Daily Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1876-1884, 1883-03-11
A COLD WATER SKETCH.

n ZULU WhIEh oNEIUus
Water Developments Going on
What Has Been Done and What
May be Done-The Great Reser-
voir in the Interior How to Open
its Precious Gates.
We observe as one Of the signs of con-
slant improvement Of the country, that
the good people of the south end of the
San joaquin valley are bravely at work
developing the water supply of the
country and making IL available for the
use of mankind. The people of Los An
COLES and San Bernardino are also hard
and intelligently at work, bringing out
the hidden sources Of the mountain
streams.
While in Etiwanda, Ontario, Her
mosa, Cucamonga and Pomona, a
great work is going on that changes the
pasture land, worth IS per acre. into irri.
gated land worth $3.50 per acre, the good
people of Tulare are making an honor
able effort to develop that very rich part
Of Southern California. The '76" CANA
and Irrigation Company is now at work
to bring down the mountain streams Of
water to the great, rich valleys Of
Tulare. The Company have 100 men
and 800 horses at work and have spent
SIS, 900 already on.the work, WI ich will
be the largest irrigating undertaking
ever started in California.
Tom Fowler is the moving spirit in the
matter, and will give the Mussel Slough
settlers portion Of the water in time te
plant their crops. This great project
will be Of great benefit to Southern Cal
ifornis. The people along this grea'
ditch viii be sure Of good crop of al
falfa, and plenty of fat cattle, part Of
which come to Los Angeles by almost
every train. This will be good news
to our cattle dealers who have leaned
largely on Tulsre for beef cattle.
In addition to this great canal, arte
sian wells are being sunk that will make
up for the lack Of rain. The soil of thai
valley is SO deep that in well now be
ing sunk, pieces Of wood were brought
up from the well at depth Of 280 feel
below the surface, phenomenon that
was observed in Los Angeles recently in
sinking similar well.
This fact will convey to the Eastern
readers Of the HERALD some idea of the
wonderful wealth OF the soil in the val
lsys of Southern California. A soil Of
$50 feet in depth has good reason to be
considered inexhaustible, and contrasts
strangely with the shallow soils Of the
most of the Atlantic and Southern
States.
To people like those Of Tulare dry
year has no terrors. They are fore
warned and will be forearmed by lasso.
ing the grand old streams that flow from
the perpetual ice Of the Sierra Madre
mountains.
1t affords us great pleasure To
notice and record these great and benefi-
cent works, which make the people in
dependent Of the peculiar vicissitudes Of
the seasons.
The people of Los Angeles county,
like their neighbors Of Tulare, are stead
lily opening the hidden fountains OF the
earth for the use Of mankind. The same
is being done in our neighboring county
OF San Bernsrdino. With each return
ing year new streams are put upon the
land and many new wells are opened.
This great and essential work takes no
step backward, and must sooner or later
result in the formation of artificial LAX es
of ample extent for summer irrigation.
But more important work in this di.
rection consists in tunnelling into ouI
beautiful Sierra Madre mountains which
stand as wall between the lowlands
and the great upland basin thousands Of
feet above our valley, and containing
500, 900 square miles of territory in
which hundred large streams find a
prison. with no escape except the little
narrow gorge of the Rio Colorado.
This great high plateau, whore the
deep SHOWS fall. makes vast reservoir
from three thousand to seven thousand
feet above Los Angeles. and by tunnel
ling into the Sierra Madres. which form
the southern wall of this great reser-
voir, the buried waters Of the interior
rivers, from Nevada. Utah, Idaho. and
part of California and q portion Of Wy
oming, may be brought forth upon ouI
fair valley in a volume more than we
can use or need.
From the Sierra Nevada to the source
Of the Yellowstone. the Platte and the
Rio Grande, hundred rivers have theil
source, and numerous mountain range,
gather rains and SHOWS. In this vas
highland basin IL body Of subterrane
GUS water more vast than lakes Superior
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