Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 1.djvu/157

 HEERMAN V. BEEF SLOUGH MANUF'G CO. 149

river, and also Beef Slough, to such an extent as to have entirely prevented the passage of steamboats, barges and rafts therein, and have, by such works, since the year 1874, turned the water of said river not deflected into Beef Slough, for the purposes of their private business, as hereinbefore stated, into the said Horse Slough channel, so that no other channel remains open to ascending or descending navigation, and thereby they have greatly obstructed and impeded the free and natural navigation of said river for boats, barges, rafts and other water craft, and have made such navigation much more circuitous, difficult and expensive, and have rendered it necessary to construct additional and special jetties or dams in order to improve the navigation of said Horse Slough, and have deflected a part of the natural flow of water from the Chippewa river into said Beef Slough, and thereby injuriously diminished the natural volume and force of the current thereof, so that the same is much less capable of supporting the navigable boats and rafts therein, and less able to remove by natural action the sand bars formed at the mouth of the river and along its course; and by their said piers and booms have turned all logs, timber, railroad ties and fence posts floating in said river into said Beef Slough, and so provided and adapted the same that ail such logs, timber, railroad ties and fence posts must necessarily be turned into said Beef Slough, and thereby have taken possession thereof, and in the future, unless restrained by the court, will continue so to take possession of and force the same into said Beef Slough, and there assume sole control of further driving the same until they shall reach the outlet into the Mississippi river. And have erected and constructed in said Beef Slough other piers, booms and dams in such manner that they have taken exclusive possession thereof, and entirely prevented any navigation or use thereof by the public, including the plaintiff, by boats, barges, steamboats or otherwise, and give out and threaten that they will henceforward continue so to do.

That in the year 1869 or 1870 the defendant, the Beef Slough Company, without any authority of law, entered upon the business of cutting, in the winter season, upon lands sit-