Arizona weekly enterprise., 1890-08-23
Yuma's Back Country.
Nnmn Sentinel.

ulLd oCAtLhNl.
 Thereis below the Southern Pacific rail- road on both sides of the Colorado river not less than 1,500,0O0 acres of the choicest lands, on the Pacific coast. Without water for irrigation, these lands are of no value With it they are in- valuable, that they can be irrigated, and at very small expense per acre, Is fact established by all of the many engineers, who have given the matter any attention.
 Two plans for irrigating these lands have been proposed one, favored by engi- neers Evans. Crawford, Swartz, Ives, Shankford and others, begins at or near the boundary line, takes the water out of the river in pipes, placed deep enough be low the surface, so as to admit a full free flow of water through the pipes at the lowest stage of water in the Colorado, and conveys it far enough to the west, so as tC conduct it into the great natural canal system, at or near Cooks Wells. TheT using the already made canal, the whole | lower part of these lands can be irrigated The estimated cost of putting in the pipes sufficient to convey water enough for the purposes required, has been placed a l $2.500,000.
 l The second project IS to go up the Colo | rado river to where the sides and bottom of the river are rock bound; put ill dan with locks and a canal for the passage o boats. such as are used on the Colorado and then take the water out, on to eacl side of the river in large iron pipes, ant ! convey 1t to where 1t can be used for tn purposes of irrigation. This plan ha been favored by a large number of com petent engineers. They are right whel they take the ground, that thi scheme is by far the most valuable, fror the fact that all of the lands on both side of the Colorado can be irrigated, nclud ing the mesas and higher valleys, whic cannot be reached by the other plan; t put this project through, it will cost nc less than $5,000,000.
 Men with the money, are ready to talk hold of this matter, all that is required that they shall be made acquainted wit the facts. In the first place, that theI
 are 2.500U0 acres of the garden lands ( the Pacific Coast, that can be supphe with an abundance of water for $2,5O0,Ot or $10O0 per acre, and in the second cas that there are 100000 acres of choiC
 land that can be well irrigated for $5,000 GOO or S3.33L E per acre.
 Again that these lands on their nortl
 ern boundary line, are within four milt
 of the Southern Pacific railroad. If sati
 faction rates of freight cannot be meG with this road, then there IS the ColoraG river running directly through these lanC for nearly 100 miles up which coastin
 vessels can come, and by which all of u products of this great valley can be SCI to market.
 True what may be done, is hard to col
 lecture, but that this great valley. ric and fertile as it is-is to lie idle for al great length of time no one can believ The men and the cash are all ready carry out this great plan of deyelopmen It only remains now to be seen wh : obstacles, if any may be thrown in u , way.
 The people of Yuma cannot rema idle much longer, and look on tn matter with indifference.
 All of this great valley region IS Yuma back country, and it must, and it will developed, unless like the ''canine in Il
 manager" we refuse to eat, or to allo other animals to eat, and reap the fat , , the land.