Wichita eagle., 1889-10-02

served for years and by hundreds of peo
pie. In many well the current is plainly
| perceptible and in all any chance bit o.
wood or handful of chaff or leaves blowr
In by the wind floats to the east side o.
the WELL
"All these facts are of utmost impor
tance to us because they prove that un
derneath our feet a broad and deer
stream of water slowly passes down the
slope, compared with which in volume
the visible stream is as an infant to q
giant. Let us gather an idea of the
capacity Of this subterranean stream te
supply us with water.
Carefully conducted experiments
made i'll the past few days
show that a single square mile
OF this sand, twenty feet deep, con.
tains about 209,000,000 cubic feet OF
water-enough to flood 19,200 acres OF
land to depth of three inches. While
1t would be practically impossible to
drain any given area of these substrata
completely, it is well known that they
yield up their waters with great readi.
ness"
AS means of drawing the desired
supply of water to the surface from
this vast subterranean reservoir that is
SO near at hand, Judge Gregory explains
his plan as follows:
Gas is well known, this valley and ad-
Jacent plains have slope to the east
ward Of seven and a half feet per mile.
In the river bottoms the surface Of the
soil is but three feet above the surface of
the underlying water over large areas.
Great pools or fountains can be opened
into this subterranean water supply and
the accommodating waters run to the slr-
face in bitches having fall of, say two
feet per mile, the bitches being sunk to a
sufficient depth at the upper end, or
where they connect with the pools,
to admit the flow OF water,
and gradually decreasing in depth as the
lower land is reached SO as to bring the
water to the surface.
Of the objections that may be inter
posed to this theory of obtaining water
for irrigation, the author of the scheme
notices but one: "Will not such pool
fill up with saud!' In reply he says the
numerous large wells SO long in use
along the river show that curbing at the
sides is required but that the sand will
not fill up from below.
AS before stated Judge Gregory has
given the subject long and careful study
and has demonstrated the practicability
of his plan by drawing a stream of
water to the surface Of the ground at
Garden City as described. He makes the
following summary Of the matter:
without the utilization CT this vast
underfiow, artesian wells, the rivers,
bitches and storage reservoirs will only
starve US on broken promises anu hopes
deferred. By prompt and united effort,
all southwest Kansas and Southeast Col
Orado (whose necessity is just as great
may so add to their present resources for
water as to make the future one of GER
tainty and most abundant success. And
such a demonstration In the Arkansas
valley will lead to the development Of
similar vast and heretofore unused re-
sources for irrigation in other parts Of
the west.
''To secure speedy and systematic de-
velopment will require governmental at
tention. A central system of main
canals and storage reservoirs shoul1 be
laid cut upon the highest ground
on each side of the Arkansas
river, these twin systems reaching
well up into Colorado. Into these, any
number of great fountains, opened into
the saturated Substrata, may be made to
pour torrents of water the year around,
keeping them full and ready for service
at all times. Neither long delay nor great
expense will be required. With the
work thus laid out and Systematically
begun, private capital may soon be
brought forward to take up the work in
a way that while 1t will pay the capital
lists, will also give the greatest benefit to
the sturdy pioneers who are entitled to
greatest consideration Without gov
ernmental action, the development will
undoubtedly take place in time; but in
a hap-hazard and uncertain fashion and
with such delay as will result in meal
culable loss to the people.