The herald., 1897-06-28


ernment at last has taken hold OF tn,
matter, and through Its engineers an In
vestigation Is being made to determin,
where there are sites which can be util
lied for the reception OF water and from
which it can be distributed to the bes
advantage. One site has been selected
on the head waters of the Platte river
| 1t is great natural barrier near Lara
mie. in Wyoming. This basin lies in the
very heart Of the Rocky mountains. and
is ten miles long. two miles wide, and Its
maximum depth is $50 feet. The gov
ernment engineers estimate that it will
hold 20, ,O00. 900 900 cubic feet of water, and
they state that It's walls are perfect and
the bottom impervious to water. The
Big and Little Laramie rivers are to be
tapped. and, as Is said, 1t will take five or
six years to fill the basin. The water
from melting SHOWS will be collected, and
in the summer the Laramie and Platte
rivers will be flooded from the reservoir
to irrigate Eastern Wyoming and West
ern Nebraska.
This one reservoir, large as 1t Is, will
hold back a comparatively small guam
tity of water. but similar ones are to be
constructed at the headwaters Of the
Platte, Kansas, Arkansas and Red rivers,
which send into the Mississippi immense
volumes just at the time when the full
diSrbo rC {o he
junction Of the waters from the west
side with those Of the Ohio is what cre-
ates the greatest strain upon the levees,
causing crevasses and foundations. The
waters that can be held back by an elab-
crate system Of reservoirs would cer-
tainly lessen the volume in the Missis-
sippi, and do something towards miti-
eating the damages of overflow. Messrs
Humphreys and Abbott were quite
right in deciding that the plan of con-
structing reservoirs would be too ex-
pensive to be undertaken if no object was
to be accomplished except that Of plac-
ing restraint upon the waters during
flood periods. But by a comprehensive
system, which has now become impera-
tive, another and immensely greater OBJ
ject is to be accomplished and that is to
bring into cultivation vast sections which
now produce very little of value.
The whole region in the Mississippi VAL
ley exposed to inundation comprises 90
000. 900 acres. while the arid region en-
braces 1900, 100000 acres. 1t cannot all
be irrigated, but much larger areas can
bea than anyone now supposes. 1t
must be remembered that our popu-
lation is now more than 10000, 900, and
increase in the future will be greater
than it has been in the past, if not in
percentage. certainly in actual numbers
Natural accretion and immigration now
cause an annual increase equal to the
population Of the state of California.
Irrigation has become the most import
ant physical question before the coun-
try, and there is necessity to develop it
by every practical means.
Whether, when reservoirs for irriga-
tion purposes shall have been construct
ed to the utmost limit, the lower Miss
lssippi valley will be relieved from all
danger of inundation, may be doubted,
t11TUuSIB sU1nr' their .rrr,4..rs--1rerr.
papers, feel a good deal Of confidence
that it will have the effect to materially
reduce the volume of water at times
when danger is the greatest. 1t seems
probable that they are not altogether
mistaken.
This, however, is undoubted that the
happiness Of millions of people will in flu
ture depend upon the utiliza ton of every
means for the extension of irrigation
No other agency can be employed that
will contribute so much to the wealth
and power Of the nation. The people of
California understand this, and they
have done more in development Of the
science of irrigation than any other peo-
pie in the republic. Irrigation is not
new question with US, and with the agi-
tation that is taking place it is destined
at no distant day to become familiar to
the people in those parts Of the nation
where it has not been employed hitherto,
but is greatly needed.
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