Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1883-10-12
Artss,ap Wsll. on tho Plains.

- ~S~~~Ns ~SSO'SAy Shob WtbtCl All dUuli-
dant quantity can be obtained from ar
tesian wells. Except in the near prox-
unity to permanent streams like the
Platte and Arkansas, or their tributa-
ries, near the base of the mountains. ir-
rigation is not possible; and the land.
therefore, practically valueless for the
purposes Of ordinary agriculture; 80
that beyond its capacities for grazing
and stock-raising, there seemed little to
be made out Of it; and its resources in
this direction, while in the aggregate
large, were, in point of fact, very small,
when measured by the results which are
accomplished on similar areas east.
From the lack of seasonable rains the
quantity of grass grown upon an acre
is very small, and from this lack of wa
ter very large areas cannot be grazed at
all. Water, during a portion Of the
year, is only found at intervals in the
dry beds Of streams, and only such land
as lies within certain distance of
these watering places can be utilized.
The possession of water has given the
ranchman practical ownership of the
contiguous range, and by the ownership
of few isolated tracts of land cover
ing the water a few individuals have
come to control vast expanse of coun-
try. This condition of affairs has fav-
ored the existence of large herds of
cattle, maintained in semi-wild state,
which has been the source of large prof
1t to their owners, because of the slen-
der care bestowed OH them, and because
there was no call TO invest much capi-
tai in the land, or TO pay rental OF any
form of tax for the use of the public do
main.
Very few people seem to have been
anticipating much change in this condi-
tion of affairs, but the successful bor-
ing Of the artesian wells at Denver
promisestO put anentirely ydifferentphase
upon matters. A man owning quarter
section of land covering a water hole
may now practically own, because the
only person who can put to practical
grazing purposes, all the land within 10
miles in every direction. But this own
ership or possession or use he must
share tomorrow with whoever puts
down an artesian well upon the next
quarter section, and the two must admit
on like terms the next conner.
The developments in the way of ar
tesian wells at Denver are entirely ex-
ceptional, and of the most marvellous
character. The current opinion among
the best informed men was against ar
tesian wells. There were no known
large bodies of water at a higher alti-
tude, from which supplies could be
drawn, and it seems as if the subterra-
mean drainage from the mountains, if
any existed, was carried to such depth
as to preclude all hope of striking it.
But theories oftimes do not count for
much in face of practice, and the sink
ing of an artesian well at Denver, by a
person who had sort of ground hog
case" and could offer no better reason
than that he was compelled to have wa
water, demonstrated all the theories to
be at fault, and gave an abundant flow.
And in the course of a couple of months
nearly hundred wells, all successful,
have been put down. Nearly all of the
more important building are already
supplied with wells, and many dwell
ing houses are being similarly supplied,
and, as the fashion goes, not many
months will elapse before an artesian
will become as necessary adjunct to a
house in Denver as mortgage ar a Gu
pala. The nearer the mountains the
less the probabilities of a successful ar
tesian flow at any given depth, because
of the apparently greater dip of rock
strata, and of the want of even an op-
pOrtunity for large waterways to be-
come established and if water in such
abundance can be obtained almost at
the base of the mountains, as at Den
yer, it ought certainly to remove all
doubt as to the result of borings to the
eastward.
1t is too early as yet to anticipate the
influence of artesian wells upon the
plains and their great industry. 1t does
not seem beyond reason, however to as
sert that present conditions will be
greatly modified. Persons controlling
extensive ranges, because Of the own
ership of few paltry water holes, will
undoubtedly be called upon to divide up
the territory; immense herds will disap-
pear and their places supplied with
more numerous smaller ones, and this
will lead to fencing and to greater care
both of land and the improvement of
cattle. 1t is easy to make money from
ten Thousand head ranging at will, but
care and attention must be studied to
make much from a few hundred upon
circumscribed area. 1t is not beyond
the range of possibilities that enough
water can be obtained through artesian
wells to establish very fair system of
irrigation, in which case the alterations
win be even more marked than those
already indicated. Irrigation requires
great deal Of water, and nearly a
hundred wells in Denver justify the
hope that it it may be had. And if it
can be, the days of cattle grazing upon
the plains are numbered, and the great
natural pastures must yield to the
general-purpose farmer, and we will be.
hold an unbroken line of fields and or
chards from the Rockies to the sea-
Louis w. Evans, well known to many
western ranchmen, passed through the
city on Monday ON his way to st. Louis.
John B. Elsea, of Elsea Bros, ranch