Arkansas true Democrat., 1858-05-25
The Artesian Well Exneditio,

AS AAICS1du w ell Expedition.
 A correspondent of the St. Louis Republican travelIng with the overland mail expedition which left Fort Chadbourne on the 26th Q, February, gives, in letter dated !" Camp of the Arteslan Well EXpedition Rio Pecos river Apnl Io' the following description of his visit to the camp of the expedition The informa- ton ne communicates as to the prospect of Capt Pope's success in obtaining plentiful SUD- plIes of water on the Llano Estacado is highly gratifying, especially to all who are interested m our southern Pacific railroad enterprise.
 he spot selected by Capt. Pope for the en- campment of his expedition is very pleasant and desirable location. It is situated on the bank of the Rio Pecos, about twelve miles be- low the mouth of Delaware creek. From his encampment most charming view of the country can be obtained: It is a scene spread out by the hand of nature, where the lover of beautiful scenery, and the admirer of fine land scape views can feast his eyes with a panorama of surpassing beauty. As far as the eve could reach, small hilocks, with wales between, rolled away excessively, and far off in the distance the high, massive peak on the summit of the Guadalupe mountains rises high and maiesti- cally above the surrounding scene It is sur prlsing, yet nevertheless true, that, so clear is the atmosphere, that from Capt. Pope's camp a distance of sixty miles, the pass through the Guadalupe mountains Is plainly seen, and on very clear day the shadow of trees and rocks can be seen along the base at the pass
 On arriving at the encampment of Captain Pope, the members of the expedition were cordially received by the captain and the off, cers in command of the post. By invitation of Lieut.. Hartz, 1 visited the we'll this afternoon. r. icc tol a: Il.
 several hundred feet above the head of the stream, and some five hundred yards beyond the boundary line of Texas, in the territory of New Mexico. full corps of mechanics and laborers are engaged in the working of the ma- chinery used in boring the we'll The master mechanic Is Mir. Brown of s. Louis. who was engaged n boring the well of Mir. Belcher, of that city, A steam engine of some twenty horse power is used to work the machnerv.- The bore is 2% inches in diameter, and wherever it is required, heavy copper tubing is used to protect 1t from being filled up with dirt The depth now reached is one thousand and forty feet. The first water was found at a depth of two hundred and forty-four feet Several springs have been reached since at various depths. There Is an abundance of water to be obtained now at distance of one hundred and seventy-fve feet from the surface Although large quantities of water have, several times. been pumped out from the well, the supply does not diminish, and the springs seem to be mex haustible. Capt. Pope is sangune of sue cess, and feels confident that he will soon reach the bottom of the strata, where he expects to ind an lnexEaustible supply of water of suffi- cent force to bring 1t to the surface.
 One ot the greatest obstacles which Captain Pope has had to contend with in his experi- ment Is the fact that he is SD far from civiiiza- ton, and entirely shut out from any means of communication (other than his own) with every portion of the country where machinery can be repaired. The least accident or brcakage of any ot the machinery used ill working the well causes a delay of weeks. The nearest point where repairs can be made is at Galveston. distance of 500 miles, and often an express had to be sent to New Orleans, thus occasioning a delay of weeks, which, in the States, would only be one of hours. One thing can be said of the manner in which Capt. Pope is conducting the experiment., and that IS, he is not squandering the appropriation. Or the S1O000O approrfi- ated for the purpose of trying the experiment and testing the feasibility of boring a series of wells across |" Staked plaln," he has yet enough ot the appropriation to continue the work for nearl V two years. And had the experiment not met with series of accidents, there can be little doubt but that long ere this quantity of water would have been boiling to the surface sufficient to irri3ate the soil of the "staked plain' for miles around. It is to be hoped that the most sanguine expectations of Capt Pope will be realized; for, should he meet with that success which he anticipates, large districts of country, possessing all the beauties that the hand of nature can. bestow, will be redeemed from unproductiveness.
 The success of a series of wells upon the . 'Llano Estacado" will not only be of incalcu- labe value to the travelling community, but would also open to occupation one of the fairest regions for the raising of stock to be found in the Union, which must otherwise forever re- main barren waste. It will open a route of travel across the plains in all respects favorable and. afford Inducements for the settlement and cultivation oi an immense region of country which IS now alone occupied by Irdians. It is believed that series of four wells. at distance of twenty-five miles from each other, would be sufficient for all practicable purposes of rIiga- tion ani other uses, from the Rio Pecos river to the head springs of Colorado hope to be able, ou my return to Capt. Pope's encampment which will be in about thirty days, to find that he has succeeded in finding an abundant supply of permanent water which will flow over the now barren desert of the staked plain.'
 So soon as the present well is finished, Capt Pope will proceed to Dona Ana, where he will finish boring a well already commenced. have no doubt but that ali connected wi tn the encampment will be glad once more to return to the settlements and enjoy social life, in pref erence to life on the DlainS where they are