Arizona weekly citizen., 1895-05-25
ANCIENT IRRIGATION.
Landmarks of the Grandest Sytem
 the New World Ever Saw.
The Great Colorado Desert Once a Fruitful Field and Populated
 By Many Millions.

EDITOR CITIzEN:-The great valley of the Colorado, by a mis-nomer, called a desert IS more than 100 miles square.
 It extends from the main range or Sierra Male ist of s Diego, erly to the
 Glla mountains and from the San Ber-
 nardlno range, north of Indio, south to the San Felipe mountains, an area of more than 6 6.00O,O acres of rich agri-
 sultural valley lands all of which can be
 irrigated. This acreage is outside of
 that covered by the different ranges of
 sand hills or dunes, the small ranges of
 hills, and low mountains, like Signal,
 the Mysterious, the Cocopa, Pilot Knot
 Tenaja and other, and also excludes
 the salt lagoons and m arshes unfit for
 cultivation and habItation.
 The geological record, written on the
 hills and mountain sides shows, that a
 large portion of this vast valley region
 has been submerged at no less than six
 different times ln it's history, three by
 fresh and three times by salt water, or
 Tn other terms, three times has the Colo
 rado river been it's master for years if
 not for ages, and three times have the
 salt waters of the gulf held sovereign
 control These records are so plainly |
 written on the rocks that 8 wsyfariDg | man cannot err in reading them. A
 later record left by the last shows that all of that region from Algodones west
 to the man rarge 100 miles and from Salton Lake to the CocopR mountain, |
 another hundred in extent, has been or | was settled by a numerous, strong, self | supporting, if not at the time wealthy | people, umbered by hundreds of thou sands if not by millions. The records |
 left on the rocks. on the mountain tops
 and sides cut as with prints of diamonds !!
 in the adamantine dy kes which cut the
 bills and mountains In twain, as we'll ]
 as the vast areas of ancient pottery
 which cover ths valley for miles in
 extent, pottery though in fragments, is
 known to be more than 300 years old:
 all only show the vast extent of the settlement and the thousands of people 1t contained. But the one grand proof
 of their numbers and of the great results they accomplished, is shown in the
 graudest work of all, the ancient canal | system of new river. Beginning just l below Fl Rio, the first station on the Souther Pacific railroad west of Yuma, and when the road leaves the Colorado | river, and winding down the long grade |
 to Indian Wells and thence northward | down to Salton Lake, is the longest, and most wonderfully constructed ancient l canal in the west if not in the world | The main lines, two O; which run parall l el or nearly so, but from 20 to 40 miles apart, connected by three laterals of l i their own slZe; are mere than 1000 mile. | in length and from 100 to 200 feet in width and from 12 to 15 feet deep-as perfect today as when built, following grade lines and curves, upon which nc engineers of today would can to try an d | ; improve. Taking this magnificent work c with it's 300 miles of smaller cahals, the | first from 15 to 30 feet wide end to 6 | c feet deep and the second class from to l [ 10 feet wide and 3 to , feet deep and l you have an idea of what this ancient | i people did in the way of irrigation in l the finest valley Tn the world, covering t mere than 3,500,000 acres of the richest C valley soll known to exist. Of this. ] l ,0O0,OO0 acres are now on the American | side of the boundary line and the balance in Mexico. It is no wonder thus, that I the promoters of the great canal op the [ the west side of the river at Yuma under 1 the we'll directed efforts of Capt. J. C.lN Beatty; and the San Diego and Phoenix R. R., under :he live eye of Mayor Carl son should be striving to occupy this vast field, the richest, most accessible | ard desirable on the coast. IF
 It IS plainly sesn JaGt the aD clent I farmers cf this vaet region took their C water from the Colorado near Hall { IT ton ot p ;No ( I, II / end of Algodones, while two large I canals led the water from the north and [ west ends Of Lake Julullu and one from even today, iu the over flows of the O. dorado the water divides and runs south ; erly into the gulf aUd northerly into the I Indian Wells basin and thence on to the ' Ssltol basin. Capt. Beatty ia his great 3 canal project proposes to go 12 miles [ above Yuma aud take his supply of wat ! CT from the river, having a headgatt f which he can control and reaching sI1 higher level on the rich mesa l. nds, ? Wh hich were not reached by the ancient [ New river system which he can and will S use in the distribution of water over the \ lower valleys. Ia
 Mayor Carlson is we'll aware that with ( his San Diego railroad crossing thi: r stretch of country of Yuma, thence on through Arizona to Phoenix, Flagstaff and to the Denver & Rio Grande railroad system at Durango, Colorado, with branch from the Salt River valley to Tucson and Nogales:I and with the connection at Yuma with the Colorado River railroad up its west bank through the great gold sections oi Picacho, Needles, Fl Dorado canon ano | on to the vast coal regions of southern | Utah, at Cedar City, that he has a line which in point of importance to south ern California and all of Arizona, Is sec Ond to no line ever built or proposed on the Pacific coast. With such a country as the New River, with its rich soil, its splendid climate, it's vast surroundings of rich mineral belts of gold, silver, mar b!e, onyx, Uiica aud others, and with its feeders at Yuma, what may he not ex- pect in the way of traffic for hls new line. That thus new road, and the grestI canal will both be built, no one who knows the country for momert doubts
 1t is only question of little time
 The attention of the wealthy mining
 railroad men and capitalists of the east
 IS on the building of these pr jects ana ths development of this the grandesi richest and most favored portion of the
 Great South West" Their agents and have been here. They have seen the valley, have canvassed it vast natural resources and are ready to - go ahead with the work just as soon as the matter can be put into proper shape.
 Said millionaire mining man and en- gineer from Denver to me yesterday at
 the Brewster: "l was in Yuma and there beard of the proposed railroad across the Colorado River valley to San ! Diego, and knowing the lively interest !, that our Denver people are TOW taking ' in mines and mining, and In irrigation projects in Arizona, and having chance ] to come across the so called desert with :