Arizona citizen., 1872-06-15
ARTISAN WELLS.

sinking artesiani wells is one of the first
 importance, not only to Arizona but
 to New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Wy
 oming, Utah, Nevada and Southern
 California. There are vast tracts of
 land in each of these States and Ter
 ritories that could be made as produc-
 tive and inviting for settlement as any
 the sun ever show upon, if water could
 be obtained, that now lies idle and val ueless, and will so remain until the end of time unless this necessary ele- ment is supplied. The first question to be considered is the probability of obtaining water by means of artesian
 wells; this of course can only be fully demonstrated by actual experiments,
 but reasonable expectation may be arrived at by the experience of those who have already tested it, and from the formation of the country. In California the tests have been nu- merous and very successful, and over @ large portion of the country mentioned the streams have no outlet and necessarily a large portion of the water sinks and forms subterraneanI streams that doubtless find their way deep in mother earth to some ocean or gulf. Indeed this is not subject of speculation so far as Arizona Is con- cerned, for in a number of places wells at the depth of from one to two hun dred feet have tapped rapid running streams; this is the case at the Pica- cho Station, 60 miles west of Tucson. and at the Agua Fria, between Phenix and Wickenberg, a running stream was not only tapped at depth of about 100 feet but live fish were drawn up into the we'll from the stream. We therefore conclude that there is a reasonable prospect of obtaining water by means of artesian wells, and we know that if successful, millions of acres of land now useless can be made productive and homes for an immense population. This brings us to the most important point in the considera- ton of this subject, viz: How can the people be so encouraged as to try the experiment of sinking these wells ?
 Under the present laws for purchas- ing Government land, no one can purchase but 16O acres, which is a very wise provision so far as lands desirable for settlement is concerned, but no one can afford to incur the ex- pense of thousands of dollars, with the attending uncertainties, simply for the privilege of the right to purchase 16O acres, and unless some better terms are offered by the Government, centuries will pass by and these lands will still remain unoccupied. We be- ieve that the object to be obtained Is so important that the Government should donate at least section of land to any one who finds water say ten miles from any natural stream and also that @ liberal appropriation should be made by Congress to sink wells on the public roads used by the Government. By doing this 1t would do much to develop the country, would save vast sums to the Government in loss of stock, in consequence of long drives without water, and if success ful would establish the feasibility of the enterprise.
 The Papago Italians have @ large extent of country containing but little water No assistance could be given them that would result in such sub stantial service as boring an artesian we'll. We presume there are other reservations that would derive equal benefits. We have not the space to do more than call attention to this most important subject, but we have done so with the hope that all who are equally interested will join us in an