, 1892-02-06
A TALK ON IRRIGATION.
State Engineer Mead Addresses
the High School Pupils.
He Gives a History of Irrigation,
Particularly In the West.
What 1t Is Destined to Accomplish
in Wyoming's Future History.

Yesterday afternoon the pupils of the
Cheyenne high school and others who
were interested listened to a lecture upon
the subject of irrigation, delivered by
State Engineer Elwood Mead. Mr.. Mead
began his remarks about 3 o'clock and
talked a little more than forty minutes.
He began his lecture by presuming that
all his auditors had some practical knowl-
edge of irrigation. He then took up a
retrospective view of irrigation from its
infancy to its present stage. Fifty years
ago the pioneers who left the Eastern and
older settlements of this country and
came Vest, when they arrived In this
arid region were handicapped BY two
barriers. One was that they didn't have
any faith In irrigation. and the other was
that if they did have faith they didn't
have any capital to give their faith q prac-
teal bearing. The farmer who had been
reared in a country where the natural
rainfall was sufficient to make large crops
of the staples of life. was naturally a little
~skeptical to readily place his faith IN a
subject he knew so little about. Gold
and silver and the other precious metals
were all the early pioneers came to this
great American desert for.
Irrigation all this time was becoming a
little more firmly rooted in the minds of
the settlers, what few there were, mas
much as they were getting to understand
more about it. The old trail Of the Cali
fornia 'Forty-niner" could be told today
from the fact that somewhere along that
trail was to be be found an old irrigation
ditch.
By and by the good returns of irriga-
ton began to manifest themselves. The
first acre of potatoes grown near Denver
Colo brought its cultiystor 81 900, cab
bage sold for 81 a pound. while hay sold
for 300 a ton as fast as 1t could be
weighed. That was the dawning OF a
new era for this arid region. Men Of
means began to take some interest in the
subject, aud soon, irrigation dit,hes were
poiuing in all directions. The natural
result was, of course. that the irrigated
lands Of the ari region were far superior
to those OF the Eastern farmer. The lat
ter's mind was never at ease. He was
afraid a cloud burst would wash his crops
away or that a drouth would bum it up.
His neighbor in the arid region feared
nothing of the kind; he put his rain
upon his crops just when he wanted it
upon them, and vice versa. The West
ern man was independent and the irri-
gated lands were the best lands upon
earth.
Mr.. Mead then spoke of some OF the
evils which still cling to irrigation. The
subject of controlling the rivers and
brooks was the key to the situation. That
could be rcmedied in time. The laws of
Idaho provide that when a person drives
a stake by the side of a stream aad places
a notice upon it stating how much he
wants he is entitled to that amount. You
might Just as well say a man can drive a
stake upon and tall heir to all the land as TAR
as he can see. In Dakota a man can con-
struct a ditch sixty feet long and have all
the water be can make run through it.
There would be about as much sense In
saying a man can have all the land he can
walk around in a day.
There are some very ludicrous loca-
ton dit h notices in the state engineer
Office continued MIR. Mead, zone of
these says his ditch is just exactly IA
square inches from section No. 10, and
there is a section No. 10 In every tow
ship. you see it will be very easy TO locate
him. Another says his ditch Is on Iron
mountain. Just midway between its base
and summit. and as Iron mountain is not
more than 500 miles in circumference you
see 1t will be the easiest thing in the
world to locate him.
''Of course said Mr. Mead in con-
c%lusion, irrigation is growing in popu-
larity as its beneficial effects are felt, and
in a few more years l hope, | believe. l
want to believe, that instead of having a
hundred million acres irrigated we will
have six hundred million, and this great
arid region that was once known as the
Great American Desert will blossom
as the Rose of Sharon"
The Governors GuiicIessness.