Arizona republican., 1898-04-06
THE HOUSE THAT CANT BUILT.
CHAPTER IT.

About this time trouble began to brew in that otherwise peaceful and happy community. Trouble which cost MT. Cant many tug at the heart strings, many a tug at the purse strings, many a tug at the old mares tug and many mile of travel. Trou- ble that actually threatened to in- volve the whole neigh borhood. It is long story and the bottom of it all might be called "The Ditch That Cant Bought"
 In 1886 the Goodwin boys went out south of Tempe and constructed a. ditch from the end of the southern branch of the Tempe canal two miles south, thence one mile west and thence one mile south. In 'SS Lon Harmon rented the section of land which MT
 Cant now owns and also the quarter section which is known as the Daggs land and which lies at the southwest corner of the Cant section. MT. Har- mon could not get water enough to suit him on the Cant and Daggs land through the Goodwin ditch. so he con- structed ditch of his own.
 For the benefit of those who are not informed it will be stated that the
 Salt River valley was once inhabited,
 perhaps by more intelligent race than that which now gains subsistence in it. The handiwOrk of this extinct
 race can be seen everywhere, cut deep into the surface of the valley or piled
 conspicuously high above it in the form of great canal systems, through sections which as yet this civilization
 has utterly failed to water because of it's great elevation; sections, too, which if watered, would be as valuable as any farming or orchard land on earth, in the form of silent, sOmbre ruins of public buildings, homes and work shops. In this district, which is un- der discussion, these proofs of the past
 are exceedingly numerous and a great
 many pieces of pottery, axes, skele- tons, ornaments, household imple-
 ments and many other things have | been found and are now part of many 1 highly priZed collections.
 | MT. Harmon discovered an old water
 way lined with ruins, which takes it's
 course right down and diagonally
 through the Yaeger section, across a
 corner of what is now Zech's land, a
 corner of Gant's section which lies inn
 mediately west of Zech, diagonally
 through the Daggs section which is at
 the southwest corner of Gant's, and | MISS Oe3SS QudIL0r
 section, which is south of the Daggs
 land. So it is seen that this was a i diagonal waterway according to the cardinal points of the present day and age and that this dead people con-
 structed ditches where they would SUD-
 ply water to all the land whether it
 spoiled the appearance of a section of
 land or not. Were there no other
 evidences in the case which took place
 years after MT. Harmon discovered this
 waterway, this fact alone that the people who first subdued this desert waste constructed a canal down this ridge is proof enough that this is abso- , lutely the best natural waterway through that country.
 MT. Harmon began at the corner where the Goodwin ditch turns west two miles south of the end of the south ern branch, and reconstructed this Az tee waterway down to the Daggs cor. ner and watered this land and the Cant land for his sheep. Two years later, in 1890, R. G. Goodwin filed or l the Zech section
 . Col. Shultz took Valentine Cant ou and showed him section 26, as MT ] Cant wanted to buy. Mr. STiult; ] showed him the Goodwin ditch which l as has been stated, ended at the cor 3 ner of this section and which was i1 l good condition. But Mir. Cant. whe $ was man of great experience fl