The Florence tribune., 1899-09-30
WHILE BILLIONS OF GALLONS RUN
 TO WASTE. What Recent Government Investigations Disclose in Regard to Irrigation Possibilities in Arizona. Good Indians and Industrious White Men Who Are Practically Destitute
 for Lack of Water. An Exceptionally Favorable Opportunity to Inaugurate the Much-taiked- of system ofFedsral Irri-
 gation.
IFrom tLc Los Angeles Tines, July 1o.l

j. B. Lippineott, the representative in Los | Angeles of the Photographic Office of the | United States Geographical Survey, fur | nishes he Times the following irrigation | possibilities in Arizona:
 ''The Gila River Indian reservation is | situated about ei& hteen miles south of Phoe- | nix, and extends along the Gila River for a | distance of nearly fifty miles. Here are | located the Pima and Niaricopa Indians to ! the number of nearly five thousand. These l Indians are known throughout the Terri | tory as good Indians They have always | been peaceful in their habits, and agr.cul- l tural or pastoral in their pursuits They i are now cultivating the lands where the ! prehistoric races built the now-ruined Casa 1 Jrande and its neighboring canals. irriga- ! tion has been praeticed in this valley from 1 prehistoric times. Many ancient ditches can be traced across the plain, showing evidences of engineering skill and testifying to the one time carried. The Fimas and ilarioopas have been. nntll recently, self-sustaining nation They raise their crops of grain and corn %ith skill equal to that of the whites The settlers, seeing he results " hich the In a.aas have produced, through the operation of the desert land act, brought under cr,ifi- yntion much land in the valley of tbe Gila. adjacent to this reservation and have built extensive canals between Florence and the ram oad station of Casa Grande. Under the provision oI the United States law all land bought under the Gesert-land act must he mace productive by the application of water; n oT'teT to comply with the provis-
 
 make diversions from the Gila River at points abo9o tEe Indian reservation. Other lanes were taken up under similar eondi- lions cn the upper portion of the Gila River These diversions by the hites ouicklv dp priyed the Indians of their water sunr,ly aud for the past five years they have heen .l. dele on l tne eeserf without water for their crops and scarcely enough for their horses Ahe9 uIe put III the position of either having 70 steal, starNe or be fed as public wards ana the goyernnent has been forced to issue md naI< q <l..,,- .a r soidlers. Numerous cofrt decisions have been rendered establishing bevond con, roVefsy the fact that the Indian has the pfl1f and the better right to the water bur the whites have maintained their water supply despite the dictates of the court ne ossetoPneRt of this newer civilization has become so extensive that to rut of i+r water supply would mean the desolation oe many thousands of acres of fine farms and oI9Aafds. Evidently, the situation is a difi- cut one, and the Indian Bureau is hard pressed for proper answer
 ln leso an allotment of sS5e0 was made ITO rom tle appropriation for the Indian Office TOT pfetnnnary investigation Of the avail 9Sle water sappiy for these IrS;ane Nr NeWeil was instructed to make this jfivrsf; gati0n by the Secretary of the Iuferior and ne oelegated Arthur P. Davis to take fhe | matter up in the field. The suf.vey-s were necessarily Of preliminary nature. but the storage possibility of the Gila River was IuIiy demonstrated. It was shown that this stream drained about fftaen fbcr,so,-J square mi ies of the high plateau and mann tam region Of Eastern Arizona and that4ba ,rd iS Isiil'll AiiDle Tor its exceedingly light s[dus. Sonsequently- the storage possibiii- ties ol the stream are great. Reeonmeuda- tlols were made by Mir. Davis calling for lnfther and more accurate surveys and ir the spring of 1898 Congress r,aSssj . = -i ...e i hppropriatlon Of SZe,0l0 for the completion ol this Investigation. The bydrographie rle- paI.l1ehI of fhe Geological Slrvey was itgaIn oelsgated as the proper office tocon duet these suTveys
 Lhe ,aa. Gila ,, River derives its source from ene , v @ h..e @MohntaiEs in western New Mexico ana eastern Arizona. which rise to elevations Of from ten to twelve thousand feaf. Al the point where 1t issues from it's nounfainous basin, there are over twelve fbo,,r9,s3 l square miles draining fhroneb ;ts os,,.- .,,'I Io me pasln has been extensively explored, ana three large reservoir sites located and s;tes h eoi me capacity of these reservoir sites mas Deen Determined and fling. have yeen mace under the United States laws for tHelr segregation from the public donain. fat poitnt t: hnoWn Us the Buttes a dam I5O IeS5 n helght above the bed of rha stream vii store enough water to cover IT 600 acres eIeet one Ieet GeeD, or, as 1t is technically ex- n;st prg;sseu. lt5gOo acre feet dam at this po.nt would ce approximately 30G feet long at tile ped Of the stream and SO feet At is crest. At Riverside. Ariz. it was found that nsfI @ le. S. ipng at its base, and approxi n.ateIy oOO rect long on top will store a much greater quantity of water the sttryevs at thls, site being still incomplete. At San ss t on the apache Reservation, the river passes through a narrow gorge TOO feet Wlde and dam at this point I5O feet high would be bu. 200 feet long at tIe crest creb a1n would store 35l. .000 acres one foot deep. bStehslVe explorations have been made to ustermlne the depth Of bed rock at each one or these dam sites. At the Buttes the he'd rock IS :disappointingly deep, the depths to lz4 feet beneath the surface of the stream. 1 At riverside the maximum depth on the l a'sl a<ls e o1 the dam is approximately seventy iiFS Iee., WhIie at San Carlos the depth to | ped rock is believed to be substantially less | than at either of the other dam sites.
 me records of the flow of the Gila River | nave been kept ct the Buttes for a number | oi years and the estimates of available l water supply are, therefore. based on tctual | ,,s,. not on snrniise. The ordi- nt'iS ID" ol thls stream is ample to fi II the | largest of these reservoirs, and on the dr.jest ! years ot which we have record it has been 1 as great as 200. eco acre feet
 Tt will be seen by the above faurae that l me Possibility of storing water on this | iitream i' IS very great. It is doubtful if it l streams of arid America. The San Cs rlos | dam site. particularly, is one of unusuoI | merit. The size of the necessarv dam inc | hssin end Tser sIa supply the great storage tles are perfect; while the other two sites 1 also have features of merit .'o' t ~ me ~uuIy oi water in Southern Arizona | ss gfeater than In California. For the rais- | sig oi tne staple crop of alfalfa q depth If | F~e,n.y1iouT inches of water is ordinariIv | .,i appiisu 70 the land. which is equivalent to each +b,ns mouths ot one miners inch to |
 
 onsis, the San Carlos site will furnish enough MatSr Yst 70 irrigate over 150,O9O acres of land n. = ~ is assumed that each two acres will SUD- port 0he inhabitant this would permit of n | 2opulation Of 75000 souls to be sustained | rom this reservoir
 these figures are more startling when | tnS 1, rae. IS realized that at the present time aIl or tne canals below the San Carlos dam site are absolutely dry. and that the country [ s4 rom tne Apache Reservation to the mouth | yI the oait River is in condition of " ithered l brought, with it's inhabitants both white | aeu indian reduced almost to the condition i oI apJect want. It is estimated that 10000 | GGcres of land should be irrigated on the ! ti Iiih lhdial Reservation in order to relieve | me condition Of the Indians. This would i Ieave over I00,D00 acres that could be irri- | sSStfd on the public domain. If 100000 acres ct .hess public lands could be so irrigated 1 ana being subdiyided into forty-aere tracts sglu to actual settlers, at the rate of S10 to { Slo per acre. tue condition of the Indian would be wholly relieved, and it is probable lhs goyernment would be reimbursed for it's Sntire outlay. In addition to this. district ousrlng ideal conditions for irrigation, win soil which is unexceled with a climate that will produce crops in continu- ous rofatson. will be made to support a population of 75,0G0, and will add to the pubic wealth of the Territory. on a eonser- satiyc estimate, over Ss,00o 000."