OCR Text |
Show ( stances sta7was ) ( ware ivere ) ( shoiwi shount ) ( when ivhm ) 206 the ( river -river river ) was actually utilized for the conveyance of merchandise , and each of those ( in- in ) stances were of timbers , " one such occasion being in 1858 or 1859 , when a raft was sent down from Canutillo to El Paso , a distance of 12 miles , and the other more recently when some telegraph poles were floated from LaJoya , a ( "short short ) distance . " The government reports of exploration of the river for the special purpose of considering its ( naviga naviga- naviga ) ¬ bility disclose that ( "The The ) stream is not now navigable , and it cannot be made so by open channel improvement . " ( An- An ) other report to the SecreTary of War held ( "the the ) construction , not only of an open river channel , but of any navigable ( chan- chan ) nel , to ( be -be be ) impracticable , " Upon the facts presented the Supreme Court of New Mexico arrived at the conclusion that the portion of the stream in controversy was not ( navi- navi ) gable and dismissed the bill . On appeal the U . S ( , . ) Supreme Court agreed ( with -with with ) the conclusion of the Supreme Court of New Mexico with ( refer refer- refer ) ence to navigability of the portion of the Rio Grande ( in- in ) volved in the action , but reversed and remanded the case , with instructions to make inquiry into the question whether the intended acts of defendants would substantially diminish the navigability of the stream withiOthe limits of present navigation , and if so , to enter a decree restraining those acts to the extent that they would so diminish navigability . The U . S . Supreme Court held ( p . 698 ) that the ( "Rio Rio ) Grande , speaking generally , is a navigable river ; " that its ( naviga naviga- naviga ) bility is a matter of common knowledge of which the courts may take judicial notice but that the courts are not ( pre- pre ) sumed to know how far upstream its navigability extends . The Court observes that the mere fact that logs , poles and rafts might ( "occasionally" occasionally ) be floated down the stream in times of high water does not make it a navigable river . At page 699 the Court further says : ( "Obviously Obviously ) , the Rio Grande within the limits of New Mexico is not a stream over which in its ( ordi- ordi ) nary condition trade and travel can be conducted in the customary modes of trade and travel on water . Its use for any purposes of transportation has been and is exceptional , and only in times of temporary high water . The ordinary flow of water is ( insuffi insuffi- insuffi ) cient . " In Oklahoma v . Texas , 258 U . S . 574 , Oklahoma claimed |