Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1892-05-21

lava rock Is everywhere. Here and
there Is a stream rushing down 70 the
canyon OF the Colorado, aud In dells IL
found soil a. rich as the world contains.
Tho trouble has bsen 10 water II, for
nothing grows In Dixie" as II IL
called, without Irrigation. Ono OF
those little garden shots IL Tocq1er-
Vile Ia Washington county. The
village IL an old Mormon settlement.
The people have struggled along for
Year,, working little patches " land
anu looking up nj the great blsok lava
mountain over "bench" containing
about 1000 acres OF most excellent
land, but useless becsuso no water
could he carried 10 II.
IL has been known long that Dixie
was great fruit country. Enterpris-
ing men, MOrmons all, I believe,
looked over TOquerville, nestled among
The mountains, and said, "Here IL the
iinest site for fruit rancho In the
country"
Two miles away ran the Rio Nirgen.
Between the river and the head OF
Tgqucrvillo branch the hip OF n noun
tain lifted what seemed an impossible
barrier.
Engineers were put to work. a
canal WAS surveyed along the bulging
mountains. a canal was declared
possible by making tunnel 500 feet
long. The work was begun. The
mountain WA 10 precip itous In many
places that tle workmen had TO be held
In place by ropes. But the work was
done, the tunnel was made, . feet
wide, O feet deep, AMI, Ms
have said, 500 feet long. A
lew weeks ago the propfiel0ra
gathered 10 see the water turned In.
Old rocquerville looked on ia doubt.
The water came through and rushed
down over the bench, a little river.
Suddenly It ceased to How. Iaveatlga-
tlon found that Mt one place the bottom
had fallen out. Old Tooquerville
laughed. Men were set TO work, and
after many hours new bottom was
built In, and the canal was pronounced
success.
That bench IL to become famous
fruit rancho. A skilled chemist has
been testing the hoil and selecting the
acres best adapted to various fruits and
early vegetables. The ground IL being
laid of In avenues 10 he named accord
Ing to their fruits. There will be seed.
less raisins, soft-shell almonds, peaches,
cherries, prunes, Bartlett pears only,
apticots, nectarincs, asparagus, lettuce,
cucumbers, beets, etc. There will be All
electric.light plant run by the canal
water power, and the whole rancho will
he Illuminated. There will be- ten
acIess under glass. Old Toquerville
quit laughing, and began growing,
that "ouisiders" should come In anu
appropriate their choicest land. But
great canneries viii be established, and
Ia due time the sleepy village will
iind Itself growing rich upon the labor
produced by the building Of that ditch,
"The LsveTkin Canal" only two
miles long, but long enough 10 make
that 1000 acres worth several hundred
dollars per acre where before 1t was
worth nothing. Thus do the wildes;
Of wildern,sses and the toughest OF
phases sucCumb to the pluck and per-
severance OF mon who dare. In the
future men, women and children will
smack their lips over the dellcacies OF
the Lsverkin Fruit Rancho In South.
erh Utah and grow accustomed TO
thinking OF that Mormon land " better
than it, reputation.
But II took persistence 10 make the
work n success. To get there men had
to work their way over the "Black
Ridge" a most wild and porilous road
that made the head OF the man unused
to dizzying heights swim ~ he moved
along II. Thirteen tons OF guupow.
der tho men had 10 get over that
mountain road In the most careful way,
on such teams as could be had, TO Hast
the rock along the canal. Now they are
building. This first thing was board.
ing house. At Silver Reef WAS ono
that had been built when the reef
was a mining camp. II cost $500. The
fruit ranchers bought II for $50, cut II
down In sections, and worked Il over
the mountain and set II up In Toquer-
vile. Other buildings win follow, and
In about three years the teams viii be
carrying out great loads Of fruit Tor the
thousands Of miners who Will, by that
time, be swarming through mountains
OF Utah.
As look over this Territory and
see the signs Of promise Ia every direc-
ton, cannot withhold the word with
which have closed almost every letter
have written for many months. 1t
4. that nothing would help our pros.
'perity so much M statehood, and there
Is nothing the good people OF Utah de-
serve 80 much as that.