The Florence tribune., 1899-12-02
what Recent Government Investigations Disclose la Regard to Irrigation
 Possibilities in Arizoaa.
Good Indians and industrious White Men Who Are Practically Desutnts
 for Lack of Water.
An Exceptionally Favorable Opportunity to Inaugurate the Much- talked of System of Federal Irrs-
 gatlon.
From the Lo. Angeles Times. July lo.l

United States Geographical Survey, fur nishes The Times the following irrigation possibilities in Arizona:
 he Gila River Indian reservation Is situated about eighteen miles south of Phoe- nix, and extends along the Gila River for a distance of nearly fifty miles. Here are located the Pima and Maricopa Indians to the number of nearly five thousand. These Indians are known throughout the Terri tory as good Indians They have always been peaceful in their habits, and zxyriclil- 1ural or pastoral in their pursuits. They iare now cultivating the lands where the prehistoric races built the now-ruined Casa Grande and its neighboring canals. Irriga- ton has been practiced in this valley from prehistoric times. Many ancient ditches can be traced across the plain, showing eyidencas of engineering skin, and testifyine to inc fact that large volumes of water were af one time carried.
 The Pimas and Maricopas have been. mntii recently, self-sustaining nation. They raise their crops of grain and corn with skill equal to that of the whites. The settlers. seeing he results which the h. dians have produced, through the Operation oI the desert land act, brought under culti- vation much land in the valley of the Gila, adjacent to this reservation. and have built extensive canals between Florence and the rail oad station of Casa Grande. Under the provision of the United States law, all land bought under the desert-land act must be msde productive by the Application of water: In order to comply with the proyis- ions of this law. the settler was corunellesi to make diversions from the Gila River af points above the Indian reservation. Ocher t9nos were taken up under similar condi- slons on the upper portion of the GiIa Rirer. These diversions by the whites uuielTly tie- priyed the Indians of their water supply. and Tor the past i've years they have been left on the desert without wafer for tbs;r P crops and scarcely enough for their horses. They are put in the position of either havin- 70 steal, starve or be fed as public wards.
 nrnNH HNnrrN rations to them and feed them as if d0ss the soldiers. Numerous court decisions have been rendered establishing AFvond com, troversy the fact that the Indian has the prior and the better right to the water huf the whites have maintained their r'ater supply despite the dictates of the eourf The development of this newer eivilizafion has become so extensive that to c1It ofF its water supply would mean the desoiafion of many thousands of acres of fine farms and orchards. Evidently, the situation is difIi : cult one, and the Indian Burean is hard pressed for proper answer.
 In lS" an allotment of Ss500 was made rom the appropriation for the Indian OfIice Tor preliminary investigation of the avaiI- able water supply for these Indiana. Mr. Newell was instructed to make this iuvesti- ea.ioh oy the Secretary of the Interior, and he delegated Arthur F. Davis fo take fha matter up in the field. The surveys were necessarily of a preliminary nature. but fhe storage possibility of the Gila River vas Inlly demonstrated. It was shown that this stream drained about fifteen fbousa,,d square miles of the high plateau and noun- tam region of Eastern Arizona, and that fine river Is remarkable for it's exceedingly Iieht grade; Consequently, the storage possibili- tions were made by Mir. Davis calling for Iurtner and more accurate surveys and in the spring of 1898 Congress passed n second appropriation of s20,0o0 for the completion of this investigation. The hydrographicd de- partment of the Geological Survey was again delegated as the proper office to con duet these surveys.
 The Gila River. derives its source from the W h1te Mountains in western New Mexico and eastern Arizona which rise ko eIevations of rom ten to twelve thousand feet. Az fine point where 1t issues from it's mountaino1ss basin, tnere are over twelve thousand square miles draining through i4s canons The basin has been extensively axniored and three large reservoir sites located and surveyed. The capacity of these reseryoir flses nas been determined and filings have been made under the United Sfatez laue fo,. .nelr segregation from tho public domain. Al point known as the Buttes dam 150 feet in height above the bed of rhe stream VII store enough water to cover I7l.OOO acres one rect deep, or, as it is technically ex- pressed, 1740O0 acre feet. A dam st thi. point would be approximately 300 feet long at the bed Of the stream and 800 feet af ;t. crest. At Riverside. Ariz., 1t was found that dam $50 feet long at its base and anDror i mately 800 feet long on top will store p \ mmch u kreater quantity of water, the surveys at this site being still incomplete Al San Carios. on the Apache Reservation, the river PiSses Pp;ds .,.l sldro1gn a narrow gorge 100 feet would be bus 200 feet long at the crest. Sueh dam would store s6I 900 acres one foot deep. Extensive explorations have been made to oetermine the depth of bed rock at each one of these dam sites. At the Buttes the bed rock is disapDointingIy deep, the denths ranging In the center of the channel from 75 to l4 feet beneath the surface of the stream. AZ Riverside the maximum depth on the live feet. while at San Carlos the depth fo bed rock IS believed to be substantially less than at either of the other dam sites.
 ne records Of the How of the Gila River have been kept at the Buttes for a number of years, and the estimates of available water supply are, therefore, based on actual measurements. not on surmise. The ordi- nary now oi this stream is ample to fill the largest or these reservoirs, and on the driest years of which we have record it has been as great as 200. eco acre feet. -Ts
 Tt will be seen by the above figures that the possibility of storing water on this has any equal in this line among nIl fhe streams of arid America. The San Carlos dam site. particularly, Is one of unus,laI merit. The size of the necessary dam, the avnilaDie water supply, the great storage basin, and the proximity of Iailroad facili- ties are perfect; while the ether two sites also have features of merit
 me duty of water in Southern Arizona !s greater than in California. For the rais- ing of the staple crop of alfalfa. a depth of twenty-four inches of water Is ordinarily applied to the land, which is equivalent to a now TOT SIX months of one miners inch to eacn three and one-half acres On this Dasis, the San Carlos site will furnish enough water Co lrrigate over 150O00 acres of land. ei is IS assumed that each two acres will sup- port one tnhabitant. this would permit of a population of 75,O0O souls to be sustainad from this reservoir. ., These figures are more startling when fne faet IS realized that at the present time eil or the canals below the San Carlos dam site are absolutely dry. and that the country rom the Apache Reservation to the mout h or the salt River is in condition of W ithered aud Indian reduced almost to the condition or abJeet want. It is estimated that 10000 Heres qf land should be irrigated on the eIila Indian Reserxation in order to relieve fhe condition of tAe Indians. This would leave over 10000 acres that could be irri- gated on the public domain. If MO,00O acres of these public laRds could be 90 irrigated and being subdtvided into forty-acre tracts. sold to actual settlers, at the rate of xlO to Sl5 per acre. the condition of the Indian would be wholly relieved, and it is probable 4he government wOuld be reimbursed for it's entire outlay. In addition to this. district offering ideal coFditions for irrigation. climate that will produce crops in continu- ous rotation. win be made to support a population of 75,O00. and will add to the public wealth of the Territory. on eonser- :atiye estimate. oYer Se,000.000.'