HD 9506 .U63 IC287 1887 UC-NRLF B M bD7 SEfl REMARKS L. ROBINSON >KK House Committee on Water Rights and Drainage, February 17, 1887. IN SUPPORT OF ASSEMBLY BILL 451, RELATING TO mpounding Reservoirs for Mining and Other Debris. uw**V, WHVUBTIY or CAtirawttA, DAW REMARKS L,. L. ROBINSON BKKORK House Committee on Water Rights and Drainage, February 17, 1887. IN SUPPORT OF ASSEMBLY BILL 451, RELATING TO mpounding Reservoirs for Mining and Other Debris. REMARKS OF L. L. ROBINSON, Before House Oommmittee on Water Rights and Drain- age, February 17, 1887. in support of Assembly Bill No. 451, relating to Impounding Reservoirs for Mining and other Debris. Mr. Chairman It is certain that we have in this State many water reservoirs, storing large quantities of water, used for municipal, mining, irrigation and other pur- poses. Some of these reservoirs are of great capacity notably, the Bear Valley reservoir in San Bernar- dino Co., which will store 750 million cubic yards of water; the Spring Valley reservoirs, which supply San Francisco, having a capacity of 20 million* of gallons per day, for two years with still another one now about being constructed, with more than double that capacity. In Bowie's Hydraulics is a statement showing some of the mining reservoirs, with a storage capacity of about 250 million cubic yards of water ; and it would be within b.ounds to say, that the water storage of the various reservoirs in California is over 1,500 million cubic yards. These reservoirs are at all elevations, from 100 feet above tide, to 7,000 feet or more; and are situated, almost without exception, in the valleys of streams subject to great rainfall. The dams which form these reservoirs are constructed of earth, rubble, stone, timber and solid masonry. Some of them have been built for 30 years or more, and are still intact. There are numerous smaller reservoirs, used in connection with mining ditches, as settling and dis- tributing basins, in proximityto the mines. The dams at most of these last mentioned reservoirs are made with brush or earth, or cribs filled with stone or earth few, if any, of stone, as they are not for permanent storage, nor of great capacity. Mr. State Engineer Hall stated in his remarks the other evening before the Irrigation Committee, that he had, in his exami- nations, located sites for 73 dams for storing water. It must be evident to the mind of the most ordinary person, that if all these existing reservoirs (with a storage capacity of at least 1,500 million cubic yards) were drained of the water, and in its place, " earth, " rocks, boulders, clay, sand or solid material con- " tained in any place or gravel ground or mines " were deposited, it would certainly remain there. That there would be any danger, of any such reser- voir filled with this material giving way, is farcical. But assuming that such were possible, the conse- quence would be so inappreciable, as not to be worthy of notice. The pressure of this sort of material, against any dam which has held water, would be so small as compared with that of water of the same depth, that it would not in any way whatever affect the structure. Taking a water reservoir with a vertical dam 100 feet high, fill it with mining debris, and the pressure upon the dain would be approximately as 65 for debris, is to 156 for water. The flatter the slope on the water side of the dam. the greater would be the difference in pressure in favor of debris, depending upon the slope. If, from the effect of dynamite or other high ex- plosive, one of these dams was attempted to be de- stroyed, it would be of little consequence; as even if such a force were applied to any such structure, filled with debris, and succeeded in blowing a space in the top of it, the process of washing out the debris would be very slow, and it would not be possible for it, or for any material part of it to pass out of the reservoir before it could be repaired. In water reservoirs the result of violence in destroying a darn would be very different, as in that case the water itself would at once become a destructive power, and aid in its own escape. Even the resultant damage from such a disaster is very much over-estimated in' our State, as the canyons contain but a very sparse pop- ulation, and but little or 'no property of any value. These canyons are subject to floods from nat- ural causes, to such an elevation, that important works or structures are not erected in them. Per- haps the most notable example of the effect of de- struction of such a dam in our State and for that matter, in the United States happened in June, 1883, when what is known as the English dam, situa- ted on the head waters of the Middle Yuba, nearly 7,000 feet above tide, was maliciously destroyed by dynamite. The water was 100 feet deep, and the reservoir contained 650 million cubic feet of water most of which passed out of the reservoir within an hour. When this flood reached Marysville, it raised the Yuba river there only 2i feet not more than any average rain-storm would do and when it reached Sacramento, it raised the river there only 8-| inches. The rivers were at low-water stage. Had they been in flood stage, or in any stage much above low water, the result would have been inappreciable; in fact, it would not have been known. It is true that the levee on the Linda side of the river was bro- ken, and some little damage was occasioned among the farmers below that point, owing to the defective levee, where it broke. But the total damages to all persons injured have been settled by the company owning the dam, at a cost to it including the restor- ation of the levees of $22,000. Had this reservoir been filled with debris, and it was possible to have destroyed the dam in some way, does any one believe that all of the material in it would have been swept out in an hour, or in a year, or in five years, or at all and if such a result were possible, would it have injured any person in the valley? As I settled all claims for damage, I am familiar with what I state, and know whereof I am speaking. I mention the foregoing in order to show that even water dams, or reservoirs in the mountains, are not such a terror as is claimed by those opposed to the mining industry. And certainly if a vast water reservoir like this could be destroyed with so little real damage, it is quite certain, reasoning from analogy if there be any sim- ilarity that a debris reservoir in the same river, at same place, of same capacity, would do no injury at all, even if it were possible to so instantaneously de- stroy the dam from top to bottom, as to permit the debris confined there to escape of its own volition. The opponents of the bill base their opposition to it upon the fear, openly expressed, which was voiced by a federal judge from Oregon, that if one of these contemplated debris dams should give way " there is no telling what the consequence would be." He certainly had never examined into what may be called cause and effect, or he would not have made such a farcical remark (if I may use such an expres- sion in connection with a Judge of the United States Court), as any engineer of any experience and prom- inence will say that the consequences of the giving way of a dam, retaining a reservoir filled to the brim with mining or any other debris even if such a thing be possible would be of little or no moment. The main Yuba River, when it reaches a point near Smartsville, becomes narrowed between basaltic cliffs, to a width of 300 feet, at ordinary stage of water, which rises in flood, to a maximum height of only 12 feet with rocky cliffs on each side to a height of 1,200 to 1,500 feet. This location has been spoken of as a favorable site for a debris reservoir. But there are many other locations on the same river, and also upon all the mining rivers, where such res- ervoirs could be formed. Below this point, the pres- ent bed of the river commences to widen, until it reaches a width of two miles or more; and is narrow- ed again at Marysville, to about 800 feet, by the bridges and embankments constructed there. That a dam can be constructed at this point which shall be as permanent as the basaltic cliffs, is cer- tain. That it can be carried to any required height is also quite certain; and. although some of our learned Judges, and equally wise lawyers, give it as their opinion that it cannot be done, yet every en- gineer on this coast, and I might say, elsewhere, will say without hesitation that dams, to permanently im- pound debris, can be constructed in California, as well as in other parts of the world. I served many years of my life as a civil engineer, and still am proud to claim that as my profession; and I would, as an engineer, be ashamed of my pro- fession, if I thought that its members could not grap- ple with so simple an engineering problem as the construction and maintenance of a dam or dams to impound debris in any river or stream in the State. In evidence that the prominent and well - known members of this profession concur in that view, I beg to read you the following: OFFICE MINERS' ASSOCIATION, 320 SANSOME ST., BOOM 23, SAN FRANCISCO, February 7th, 1887. To : SIR In your opinion as a Civil Engineer, is it practicable to permanently impound mining or other debris in the mining riv- ers and valleys of the west slope of the Sierra ? Please answer "Yes" or "No" on this page, signing your name to it, and return to the Miners' Association. By Jos. MOOSER, Secretary. Replies to the above circular were received as fol- lows from Aug. J. Bowie, Jr., Yes. G. F. Allardt, Yes. It is not alone practicable but any works in that direction would prove beneficial, not only to the miners but also to the farmers and to the navigability of the Sacra- mento River. Thomas Price, F. von Leicht, A. W. "Von Schmidt, L. J. Le Conte, George Davidson, J. B. Mauran, Constantin Heusch, Calvin Brown, Milo Hoadley, Geo. E. Gray, Melville Atwood, Hennen Jennings, E. J. Molera, A. Boscbke, Geo. J. Specht, Marsden Manson, L. L. Robinson, Luther Wagoner, Wm. H. Hall, By proper works. With exceptions. Under proper conditions. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. The building of retaining dams will be of benefit not only to the miners but also to the farmers. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. As an abstract proposition. Col. Mendell, U. S. Corps of Engineers; the late G-en. B. S. Alexander, U. S. Corps of Engineers; Hamilton Smith, Jr., and Capt. J. B. Eads also stand of record as to the efficiency of impounding reser- voirs for debris. That the construction and maintenance of dams to permanently impound debris in California rivers is fea- sible, certainly, from the foregoing exhibit, cannot be doubted; and I therefore turn to another branch of this subject, which is, why the miners have not al- ready erected such dams. The answer to this is brief. Their counsel tell them they have now not the legal power to do it, and that is all that is really asked for in this bill. In order to do this work, which the miners, or some of them, are probably will- ing to undertake in some localities, it is absolutely necessary to have the power to condemn (under the law of eminent domain) land for such reservoirs; also, material to construct the dams with; also, the right of way for canals from these dams, to such locations in the valley as may be desirable to finally dispose of some of it in the tule or other basins or depressions, where it will remain undisturbed; also, to condemn rights of way for roads to and from the same loca- tions ; in fact, to condemn what is absolutely essen- tial and necessary to restrain the debris sought to be impounded by any one structure or at any one or more locations. It is also necessary that all min- ers whose debris flows into any stream above such impounding reservoir, shall contribute a fair quota of the cost of constructing and maintaining the dam or dams necessary to impound all debris flowing to it, and it would be no more than an act of justice that the State or General Government (or the drain- age area of the district flowing into the stream above any such dam) should contribute a fair proportion of cost of such dam and maintaining same, as it would not only impound the mining debris but also the 10 natural denudations of that district which would otherwise pass on down into the lower rivers. That the miners believe this can be done is certain; and as they, as a class, are apt to show that they do not hesitate to carry out practically their be- liefs, it may not be out of place to say here, that, while Mr. Lincoln was hefitating about expend- ing any portion of the $250,000 appropriation made some few years since by the United States Government, a few miners telegraphed to him that if he would allow $125,000 of that sum to be ex- pended, we would deposit an equal amount to his credit in San Francisco, to be expended by him in conjunction with the Government money, by the Gov- ernment engineers making the sum of $250,000 to be expended on one structure on the Yuba River. There is no doubt whatever that this proposal would have been accepted (in fact, was virtually accepted) and the dam have been built had not the principal counsel of the Anti-Debris Association written to the Secretary of War, perhaps the boldest and most un- true statement ever sent to an official of the Govern- ment. In order that this statement may be clearly understood, 1 will read from a pap er which was quite recently read before the Technical Society of the Pacific Coast, on Mining Debris in California rivers: 11 " As illustrative of these facts, nothing could throw more dis- credit on the value of the sediment determination than a quota- tion from Vol. XII, p. 9080, of the testimony in the suit of Woodruff vs. The No. Bloomfield Gravel M. Co.et aL, wherein a letter to the Secretary of War, from one of the learned counsel for the plaintiff, states, that "the high water discharge (ordinary) of the Sacramento River is 100,000 cubic feet per second, charged to the extent of more than one per cent, with hydraulic mining sand, besides a heavy current of it flowing at the bottom." Let us analyze this statement. 100,000 cubic feet per second 6,000,000 cubic feet per minute. 6,000,000 cubic feet per minute X 1440=8, 640,000, 000 cubic feet discharged per 24 hours. One per cent, of this amount=86,400,000 cubic feet of material transported every 24 hours. Reducing this to yards, we have 3,200,000 cubic yards of material being daily carried off in sus- pension by the Sacramento River, without taking into considera- tion "what rolls along the bottom." To put this in a miM form, if this river were to run but 12 days during the year, 38.000,000 cubic yards would be carried off in suspension alone, which about equals the total amount of material mined (estimated) in an en- tire year in the area tributary to the Sacramento River, not one- half of which quantity ever reaches the navigable streams. From this showing the river must be well scoured out, and at the end of the month ought to be very clean and clear of all debris. This letter, which appears in the testimony, was reinforced in the evidence, by an extraordinary statement by engineers of the plaintiff, to the effect that "for every cubic yard of material car- ried in suspension by the water, there were three cubic yards carried along the bottom of the stream." Now adding this ad- ditional amount to the material carried in suspension, there are 12,800,000 cubic yards discharged by the Sacramento River every 24 hours, or, in three days, a quantity equal to the entire amount of debris which his baaa washed from the mines in a year, and for the year 20 times more than Humphrey and Abbott state is the quantity of debris passing out of the Mississippi in same length of time. Further comment is unnecessary." This enormous exaggeration to call it by so mild 12 a term stopped all expenditures, with the practical result of injury to all interests in the State. It is not the first or only time that a lie has done great injury to the miners since the crusade against them began. While upon this que'stion of exaggeration or false statements, in connection with this matter, it may not be amiss to call the attention of the Committee to some other equally untrue statements with which the miners have to contend. Commencing with the statement just read (to the Secretary of War), I will again refer to this same pa- per from the transactions of the Technical Society, which certainly carries conviction as to the fals- ity of the charges so freely made as to the filling of the rivers and bays with debris from the mines. The following table shows the statements made under oath by the engineer employed by the plaintiff in the Woodruff suit, of the total amount of material mined out of all the mines draining into the Yuba river: Washings at South Fork 64,874,000 Washings at North Fork 15,512,000 Washings at Middle Fork 26, 170,000 Washings at Deer Creek 12,585,000 Washings Main Fork Main Yuba, above initial point 35,660,000 Washings Main Yuba, below initial point 21,260,000 Grand total 176,061,000 "It appears from the evidence of the same engineers in this celebrated debris suit, that about 30 per cent, of all the material 13 which has been mined has passed down into the main river, both in suspension and moving along the bottom of the channels. It was also stated in the plaintiff's evidence, that a much greater mass is moving along the bottom than near the surface, and that on July 29, 1882, when the water passing Marysville aggregated twenty thousand miner's inches, or 44,600,000 cubic feet daily, samples of it taken near the surface showed that 3^ cubic yards of solid material were being transported in suspension per inch of water, amounting to 65,000 cubic yards per day in suspension. These quantities appear to vary with the season of the year, the amount of water, and the guesses of the engineer. Thirty per cent, of the 176,061,000 cubic yards, shows that 52,818,300 cubic yards passed on down into the main rivers; 48,462,100 cubic yards are stated to be stored in the canons, making a total of 101,280,400 cubic yards of detritus thus accounted for, leaving seventy-four millions seven hundred and eighty thousand six hundred cubic yards of material depos- ited between the foot-hills and the mouth of the Yuba. One million thirty-two thousand five hundred and thirty cubic yards (1,032,530) of material are necessary to raise one square mile one foot in neighfc. If the foregoing estimate of the quan- tity stored below the foot-hills be correct, the total fill at present should be only 2.90 feet, over the area of 25 square miles, or the 16,000 acres which have already been spoken of as damaged. It is a well known fact that at Smartsville the depth of the debris is at least 125 feet; at Point de Guerre not less than 80 feet (?), and at the mouth of the Yuba from 15 to 30 feet. As far as can be inferred, the average depth of the deposit over the area mentioned, may be approximated from 15 to 25 feet, (?) which would make the aggregate amount of material deposited in this locality vary from 387,200,000 cubic yards to 645,000,000. As the total quantity of material mined, in accordance with the foregoing statements is only 176,000,000, thirty (30) per cent, (or 53,000,000 cubic yards) of which has passed off in suspension, and 48,000,000 have been found stored in the canons, leaving only 74,000,000 unaccounted for, the resulting 313,000,000, or 569,000,000 cubic yards of debris which are said to be spread 14 over the 16,000 acres, must be due to other causes than mining, or these statements are absolutely incorrect. There is no doubt that these differences show, that the main accumulation is due to natural erosion or unknown causes, other- wise they can only be the result of an attempt to reconstruct by a futile effort of the imagination, a topography of the past. The data to which attention has been called, are not quoted in a captious spirit, but as matters of record, which stand to-day as official information, used and accepted by the State and Federal Courts of California. Glaringly incorrect as they are, judgments have been rendered upon them throwing thousands of people out of employment, and destroying many millions of property. All such estimates are, at best, only guesses. Circumstances have not permitted estimates in their true sense to be made, which could have been done only at a great cost 'of time and money, which latter has not been forthcoming for this purpose. The sediment determinations of the material transported by the several streams, show on their faces to any engineer just what they are, and that no reliance can be placed upon them. Even supposing that each test was made with the greatest care and attention, the number is too small, places too scattered, and the period of time over which the samples were taken, too short to make these determinations of any real assistance or value in ascertaining the sediment discharge of any of these rivers." I will now follow that statement by trying to cor- ner another false statement or, rather, many of them to the effect that the miners are filling the entrance to the Golden Grate, also shoaling the bar at its en- trance; and besides all that, are rapidly filling the bays of Suisun, San Pablo and San Francisco. To show how farcical the charge is of injury to the bar and the Golden Grate, I will state that in ajpaper read before the Tech. Soc. of the Pacific Coast, in 1886, 15 by Col. Q-. H. Mendell, U. S. Corps of Engineers, and also from a paper read before the Geographical Soc. of San Francisco, upon the question of u the reported shoaling of the bar at the entrance to San Francisco bay," by Prof. Greo. Davidson, U. S. Coast Survey, both gentlemen concurred in the opinion, fortified by surveys in detail, that no appreciable change had tak- en place at either the entrance to the harbor or on the bar. This certainly disposes of that charge. As to the filling of the bays and the Strait of Carquinez which has also been charged to the min- ers. It is well to get at facts. " The area of these three bays and the straits is, in round figures, 740 square miles. As it takes 1,032,530 cubic yards to cover one square mile one foot in depth, it follows that it will take 764 million cubic yards to raise the bottom of these bays only one foot." (Transactions Tech. Society of the Pacific Coast, Yol. III.) " There is in the Yuba River above Marysville, or above the mouth of the Feather, from 387 to 645 million cubic yards." (I estimate the quantity at about 750 million cubic yards). There is in the Feather River below mouth of the Yuba estimated for 30 miles, 25 million cubic yards. There is in the Sacramento River from mouth of 16 Feather to Sacramento, for 25 miles, 12 million cubic yards. In Sacramento River from Sacramento to Suisun Bay, estimated 18 million cubic yards. So that we have in the Feather River from Marys- ville, and Sacramento River to Suisun Bay, no less than 55 million cubic yards. If to this we add only one foot of filling in the bays (and the Anti-Debris Association claim ten times that depth of filling), it amounts to 740,000,000 cubic yards. Now, if we add the quantity still in Yuba above the Feather, at least 750,000,000 cubic yards; and it gives a grand total of 1,545,000,000 cu- bic yards of mining debris (as claimed by the Anti- Debris Association) now in the rivers and bays below the mouth of the Yuba River, but including the Yuba River arid its tributaries. To this should be added the debris in the Bear, American, and all other mining rivers, at least 105 million cubic yards. (As there is about 90 millions in Bear River alone), so says Mr. Allardt; and we have a grand total of 1,650 million cubic yards of debris, all charged to the hydraulic mines. If to this be added an extra one foot only for the mining debris lodged in the bays, say 750 million cubic yards, it would give a total of 2,400 million cubic yards, with only two feet of filling in the bays. That there is 17 that amount of filling in the bays may be true. Where did all this material come from ? Certainly not from the hydraulic mines; for if we take all the mining excavations on the Yuba, where by far the most important and largest hydraulic mining has been carried on, it was shown, according to the detailed state- ments of Mr. Allardt, the then engineer of the Anti- Debris Association, who carefully measured every mining pit, that only 176 million cubic yards had been: mined out. If we double this quantity for all the hydraulic mines elsewhere, south of and including the Feather River, which would be a very large estimate r it would only make a total of about 350 million cubic yards, which could, by the largest stretch of the imag- ination of the most radical Anti-Debris Association member, come from the mines, and it would still leave so many millions cubic yards now in the rivers and bays unaccounted for, that it would puz- zle the present learned counsel of the Anti-Debris Association, or its present engineer, to tell where it came from. One thing is very certain, it did not all come from the hydraulic mines. Perhaps the follow- ing extract from the Proceedings of the Technical So- ciety paper, page 6 and 7, will show you how much reliance is to be placed upon'the statements emanat- ing from the Anti-Debris Society herein before re- ferred to. 2 18 In the same spirit of exaggeration were the re- marks of Mr. Ohleyer, on the floor of the House re- cently, wherein he stated that the wheat tonnage of the rivers was 1,500,000 tons a year when the act- ual fact is, so far as transportation of the crop of 1886 is concerned, on the Sacramento river, that it only reaches or will reach 62,743 tons, as follows: " Total shipments of grain by river, from Tons, July 1, 1886, to January 1, 1887 , 5] ,879 Shipped in January 1887 3,400 Remaining in warehouses Febrnary 1st, 1887 7,464 Total for crop of 1886 62,743 The above includes all points north of Sacramento." Even if we double that quantity for the San Joaquin, which is not in the least danger of injury from mining debris, it would only amount, all told, to about 1-12 of the quantity stated. The same gentleman also stated in San Francisco, some few years since, before the Board of Trade and Chamber of Commerce, in an earnest address, at which I was present, that: " Unless hy- draulic mining is stopped, it will be but a few years before the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys will be filled even with the tops of the houses / and the population be forced to abandon the valley." I took exception, at the time, to the truth of the statement, and do so yet. But, even allowing a wide latitude 19 for the excitement of imagination of a speaker when detailing wrongs, both imaginary and real, yet the exaggeration is so great I cannot refrain from stating some cold facts about this threatened depopulation of the valley, consequent upon the acts of the miners. The Sacramento valley proper covers an area of 4,769 square miles. Of this area, 55J square miles is high hill land; 650 miles is low hills of rolling land near foothills; 2,3.21-nAr miles consists of dry plains, above reach of all overflow; 450 miles is subject to occa- sional overflow from tributary streams; 38VuV miles is the area of rivers sloughs and channel surface of perennial streams leaving 1,254 square miles subject to flooding. Taking this 1,254 square miles subject to floods, and the 450 square miles subject to over- flow from streams, it makes a total of, say, 1,700 square miles (leaving out the 38 square miles of the rivers and slough) in the Sacramento valley, which Mr. Ohleyer doubtless had reference to. Now, to raise this surface only one foot would take 1,755 million cubic yards which is, perhaps, more than all the workable gravel on the slope of the Sierra ad- joining that valley. If the miners' tailings were to raise that portion of the valley even with the tops of the houses, even tak- ing the tops of the houses at the eaves, say 10 feet high, it would take 17,550 million cubic yards, or 20 only about four times the quantity which the legal head of the Anti-Debris Association made the Secretary of War believe was passing Sacramento yearly, of hydraulic miners' debris or tailings. I could continue to enumerate such exaggerated statements for a much longer time if it were neces- sary, and I have only mentioned a few of them to show how far imagination will sometimes carry peo- ple who become intensely enthusiastic with their side the question. I might with propriety, perhaps in order to con- fute it re/er to the speech of Mr. Ohleyer, on the floor of the House on the 3d of this month, in advo- cacy of his Bill No. 146, wherein he stated that on the night of February 2, 1881, when the levees gave way at Marysville or Yuba City, " the reverberating sounds were heard in the near foothills of powder ex- plosions under the banks of hydraulic workings, and that the wind bore to these people, while they were fighting for life, the sounds of a shout from the min- ers that went up : ' Go for them ; drown them out ! they don't deserve anything better.' ' I do not like to comment, Mr. Chairman, upon such statements as these, which have gone out to the world as the truth. But I cannot refrain from saying that they are absolutely false. In the first place, the min- ers ^ are not savages; and although they feel in- 21 jured at the acts, statements and doings of the Anti- Debris Association and its members and agents, there is no class of our citizens who would sooner come to the aid of a people in peril, or contribute more liber- ally of their means to their aid and comfort in such times than the miners. In the second place, as the nearest hydraulic mine is some 20 miles away from Marysville, it would be a loud shout indeed which would reach that distance; and in the third place, the report from bank-blast- ing in hydraulic mines under banks is so slight as to be heard only a short distance away. There can be no doubt, Mr. Chairman, that the miners have contributed materially to the rilling of the mining rivers ever since mining commenced in California, and that the people whose lands have been covered by debris have a right to complain, and had they when the evil first commenced taken proper measures, the money value of their injury could have been compensated. But during the years that the evils now complained of were growing, the land-own- ers injured were being richly compensated by finding a ready market at large prices among the miners for all that could be raised on the land endan- gered, which gave the land its then large value; and it was not until the flood of 18612 swept down into the lower streams the 13 or 14 years' accumulations in 99 the mountains of mining debris that the evil began to be very injurious. That every creek, gulch, stream, canon or bar was, up to that time swarming with miners is well known. Perhaps no better evidence of the fact can be shown than the yield of gold dur- ing the intervals of time between 1848 and including 1861: From 1848 to and including 1849, it was only $10,306,661 " 1849 " " 1854. " ...335,553,456 " 1854 " 1859, " 249,060,717 " 1859 " " 1861, " 35,080,158 Total from commencement of 1848 to close of 1861. .$680,990,992 The largest yields were in 1851 $75,938,232 and in 1852 81,294,700 The yield for 1886 was only 12,579,356 being the smallest yield ever known. The total yield, so far as known, has been $1,144,364,521; but it is believed that the actual yield has been in excess of this sum certainly up to $1,200,000,000. During the first 13 years, or up to the time when the flood of 1861-62 filled the mining rivers, more than one-half of the total product (or $680,000,000) was extracted, while during the 25 succeeding years, some $466,000,000 only was extracted. Hydraulic min- ing did not commence on a large scale until about 1867, although it was some years after that date be- 23 fore it assumed the proportions of 1880. Prior to 1867 it was carried on upon a very limited scale. The myriads of miners at work on the west slope of the Sierra deposited their tailings all of a light character into the streams adjacent to where they worked, for water was scarce and expensive, and as every miner so disposed of his tailings as not to de- posit them upon the claim below him, these vast quantities accumulated until the flood of 1861-62 swept them all into the rivers, and the evils now com- plained of then became of a serious nature. After this time the miners on the Yuba contributed $80,- 000, unasked, to aid in building levees along the south side of that river above Marysville. So that all of the evils now complained of are not chargeable to the hydraulic miners. It is, however, upon the heads of the present miners that the doings of nearly 40 years now falls, to their ruin and to their loss to an extent of over $100,000.000. Out of these difficulties has grown up a series of decisions of the Courts which must close almost every mine in California, no matter what kind of a mine it may be. I will read from the decree of Judge Sawyer in the Woodruff case, which is now the law of mining operations in California, but not in any other country in the world. From it there is no es- cape except by legislation, and it is worse than use- 24 less for any class of mining to try and escape from it. " On consideration whereof, it is by the Court order- ed, adjudged and decreed as follows, to-wit: That the defendants and their and each . and all of their servants, agents and employes, are perpetually en- joined and restrained from discharging or dumping into the Yuba River, or into any stream tributary to said river or any of its forks or branches, any of the tailings, boulders, cobble stones, gravel, sand, clay, debris or refuse matter from any of the tracts of min- eral land' or mines described in the complaint. And also from causing or suffering to flow into said rivers, creeks or tributary streams aforesaid therefrom, any of the tailings, boulders, cobble stones, gravel, sand, clay, or refuse matter resulting or arising from min- ing thereon. And, also, from allowing others to use the water supply of said several mines or mining claims, or any part thereof, for the purpose of wash- ing into said rivers and streams, any earth, rocks, boulders, clay, sand or solid material contained in any placer or gravel ground or mine." During the trial of this case, which occupied many months, and in which the testimony covered over twelve thousand pages, great latitude was allowed by the Court, and the. case covered a very wide range, involving all kinds of mining, and although the coun- 25 sel of Woodruff pledged himself, Woodruff, and the Anti-Debris Association, as not attacking nor intend- ing to attack any other class or kind of mining than that mentioned and described in the complaint, to- wit: hydraulic mining, yet as will be seen by the final decree of Judge Sawyer which was drawn by the plaintiff's counsel above it includes every pos- sible kind of mining. The pledges given by the counsel of the Anti-De- bris Association cannot be kept, and were never in- tended to be kept. They answered a good temporary purpose for the Anti-Debris Association, like numer- ous other untrue statements. But the truth has at last come to the surface that they do not comply with the pledge, nor have they any wish or desire so to do, nor could they if they would. On the contrary, Mr. Ohleyer stated in his speech on February 3d, that it was their intention to protect the streams from injury by law, against the indiscriminate dumping in of rubbish and debris of every kind from other sources, as well as hydraulic mines. It is a well known fact that almost every hy- draulic mine on the west slope of the Sierras is closed; yet the prosecutions continue against drift mining, and placer mining, and suits have been insti- tuted against water companies to prevent them from selling their water to quartz mines. From the very 26 nature of the industry, and from the wording of the decrees it must be evident that no mine is exempt from the fate which has already befallen so many mines. It does not lay in the mouth of any lawyer or association to say that one may mine, another not; as every mine is open to attack, and by any person acquiring or leasing land below it, with the result of a swift and certain injunction. The miners are at last awake to their danger, and they are now trying by this Bill to so legalize their industry as to allow it to proceed without injury to any, and they believe with benefit to all. It is useless to say that mining can continue ham- pered as it now is. It may be, that even this bill will not rehabilitate this vast industry, The bill does not contain a single feature which in any way jeopardizes any interest. If it becomes a law it may in some places be availed of; in others not. It is certainly very strict in its demands upon the miners, and if carried into effect will cost them very heavily indeed: more I fear than in their crippled condition they can well stand. But it is perhaps worthy of a trial. If the miners cannot afford to build the dams they will not try it. If under the bill the miners can continue their op- erations by any or all the processes known to them without detriment to any person or interest, it cer- 27 tainly cannot harm any one, and all will admit it must result in great benefit to the State at large. That a vast quantity of debris from all tributary streams finds its way into the rivers must be self-evi- dent to any one who went by rail from Sacramento to San Francisco on Saturday or Sunday last, and that the filling of the Yolo basin does riot always, come from the Sacramento and American rivers, and is not due at all to mining debris. The tule basin referred to was and is under water, while the Sacramento river was not near out of its banks. This water came from Cache creek, which was out of its banks and flooding a large extent of country. Its water was thick, with sediment, more so than I ever saw the Yuba. Such was also the case with Putah creek, Pinole creek, San Pablo creek and Wildcat creek; in fact, every rivulet was a river of mud, although there is not a mine upon any of them. Yet all the vast quan- tity of material carried down by these streams is. by the Anti-Debris Association, charged to the miners. The actual damage committed on the Yuba river, where the greatest damage is committed in any part of the State, does not really amount to one month's run of the enjoined mines as the State Engineer, in his report of 1880, Part III, page 19, fixes the total area damaged on the Yuba at 15,220 acres, which have suffered a depreciation in .value of $1,074,550. Mr. 28 Hart, the counsel of the Anti-Debris Association, stated to the committee last evening that the dam- ages consequent upon mining debris exceeded 50 millions of dollars. In this statement he out-Herods Herod; and the Anti-Debris Association is to be con- gratulated upon having secured for its counsel the only lawyer now living who would be, in all respects, a worthy successor of the writer of the famous letter to the Secretary of War, hereinbefore referred to. In connection with this part of the matter, I will also quote from same report of the State Engineer, page 21, wherein he fixes the total quantity of land injured in the State at 43,546 acres, of an average value of about $63 per acre, and fixes the average value of it as it is, at only $3 per acre, leaving total damage in the State at about $2,597,635. This dam- age, he says on page 22, is " based altogether upon '" hearsay evidence. At the same time there are bene- '" fits to some lands from deposit of sediment upon " them, and from the rise of adjacent waters, making " them moist and cultiva table, which he had not 11 estimated." The real value of the lands damaged does not in fact amount to one-half of the amount stated. The natural erosion of the Sacramento basin is very large indeed, and I will quote from same paper with reference to it, p. 10, where it says, " If it was at 29 the same rate as the Po " (and it is certainly greater, as the mountain sides of the Po are swept clean of earth) " it would amount to 43,000,000 cubic yards per annum, or more than all that comes from the mines; yet all of this is charged to the miners." An engineering witness of the Anti-Debris So- ciety, stated last evening that the quantity of ma- terial from the mines which would pass in sus- pense over or out of any debris dam, would amount to at least 3 per cent, of the total volume of water and material passing into the dam. Now let us analyze this statement and see how much reliance can be placed upon it. 2,230 cubic feet of water is a miner's inch ; its duty in hydraulic mining on the Yuba is fixed at 3J yards, so that 3 per cent, of the volume would amount to 73 1 8 () per cent, of all material mined out. Does any one believe that out of every 1,000 cubic yards of gravel discharged into a stream from a mine, 738 cubic yards would pass off in suspense, even without a dam to restrain it ? If we take 3 per cent, of the material mined out as what he meant, it would be on the Yuba River only 573,000 cubic yards per year, which would only cover 320 acres 1 foot in depth, and would take 50 years to cover the 25 square miles of the damaged lands in the Yuba above Marys- ville, one foot in depth. If the residents of the valley will join the miners 30 in procuring some United States Government or other non-partisan Civil Engineer of skill and experience, and obtain a plain, candid statement of the facts connected with the Debris problem, with a view to get at some mode of solving it, there would be but little difficulty in arriving at a result beneficial to all ; but as they will not do that, the miners are forced to apply to the Legislature for such relief as it can grant. Perhaps this Bill may afford it. If so, it may result in good to all; it certainly cannot injure any one in the valley. Relief must come in the end, for the hundreds of millions of property ruined and being ruined by continued litigation, and the ruin of thou- sands of miners will in time find some mode of relief, if not in our own State, then in Congress; as the miners will not, now that they know and appreciate their danger, sit supine with folded hands. Perhaps the best evidence of the desire of the Anti-Debris Association to close all mines was shown by the animus of some of the bills introduced in both Houses this session by members of that Association. If all the money expended by the Anti-Debris Asso- ciation, the Miners' Association and individuals, had been applied toward remedial measures, as advised by the Government Engineers, they would have been completed and paid for. But so long as litigation is the rule which cannot cure the evil complained 31 of, even if every mine is closed so long will money in large sums be wasted and frittered away with ben- efit to none and injury to all, and I hope and trust that the present Legislature will in its wisdom pass some proper bill which will again rehabilitate the mining industry of our State now in danger of almost total extinguishment. APPENDIX. Extracts from a letter written ~by the Miners' Association to Hon. Robert I. Lincoln, Secretary of War, on January 31, 1883: OFFICE OF THE MINERS' ASSOCIATION, 320 Sansome St. ] SAN FRANCISCO, January 31, 1883. j" Hon. Robert T. Lincoln, Secretary of War, Washington: SIR The Miners' Association of California is an organi- zation, having for its members most of the leading gold miners of the State. The value of the mines represented by the Association is many millions of dollars, and in ope- rating them many thousands of workmen are employed. Representing, as it does to a large extent, the mining interests of the State, we feel authorized in making the fol- lowing representations to you in regard to the expenditure of the $250,000 appropriated by the present Congress, for the protection of the Sacramento and Feather rivers. From the time that gold was discovered in 1848, until 1856, great numbers of miners were at work in every river, creek and gulch on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada ; these miners extracted the gold by the placer process, which consists in separating it from the material in which it is imbedded by the action of moving water, the gold being left behind by virtue of its superior specific gravity, and the earth and gravel being washed away into the streams. Al- though the quantity of debris thus put into the mountain streams by each miner was not great, still with over 100,000 vigorous men at work as was the case for several years the amount thus moved was very large, aggregating several hundred millions of cubic yards. The character -of this 33 material was nearly always light, rendering it easily trans- ported by the winter floods. if ****$* * * It was necessary to build canal and aqueducts, often fifty to one hundred miles in length, along precipitous mountain canons, to lead the water to the mines; to con- struct high dams across mountain gorges for the purpose of impounding water during the rainy season, to supply the canals during the dry season; and also to drive long tunnels in hard bed-rock, through which the waste gravel could be washed from the mines. These expenditures practically ceased in 1876, for by that time all the v-aluable placer claims had been purchased from the General Government, and all the available water in the mining streams had been appropriated and utilized. Since that date the supply of water has not 'been increased, and the amount of gravel annually washed has largely dimin- ished. The reason of this is, that at first the miners con- fined their work chiefly to the upper stratum of light gravel, which was discharged through sluices of steep inclination, In order to work the heavier and richer lower stratum of gravel remaining, it was necessary to run bed-rock sluice tunnels on light grades; thus, in many mines less than one- half as much gravel is now mined as was the case ten years ago. **'***** For many years mining was the leading industry in Cali- fornia, and the rights of the miners to discharge the debris from their mines into the canons was not questioned, but was accepted by all as a matter of course, and as one of the necessary adjuncts of mining operations, it being well known that without the exercise of that privilege, gold min- ing in the State was and is impracticable. Long before this right was questioned, great damage had 3 34 been inflicted upon the, valley lands, and the lower rivers, by winter floods bringing down the debris. This was nota- bly the case in 1862, when the great flood of that year swept down to a marked extent the accumulations of light ma- terial, which had nearly altogether been deposited by the extensive placer mining before spoken of. This flood cov- ered with a deep deposit of sediment from ten to twelve thousand acres of bottom land in the valley of the Yuba, and did vastly more damage than all the floods vvhich have since succeeded it. The miners purchased their claims from the General Government, under the Act of 1866, paying twice as much per acre for them as the price fixed for agricultural lands, and with the full knowledge on the part of the Government as to the methods which were used in working these mines. As illustrative of this fact, it may be proper to note, tljat at the head of the patents issued for placer or gravel mines is placed a picture representing hydraulic mining. The miners thus in good faith, with the positive sanction of more than twenty years of undisputed custom, authorized to mine by the expressed and tacit consent of both General and State Governments, bought their mines, and invested many millions of dollars in putting them in working condi- tion. Now, we claim that the General Government is in justice bound to afford the miners substantial aid and protection. Before 1866, when the. Act was passed permitting the miners to acquire title to the mines, and giving them right of way over the public lands for their canals, sluices and other mining facilities, as well as sites for reservoirs, the method of mining was exactly the same as now practiced; the evils attending gold mining had been most forcibly shown four years earlier (in 1862); with this condition of facts the miners felt justified in the belief that by this legislation the 35 Government had given them full -permission to continue their work, and would afford them its protection in the future. The General Government was the absolute owner of the beds of the mountain streams or canons into which the min- ing debris was discharged, as well as that of the mining claims- which it sold, and it was surely not unreasonable to infer that with the purchase of the claims, followed the right or easement to use these streams as places of deposit, without which these mines would have been absolutely val- ueless. ###*### Kecognizing the gravity of this controversy, the State Legislature, in 1878, authorized an investigation of the sub- ject by a Board of Engineers. Mr. W. H. Hall, a gentle- man of distinction in his profession, was appointed State Engineer in charge, and with him, as consulting engineers, were associated General B. S. Alexander, and Colonel Geo. H. Mendell, officers of high standing in the U. S. Engineer Corps. Upon the death of General Alexander, Captain James B. Eads was appointed his successor. After elaborate examinations, extending over a period of two years, the State Engineer, with the full approval of his associates, advised the construction of stone dams or bar- riers across gorges in the mining streams, near the points where they discharge into the plains, which should serve the doubletpurpose of holding back the vast accumulations of debris then in those streams the result of 30 years of former mining and also of retaining the debris coming in the future from the mines. Such barriers would, in their opinion, prevent further sensible injury to the valley lands below, and prevent from entering .into the main rivers the heavier sands which were injuring their navigability. The Legislature in 1880, acted upon this report, and voted 36 an appropriation, to be used in accordance with its recom- mendations. Under this legislation a considerable amount of money was expended in building brush dams on the Yuba and Bear rivers, both affluents of the Feather, it being deemed advisable to first erect this class of structures before building the more substantial stone barriers finally contem- plated. While these works were in process of construction, the State Supreme Court decided the action of the Legisla- ture to be unconstitutional, and work was consequently sus- pended for Jack of funds. As a matter of course, the amount of good done by this unfinished work' was not large; still, the dam on the Yuba, although broken in several places from lack of proper repairs, held back over 4,000,000 cubic yards, which would otherwise have been swept into the Feather River. **<**** The waters of these mining streams are only able to trans- port a limited portion of the debris placed in them proba- bly an average of less than 8,000,000 cubic yards per annum; hence, year by year these deposits have increased, until they have at some places, even in the beds of the main streams attained the great depth of 150 feet or more. The miners now discharge less than 28,000,000 cubic yards of material into these three streams, being a yearly addition of about one-thirteenth of the amount of debris now stored in them. It is apparent, upon reflection, that were the discharge of mining debris into these streams to at once cease, they would, for many years to come, still con- tinue to transport the same quantity of material into the navigable rivers which they now do. The water will only carry a given amount of sediment, and this will continue to come down at the same rate, no matter whether it be fur- nished by the continued working of the mines or abstracted from the vast stores of debris already in the beds of these mining streams. 37 Hence, it is evident that the stoppage of mining would not for many years prevent or even diminish the downward flow of the sediment which now finds its resting place in the beds of the Sacramento and Feather rivers. No legislative action or injunction of the Courts will pre- vent a large portion of this accumulation of debris from finally making its way into the valley. ***<**.* In accordance with this view, after Congress had appro- priated only 1250,000 to carry out plans which, according to Colonel Mendell's estimate would involve the expenditure of twice that sum for the first year, the miners on the Yuba formed an Association, and subscribed an amount sufficient to fully complete the work originally proposed for that river during the year 1882-83. The miners on the Bear and American rivers were desirous of pursuing the same course. The mining communities in this way were prepared to show their entire confidence in the ultimate success of these dams by most substantial contributions of morsey. As to the feasibility of building stone barriers which will securely hold back debris, we think there should be no question. Many of the members of this Association have had extensive experience in building large dams for the retention of water to be used in their mines, and it seems self-evident that if dams can be safely relied upon to hold back water, it is much easier to build those which will only have to restrain bowlders, gravel and sand. * * * The highest dam proposed by Colonel Mendell was that on the Yuba, to be carried up only one hundred and fifty feet in the course of ten years. This is certainly not a very serious engineering task, and the miners on that stream were willing to show their confidence in its stability by expending upon it several hundred thousands of dollars. 38 In short, this method of taking care of the mining debris has received the approbation of the most distinguished engin- neers of the country; it has the approval of the members of this Association, who have had almost unequaled practical experience in building similar structures, and we have yet to hear of an adverse opinion to these dams, coming from an authority worthy of being listened to. In the present bitter state- of feeling between a limited portion of the valley farmers and the miners, the former have worked themselves up to the belief that the only cure for their troubles will be the cessation of all mining, and hence the more intemperate of tliem will listen to no plans of compromise, or to any remedial measures. Some of the residents of the valley, led on by designing men, who have done their utmost to fan up to a white heat this present unhappy conflict between the two sections' of the State, have, we believe, made many exaggerated and incorrect statements to your Department, and it is for that reason that this memorial is now submitted, which is only intended to cover such points as we think have been misrepresented to you. The product of our California gold mines is still more than one-sixth that of the entire world, and its continuance is of great financial importance to the country at large. During the dark days of the Rebellion, from 1861 to 1865, the bullion coming from our mines did much to sustain the National credit, arid to enable the country to bring that desperate struggle to a happy end. We therefore feel that both injustice and also as a matter of expediency, the $250,000 voted by Congress should be ex- pended in carrying out the plans proposed by Col. Mendell. That officer bears with us and upon our coast the highest reputation for both integrity and ability; he has for many years made a special study of this debris question, and there 39 is no engineer to be found more fully capable of successfully dealing with it. We, who have such great interests at stake, are satisfied to follow his recommendations as to the location and class of structure proposed, both to impound the debris already in the streams, as well as that which may hereafter be deposited feeling assured that they will an- swer every purpose for which they are designed. Respectfully submitted, MINERS' ASSOCIATION. By J. H. BOLLES, HAMILTON SMITH, JR., L. L. ROBINSON, THOS. PRICE, THOMAS BELL, EGBERT JUDSON, J. B. HAGGIN, WM. ASHBURNER, ALVINZA HAYWARD. Board of Council.