OCR Text |
Show Record 1697 considerable freighting to the oil wells. The machinery used in connection with an oil refining plant located near Mexican Hat came in overland from the Arizona side, crossing the river at Goodrich. I do not think there were any settlers other than traders west of Bluff between the time when we came in there and the year 1895. I consider the country west of Bluff very poor agricultural country, although you might find some little patches that could be dry farmed up near the Elk mesas, which is forty 1698 miles and a little west of north from Mexican Hat. There were no ranchers that I know of west of Bluff in that region except an old fellow at the head of Comb Wash, thirty- five miles up from the San Juan River, who had a little patch of alfalfa and some corn. I never saw Indians boating and never know an Indian to 1699 own a boat. There is a great deal of sand in the country west of Bluff and the wind blows it into the gulches, where heavy 1700 rains out it and dump it into the river. I have seen the San Juan frozen over with ice ten or twelve inches thick, where there was water enough to freeze that deep. Some years the river will just run mush ice, which is the usual condition. I have seen ice gorges between the mouth of Line Creek and Goodrich, where it would 1701 back the water up to a height of fifteen or twenty feet. There was one occasion when I saw the San Juan dry, which occasion was somewhere between 1900 and 1902. Ernest B. Hyde testified on cross examination as follows: On the occasion when I saw the San Juan River dry, it remained dry for a short time only " possibly a couple of days." I believe it was in the month of August, but am not absolutely sure. When we first came into the country in 1880, I think we 1702 arrived at Hole- in- the- Rock on July 24. I still own an oil permit. My brother Frank, who has been a witness in this case, has stock in an oil company and I am interested with him in that company. 220 |