The Florence tribune., 1899-10-14
From the Los Angeles Times. Jul


 J. E, LiPpincott, the representative in Los Angeles or the Photographic Office of the United States Geographical Survey. fur- nlshes The Times the following irrigation possibilities in Arizona:
 The Gila River Indian reservation l.; situated about eighteen miles south of Phoe- nix, and extends aloug the Gila River for distance Of nearly fifty miles. Here are the number of nearly live thousand. These Indians are known throughout the Terri tory as good Indians lhey have always ts nssn peaeeiui In their habits. and agricui- are now eultiyating the lands where fhe prehistoric races built the now-ruined Casa 1rande and its neighboring canals Irrioa ton has been practiced in this valley frs-, prehistoric times. Many ancient ditebes cor, ,, oe traced across the plain, showing evidences or engineering skill, and teStifyinc to ,So faet that large volumes of wafer ,,,a,r s.9 ne one time carried "eie ot
 The Pimes and Maricopas have bee, rhs, Thoa recently, seif-snstaining nation. They raise their crops of grain and corn with siziH equal to that of the whites 9he settlers, seeing he results whicl, the in ussIs f .hs hsve ave prodneed through the operation oI the cesert land act, brought under c;Ilti- N5elon much land in the valley of the (Sila ac3ccent to this reservation. and have b,,;Is rail, 1n'i eahals seSMee1 Florence and the provision of the United States law ali lan5 bought under the desert-land act must he Inaae matte productive by the application of
 
 tons or thls law. the settler was eomneiled "a inahe diversions from the Gila River at poi1ts above the Indian reservation. Other lands were taken up under simiIar ,,,Si tons on the upper portion of the Gila R;var These diversions by the whites ouicl<lv 5e. prlyed the Indians of their water sunnly .i left 3 ror t ine pes. nye years they have been crops and scarcely enough for their horses They are put in the position of either. hav;,,s, and tbo s.arve or De fed as public wards, rat9ons to them and feed them as it does she sotdlers. numerous court decisions have been rendered establishing bevond co,, froYersy the fact that the India, La Son- oi pflJr and the better right to the water h,'. me whltes nave maintained their rvatar Tbap eiISpras the dictates of the court. mas become so extensive that to cut ofP ;ts water supply would mean the desoiat;on .es os trch nIy s1Ou1ahos of acres of fine farms and cult one, and the Indian Burean ;s Lan5 pressed for proper answer. As naru III ioso ah allotment of S35OO was made rom rom tne ,apProprIation for the Indian OfFice 5or preliminary investigation of tbe ay-ail able water supply for these Tndians xi. ot;or W. Ms s inssrueted to make this investi- he delesated Arthur F. Davis fo tai-s, sLu .L matter up in the field. The snrvevs ,rere sre storaa rsi,; oi preliminary nature, but the ss.Jmhuse possibility of the Giia River wae fully demonstrated. It was shovn tiat tsis Was stream drained about fifteen fbonsar5 sauare m ses of the high plateau and moIn tam region of Eastern Arizona and thaf 4ha river Is remarkable for its exceed;nsi at ei9 graue. consequently, the storage nossihiI;- ties or the stream are great Reeommenda- ,1 fnrtbaT rere ere nade by Mir. Davis calling for tiM .nel M ana more accurate surveys and in the spring Of 1898 Congress passed a ssc,i aPpiEospiriation Fi's of s2eO0O for tfe Completion or th1s investigation. The bydrooraril,,;;as, ,s partment of the GeologIcaI S,55 ul,,aie cue le- agaln delegated as the prouer office z s "a' duet these surveys o eo COIL
 .tfTha
 tne hite Mountains in western New Mexicn ane eastern Arizona. which rise to eIeyations or rom ten to twelve thousand feet A. tLe pom. pom. 1ere It issues from its mountainous basin, there are over twelve fhonsanJ SSduaIe miles draining through it's canons The basin has been oxfensivelv sxaI5' ,, e'lu sn,sS Iaarge reservoir sites located and snrYeyed; The capacity of these resar,n;, sites mas been determined and fiIinos hara I! yeeh mace under the United States laws foS. si.eir segregation from the public domain. x poiiht known as the BIttes dam 15o IeS9 III he1ght above the bed of rhe st,aaDs % VII store enough water to cover IT o00 acras 1re5 0ne leee Ss Sdseep; or as it is technically ex point would be approximately s00 feet lons, ~ the ped of the stream and goo feet at i ifs l erSse. s At Riverside. Ariz, it was found that dain S9v feet long at it's base and annroxi mately 800 feet long on ton will etc,- a ,aL o greater quantity of water the surveys at | fhls site being still incomplete. Al San Sasses tbrs, f Sne Apache Reservation, the river Mlus ana dam at this point I5O feet hieh would be bus 200 feet long at fI,e crest Sreb | R,n wogld store Sol 600 acres one foot deep b2IenSlye explorations have been made fo | ueet9rhihe the depth of bed rock at each one | ,', ol tnese cam sites. At the Buttes the bed | renens ,s ;o, ;dissaappoitingy sa deep, the depths aIs;iHg 1. m the center of the channel from 75 % "A feet beneath the surface of the strearn. Al Riverside the maximum denth on the five feet oe tns nam IS approximately seventy ig sg leeI, ,Wbile at San Carlos the depth to | ped rcck is believed to be substantialiy less | tnsn ..1 at either of the other dam sites.
 bs,l.. ne records of the flow of the Gila River F lie'c Deeh kept at the Buttes for a number | oi years, end the estimates of svs;IahIe | water supply are therefore, based on actual ni',.,s not On surmise. The ordi- nary now Of this stream is annie I'd fiji tho | largest of these reservoirs. and or, the driest as great as 200. .0oO acre feet ~ --''7 ''ee'-
 It will be seen by the ahova fie,rras ha4 tne possibility of storing water on fhis satIealn a IS very great. It is doubtful if if a.ay nas any equal In this line among all fhe streams of arid America. The San CarIos dam site, particularly, is one of ,,nnsraI merlf. The size of the necessary dam inc basin and Masep sbs slIPply the great storage tles are perfect; while the other tu,o si4a also have features of merit o oi'oS ;s ,ae nu.y oI water in Southern Arizona ing of the staple crop of alfnIfa a5.h Sae s aMe,n.y,-Iour inches of water is ordinariIv asppiieu 10 the land, which is eouiyalenf fo a oaoh iiOnbnS Of one miners inch to 1 hss;s thISs thr and one-half acres On this ,,,-t ie oah Carlos site will furnish enough Ts;. na.er to lrrlgate over I5OOOO acres of land . Al T. is assumed that each two acres will s,,n. porI one inhabitant this would nern,if of n i Ropula.tion Of 75,000 souls to be Sustained rom this reservoir ~ .t ihese figures are more startIine when ahS .n IecI IS realized that at the present tirne s;.a aai oi the canals below the San Carlos dam slte se are absolutely dry, and that the country l.f oi tI .ne ss, Rgche Reservation to the mouth 9I '3 the Salt River is in condition of withered S,,J ,JJ"gnhsl 9is with its inhabitants both white sf aea uLan indian reduced almost to the condition ol .l aDlecs want It is estimated that l0.O0O Gie GcyIsS oi land should be irrigated on the ttI JiIa ihaian Reservation in order to relieve il ine condition of the Indians. This wouId leuve over l00,000 acres that could be irri- gsstSu on the public domain. If 100000 acres oI 5nese public lands could be SO irrigafed an1 Il being subdivided into forty-acpe tracts. solh o3 to actual settlers, at the rate of S10 fo Slo per acre, the condition of the Indian would De wholly relieyed and it is probahIe the government would be reimbursed for ifs snilre outlay. In addition to this a district onerlng ideal conditions for irrigation with soil which is unexcelled. with a climate that will produce crops in confinu- ous rotation will be made to gupnorf a | population of 7h,00o and will add to fbe 1 public wealth of the Territory, on n consa,- o ia'iYc estimate. over S69e0 COO