THE STONY CREEK WATER WARS
Glenn County - Tehama County - Colusa County , California.
(c) 2009, Mike Barkley
Affidavit of Alvin Gollnick

[A transcription of the document on file in the Angle Archives

Important because these affidavits were the first sworn response to Reclamation's suit, and Judge Van Fleet's ignoring them, as in not even reading them before issuing his injunction, set the tone for the rest of the litigation, as in the Court was there to support the government, not justice or equity.

In straight text without elaborate formatting. Any editorial comments by me are contained within brackets, "[]", which you may delete easily after downloading the "page source" to your own editing software if your browser allows source downloading. ]

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No. 30 Equity

In the District Court of
the United States in and for
the Northern Division of the
Northern District of Cal-
ifornia.

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The United States of America
Plaintiff
vs
H.C. Angle, et al.
Defendants - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Affidavit of Alvin Gollnick

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FILED
At ____ o'clock and ____ Min ____ M
JUN 11 1918
Walter B. Maling, Clerk
By /s/ Thomas J. Franklin
Deputy Clerk - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

CLAUDE F. PURKITT
Attorney for Defendnats [sic]
[end of cover]

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES IN AND FOR THE

NORTHERN DIVISION OF THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

___________________


THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff,

vs.

H.C. ANGLE, A.M. ANDERSON, A.C. BAYLEY, L. BEDFORD, JOHN BEDFORD, R.E. BLEVINS, I.L. FEIGHTNER, W.W. GATLIFF, IRA GREEN, AUG. GOLLNICK, LEONARD GOLLNICK, JAMES HARMON, REUBEN HARTMAN, VOLNEY HAYTON, C.A. HINELINE, CHAS. JAEGER, JOHN JOHANNSEN, JOHN JOHAnnSEN, JR., J.E. KNIGHT, J.E. MALLON, G.W. MARKHAM, PRESTON MORRIS, WM. NIESEN, JAMES O'BRIEN, S.A. RALSTON, RAY SHIVELY, E.E. SMITH, JOHN H. SOETH, GEO. SOETH, FRED E. STRAWN, A.J. TRIPLETT, ABE L. TRIPLETT, FRANK TROXEL, F.W. TROXEL, LLOYD TROXEL, I.E. TRUE, J. VAN SCYOC, A.P. WAKEFIELD,

Defendants.

AFFIDAVIT OF
Alvin Gollnick
On Hearing Prelim-
inary Injunction
and Appointment
and Authorizaton
of Water Commis-
sioner During
Pendency of Cause.

___________________

STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF GLENN ) SS

Alvin Gollnick, after being first duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is one of the defendants in the above entitled action and that he is brother to Leonard Gollnick, also one of the defendants in the above entitled action; that affiant and the said Leonard Gollnick are the owners in fee simple of Nine Hundred (900) acres of land contiguous, adjacent and riparian to Big Stoney Creek and that affiant and his said brother have under irrigation on said land along said Stoney Creek forty-five (45) or fifty (50) acres, and have the same planted to alfalfa, corn, orchard and garden; that the whole of said land is now in said crops and said crops are in need of the constant application of water thereto; that affiant and his said brother have owned the said land for the past two years;

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that affidant's [sic] predecessor was Charles T. White and Richard Anderson and others; that the land of affiant is watered or irrigated by means of two irrigation ditches, one owned jointly by affiant and his brother and one A.C. Bailey; that said ditches have been constructed for a great many years; that in the year 1884 [garbled] affiant's predecessors, to-wit: Wm. S. Anderson and Richard H. Anderson appropriated and claimed the water then running in Stoney creek, under and pursuant to the laws of the State of California, as provided and set forth in a copy of the Notice of Appropriation, which said copy is attached hereto marked Exhibit A and made a part hereof. That on March 1st, 1884, the said Wm. S and R.H. Anderson, affiant's predecessors, also appropriated water for irrigating a portion of said land, a copy of which said Notice of Appropriation is attached hereto and marked Exhibit B. That on information and belief affiant states the fact to be that immediately after the appropriation and location of the water as aforesaid by affiant's predecessors, affiant's predecessors did immediately construct said ditch and have constantly and each year since said appropriation used said water to irrigate the lands of affiant and his said predecessors. That the land is [sic] affiant is of a gravelly, sandy nature and constantly needs the application of irrigation water thereto to keep alive and growing the crops of corn, alfalfa and garden now planted thereon and that if the water is turned off for the period of a week said crops immediately commence to wither and show the effects of the lack of water; that said lands irrigated are riparian to said Stoney Creek and when irrigated the water soaks through said lands and percolates back into Stoney Creek; that said lands owned by affiant and his said brother are what is known as shallow land, the bed rock being near the surface and the water immediately runs through the gravelly and sandy land on to the surface of the bed rock under the land and then immediately percolates back into the Creek.

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That if this Honorable Court should grant this injunction here prayed for by plaintiff, that it would cause affiant and his said brother great and irreparable loss and the loss of their alfalfa, garden and corn crop; that affiant and his brother are the owners of live stock to the extent of eighty head of cattle, twenty head of horses and forty head of hogs and are depending on said alfalfa irrigated by the means aforesaid, for their winter feed for said stock and if said stock does not have the alfalfa hay to winter on affiant and his said brother will be compelled to sell the same at a sacrifice. The hilly and back land owned by affiant and his brother are high, arid, hilly lands and do not contain much productive value. As a matter of fact, affiant depends largely for the feed of his said stock, upon the alfalfa grown upon the valley land.

WHEREFORE, affiant prays that the injunction should not be granted, nor a Water Commissioner be appointed and that affiant and his said brother be permitted to use the water in the manner and form they and their predecessors have used it since the appropriation thereof, and affiant will ever pray.

/s/ Alvin Gollnick

Subcribed aand sworn to before me
this 9th day of June, 1918.

/s/ Elma Knock

Notary Public in and for the
County of Glenn, State of California.

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EXHIBIT A

NOTICE

THE UNDERSIGNED parties owning land on Stony Creek, Colusa County, California, as riparian owners, hereby give notice that they claim the water in said Creek to the extent of 300 square inches [?]. That the said water is claimed by said parties for the purpose of being used in irrigating their land on said Creek, which land is described as follows:

W 1/2 of SE 1/4 & W 1/2 of NE 1/4 Sec. 10 T. 19 N. R. 6 W; & W 1/2 of S.E. 1/4 & 1/2 of N.E. 1/4 Sec. 3 T 19 N. R. 6 W & W 1/2 of SE 1/4 & W 1/2 of NE 1/4 Sec 34 T 20 N. R. 6 " [sic].

That said parties intend to divert said water by means of a ditch to be dug, commencing at a point on said creek about the SW 1/4 of SE 1/4 of Sec. 10 T 19 N. R. 6 W. and extending down over said land a distance of about 2 3/4 miles.

That the ditch by means of which said water is intended to be diverted will be in the size about 36 x 12 inches.

Dated Jan. 3d 1884

William S Anderson
Richard H. Anderson

Filed for record at the request of B.F. Howard this 12 day Feb. A.D. 1884, at 35 minutes past 3 o'clock P.M.

W.H. Miles Co Recorder:

Recorded the 13 day of February 1884 in Book A Miscellanous Records page 91 Records of Colusa County.

W.H. Miles Recorder.

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EXHIBIT B

NOTICE

THE UNDERSIGNED parties owning land on Stony Creek, Colusa County, California, as riparian owners hereby give notice that they claim the water in said Creek to the extent of 300 square inches measured under a four inch pressure. That the said water is claimed by said parties for the purpose of being used in irrigating their land on said Creek, which land is described as follows:

W 1/2 of SE 1/4 & W 1/2 of NE 1/4 Sec. 10 T 19 N. R. 6 W. and W 1/2 of S.E. 1/4 & 1/2 of N.E. 1/4 Sec. 3 T 19 N. R. 6 W & W 1/2 of SE 1.4 [sic] & W 1/2 of NE 1/4 Sec 34 T 20 N. R. 6 W.

That said parties intend to divert said water by means of a ditch commencing at a point on said creek about the SW 1/4 of SE. 1/4 of Sec. 10 T 19 N R 6 W and extending down over said land a distance of about 2 3/4 miles. That said ditch will be in size about 36 x 12 inches.

Dated Feb. 27 1884

Wm. S & R.H. Anderson

Filed for record at the request of B.F. Howard this 1st day March A.D. 1884 at 45 minutes past 9 o'clock A.M.

W.H. Miles Co. Recorder:

Recorded the 1st day of March 1884 in Book A Miscellanous Records page 92 of Records of Colusa County.

W.H. Miles Recorder.

[stationery imprinted:]
CLAUDE F. PURKITT
ATTORNEY AT LAW
WILLOWS, CALIFORNIA

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--Mike Barkley, 161 N. Sheridan Ave. #1, Manteca, CA 95336 (H) 209/823-4817
mjbarkl@inreach.com