Trimble

This is an action to determine the conflicting claims of plaintiff and defendant to the waters of a certain creek known as Sam’s- Creek or Kerlin Creek, in Trinity County. It appears that this creek carries at flood season quite a large, quantity of water, more than either party ever used or had use for, but the quantity rapidly diminishes, after the rainy season is passed, to a flow, during the months of August and September, of not to exceed thirty miner’s inches. Both parties are owners of ranches to which water from this creek was conveyed by ditches constructed by their predecessors in estate more than twenty years prior to the commencement of this action. The ditch leading to plaintiff’s land, or the Trimble Ranch, is known as the Trimble ditch and that leading to defendant’s land, or the Kerlin Ranch, as the Kerlin ditch. There is some conflict as to the carrying capacity of these ditches but there was evidence that the Trimble ditch would convey about one hundred miner’s inches of water and defendant’s ditch about one hundred and forty-four miner’s inches. The evidence was that defendant’s ditch was first in time.

Plaintiff claims a right to one hundred miner’s inches of…