Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1893-05-18
WATER PROJECTS.
Progress of Enterprises in the Mim-
bres and PccOs Valleys-Thel
PuercO Scheme. +@s

Aho hio MlMOEc6 ArIISdtAOu CptttPAny
at the head of which is Chieago's great
base ball patron, A. G. Spataing, Is pro-
crossing rapidly and everything is ex-
pected to be in readiness for the distribu-
tion of water by the middle of June. The
main ditch has length of about $500
feet, and extends from the Hewlett to the
King ranch. This is being excavated to
bed rock-averaging from twelyo to
twenty-four feet in different sections
The ditch has width of forty-fye feet at
the surface and ten feet at bed rock. The
bottom is being converted into uniform
surface by means Of pudding. On the
lower. side of the main ditch are being
constructed two laterals eighteen and
twenty feet in width. These laterals carry
the water to tho large reservoir situated
about ono mile below, which was con-
structed some two years since. From
this reservoir the water will be distributed
over the 1000 acres which the company
expect to irrigatc. The flow is intxhaus-
tible and with the additional aid Of the
storage reservoir, the Rio Mimbres COM
pany have overy reason to hope for the
entire success of their system. 1t is pro-
posed to enlarge the basis of operations
from time to time.
THE NEW ROSWELL DAM.
Speaking of the new water enterprise
which Messrs. Hagerman, Eddy and others
are pushing in the Pecos valley near Ros-
well. the Eddy Argus says:
Capt. Mann was in town yesterday from
the big storage reservoir in which the
rivor is to be imprisoned whenever tho
water is wanted. He states that work is
progressing satisfactorily and will be far
enough advanced to allow of. storage
when the fall rains begin. The dam and
spillway will cost $18O,OOO. The reser-
voir will have eight times the capacity Of
the ono that now supplies the canals.
Unaided its stored up waters turned into
the big west side canal would run it bank
full for thirty days. This great body Of
water will be as reserve supply, to be
turned into the river channel and carried
to the existing reservoir whenever an ex-
ira supply is needed. The force employed
upon the work now numbers 200 men and
Atty teams.
THE RIO pUERCO sCHEMK.
There is trouble brewing in the Rio
Puerco Colonization company and its
president, A. F. Spawn, has been deposed.
This scheme, which has for its object the
selling of lands along tho Rio Puerco,
some eighty miles west of Albuquerque
to English settlers, seems to have been
poorly managed from its inception. The
promoters are New York people and they
made the mistake of securing colony of
farmers first and building dam after
ward, whereas, if they had built their dam
first, they would not now be damned by
the people whom they veinduced to settle
there. The dam they did build, however,
was short-livcd affair. 1t was of cob
BILE stones and brush, mere make-shift,
and the first freshet that went down the
dry bed of the Puerco few days ago
carried the dam with it. P. McChesney,
of New York, has been elected president
and general manager to succeed Mr..
Spawn and is now on the ground trying
to instill new life into the scheme.