The herald., 1893-10-12


which were etrewn over the plains told
too plainly that the stock business had
been overdone and that the country was
failure for sheep, cattle and horses,
because there WAC more loss in dry sea-
sons than there was gain in the more
favorable ones.
AS an aid to stock raising the sowing
OF grain was practiced on the plains, but
this too was an extra hazardous under
taking, and failure was moro frequently
met with than success in many locali-
ties.
With these uncertain industries for
the people to depend upon. civilization
was at a low ebb, and the wheels Of
progress appeared TO turn backward
about as much as they did forwards.
Aside from the old missions which
had been established many decades ago,
churches were almost an unknown
quantity and the school house was the
exception to the rule, and when found it
was of primitive and inferior char
acter.
Southern California under the old
regime, before the introduction OF irriga-
tion on large and intelligent scale, was
q failure and modern civilization was
making no headway.
Two or three decades ago American
enterprise and Yankee push got a foot
hold and began to look around for pro-
gramme for developing the natural re-
sources of the country. Enough had
been done in crude way to establish
the fact that as q fruit country this
could be made success, at least in a
limited way, but the systems of irriga-
tion were precedent conditions to the
establishment of orchards and vine
yards, for without water artifcially ap-
piled fruit culture must be failure.
Gradually the streams were turned
out of their beds and the waters thereof
were spread out over the arid lands.
Trees and vines were planted. The
home fruit markets were supplied and
avenues were opened for shipping the
surplus crops OF the country. Railroads
were built to carry the passengers and
freight. The demand for our superior
fruits from the outside world grew more
rapidly than did our trees and vines.
Prices were good and our people made
money.
With prosperity came modern civili-
zation. Churches and schoolhousea
were built, newspapers were established
and cities and towns sprang up on every
hand. Railroads were built. The wa
ters OF natural streams were all
turned out into irrjgating systems, and
the people began to look around for
more water. for there was apparently
ten times more land than there was
water. Land without water was value
less. The water alone would sell for
almost as much as the land and water
combined. There was demand for
water that could not be supplied. The
creative genius was fret turned to the
lower lands in search of artesian water.
Hundreds and thousands of artesian
wells were sunk and water in abundance
was obtained, but as rule it could only
be used on the lower lands where it was
found, and these lands did not need the
water so uuch as did the higher mesas,
and when watered were not so valuable.
UNDERFLow OF STREAMS.
Attention was then turned to the
und dow of the canon streams. Tun-
.nels were dug under the streams and
also under the cienega lands scattered
along the slopes Of the valleys near the
mountains in search OF more water.
These plans are more or less successful,
but still more water was needed. Me-
cessity was the mother Of invention,
and more water must be had. The
price of water had increased with the
increased demand for it. A Thousand
dollars an inch and even more was de-
manded for the irrigating fluid, and the
price was gladly paid.
The scarcity OF water made itso valu-
able that steps were taken to save from
waste the limited supply already in
sight. Hence canals and bitches were
cemented, vitritied clay ana iron pipe
were brought into use. A thousand
dollars could be spent with profit in
saving an inch & water. The owners
of the streams could not afford to let
the water go to waste. The high price
of the land and the high price of the
water and the intelligence of the people
attracted hither to utilize the land and
water developed an intense and intelli-
gent culture, the very best of results,
and which is rarely met with in any
other country.
Fruit growing was made the base Of
our prosperity and irrigation the founda-
tion on which it was built.
Riverside is acknowledged to be the
representative orange producing section
of Southern California, producing or
anges in greater quantity than is to be
found elsewhere in the United States if
not in the world for size and compact
form of settlement taken into considera-
tion, and it's fruit ranks with the finest
in quality and is the most profitable in
price. Other sections produce just as
fine oranges but not in 30 large quanti-
ties.
RIVERSIDE A DESERT.
And yet Riverside was a desert 20
years ago and would be desert today
but for the streams of water that have
been diverted through the valley to
make productive the hitherto barren
waste.
1t is said that prior TO tee reclamation
OF the Riverside plains that the lands
there were assessed at 75 cents per acre
and that the owners complained at the
high valuations. Certain it was that
up to IL or Is years ago portions of that
valley which are today among the most
valuable lands in the settlement were
government lands subject to homestead
entry. Today some OF those lands i'm
proved are valued at from $1,000 to
$500 per acre.
Today the Riverside valley contains a
population OF about 1000 people and
5000, 900 worth of property, all de-
pendent on fruit culture, which in turn
is dependent on irrigation. Take out Of
that valley those irrigating streams and
the plains would lapse back again into
sheep and cattle ranges, and half doz-
EN- men could take care of all the live