Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-03-25
WESTERN RAINFALL.
An Exhaustive Report From
General Greedy.
SOME DELUslONs DIsPELLED
The Great American Desert" and
the Rainless "Staked Plains
Found to be Myths.

Associated Press Dispatches to the HERALD
WASHINGTON, March 24.-In pursuance
to resolution introduced by Senator
Mitchell, there has been printed letter
from General Greedy, of the Signal Ser
vice, upon the rainfall of the Pacific
Slope and the Western States and Terri |
tories. Accompanying General Greely's
letter is a paper by Lieutenant Glassford,
of the Signal Service, discussing the
causes of wet and dry seasons, the abund-
ance and deficiency of the rainfall in diff
ferent portions. the summer rainy season
in Arizona, etc., fortified with charts and
tables exhaustive of the subject. These
tables cover observations from 661 sta
tions of an average length of seven years
and three months, and the charts show
separately the maximum, minimum and
mean rainfall for every month and year.
The terms of the resolution made it Gen.
Greely's duty to "express his views upon
the importance and value of these charts
and tables, and also, inferentially, to ex-
press his opinion on the question of re-
curing droughts in Texas, and in rela-
to the vexed question OF the increasing
or decreasing rainfall in the arid or sub
humid regions of the United States"
Pursuant to this instruction, Gen.
Greedy discusses the matter at great
length. He says one great result which
must rebound to the benefit of the trans
Mississippi and trans Missouri country
by the publication of these official data,
will be the dispelling OF the erroneous
and injurious impressions which long
prevailed regarding this extensive region.
In the early part of the century this
territory was viewed as hardly suited for
civilized man it's enormous plains and
vast mountains being represented as arid
and desert regions, unsuited for civiliza-
ton and, in many places, even unfit for
pasturage. Adventure, exploration and
other circumstances have hurried the
frontier westward, until the myths of the
great American Desert to the north, and
of the rainless staked plains to the south,
have practically disappeared. 1t is none
the less true, however, tnat the latest
and most reliable American text book OF
meteorology of this country speaks Of the
areas "between the Sierra Nevadas and
the Rocky Mountains, including portions
of Utah, New Mexico and California" as
"a region which is almost entirely desti-
| tute of rain" and that further, on the
east side of the Rocky Mountains
"the country is barren desert, almost
without rain."
Another great value of the charts is their
bringing to general attention and consid-
Grafton the very extensive areas of coun-
try in what has been known as the arid
regions, where late and careful observa-
tions have shown the rainfall to be far
greater than had been usually attributed
to them, and thus transferred these to
the lists of sub-humid districts.
The chief Signal officer puts it forward
as his opinion that, when Idaho, Nevada,
Utah, New Mexico and Arizona shall
have been covered with rain gauges as
completely as New York or New Eng
land, the final outcome of observation
will indicate that the actual average of
rainfall for the whole arid region is now
understated by the census charts from
20 to 40, and of these 10 to 10 per cent.
General Greedy notes that observations
at sixteen stations indicate an increase
in the rainfall, while eight show de-
crease. These stations are located in
Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, Indian
Territory, California, Arizona and Kan
sas.
In conclusion, he says: "The Chief
Signal officer does not hesitate to express
his opinion that the Mississippi and
transMissouri rainfall is slightly increas-
ing, as whole, though in certain local
tiles it may be slightly decreasing from
causes set forth above, and it seems most
proper for him to put forth his strong
conviction, even if it be not GER
tairity, that when, as in this
case, it will tend to reassure the
agricultural population in the lately
drought-stricken districts of the West,
there appears to be no possible reason to
believe that the scanty rainfall of the
past year or two will not be followed by
an increasing precipitation in the next
few years, which will maintain the an
nual rainfall of these sections at the
average, or even increase it. 1t is be-
lieved that the interests of the entire
country will be subserved by the publi-
cation of large edition of the rainfall
charts and tables accompanying this re-
port"