Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-03-25
General Greedy Corrects Wrong I'M
pressions of the Pacific Slope.

General Greedy Corrects Wrong I'M
pressiOns of the Pacific Slope.
WASHINGTON, March 24th.-In pursuance
to resolution introduced by Senator
Mitchell, there has been printed letter
from General Greedy of the Signal Service
upon the rainfall of the Pacific slope and
the Western States and Territories. Ac-
companying General Greely's letter is
paper by Lieutenant Glassford, of the Sig
nal Service, discussing the wet and dry
seasons, the abundance and deficiency in
different portions, the summer rainy sea-
son in Arizona, etc., fortified with charts
and tables exhaustive of the subject. These
tables cover observations from 66l stations
OF an average length of seven years and
three months, and the charts show sepa-
rately the maximum. minimum and mean
rainfall for every month and year.
The terms of the resolution made it Gen.
eral Greely's duty to express his views
upon the importance and value of these
charts and tables, and also inferentially to
express his opinion on the question of recur-
ring droughts in Texas and in relation to
the vexed question of increasing or decreas-
ing the rainfall in the arid or subhumid
regions of the United States" Pursuant
to this instruction, General Greely discusses
the matter at great length.
He says one 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 dispeling
of the erroneous and injurious impressions
which has long prevailed regarding this
extensive region. In the early century this
territory was viewed as hardly suited for
civilized man, its enormous plains and vast
mountains being represented as arid and
desert regions, unsuited for cultivation, and
ryar, ri g.
Adventure, exploration and circumstance
have pushed the frontier westward until
the myths Of the Great American Desert to
the north and of the rainless 'Staked
Plains" 10 the south have practically dis
appeared.
1t is none the less true, however, that
the latest and most reliable Americans
book on the meteorology of this country
speaks of betW cen the Sierra Nevada and
Rocky Mountains, including portions of
Utah, New Mexico and California, as "a re-
gion which is almost entirely destitute of
rain" and that farther on the east side of
the Rocky Mountains 'the country is
barren desert, almost without rain
THE ARID REGION"
Another great value of the charts is the
bringing to general attention and consid-
Grafton the very extensive areas of country
in what has been known as the and re-
gion," when late and careful observations
have shown the rainfall to be far greater
than has been usually attributed, and thus
transfer these to the 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 COM
pletely as New York or New England. the
final outcome OF observation will indicate
that the actual average rainfall for this arid
region is now upderstated by the census
charts from 20 to 40, and by others from 10
to 10 per cent.
General Greely notes that observations
at sixteen stations indicate an increase in
the rainfall, while eight show a decrease
These stations are located in Texas, Ne
vada, New Mexico, Indian Territory Cali
fornia, Arizona and Kansas In corclu-
sion, he says:
The Chief Signal Officer does not hes
itate to express the opinion that the trans
Mississippi and rans-Missouri rainfall is
slightly increasing as a whole, though in
certain localities it may be slightly decreas-
ing from causes above set forth, and it
seems most proper for him to put forth
his strong conviction, even if it be not
certainty, when, as in this case, il will
tend to reassure the agricultural popula-
ton in the late ly drought stricken districts
OF the West. There appears 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
.ew years, which will maintain the annual
rainfall of these sections at the average, or
even increase it."
1t is believed that the interests of the en-
tire country will be subserved by the pub
lication of a large edition of the rainfall
charts and tables accompanying the report.