The White Pine news. [volume] (Treasure City, Nev.) 1868-1906, 1894-02-17
NEVADA'S GOOD LUCK.
Plnn to Irrigate the Pyramid Lake
Reservation and Sell the Land.

[From the San Francisco Chronicle.]
There is every probability that the
Federal Government will undertake
to irrigate large portion of the Pyr-
amid Lake reservation in the State of
Nevada, and to throw the lands COW
cred by it's canals open to actual set
tiers. Pyramid Lake lies almost due
north from the town of Wadsworth
on the line of the Central Pacific.
It forms the outlet for the Truckee
river. The lake, with quite an
amount of surrounding country in
which is located Winnemucca lake, a
depression in the plain which receives
the surplus water of Pyramid lake
during the spring rise, and all of the
valley of the lower Truckee, are in
cluded in this reservation, upon which
about 300 Indians are maintained.
A bill is now before the United
States Senate providing for the relin-
quishment of the Indian title to a
portion of the Pyramid Lake reserva-
tion and to the entire Walker river
reservation.
The bill is an exact copy of bill
prepared by the Indian Department
and approved by the Secretary Of the
Interior at the second session of the
Fifty-second Congress. At the COM
mencement of the Ffty-third Con-
gress the bill was again referred to
the Commissioner of Indian Affairs
and again approved by him and the
Secretary of the Interior. The bill
was introduced by Senator Stewart of
Nevada. On January Oath of the
present year favorable report on the
bill was made by the Committee on
Indian Affairs.
There are two Indian reservations
in Western Nevada for the Pah Ute
tribe of Indians. These reservations
are about forty miles apart, one at
Walker lake and the lower section of
Walker river, emptying into the lake;
the other at Pyramid lake and on the
Truckee river, emptying into that
lake. Agriculture on these reserva-
tions can only be prosecuted by irri-
cation, which involves considerable
expense to obtain water for that pur-
pose. 1t would be waste of money
for the Government to undertake the
irrigation work for both reservations.
There is an abundance of land ON
either reservation for the Indians, if
furnished with water. Pyramid Lake
reservation is the better for all pur-
poses. The supply of water from the
Truckee river is sufficient and relia-
BILE. There is more difficulty on the
Walker river on account of the use
of the water above by farmers, which
would deprive the Indians of water
at every dry season, even if irriga-
tion works were constructed.
1t is proposed to abandon and sell
the Walker River reservation, consist
ing of 318, ,815 acres of land, to home
stead settlers at $1 % per acre, ex-
cept the improved portion, which is
to be disposed of under the law pro-
viding for the disposal of abandoned
military reservations. It is also pro-
posed to abandon the southern part of
Pyramid Lake reservation, which in
cludes the town of Wadsworth and
surrounding lands.
An irrigating canal, which has been
surveyed, is to be contructed at an es-
timated cost of $125. 900. The pro-
posed canal takes the water from the
Truckee river, which will furnish an
ample supply and will irrigate about
ID, 800 acres Of land on the abandoned
portion of the reservation. This land