THE STONY CREEK WATER WARS - Affidavit of J.E. Knight

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

[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 California.

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The United States of America
Plaintiff
vs
H.C. Angle, et al.
Defendants - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Affidavit of J.E. Knight

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copy

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 Defendants
[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.F. 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 Strawn, A.J. Triplett, Frank Troxel, F.W. Troxel, Lloyd Troxel, I.E. True, J. Van Scyoc, A.P. Wakefield,

Defendants.

AFFIDAVIT OF
J.E. KNIGHT
ON HEARING PRELIMINARY IN-
JUNCTION AND APPOINTMENT AND
AUTHORIZATON OF WATER COM-
MISSIONER DURING PENDENCY OF
CAUSE.

___________________

STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF GLENN ) ss

J.E. Knight, after being first duly sworn, deposes and says That he is one of the defendants in the above entitled action, that affiant now owns in fee simple 402 acres of land in one contiguous body and which said land is adjacent to and adjoins and is riparian to Big Stony Creek and lies partially on both sides ot the main channel of said Big Stoney Creek; that affiant has on said land about 45 acres he has been irrigating; that affiant has owned said land for about twelve years last past; that affiant’s predecessors for a great many years, to-wit for about 35 years, have been using water from Stoney Creek on said land for

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irrigation purposes. That one W.S. Carver was formerly the owner of a portion of said property and particularly that part which is now irrigated and in the year 1883 the said W.S. Carver appropriated the waters of Stoney Creek under and pursuant to the laws of the State of California and posted on said creek at the head or the ditch where affiant now takes the water from said creek, a Notice of appropriation, a copy of which said Notice is attached hereto marked Exhibit A and made a part herof and is hereby referred to as fully as thought [sic] set out at length herein. That during each year since said water was first applied to said land affiant is informed and believes and on said information and belief states that said water has been used on said land for the purpose of raising crops thereon and since affiant has owned the land affiant knows of his own knowledge that each year said land has been irrigated by means of said ditch conveying water from the main channel of Stoney Creek on to the lands irrigated by affiant's predecessors. That affiant has said land leased to one George Baudeaux and the said George Baudeaux has a large number of stock, including cattle, horses and hogs on said ranch and is conducting a dairy thereon and depends largely for his feed and hay from said irrigated land, which is irrigated under the said ditch. Affiant further states that his land irrigated is riparian to the main channel of Stoney Creek and that the irrigation water put on said land by means of said ditch, after being brought immediately and applied immediately to the land soaks through the land to the bed rock and runs back into the channel of Stoney Creek; that the land is of a light, sandy and gravelly nature and water readily soaks through and percolates through the land back to the creek, and by reason of the nature of the land is absolutely essential that said land be irrigated constantly, otherwise the same becomes parched and dry and the crops thereon would wither and burn up.

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That if said land is denied the water now being used on the said land since the same was appropriated, that affiant will be greatly damaged, if his tenant can not maintain his stock on the place or feed them, and the crop growing thereon now would die and the value of the land will be very materially decreased, and the land that is now irrigated become a barren waste. Affiant further states that he knows of his own knowledge for the 20 years last past next preceding the filing of plaintiff’s complaint herein each summer the condition of the water on affiant’s land and that at no time during the summer season has there ever been a shortage of water; that affiant nor his tenant are not now and have not been since plaintiff constructed the said dam and reservoir, using more water than was applied to the land of affiant herein prior to the construction of plaintiff’s dam or reservoir; that at no time during the years that affiant has been acquainted with the condition of Stoney Creek has the said Stoney Creek ever gone dry opposite affiant’s place. That the general character of the Stoney Creek Valley consists of light soil, thinly laid on the top of the bed rock in most places and that all water used for irrigation purposes out of Stoney Creek seeps through the land to the bed rock and thence follows the bed rock and finds its way back into the main channel of Stoney Creek and can not escape the main channel of Stoney Creek except by evaporation. Affiant further states that the value of the water and the use of the water on the land is worth five times what the land would be without water and to take the water from the land of affiant would leave the land worthless, thereby greatly and permanently irreparably damaging affiant.

WHEREFORE affiant prays that the injunction prayed for by plaintiff here be not issued and that this Court do not appoint a

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water Commissioner to measure or in any manner or way interfere with the rights of affiant to the use of said water now and heretofore being used by affiant and his predecessor, and affiant will ever pray.

/s/ J.E. Knight

Subscribed and sworn to before me
this 9th day of June, 19.8. [sic]

/s/ Elma Knock

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

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EXHIBIT A

Know all men by these presents that the undersigned claims the water here flowing to the extent of twelve hundred inches, measured under a four inch pressure. That I intend to divert the same by means of a ditch Ten feet wide and two feet deep at the point where this notice is posted to wit, on the west side of Stoney Creek, on the South West quarter of the North East quarter of section twenty-two Township Nineteen North Range Six West, said ditch will run through part of Section Twenty-two on the west half of the East half of Section fifteen Township nineteen North Range Six West and will be, about one mile and a quarter long. That I intend to use the water of said Ditch for milling and agricultural purposes on the West half of the east half of Section fifteen Township Nineteen North Range 6 West, in Colusa County, California

Stony Creek
March 15th 1883
W.S. Carver

Filed for record at the request of W.S. Carver this 16 day of March A.D. 188s [sic] at 2 minues past 5 oclock P.M.

W.H. Miles Co. Recorder
By S.M. Biship Deputy.

Recorded the 16 day of March 1883 in Book a [sic] Miscellaneous page 61 Records of Colusa County

W.H. Miles Recorder
By S.M. Biship Deputy

[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