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Show Record Mexican Hat about 50 feet from the river. It was a rock outfit, pretty substantial, that cost me $ 7000. The river tore it all to pieces and took it down the river. That was in 1911. I never took any machinery down the river in boats because it would make 486 too big a load for the boats I had. The boats would not carry it and float, if I tried to take any heavy stuff down outside of five or six hundred pounds. There was a hazard in running some of the rapids. You could run some of the rapids, others you would have to lead your boats around, that is take a pole or something and keep the boat out in the current and take it down that way. We navigated the boats by poling them mostly. Sometimes you can row them and make better time, but in the rough water we poled them. I still own my permits. I am not operating them now to speak of. I keep a watchman there. It has been about 2 1/ 2 years since I drilled the last well. A. L. Raplee testified on re- cross examination as follows: 487 I took the water wheel down on a wagon. The river was dry as I term it about 3 weeks as near as I can recall. There were no pools. Wasn't a drop of water except what the Indians dug for. There are several producing oil wells in the vicinity of my permits, some of them on the river bed, two of them right on the 488 edge of the water. When I was working my placer claims there were with me two men besides myself. They lived right there at the mine in an old rock house. The other men who had placer claims farther down the river lived under the rim rocks around. They would wall up the front and fix them up. They did not have any house. They lived 489 in tents. It took me 15 hours to go 25 miles down the river in low water. When I said it took me a day to go 25 miles down the river I meant in high water. By a day I mean 10 hours. |