The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-01-30
Vast Schemes Of Irrigation Success
ful in Arizona Before tho Fiji
81 teenth Century.
A Great Valley Suddenly Depop-
ulated and the Ditches AL
\ most Obliterated.
Lines of Ruined Canals Followed by Lat
i ter Nay E~ngineers-Extent OF h
49,. Ancient System.

thu Salt River and Gila valleys Of Arizona.
Tho age Of these canals ia entirely a matter
Of conjecture. But one tradition exists
among the present Indian tribes regarding
them, and that 10 only Of their destruction.
writes Buckley O'Neill, of Prescott, Ariz.. in
the San Francisco Chronicle.
Whether or not the tradition embodics
the actual history of the canals, or whether
it is q creation of a late day, it is hard to
say. A strong fact in confederation OF Its
truth, however. is apparently furnished by
the,svidsnces which indicate that the valley
was suddenly and inexplicably d~epopulated.
Commencing with the most eastern prehls-
toric ruins Of any size in. either Gila or Salt
River va%lleys-that of the amous Casa
Grande, near Florence, which 80 excited
the admiration of Coronado and his com
mand that q detailed description OF 1t is
given in the chronicles of his expedition
and running westward almost to the Colo
RADIO river. everywhere ia found the evil
dences OF a hssty flight as we'll as the raw
ages Of fire, the salient features OF every
pillace. In the vicinity of every place
where a population of the past is indicated
by ruins are always to be found fragments
81 pottery with stone implements complet-
6N AA1 III VAV HAVANA 1SNoSS
ture, strewing the ground 80 thickly That
one cannot walk without treadinR them
under foot, while in the ruins OF the build
ings themselves are always discovered the
ends Of charred rafters still remaining, IN
the adobe walls. as we'll as layers OF ashes
or charcoal that could have only come from
burnt roofs aud floors, while here and there
the skeleton remains of men, women ana
children arc constantly uncovered, confirm
the belief that the same scenes OF desolatlon
that man brought to Troy n Carthage his
hand wrought here.
That these remains arc the result of
some sudden and mighty disaster is in
controvertible, az all their surroundings
indicate a total absence of n OF the me
thodical burial preparations always dis
played in all the ancient places OF sepul-
ture SO far discovered. In these latter the
bones and ashes left after cremation, care
fully placed in a sealed earthen jar, similar
in style to the Mexican ola and usually
elaborately decorated with hisroglyphics,
burnt into the ware with mineral oxides,
The Jar containing the remains is then
placed in a series of larger ones, after which
It is placedat considerable depth in the
ground. 20
the first thought that comes to the mind.
How great the skill and ingenuity that
this prehistoric people possessed for their
EtN0 du0 udN il IN AGAus ANSNSA AAo tAo
level Of the best modern engineers been
able to improve on the lines of the ruined
canals which they left behind them, while
in the selection of locations at which to
take the water from the rivers is always
exhibited the greatest skill 1ntelll-
geice. Itswas these ruins chat IN the early
seventies first gave the American settlers
the, idea Of reclaiming the valley where
non. stands Phanix, the capital of the ter
ritory. surrounded by a population of near
" 10000 souls, the first canal constructed
si1hriy following the line Of a prehistoric
one. In the selection of the routes of the
subsequent bnes it was merely the question
of picking out of the labyrinth of ruins
the lines Of the main canals n following
them. This at times was difficult work, for
some Of the lBtetals were of considerable
size nnd capacity.
CATION in the Salt River valley alone was
may be inferred, from the fact that the
amount Of land practically covered by the
canals was over a quarter of a million OF
cores. nearly treble the area of the lands at
present actually cultivated within the coul-
Sy of Los Angeles. California. The popula-
hon supported must have been very great,
for it is almost impossible to find an acre
within the line of ancient acequias on which
fragments of pottery, shell ornaments or
stone implements cannot be found. while
the ruins of ancient adobe hahltations can
tOo 464n III every ulT6StlOIi WA6I6 JIOy Ahfo
not been ob.iterated by the settler. These
IRE always of the style still to be found
among the Zuni, Moqui and other Pueblo
Indians of the southwest. Thick, strong
walls with few openings for doors and win
dows, and small rooms, with the buildings
clustering 80 closely together as to form al
most3one tenement. Estimating the acre
age Of the past as being one acre to two
persons, the present rule among the Pueblo
tribes, the population supported by the
bitches would not fall short of 500, 000-an
estimate the best authorities consider con
~Servative.
Tho canals themselves with their princi-
psi laterals must have exceeded a thou
sand miles in length. and the ruins of many
of them give evidences of the vast labor OF
their construction. Chief in this respect il
without doubt the canal at present supply
ing Mesa City and vicinity with the watel
required for irrigation. This acequia, nov
known as the Mesa canal, is taken from tn
south bank of the Salt river about twenty
five miles east of Phoenix, and after leay
ing the river runs for several miles throug
q formation of hard volcanic rock. SO ia
as known, without explosives of any kin
and with the simple tools of a stone age
excavated it through the rock to a dept
ranging from twenty to thirty feet. TIL
width Of the canal is about twenty fee
and its capacity with the ordinar
amount of water in the rive
would probably be from 10000 t
1900 inches. Thu evidence of the chiI
ping process which gradually wore ava
the rock drought which the ANA passes
very plain. while the enormous number {
worn-out stone axes and hammers to t
found along the canal at this point for Sc,
eral miles tell how long n arduous th
task was. Convinced by the ruins of tl
old ditch of the possibility of irrigating th
surrounding country, a Mormon missionar
called the attention of his oonfreres to i
A colony was at once sent out from Utal
and the work of cleaning the ditch of tt
debris and heavy mesquite timber that Gel
turtles of neglect had caused to accumuls,
was commenced, and 80 successfully carrie
forward with that intelligence and enerQ
which always distinguish the Mormons
their colonization projects that at preser
through the agency of this ruined
canal a population of several thou
and is found where fifteen years nc
the eye grew wearied with the monoto1
of the seemingly interminable cact
Two miles further east on the north bar
of the same river is the head of the Arizor
canal, the largest acequia in the southwes
if not on the Pacific coast, carrying as
does nearly $1,000 inches of water. 1t
the extreme outer ditch Of the entire irriR
ton system in and around Ph9nix, yet lie
than six years ago when its constructic
was first seriously proposed it was or
nounced impracticable and visionary. Ori
inally suggested by the remains of n can
that could be traced for miles, its builde
pluckiiy refused to consider it so, and fir
IL the belief that what had been done cou
under like conditions be repeated, tn,
lad I'd IouA kbo ylA,orsra nf a. o-,rln