The San Francisco call., 1896-02-09
Thousands Of Acres of Arid
Land to Be Brought Under
Cultivation.
ARTEs1AN WELLS TO ASSIST.
Tunnels to Tap Mountain Ranges
and Beds of Creeks at
Intervals.

| the greater portion of Southern California
has to depend upon irrigation as the means
OF aiding the cultivation of the soil the
county of San Bernardino is second to
none IN water resources.
Dividing the desert and valley portion
| OF the county is a great range of noun
tains. constituting watershed that can
not be surpassed in California. On the
south side of the range the mountain
| streams dash from every canyon and
gorge into the valley below, and all that is
necessary for the farmer to do to get the
| water on his land is to construct his
drains and bitches, the former to protect
his lands, as in winter time and early
| spring the streams at many points come
down in perfect torrents.
| Two of these streams in particular-one
coming from Santa Ana Canyon on the
east and the other from Lytle Creek
Canyon on the west-form most destruc-
| tive rivers, that when up sweep every
| thing before them, the latter especially
having destroyed thousands and thousands
of dollars worth of valuable property.
Along the Santa Ana River bed, to the
southeast of this city, Riverside water
| and improvement company has sunk big
artesian wells at distance of about 200
| feet apart SO that in summer time they
swell the size of the stream, which during
the months of June, July, August and
| September runs quite low.
Irrigation, it might be said. is in its in
fancy in this county, as the water used
was taken as it naturally came from its
| mountain retreats, there being no effort to
increase the flow or form any storage.
That it came was sufficient for the old
settlers of the valley. Whether or not it
was taken under control to be used on
land where its natural flow would never
take it was matter of very little conse-
quence.
But new blood took hold. Men of push
and enterprise saw that great things could
be achieved in this county by means OF
irrigation. They set to WORK and to-day
Highlands and Redlands furnish indis-
putable results.
| ;iBefere the Bear Valley dam was con-
| structed and its waters sent down over the
eastern plains OF the valley, where Red
lands and Highlands now stand were
nothing but acres and acres of cactus,
sagebrush and rocks. Unfortunately for
all concerned the Bear Valley system has
been very indiscreetly handled and sensa-
tions are yet liable to spring from its
waters. That it is a great system there
can be no doubt, but is it the only one?
No. There is the Arrowhead company,
the Grapeland, the Semi-tropic the Cajon.
| Columbia Colonization Company and
Lytle Creek
Perhaps the greatest of all is the Arrow
head Company. The seat OF operations of
this company is about quarter of mile
over the summit of the mountain. The
company is now in the fourth year of it's
| existence. At present not much work is
being done on the system, as the company
has corps of engineers at work examin-
| ing the respective sheds.
| The water will be taken from the noun
| tain recesses by a system of tunnels, in
| which there will be twenty tunnels in ALL
ranging all the way from 300 to 5000 feet in
| depth. Two of the tunnels have been COM
pieted one being 5000 feet in depth and
one 1000 feet. The third tunnel is now be-
| ing excavated and it is estimated that it
will be about 220O feet in depth.
| These tunnels are not to be opened at
| regular intervals, but will follow the course
of the range, which will include a scope
| of between IS and 80 square miles, These
already over $450,000 has been expended
on them. When the tunnels are completed
they will empty into canal built along
| the mountain side, and thence into a
mammoth dam or reservoir. This will be
| the distributing point by which thousands
of acres of land on the great desert beyond
the mountains will be irrigated and placed
under cultivation.
| The men back of this enterprise are
| thoroughly responsible, and feel satisfied
that their venture will prove success in
every particular.
| a system that is attracting considerable
attention from men versed in irrigation
affairs is the Grapeland Company. This
company also goes on the tunnel system,
and as result of their labors they now
have tunnel 2300 feet in depth, from
which flow over 800 inches of water. The
tunnel. when completed, will be between
| 5000 and 5000 feet in depth.
| As the work progresses the water in
creases at the rate of ore inch per foot.
| Very little timbering has to be done, as
the work has been almost through solid
rock. The tunnel runs under Lytle Creek.
| Where the end will be it will be seventy
| five feet to the surface or river bed. In
many places the tunnel is 400 and 500 feet
under ground and in none less than 40 or
so feet. The tunnel throughout is 4x6k
| feet.
In the neighborhood of S15O,OO has been
expended in the enterprise, but owing to
the muddle over the Wright act work has
been suspended. His act has also placed
the company in peculiar position, as
John w. Downs of this city, who holds
$4,000 worth of Grapeland bonds, has filed
on the water flowing from the tunnel to
| p,ake good his venture. He also awaits
| the decision, saying: IF Judge Ross de-
cision is sustained have the water; if re-
versed ] have the bonds"
The other enterprises have as yet not
| progressed sufficient to make any show
Ling, as the present time is being taken up
securing rights of way and posse sion of