The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-08-20

or more than enough to buy all the ir-
rigation bitches in Colorado.
NJ. NJ. Murdoch who was the first
witness called las Monday and who
then escaped cross examination, was
the first witness to be put on the
stand Friday Mr.. lawson for the
defense. conducted the cross examina-
ton. Unde his questioning witness
told how he, with a of 9TH
ers, had traversed the Arkansas river
from a point just above Wichita to its
source in the year 1860. He said he
first saw the river in June of that
year. His account of the condition
in which lie found the river was in
tereSting, but in the main it did not
bring out any testimony that was new
aside from the fact that the mountain
were at that time covered with a heavy
growth of timber, but that at present
this timber had about disappeared.
Witness told of his first observation
soil while on that trip, giving as an
evidence that at one time some bran
which had been scattered in a water
hole drifted to the down stream side
of the hole. Counsel tried to get
witness to say that the prevailing
winds in that part of the country
were from the west and that the bra
may have been blown to the east
side of the hole, but did not succeed,
though witness would not say such
could not have been the case.
Witness said when he came to
Wichita in 1872 there was no bridge
across h Arkansas river at this
place. People crossed the river by
fording or by means of a ferry. A
toll bridge was built across the river
on Douglas avenue during 1872 and
witness thought it was q paying prop
osition. During the fall of the ear
the river, though quite deep, was
fordable. Witness did not remember
the length of h abutments at the
time the first bridge was built. He
frequently had called attention to the
narrowing of the river and had pro-
tested against it. Witness told about
the flood of 1877. He said the river
now is at Douglas avenu and water
was Is or 20 inches higher than it
was in July, 1904. Witness reiterated
the statement that during the first
Is years of his residence here the
average flow ofthe river was decided
ly greater than it a been during the
past ten years This he thought could
not be otherwise as long as the peo-
pie of Colorado were taking so much
water out of it. He said when he
went to Colorado in 1860 he found
more water in the river at Pueblo
than he did at places eas of there,
and accounted for this on the theory
that it had been absorbed by the
underfow. He declared that the
water which the people of Wichita
drank was without doubt Rocky
"oACAH A@AA8 49, $500
considered, was but a natural result
of conditions that existed in Colorado
and Kansas. AS to the extent of the
under1ow witness said he had known
of the water in the Minnesota river,
which is twenty miles from the Ar
kansas, to rise when the June rise
came down the Arkansas river from
Colorado.
He said he thought the theory of the
government expert that velocity of the
underfow was but nine or ten feet.
was at fault, in hat this was much
slower than the water would naturally
run through loose sand and gravel
with a fall OF eight feet to the mile
Witness said he mad written to the
secretary of war complaining to him
about the way in which the people of
Colorado were using the waters from
the river about fifteen years ago, but
received no encouragement as to any
interference pom the part OF the gov
ernment-
Witness stated that he had taken