MEMORIES: MY SEVENTY-TWO YEARS IN THE ROMANTIC
COUNTY
OF YUBA CALIFORNIA
BY W. T. Ellis
with an introduction by Richard Belcher
EUGENE: THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
PRINTED BY JOHN HENRY NASH
1939
Copyright, 1939, by W. T. Ellis, Marysville
DEDICATED TO MY OLD HOME TOWN MARYSVILLE
INTRODUCTION Mr. Richard Belcher,
Vice-President, State Bar of California xiii
Chapter
I Family History and Random Boyhood
Memories 1
II Education 10
III Our Family Chinese Cook, Yuen Yeck Bow (Jack Ellis) 12
IV Vacations 13
V Early Days of Gambling in Marysville 18
VI How I was Cured of Gambling 20
VII The City of Marysville in Early Days 22
VIII Judge Stephen J. Field 26
IX Gold Dust Shipments from Marysville 30
X Religion in Marysville in Early Days and Schools 30
XI Early Day Theatrical Amusements in Marysville 32
XII The Marysville Bar in Early Days 34
XIII Early Day Railroads, Steamboats and Stages 39
XIV Fire Departments of Early Days 40
XV List of Hotels in the County of Yuba in 1858 Outside of The City of
Marysville 41
XVI Stage Lines Running from Marysville, in 1861 42
XVII Early Day Newspapers 43
XVIII Mining in the Streets of Marysville Prohibited 44
XIX A Labor Strike in 1853 46
XX State Reform School in Yuba County 46
XXI A Duel in Marysville with my Two Uncles as Seconds
47
XXII Yuba County's English Lord 48
XXIII Black Bart, Stage Robber 50
XXIV Historic Yuba Dam 52
XXV Business Experience 54
XXVI Experience as a Traveling Salesman 57
XXVII Experience with the Lodge of E Clampus Vitus 64
XXVIII Orchard and Vineyard Experience 66
XXIX System of New Year's Calls 67
XXX Skating on Ellis Lake 68
XXXI Four Homes I Have Lived In 69
XXXII Peter Jackson, World's Champion Heavy-Weight Prize Fighter 71
XXXIII Chinese Tong Wars 72
XXXIV Saturday Night and Sunday Too Club 74
XXXV A Typical Mountain Fourth of July Celebration 74
XXXVI A Fourth of July Celebration in 1895 76
XXXVII Dove Stews at Shelton Grove 77
XXXVIII Attempted Invasion of the City by Caterpillars 78
XXXIX The Failure of the English Dam and Comments on Other Dams 79
XL Some Record Snowfalls in the Sierras 82
XLI San Francisco Earthquake and Fire 84
XLII Military Experiences and the Debs' Strike 87
XLIII Liberty Loan Drives 91
XLIV Navigation on the Feather and Yuba Rivers 91
XLV Dredging Feather River for Navigation 95
XLVI Experience as a County Supervisor, First Time 96
XLVII Experiences with James D. Stewart 98
XLVIII Experience with L. L. Robinson, President of the North Bloomfield Mine
105
XLIX My Warning to Professor G. K. Gilbert 107
L Ellis Lake 108
LI A Big Fire Loss 113
LII Trustee for Bondsmen 115
LIII President District Agricultural Fair 117
LIV A. C. Bingham 118
LV First Campaign for Mayor and Defeat 121
LVI Elected Mayor, First Term 123
LVII Elected Mayor, Second Term 130
LVIII Marysville Levee Commission 132
LIX Levee Foreman 133
LX President Hallwood Irrigation Company 134
LXI Amusing Experience in a Federal Court 136
LXII The Great Floods of the Winter of 1861-62 139
LXIII Flood of 1875 146
LXIV Flood of 1881 148
LXV Flood of 1904 148
LXVI Flood of 1907 151
LXVII Flood of 1909 157
LXVIII Flood of 1928 158
LXIX Presented with a Service Medal 160
LXX A Contest with Henry Hazelbush 161
LXXI The “Eccentric” Flood of 1937 163
LXXII Criticisms of My Management 174
LXXIII Artificial Channel Alterations Near Marysville 179
LXXIV Monies Raised by Taxation for Marysville Levee System 185
LXXV Outside Monies Which Have Been Raised by the Levee Commission for the
Benefit of the City's Levees 188
LXXVI Manner in Which the Marysville Levee was Raised and Strengthened after the
1907 Flood 192
LXXVII A $200 Investment Which Paid The City Big Dividends 198
LXXVIII River Gauges at Different Places 199
LXXIX High Water Readings of the Yuba River at the “D” Street Bridge, Marysville
203
LXXX Record of Low Water Readings of the Yuba River at the “D” Street Bridge, at
Marysville 204
LXXXI Zero Reading on D Street Gauge 206
LXXXII Gauges on Marysville Levee System 206
LXXXIII Water Pressure 207
LXXXIV Agitation for New Levee Commissioners 208
LXXXV Agitation to Widen the River at the D Street Bridge and Replace with a New
Bridge at Simpson Lane 209
LXXXVI Why Our Present High Water Mark of 24 feet at Marysville will be Exceeded
at Some Future Flood 212
LXXXVII Early Day Suggested Plans for Flood Control and First Reclamation Board
Act 215
LXXXVIII Seasonal Weather Variations and Rainfall Records 218
LXXXIX How I Lost an Opportunity to be Sent to State Prison 221
XC First Training Walls, Above and Below, from Daguerre Point 224
XCI Construction of Two Parallel 750 Foot Channels Down Stream from Daguerre
Point 227
XCII Benefits of Dredge Mining on Yuba River 230
XCIII Right of Way Agent for Western Pacific Railroad 232
XCIV State Reclamation Board 235
XCV Congressman Kent's Public Hearing at Marysville, November 9th, 1915 238
XCVI How I Came to Leave the Reclamation Board 256
XCVII The Attempted Resurrection of Hydraulic Mining in 1927 259
XCVIII Discussions Before the Commonwealth Club 266
XCIX Final Action on the Seawell Bill 267
C James Stewart's Threatened Referendum 269
CI Water Conservation Project Referendum Election in
December 1933 282
CII Meeting of Hydraulic Miners Association in Marysville 286
CIII If the Hydraulic Mining Debris Dam is Constructed Near Smartsville, Will
the Charge for Storage Repay the Government for its Investment and Can the Mines
Afford to Pay the Storage Charge 288
CIV My First and Only Law Suit 290
CV Committee of Five 293
CVI Is the Flood Control Plan Designed to Safely Control Any Floods Which May
Occur? 297
CVII Yuba County 299
CVIII Marysville as a Business Town 301
CIX Days of Forty-Nine Celebration 302
CX Just Some Warnings for the Future 303
CXI Keeping Cool and How to Grow Old Gracefully 304
CXII Conclusion 306