USA > California > Nevada County > History of Nevada County, California; with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, residences, public buildings, fine blocks, and manufactories > Part 42
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67
2,300
Lemon Trees.
15
22,000
24,500
Peaclı
44
1.900
3.800
Pear
220
Fig
421
Value of fruit crop
450.000 34.000
Wine, gallons
CHAPTER XLIX.
MINING DITCHES.
Necessity for Water-The Pioneer Ditches-The First Large Diches-Frwe and Measurement of Water-Cost of Ditch Construction-Main Dishes in 1857-Mining Ditches in 1867-The Leading Ditches of Nevada ('-aty -Eureka Lake and Yuba Canal Co. North Howuntield G. M Milton M. and W. Co .- Excelsior W. and M. Co. with Ynba Caus' -Water Troubles on Little Der 'rock Dificulties of the S. : \ has Canal and the Great Law Suit.
So LONG as mining was continued to the river lars and the beds of streams, the water running in the natural chame . was generally sutlicient for all the wants of the miner, and was
100,000
Barley, Acres.
297,000.
Oats, Acres.
Rye, Acres_
1,000
2.5
Potatoes, Acres
65
Hay, Acres
10,000
3,200
5.000
7,300
Quince
--
C.L. SMITH & CO LITH. OAKLAND.CAL
PUBLISHED BY THOMPSON & WEST,
EDWARD'S CROSSING.
THE RESIDENCE AS
TOLL HOUSE OF WM EDWARDS, PROPRIETOR OF THE NEVADA CITY,
& LAKE CITY. TURNPIKE, NEVADA Cº CAL.
171
HISTORY OF NEVADA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
always to be had at the point where he desired to usc it. When, however, in following up a lead of gravel the miner worked back into the hills, he was met by a serious difficulty. Rich gravel deposits were discovered, but no water was to be found convenient for his use. In the crecks and cañons run- ning but a short distance away, but at a much lower level there was plenty of water, but it availed him little. One of two things remained to be done, the dirt must be carried to the water, or the water must be brought to the dirt. The former of these methods was the first adopted, and the miuer " packed" his dirt to the bank of the stream and washed it there. To the enterprising gold seeker, so accustomed to resort to new expedi- ents to conquer difficulties, so fertile in recourses in overcoming obstacles, this method proved too slow and laborious. Precious time was wasted, and he soon cast about bim for an expedient by which water could be obtained where it would be of con- venience and benefit to him. As early as March, 1850, a small ditch, one and one-half miles long, was dug from Mosquito creck to Coyote Hill, and in May, another from Little Dcer crcek to Phelps' Hill. The quantity of water that could be conveyed in these aqueducts was but small, and it was used to supply " long toms." The use of the water at the head of the little branches of the ditches was sold at the rate of four dollars for one " tom," for a day's run. From licre the water flowed down to another, which used it at a slightly reduced price and so on uutil, the last one utilized the now muddy water for one dollar per day, and tlien allowed it to escape. Crude as was this metbod and diminutive the enterprise, in comparison with the maguificent systems of canals at the present day, it was none the less a splendid achievement and laid the foundation for the wonderful success Nevada county has had in the work- ing of her hydraulic mines.
These little ditebes suggested to enterprising miners the practicability of coustructing others on a larger scale, and in August, 1850, a man named Moore commenced to dig one from Deer creek, above. Nevada City, to Rough and Ready. The magnitude of the undertaking astounded the miners, and they thought Moore was a lunatic, but he persevered until he had completed one mile, and then abandoned the enterprisc. The next year work on this ditch was resumed by a company of inen, and the canal was completed to the point of destination.
But a month after Moore had undertaken his unsuccessful project, another ditch was commenced from Rock creek to Coyote Hill, a distance of nine miles. The projectors of this caual werc William Crawford, Thomas Dunn, J. S. Dunn and C. Carrol. They had been at work but a short time when Charles Marsh became interested with them, and with his energy and enterprise the ditch was completed to Coyote Hill in December, at a cost of $10,000.
In the next few years ditches were constructed to all the
leading mining camps, and the introduction of the hydraulic system of mining, with the consequent iuereasing demand for a greater volume of water, led to the construction of many miles of canal, until the county became ouc vast net work of water ditches, running in all directions and reaching all desirable localitics. The feats of engineering that have been accom- plished in the construction of these immense arteries are wonderful in the extreme. Mountains have been pierced by tunnels, rocky and precipitous gorges have been bridged, mas- sive dams of solid masonry have been erected at the outlet of lakes, confining millions of gallons of water for summer usc.
The great demand for water and the limited quantity that could be supplied by the carly ditches cnabled and even.com- pelled the owners to charge a high price for the precious liquid. One dollar per inch was the prevailing price for some time, but as new ditches were constructed with greater capacities, as rival companies competed for the sale of water, and, finally, as immense reservoirs were constructed, capable of supplying an almost unlimited quantity of water during the whole season, the price gradually declined, until to-day water can be had at from twelve and one half to twenty cents per ten hour inch, according to location. An inch of water varies iu quantity in different localities, but the usual standard is the quantity of water that will flow in twenty-four hours through an aperture one inch square, with the water six inches above the point of discharge. This is equal to 2,230 cubic feet or 16,725 gallons. This standard is used by the North Bloomfield Co. and the South Yuba Canal Co. The standard of the Eureka Lake and Yuba Canal Co. is slightly greater. The delivery from one of the measuring boxes of that company, through an aperture fifty inches long and two inches wide, the surface in the box being maintained at a hight of six inches above the upper edge of the outlet, is, for each inch of aperture, 1.5744 cubic feet per minute, or 2,267 cubic feet in twenty-four hours. For con- venience a miner's inch may be described as equivalent to a stream of water, one square inch in section, moving with a velocity of three fcet nine inches per second. Such a stream will deliver 45 cubic inches per second, 1.5625 cubic fect per minute, 93.75 cubic feet per hour, and 2,250 cubic fect in twenty-four hours, cqual to 16,875 gallons. A distinct standard is the Smartsville inch, which consists of the amount of water that will escape in twenty-four hours through an orifice one inch square, with the water ten inches deep, measured from the center of the aperture.
The following table shows the ditches of the county as they have existed at various times. It will be observed that they have been gradually coucentrated into the hands of a few con- panies. The cost of the ditches and reservoirs connected with them is given also, this sum increasing necessarily as new ditches arc built and reservoirs are constructed. The cost of
ditch constructiou varies, of course, very much, according to the nature of the work itself, the ground on which it is constructed, and the difficulties aud obstacles to be overcome. A ditch of medium capacity may be dug in carth at a cost of $500 per mile, and from that amount up to thousands. The Milton ditch, with a capacity of from 2,500 to 3,000 inches, is an illustration of the expense sometimes attending these enter- prises. That portion above Eureka, 19.41 miles in length, consisting of 14.1 miles of ditch and 5.3 miles of flume, cost $171,419.66, or an average of $8,800 per mile. Of this amount the average cost of ditch would be $6,300, and that of the flume about $16,000 per mile. The cost of the North Bloon- field ditch, fifty-five miles, was $422,106.32, or about $17,675 per mile. Twenty-six miles of the Blue Tent Canal, of which two and one-half miles were fluming, were recently constructed at an average cost of $4,000 pcr mile.
MINING DITCHES IN 1857.
NAME.
SOURCE.
LENGTH MILES.
COST.
Bovyer ..
Deer creek .
... . . .
Buckeye
Stockton creek.
4
5,000
Chalk Bluff.
Steep Hollow.
19
28,000
Diamond creek
Diamond creek.
7
8,000
Durham's.
Steep Hollow.
3
19,000
Empire.
Bloody Run
4
2,000
Gold Hill .
Deer creek
3 000
12,000
Gold Run.
10
20,000
Greenhorn
Greenhorn creek
9
7,000
Bloody Run
45
40,000
Grizzly
CE
Humbug canon.
6,000
Irwin's.
Poormau's creek
12
30,000
Laird's .
Deer creek
1,700
McDonald's
Weaver creek
Memphis Race
Middle Yuba.
30
100,000
Middle Yuba.
20
80,000
Miuer's.
Mission
Mission cañon .
1
2,000
Myers
South Fork Mid. Yuba
20
40,000
Poorman's.
Deer creek .
15
20,000
Rough and Ready
21
2,000
Scotchman.
Rock creek.
10 000
Selby's.
Little Deer creek
16
20,000
Shady creek.
11
2,000
Simpson's ...
Deer creek.
16
350,000
Soutlı Yuba Canal.
6.
7,000
Stark's. . .
St. Louis.
Steep Hollow.
5%
4,000
€¢
1,000
Harper's
Humbug.
Indiau Gulch .
French Rauch .. .
2,000
Scotchman's creek ..
Street's ..
Spring creek.
Spring creek
2,500
Slate creek . .
Greenhorn creek
26
8,000
Wolf creek
1,000
172
HISTORY OF NEVADA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
MINING DITCHES IN 1857 .- CONTINUED.
NAME.
SOURCE.
LENGTH MILES.
COST.
Tomlinson's ..
Slate ereek
4,000
Tri-Union .
Deer creek ..
20,000
Union ..
Wolf creek
8,000
Scotchman's creek.
4
1,500
Valicito & French C'p.
15,000
Warren. . .
Rock creek.
4
800
Wolf Creek & Albion.
Wolf creek .
20
20,000
Walloupa.
Steep Hollow
15
York Mining Co ..
Bear river
18
10,000
Little Deer creek
1,000
New York ravine.
1,000
Cooley's .
1,000
There were a great many small ditches that do not appear in the above table, making a total of 696 miles, the construction reaching the immense total of $1,500,000. It must be remembered that this was before the building of the present expensive reservoirs near the summit of the mountains, and the conseqnent tunnels and high finmes required for the ditches.
The following list of the most important of the mining ditches in the county in 1867, is given by J. Ross Browne, in his Resources.
MINING DITCHES IN 1867.
NAME.
BOURCE.
MILES IN
eoST.
LENGTH
Buekman & Curran's.
Steep Hollow
13
$ 20,000
Williams.
"
16
40,000
Empire Co.
Shady creek.
13
50,000
Eureka Lake and Ynba Middle and Sonth
Canal Co.
Ynba.
200
1,500,000
South Yuba and Deer
Excelsior Canal Co ..
ereek
69
Gardner's. .
Bear river .
22
30,000
Nevada Water Co.
Shady creek
13
40,000
Remington Hill.
Steep Hollow.
16
40,000
Sargent & Jacobs. .
Greenhorn creek
50
30,500
South Ynba Canal Co ...
South Yuba river.
200
1,500,000
Stehr's ..
Greenhorn creek
1
4,500
Union. .
5
12,000
Omnega
Soutlı Ynba ..
12
100,000
Diamond creek.
Diamond creek .
7
8,000
Steep Hollow
Steep Hollow
10
25,000
At this time the total length of ditches was 850 iniles, and the cost of construction $4,250,000.
At present there are two great, leading systems of ditches, with branches reaching ont in inany directions, as well as a number of lesser but still extensive canals belonging to the various large mining companies now operating in the county. The two leading canals belong to the Eureka Lake and Yuba Canal Co. and the South Yuba Canal Co., the former supplying water to the ridge between the Middle and South Yuba rivers, and the latter to that portion of the county lying below the Sonth Yuba. A detailed description of the leading ditches will succeed the following table.
THE LEADING DITCHES OF NEVADA COUNTY.
NAME OF COMPANY.
MILES.
CAPACITY RESER- INCHES.
VOIRS.
COST.
Eureka Lake& Yuba Canal Co North Bloomfield Gravel Min- ing Co .. .
219
8,800
4
$1,500,000
43
3,000
700,000
Milton Mining and Water Co.
80
2,800
1
670,000
Excelsior Water & Mining Co.
150
5,000
1,200,000
Blue Tent Mining and Water Co. .
30
5,000
160,000
Omega Ditch Co.
20
3,000
120,000
Sonth Yuba Canal Co.
275
7,500
5
2,000,000
Liberty Hill Con. M. Co
48
4,500
75,000
Sargent and Jacobs
20
1,500
60,000
There are quite a number of lesser ditches running to elaims in various parts of the county, which would bring the total length np to 1,000 miles and the cost of constrnetion to the enormous total of $7,000,000.
EUREKA LAKK AND YUBA CANAL COMPANY.
The water rights of this company are of a most extensive and valuable character, consisting of a system of ditches aggregating in length 219 miles, and storage reservoirs, from which they are supplied in summer, situated at an elevation of some 6,000 feet above the sea level. The main artery, known as the Enreka Lake Ditch, commencing below the ontlet of the principal storage reservoirs, conducts the water to Eureka (18 miles), Magenta (22 miles), and Bloody Ruñ cañon (30 miles), con- necting below Magenta with a number of supply ditches known as the Irwin, Weaver, Bloody Run, Lower Bloody Run and Grizzly. These receive the water from the main ditch and con- vey it to Show Point, Orleans Flat, Moore's Flat, Woolsey's Flat, Relief Hill, Bloomfield, Lake City and Grizzly Hill, and then reunite and deliver their supply at Columbia Hill, the principal point of the company's mining operations, Confected with these is also the Miner's Ditch which takes it water from the Middle Yuba river. There are also several tributary ditches
belonging to the same system and centering at Columbia Hill. From this point the main ditch continues down the mountains to Cherokee, Badger Hill and the mining points below North San Juan. Besides all these, and formerly independent of them, is the Middle Ynba Canal, or San Juan Ditch, deriving its supply from the Middle Yuba above the mouth of Bloody Run cañon. It supplies water for the mines near and below North San Juan, and being at a lower elevation than the other ditches, can have water diverted to it from them when nec- essary.
To supply these ditches the company has a number of stor- age reservoirs, the largest of which is the Eureka, or French: Lake, fourteen miles east of Eureka South. It was originally a mountain lake of great depth, and containing a large bo ly of clear water. A substantial dam, built of granite blocks with a facing of plank, was constructed across its outlet in 1855-9. The dam is 89 feet long, 681 feet high; the area of the rever- voir, when full, is 337 acres, and the estimated capacity i- 661,000,000 eubie feet of water. The Faucherie reservoir is the basin of a natural lake, the surface of which has been raised by a dam thrown across its outlet at Cañon creek. The dam is 44 feet high, flooding an area of 139 acres, giving an estimated erpacity of 170,000,000 cubic feet of water. The Weaver Lake reservoirs have a joint capacity of more than 100,000,000 cubic feet, giving the company a total storage capacity of nearly one billion cubic feet of water upon which to draw during the dry season.
NORTH BLOOMFIELD GRAVEL MINING COMPANY.
The water rights of this company consist of a ditch forty- three miles in length, conducting water to North Bloomtiel i from the Bowman reservoir, at the head of Big Canon creek. The reservoir was formed in 1869 by constructing a timber dam sixty-five feet high. across Big Canon ereek. In 1571 this dam was destroyed by fire an.l a fine stone structure was sul - stituted at a cost of $250,000. The area overflowed is 580 acres, giving a capacity of 930.000,000 cubic feet. Other lesser reservoirs bring the total storage capacity up to one billion cubic feet.
MILTON MINING AND WATER COMPANY.
This company owns eighty miles of ditch. carrying water from their reservoir to Shady creek. Manzanita Hill. Birchvie and French Corral. The reservoir, known as the English or Rudyard, is situated at the hea l of the smith fork of the M. '- alle Yuba, and has a capacity of 630.000.000 cubic feet of water. It is formed by thive costly dams, one of which has a vertica' hight of 125 feet.
EXCELSIOR WATER AND MINING COMPANY
This is a company that is operating at Smartsville, in Yals
Wisconsin.
Steep Hollow
1
173
HISTORY OF NEVADA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
county, and Mooney Flat, in this county, on a large scale. The company takes water from Decr creck and the Yuba river, in the old Excelsior and Tri-Union ditches, aggregating one hundred and fifty miles, nearly all in this county. The com- pany has no large storage reservoirs, but a number of supply reservoirs.
SOUTH YUBA CANAL COMPANY.
This company owns the most extensive and valnable water rights in the county, cousisting of some two hundred and seventy-five miles of ditch and seven large storage reservoirs, which have been constructed or purchased at an expense of about $2,000,000. A great many of the ditches and water rights of the company lic idle at present, on account of the cessation of mining in localities to which they run, The main canal commences on the South Yuba, and extends a distance of sixteen miles, passing through a flume seven miles in length, set on solid wall-rock for one and, one-half miles through the canon on the South Yuba, a shelf having been blasted throngh the solid precipice rock, in places one hundred fect high, to receive it, the workmen at first being let down from the top by ineans of ropes to begin the drilling and blasting. A tunnel 3,800 feet in length, at the head of Decr creek, enables the waters of the ditch to flow into that stream. The cost of the tunnel was $112,000, and of the whole niain canal $600,000. The ditches used by the company at present arc the Main ditch, sixteen miles long, the Snow Mountain, from Deer creek to Nevada City, nine miles, Rock Creck, from Rock creek to Nevada City, seven miles, Cascade, from Decr creck to Quaker Hill, eight miles, Ridge, from Main ditch to Blue Tent, eight miles, Chalk Bluff, from Main ditch to You Bet, fourteen and one-half miles, Dutch Flat, from Bear river to Dutch Flat, twenty-fonr miles.
The system of reservoirs is a very complete and extensive one, embracing seven large storage reservoirs, constructed at a great expense. The largest and most costly is the Fordyce Reservoir, which has a dam of solid masonry, 645 fcet in length and 75 feet high at present, but to be increased to 100 feet. $150,000 have already been expended on this work. The area covered by the reservoir is 750 aeres, giving a capacity of 325,000 twenty-four hour inches, or 725,000,000 cubic feet of water. The Meadow Lake Reservoir is formed by a dam 1,150 feet long and 42 high, thrown across the outlet of Mcadow lake, at a cost of $50,000. It covers an area of 75 acres and bas a capacity of 50,000 inches, or 110,000,000 cubic feet. The next in dimensions is Lake Sterling, which has a damn 25 feet high and 250 fect long, flooding an area of 100 acres. The capacity of this reservoir is 20,000 inches or 45,000,000 cubic feet of water. The Devil's Peak, or Cascade, lakes form the reservoir fourth in size. These are pent in by three dams,
costing $100,000. The capacity is 10,000 inehes or 23,000,000 I enbie feet of water.
The White . Rock Reservoir was formed by a dam, built across a gorge on the north fork of the South Yuba, costing $7,000. The water covers about 100 aeres, forming a reservoir with a capacity of 15,000 inches or 35,000,000 cubic feet.
BLUE TENT MINING AND WATER COMPANY.
This company commenced the construction of a diteh in 1874, having its source far up in the South Yuba river. The ditch was completed to the company's claims at Blue Tent, in the Sailor Flat District, a distance of thirty miles, in 1876, at a total expense of $160,000. At the head of the ditch is a flume, four and one-half iniles in length, below which is a tunnel 1,000 feet long. At one poiut the ditch was cut through solid rock for a distance of 7,500 feet, costing $38,000.
INTERESTING INCIDENTS.
The conflicting interests of owners of water rights frequently brought them into collision in former days, and the following incidents arc given as having a peculiar interest in that connection.
The following anecdote in regard to the trouble about the Deer creek water right is given substantially as written by Charles MeElvey, of Nevada City, one of the participants.
In the spring of 1850, T. G. Phelps, who is now dead, located a water right on Little Deer creek, ahout where the V flume now crosses, so as to supply mines on Phelp's Hill, on the north side of the stream. From the hill the water was carried into the creek again, thus interfering but little with the claims further down. Shortly after surface and "coyote " diggings were discovered at the town of Grass Valley, six miles from the head of the ditch. A company consisting of Tom Walker, Captain Strickland, Reuben Thomas, A. L. Slack, James Early and others bought the water right and changed the location of the head of the ditch from the north to the south side of the bank. They then ent a ditch to their claim, carrying the water entirely away from the creek. Thus for six months in the year the bed was dry. The miners below became indignant at the company's course, and calling a council decided they were them- selves entitled to the water first, and the company afterwards, Knives and pistols were trumps in those days, the courts being seldom called on in such cases. Until about the first of May in each year there would be plenty of water for all. Then trouble generally began. A delegation of miners would go to the head of the ditch and turn the water down the creek. The diteh company would find their supply eut off, and send men to divert it in their direction. Sometimes the two parties would meet, weapons be drawn, threats made and hard words indulged in. The miners always were victorious, and until July 17,
1856, nothing very serious transpired. Early that morning a number of men with Tom Walker at the head (he still resides at Grass Valley and is a dead shot) surprised the miners' guard, drove them off and took possession of the water. They sent word to this eity that they proposed to "hold the fort " or dic in the attempt. The miners were eager for the fray, and by eight o'clock forty-three of them were on their way to the battle-field. Among the number were A. E. Head, Charles McElvey, George Yant, James Crossman and Robert Stultz.
Before reaching the enemy they halted and decided that Mr. Me.Elvey should act as spokesman and manage the fight if there be any. The miners then proceeded, and soon came upon the ditch men who were drawn up in line, hands ou pistols. Tom Walker stood on their extreme left, a few feet in advance, aud two "six-shooters" in his grasp. His force had a log dan thrown across the creek to turn the water into their ditch. The miners were determined to remove the dam, but werc puzzled as to what means ought to be adopted. It was agreed that A. E. Head, Mr. McElvey and another man tear it down, regardless of results. They stepped forward, and were about to remove the main log, when Walker cocked his pistols, took aim, and said if they persisted he would shoot. The muzzles of the weapons looked as big as cart wheels to the trio at whom they pointed. They hesitated a moment, then concluding that discretion was the better part of valor, gracefully retired to their former position. The miners and ditch men were then about twenty feet apart. Mr. MeElvcy shouted to the latter to begin shooting as soon as they wanted to. Walker backed slowly away, without lowering his weapons. He was taking aim, when suddenly Head made an attempt to flank him on the rear, shouting as he made the detour, "D-n you, you shan't shoot anybody and run away!" When Head got within ten fcet of him, Walker took deliberate aim at his breast and sent a bullet into his right arm near the shoulder. The firiug became general from both sides, and it was a question for a time which side would win. Finally after forty or fifty shots had been fired, the ditch men broke ranks and scampered off np the trail as fast as their legs could carry them. At the top of the hill they mounted their horscs and were soon out of sight. It is a wonder that so little damage was done. Of the miners, only Head was hurt; and on the other side all escaped unscathed, with the exception of Walker who received a severe wound in the neck and came near dying from the effects of it. There were also two bullet holes through Walker's hat.
Suit was shortly after instituted by the ditch inen in the District Court, Judge Searls presiding, and the jury returned a verdict giving the water right to the miners. From this decision an appeal was taken to the Supreme Court, and pend- ing a decision Walker sold liis ditch to some of the miners, and the ease was removed from the courts. The change in owner-
174
HISTORY OF NEVADA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
ship availed some of the miners little, but it put an end to the litigation.
A history of the difficulties and litigation between the Nevada County and Sacramento Canal Company and the loca- ters and subsequent owners of the water rights now belonging to the South Yuba Canal Company is an interesting one. The N. C. and S. C. Co., generally called the Old English Com- pany, made a location of a water right on the South Yuba river nearly a mile above Bear Valley Gap in 1851. They desiredl D. A. Rich to go in with them, but that gentleman declined, not liking their proposc: plan of operations, bnt see- ing that the company did no work, made a location the follow- ing year himself, a distance above them. They then appeared on the ground, did a little work, built a cabin and placed two men in it to guard their interest, who spent their time in hunt- ing the game that abounded in the mountains. Every effort was made to dispossess Rich and induce him to abandon his undertaking, but to no effect. One day in 1855 some agents of the company went to Omega and called a meeting of the miners which they addressed in substantially the following lan- guage :- " We have spent nearly half a million of dollars in work and in sending Dr. Huddard to England to interest cap- italists there in our enterprise. He has been in the presence of the Queen, Parliament and Nobility, and the result is that a million and a half of English capital is now lying in the vanlts of a San Francisco bank, ready to be used in opening np this vast property." After giving his audience a little time to (ligest these astonnding statements, none of which were true, the speaker continued, "Morcover, we have intended at once to bring the water into this district, to aid in the working of the rich mines that yon own and that need this water so badly, but Dan Rich has jumped our claim, and has men at work on our dlam sitc. We have remonstrated with him and threatened him, but he refuses to go. Now what does this Dan Rich pro- pose to do ? Does he intend to bring water to Omega? No,. gentlemen ! He thinks it will pay better to take it to Nevada C'ity, and will not bring it here. Now, gentlemen, we are law abiding citizens; we don't want any bloodshed or violence, but We want two or three hundred of yon to go with us to-mor- row, where Rich is at work. When he sees such a crowd com- ing, after the threats we have made, he will pick up and leave without any trouble, or we can carry him ont between two chips; then we can again secure our property, and go on with this magnificent improvement." In those days it took but little to collect a crowd for almost any 'enterprise that promised a little excitement. and especially when, as in this case, it was ma le to appear that the interests or rights of the people were being violated. The next day about a hundred men accom- panied the agents to the scene of trouble. They inet Rich and his partners a distance below the dam, who returned with them
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.