Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1891-01-31
Another Irrigation Letter.
RUSTIC.


EDITORS WORLD: A contin uation Of
this subject may not be very interesting
as reading matter, yet is one that is of
vital Importance to US whose sole posses
sions are limited to quarter section more
or less of the American desert. I said
that this especial county was underlaid
with impervious strata of what is COM
monty called shale, some 500 feet thick.
How much of these plains is in like man
ner constituted, am unable to state l
only know that similar layers lie be
meath Northern Texas and that it is in
some cases one thousand feet, in wells
that have penetrated that far. But in
places it is only from 100 to 800 feet and
below that are layers of sand rock which
yield artesian water In large quantity
when drilled into. I am here using the
term artesian in the limited sense, mean
ing water that will rise above the surface.
The flow of some of these wells reaches
into the thousands of gallons per hour.
The accepted theory of such wells re-
quireS a fountain head higher than the
source.
In the Arkansas valley and South West
Kansas there are several now being used
successfully for the purposes of irriga-
ton, also in Dakota. 1t seems that there
are few places where such supply can not
be secured although the depth is variable.
1t Will cost from one to two thousand
dollars to sink hole to the depth of a
thousand feet and the price increases very
rapidly with the depth. To me, it seems
L., l. bok I, l..
here that might be successfully put IN
der irrigation and no engine needed to do
the pumping. But there are few farmers
who care to sink the amount of money in
such undertakings with no certainty of
success. If the shale grows thinner
toward the mountains and is underlaid
with water. bearing stratum, there is
certainly sufficient fall between here and
the place where it sinks away to give us
flowing wells on any elevation. Govern
ment aid is necessary in experimenting,
and if in the end it be proven that a
couple thousand dollars could procure
water in sufficient quantity for fifty acres
of land, the money would soon be forth
coming.
1 suppose it would cost the government
5000 to make boring which interested
capital could make for $4,000. Still much
improvement can be made in the machin-
cry for such work probably lessening the
expense of the drilling. Volumes could
be filed it is true, of work that has been
done in other countries of the same kind.
The United States government can afford
to pay for improving semi arid empire,
better than France can afford to tackle
the Sahara, or England, portion of her
Egyptian protectorate. In order to
demonstrate thoroughly the practical, or
non practical part of this requires, many
borings. and in all possible location, both
valleys and hills. Assuming that the
average cost of themIbe 5000 each, there
ought to be a million expended in
such experimenting, which will give 200
wells distributed throughout Eastern
Colorado and Western Kansas but no
well ought to be sunk deeper than 1000
feet unless for other purposes.
What! you ask, would you waste that
amount of money in sample experiment.
Certainly If you call that a waste. If
private capital can afford; to spend mil
lions in simple curiosity trying to find
omething they couldn't see if they did
find it, and couldn't bring it away either.
(the North Pole) if government can aid in
that. it seems to me they might advance
q little in greater possibilities where a re-
turn if there is one at all, would be in
comparable to the expense. II hundred
thousand can be spared to dredge mud
creek, with railroad along its valley,
when the oaly possible returns would be
that during the june rise some floating
Junk house, might make the trip up, and
land few barrels of rum at Smithville,
and get down before the water subsidies.
If ! say all this can be done to please a
few dozen constituents of some congress
man. candidate for reelection, then let
rs have something Tor this grander and
Wershisg object b. HARIAS.