There Is no evidence to
show any obstruction to the flow of the
river from Del Rio to Rio GraEde City,
or any cause of loss except by seepsge
and evaporation.
The distance from Preside del Norte
to Rio Grande City, Ia over 900 miles,
and the bee of the river q succession of
basins or valleys, of the same character
and affording the same facilities for
absorbing the water as the valleys
above the Conchos; and / find that
large amounts of water flowing between
the Conchos and Rio Grande City are
lost between said points by evapora-
ration and seepage.
The soundings by the boundary COM
mission in the bed of the river at Ell
Paso show the depth OF sand and
gravel to be at least sixty feet, and the
surface appearances along the other
valleys and basins of the river indicate
the same formation to at least the same
depth.