The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1921-09-13
HUMBOLDT HISTORY
/ IN WATER CASE
CONTINUED from Page one)

4 &aS ROotes th4o nidhin6 a 1GuCt. ut1
were linked with rawhide from one
! post to the other. This fence was
about six feet high. inside of which
!, was hay. loose and stacked, and also
. some baled hay. That was in the year
, 1853, l am pretty sure. The three
/. men working for Frank CLARK were
engaged at that time in excavating a
foundation in the upper side of the
corral. apparently for building They
told me 1t was for the purpose of
packing ice, and instead of sawdust
they used hay to preserve ths Ice.
Primeval Hay Press
There was a baling press there in
1863, one of the old kind, such a one
as could be operated almost entirely
by hand without aid of machinery of
any kind. 1t was constructed of logs,
one side of which had been hewn
of, and also of strips, probably
or 8 inches wide and two or three
inches thick that had been placed
first on the inside of the hay press.
The bottom was of the same material.
The follower was of the same mater
ial. This follower was raised out
of the hay press by means of long
lever constructed from what appar-
emily had been a small pine when
taken from the forest, from the di-
ameter at the lower end. by means of
a rope. I remember it quite well.
should judge there were not less than
SO tons. To my best recollection 1t
must have been between 20 to so tons
of baled hay stacked up.
standing at the house and looking
toward the river one could see a dam
thrown across the river made of
rocks. l went down to the river on
the afternoon of our arrival at st.
Marys in '63 to this dam. For those
times the state of water in the river
was said to be very low. and although
the water was low, yet I remember
the water ran over this dam in places.
In other places I noticed that 1t
ran through, the water ran through |
between the loose rocks, some of
which were quite large and were
boulders which had been brought to
hold the brush In place.
First Proof of Farm Country
ION talking with Wright on the
subject of the improvements that
were then made there he pointed out
to me a crop of grain which he had
planted, he said by them, that season
in 1863 The talk arose about the
grain in this way. I had heard it
said that this was not a farming
on the road from California
here, from some, but others especially
by one man, whose name l recall as
Cross, said than anything could be
raised here that could be raised In
Northern California, grain, such as
wheat. barley. oats. and vegetables
such as potatoes. onions. etc.
Farming In Water Canyon
"At that time this man Cross kept
q station In the Sierra Nevada noun
tains on the road leading from Red
Blur to Honey Lake Valley and
to the Lawson Meadows In
the near vicinity of the locality
have spoken of as st. Mary's. This
same Mr.. Cross subsequently moved
to and settled In what we called In
these days Cross Canyon, near Win
nemucca, and planted a crop of grain
raised these crops. that being the
canyon we now call Water Canyon,
the source of supply of water for the
city of Winnemucca.
Nov, the next day after our arrival
at st. Marys. In 1868. drove our cat
tie down the northwestern side of the
channel of the Humboldt river from
st. Marys to where that Mr.. George
Berritt had his camp, and then, re-
VA AAh8 SoaAS poSA Wy, uut SioSci W
the river and some distance from the
station Of St. Marys I noticed, in ad-
dition to what have already spoken
Of, meadows where the natural grass,
such as blue point, had been moved,
some Of It was still on the meadows
In rows and small stacks and I dis
tinctly remember fresh wagon tracks {
leading to and from that meadow and {
between that and this station of st. 1
Marys. ! returned to the station the I
next morning, crossed the river just
below the dam that l had seen and l
took the road to Unionville. /
Did All Sorts Of Work
THE territory. then called Hum
boldt county, has been my home ever
since 1858, In the fall of that year. At
Unionville until 1873 and at Winnie
nucca ever since. Until the year 1870
worked as common laborer at vari-
BUS kinds of work drove teams of ]