Yerington times. [volume] (Yerington, Nev.) 1907-1932, 1922-01-11


State Engineer of Nevada, allocating
water rights on the Carson river.
was the official shorthand reporter
who reproted the case of Union Mill
& Mining Company VS.. II. +. Dang
berg and about 80 other defendants.
involving all the priorities on the Car
son River from the state line to Day.
ton. and tried the suit of Anderson
and about 40 others against Bassman
and about so others involving priorities
on the West Fork of the river from
Cameron's ranch in Alpine. the high
est ranch, to Van Sickle's, the lowest
on that branch. tabulated both
suits, and reduced about 10000 pages
of testimony to about 800 pages each,
and therefore claim to be fairly ia
miliar with the evidence The men
and women who testified under my
pencil and under my examination and
cross-exalnination, were the original
appropriators, divcrsionists and users
of water for purposes of irrigation and
stock and domestic purposes. and the
truth was ascertained by the attorneys
for the contending parties.
The following arc few of the old
est who testified in both cases: ID. r.
Jones. Charles Mack, Mrs. Ann Carey,
Charles r. Holbrook, George w. Pier
son, Harrison Berry, Ben Palmer,
A. p. Squires, J. p Van Sickle, Adam
I.antz. W. Crosser, Jake Rodcnbaugh.
Theo Hawkins. w. w. Harvey. Mary
Merrill. Thomas Barber, Peter Vol
lem. Robert Trimmer, Hannah Clog
ston, Ezra Jarvis, Agnes Scossa.
(widow OF Snowshoe Thompson,)
Theodore Tilman and Peter Curtz,
every one OF whom became acquainted
with Carson Valley prior to 1860.
The first dam built on the Carson
river was built by d. r. Jones and
A. r. Squires in 1858. and it still
stands. and is the only dam that stood
the flood OF 1907, Brigham Young and
his party arrived in Salt Lake i'll 1S47,
and in lS4o or 1850 he commanded
some Of the faithful 20 spread ext and
locate and cultivate, and The first party
arrived in Carson Valley about the
year 1850, and Mottsvillc and Mormon
Station. 1now Genoa) were the first
settlements Under the Mormon law,
Ordinances OF the State of Descret)
each person was permitted to locate
upon 100 acres. They, would put a
stake or pile of brush around the cor
ners, and guided themselves by COM
pass, and failed to take into consider
alton the variation of the needle, thus
drawing their lines some 10 degrees
west of true north. When they ar
rived in the valley, natural grasses
grew abundantly, and they did not
need to irrigatc to cut all the hay re-
quired for their stock. In fact it was
not until about the eighties that stock
men put up hay, and this only after
having SuIlSiSu SiSd'iy NOM io'" W
stock that died Of cold or want of
feed. Until 1889 hay and feed for
stock could be had in the valley almost
for the asking. Up to that year trans
fers OF land were common: an emil
grant would come along. and alter a
few minutes talk with a squatter would
exchange his outfit for the land, and
they would thus change their occu-
pations.
The Comstock was discovered in
1889, and terrible stampede followed
in 1860. and hay sold i'll Carson Valley
for as high as $500 a ton, and the
suuatters rushed for the willows and
cut every spear of hay they could
find, and bv the end of 1860 there was
not a foot of bottom land that was
not located. The winter OF lSol-z
was an exceedingly severe winter, and
terrible floods followed. AS soon as
the water subsidized the squatterS
built little wing and brush dams i'll
the river and diverted as much water
as they could by this means, and dug
little bitches here and there. and led
water on the higher places as best
they could--and that was the way
and that was the year, that the firs'
water rights were fastened on tho
Carson river, and all claims to the con
trary are not supported by reason
as it is unreasonable to believe thai
the squatters even thought OF wing
or brush dams until they were needed
and they were not needed until lSoO
SO. insofar as the bottom lands or
the West Forl, of the Carson Rivel
are concerned that could possibly b'
irrigated by means Of brush and wing
dams. it is safe to say that their rights
all began in 1866, and that no on