Arizona republican., 1898-04-11
THE HOUSE THAT CANT BUILT.
CHAPTER II.

l 1. l CHAPTER II.
 About this time trouble began to
 brew in that otherwise peaceful and happy community. Trouble which
 cost Mir. Cant many tug at the heart | strings, many tug at the purse l strings, many a tug at the old mares tug and many a mile of travel. Trou ble that actually threatened to in
 volve the whole neighborhood. It is a
 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 df the southern
 branch of the Tempe canal two miles south, thence one mile west and thence
 one mile south. In '88 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 a ditch of his own.
 For the benefit of those who are not 1
 Salt River valley was once inhabited,
 perhaps by a 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 o1
 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 oi } public buildings, homes and work
 shops In this district, which is un- 3 der discussion, these proofs of the past are exceedingly numerous and grea1
 many pieces of pottery, axes, skele- 3 tons, ornaments, household imple 5 ments and many other things have t been found and are now part of many : highly prized collections.
 Mr. Harmon discovered an old water ] way lined with ruins, which takes it: course right down and diagonally j. through the Yaeger section, across { e corner of what is now Zech's land, {
 corner of Gant's section which lies i'm e mediately west of Zech, diagonall. : through the Daggs section which is a e the southwest corner of Gant's, ant
 diagonally through Miss Seass' quarte a section, which is south of the Dagg
 land. So it is seen that this was |; k diagonal waterway according to tn D cardinal points of the present day ant f age and that this dead people con
 structed ditches where they would sup S ply water to all the land whether i
 spoiled the appearance of section o y land or not. Were there no Othe = evidences in the case which took plac e years after MT Harmon discovered thi a waterway, this fact alone that tn e people who first subdued this deser l. waste constructed canal down thi 1t ridge is proof enough that this is abso s lutely the best natural waterwa s through that country.
 if Mr. Harmon began at the corne
 where the Goodwin ditch turns wes II two miles south of the end of the south 1T ern branch, and reconstructed this Az if tee waterway down to the Daggs COT e ner and watered this land and tn If Cant land for his sheep Two year ,a later, in 1890. R. G. Goodwin filed O l. the Zech section.
 Col. Shultz took Valentine Cant or
 and showed him section 26, as M
 Cant wanted to buy Mr. Shult al showed him the Goodwin ditch whicl . as has been stated, ended at the col K ner of this section and which was f. good condition. But Mr. Cant, wh
 was a man of great experience to waterways, both for farming and mil p. ing purposes, and who assisted in building one of the first irrigating c;
 nals in California, said he could n' 1e get water on enough of the lar
 through this ditch and told MT. Shul ve he wouldn't buy. He was then show 1T, this Harmon ditch, which was in pol w condition and half grown over vii
 hruSh On seeing this MT Cant hQugl