Supreme court of the United States. No. 135. The United States, appellants, vs. John A. Sutter. Appeal from the District court U.S. for the Northern district of California.

The United States vs. Sutter. 455
I also saw a wheat field in'42,'44,'45,'46. and'47, on the patch
of ground I mentioned yesterday, where the tannery was situated.
42nd. Above the American river, and between that and the mouth
of the Feather, what was about the average width of the lands between the tule and the river?
Ans. In some places I should think it would be from one hundred
yards to a quarter of a mile.
43rd. To what extent was that strip of land fit for cultivation?
Ans. At the time I was there it was too heavily timbered for cultivation. If the timber was removed it could be cultivated.
44th. To what extent was the land above the mouth of the Feather,
on both sides of the river, fit for cultivation?
193 Ans. Close up about the mouth of the river it was none of
it fit for cultivation. After going up some five or six miles, a
part of the land, a narrow strip, became fit for cultivation.
45th. How wide was the timbered land, on an averge, on both sides
of the river, starting from a point just below Nicholas and ascending
the river?
Ans. There were some places from one hundred yards to half a
mile wide, and in others no timber at all; the prairie used to come
close up, and in fact it used to overflow at high water.
46th. To what extent could crops have been raised on this timbered
land if the timber was removed, and on the prairie land, after the
water receded, in usual seasons, and what crops?
Ans. On the prairie land, after the water receded, you could raise
a pretty good stock of " Spanish needles." There are portions of
timber land that would be good for cultivation if the timber were off.
There were portions of the timber land that never overflowed.
47th. Which was the highest, the timber land or the prairie
land?
194 Ans. The timber land was the highest; the prairie land
back of the timber receded gradually to the tules.
Questions by acting U. S. att'y for the U. S.
48th. Please look at the map in the transcript filed in this case,
marked "Exhibit B, P. L. to deposition of Juan B. Alvarado," and
from your recollection of the country delineated thereon, as you
knew it from 1841 to 1843, state when the waters began to rise; where
they commenced rising first, in the Sacramento river, above the
mouth of the Feather river, or in the Feather river and its tributaries.
Ans. I never was there to see which commenced rising first, but
I know that the Sacramento river backed the Feather river up,
which caused the overflow.
49th. As the Sacramento began to rise below the junction with the
Feather river, would the rise have the same effect upon the American
river as it did upon the Feather river?
Ans. I could not tell. The line of the tules above the mouth of
the Feather river, and along the west bank of the Feather
190 river, the dotted line extending from its mouth to the Buttes