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Show J . H . ( Woods TVoods ) testified : I ( 135 1315 ) am 54 years old and spent the early part of my life at Bluff . In 1894 , 1 went to work for Mr . Bryce at Mexican Hat , and placer mined from there down to Honaker Trail . We went from Mexican Hat to Honaker Trail in boats , carrying our supplies and ( equip- equip ) ment in them , the load in each of our three boats being about 1500 pounds . The boats were 14 feet long by 7 feet wide , and had a draft of 10 inches loaded . Occasionaly placer miners would pass us in their boats . Residents of Bluff were stockmen and farmers and ( didn't didnt ) do much in the way of mining . Placer miners who passed in their boats had their supplies and equipment with them . Generally there would be four men in a boat . Their boats were pretty much the same as ours and were built for ( freighting freightin'g freighting ) . I saw eight or ten separate parties of miners pass us and go on down the river . At that time the gold boom was still on and I was on the river for a period of about six weeks . We took out some gold and the venture paid pretty well . ( R . 4489-96 , Vol . 26 . ) On our boat trip from Mexican Hat to Honaker Trail we encountered a number of rapids . I ( didn't didnt ) see any pack trains come down the Honaker Trail bringing supplies to placer miners . ( R . 4498-9 , Vol . 26 . ) ( I 1 ) recall encountering no difficulties in taking our boats through the rapids and we did not get hung up on any sand bars or meet with any obstructions to our navigation of the river . ( R . 4503-4 , Vol . . 26 . ) Anna JU . Bayles testified : I went to Bluff in 1888 and lived there for nine years , at three different times being employed as a clerk in the ( Co-op Coop ) store . I remember the ( gold g-Old gOld ) placer mining boom on the San Juan . I recall seeing three boats built at Bluff and taken down to the river there . While I was clerking I sold supplies to miners many , many times , and know that miners bought supplies and took them down the river in boats . I saw their boats on the river , and ( Defendant's Defendants ) Exhibit No . 15 is a picture of placer miners and their boat ; it was taken some time in the ( '90s 90s ) . After the boom was over placer miners would generally come down every winter from Colorado and placer mine ; some of them went in boats , some with pack outfits . I have seen quite a bit of San Juan gold and we accepted it in the store in payment for goods . It would be in the form of what they called a ( retort-a retorta ) solid piece melted . I have two rings |