Arizona weekly citizen., 1893-06-17
ANOTHER BIG SCHEME.
Foreign Capital Interested in a
Large Enterprise.
Thirty Thousand Acres of Land In
the Santa Rosa Valley to be
Reclaimed.

Another large irrigating enterprise,
calculated to reclaim and bring under
profitable cultivation 10000 acres of
laod in the Santa Rosa valley. Pinal
county, will soon be under way.
A short time ago the Tribune pub
lished, in the county records, an item
to the effect that Chris Loss, OF Casa
Grande, had located reservoir site to
the south of Casa Grande. Mr.. Loss
has been In town for number OF days,
and from him the Tribune learns further
particulars concerning the enterprise.
The Santa Rosa valley, which lies
partly in Pima and partly in Pinal
county, Is a magnificent body OF fer
tile land that stretches away, IN south
erly direction, from Casa Grande to the
Mexican line. At the upper end Of
the valley numerous large washes de-
bouch from the mountains into the
plain, and during the rainy season three
washes run, for days at a time, with
water from two to four feet deep and
thirty to forty yards wide, transf ormIng
that portion Of the valley into an i'm
mense lake. The idea is to catch and
impound this immense amount of flood
water, which annually goes to waste, by
means of dam at place where tle val
ley is quite narrow.
With this idea in view, Mr.. Loss has
located dam site et what is known as
Vekol pass, about twenty-five miles
southwest of Casa Grsnde. At this
point the valley is only two miles and a
half wide. The proposition Is to con-
struct an embsnkment of earth sixty
feet high and riprap its across the val
ley at this point. Careful estimates
show that this work can be accomplish
ed at a cost OF about 100000, and when
completed would form reservoir Of tif-
teen square miles and impound sufficient
water to irrigets thirty thousand acres
OF land. From the experience OF parties
who have been in that county during
the "a ny season, there is no dOuat that
enough water falls in the wat shCd
which drains into the valley, AID which
covers an area of 5000 square mics, t.
fill the reservoir which would be created
by dam, OF the Dimensions above not
ed, at the point named.
Mr.. Loss has been at work on the
scheme for about two months, and it has
progressed SO far that the chances for
securing the money look very favorable.
The Tribune man was this week shown
letter from the Chicago firm which is
negot sting for the money, aud they
consider it cert lin that the money will
soon be placed at their disposal for the
construction OF the dam.
Pinal county already enjoys the dis
tinction of possessing the only st rage
reservoir in Arizona and ore of the iarz-
est in the United States, and with the
strong probability OF the construction of
another at the B ties and the one above
mentioned, which would bring under
cultivation hundreds OF thousands of
acres OF as rich land as lies out of doors,
capable of producing anything under the
sun, and with climate that is unpsral
leled, she can offer inducements that
will be irresistible to the people of that
sect Of our country which is wrapped
in snow and ice for several months OF
the year and the balance of the year is
scourged by cyclones and floods.-Tri-
bune.