Bent County register., 1888-12-01
Irr1getion of Land.

-
employed extensively in Colorado,
/ Utah and California. Colorado has
by far the greatest lrrigabIe area, and
there the laws respecting the use of
water for agriculture are the most
perfect. Nature seems to have or,
dained that this state shall lead in n
riga.ion. Within Its borders are
congregated the highest ranges and
and peaks of the Rocky mountains;
it is the yeritable Dome Of the CONT
nent. On the countless square miles
OF its lofty summits fall the heaviest
iuantles of snow, the sources of an
unfailiug water supply. All the grea,
rivers west of the Missouri, except
the Columbia, commences their
course in this state The Platte, the
Arkansas. RIO Grande, and the Colo
r do rise nearly together in central
Colorado, and iu simmer are large.
swollen rivers before they leave ITS
confines. No western state or terri
tory, therefore, IS nearly 80 abun-
dantly supplied with water and
streams as Colorado. This advan-
tge, together with ils fsvorableuess
of location with respect to Immiera-
lion, and its vast extent Of most fer
tie land, assures to i: the foremost
INK IN agriculture among the noun
tain states.
The canal system of Colorado a;
this time embraces 5000 linear miles
OF large and small bitches. It rep
resen,s investments of private capi-
iai amounting to sl2.Ooo,oeo, and
| furnishes water for two and = half
millions Of acres. So attractive are
canal enterprises to those familiar
with them that many miles of canals
are now being constructed, notwith.
standing the fact that there are II
this time fully one million of acres
cf fine, unoccupied and unimproyed
land situate IN the irrigated territory
The young state needs people rather
than reservoirs and more canals.
The water of every natural streams
u declared by the constitution OF
/ Colorado the property Of the public,
! and is dedicated 10 the pubIie's use.
There are TO riparian rights. The
rauals are taken out of the rivers and
creeks, and at present furnish water
only tor valley lands. The fertile
PLAN ranges and smooth mesa or
table lands lie above the level of the
streams, aud must eventually be sup
piled with water By great and costly
systems of reservoirs. When all the
water of stream is claimed aud ap
propriated by bitches, it becomes a
.ource of contention among Its users,
and the law is active III determining
and enforcing the rights Of the re-
spective canal companies. The law
is based on the principle that the
right to water is acquired by priority
of utilization; that is to say, the
courts hold that water should not be
taken away from those who frst have
utilized it in good faith. If, for in
stance, canal has used the full ca
pacity of stream, it is forever en-
titled to all the waters of that stream.
The volume of river from which
several canals are conducted having
been estimated in cubic feet per sec
ond of time by the state engineer,
each ditch company appears before
the district court which has jurils-
diotion subject to appeal to the su-
preme court, and shows when it was
constructed, what its capacity is. and
how much water it has used, or can
use, for actual tillage. The court
thereupon DEGREES TO each company
the number Of cubic feet of water
per second it ls entitled to draw each
season from the stream, and its rank
Of priority i. e., its order of preced-
ence with respect to other canals sup
piled from the same stream.
These DEGREES are of course, en-
forced. The state engineer has gen
eral supervisor of all matters pertain
ing to irrigation, and he is required
by law to see that water is distribut-
cd in accordance with the courts in
;unctions. The state is divided into