The sun., 1899-03-05
KANsAs's NEW AND ONLY LAKE

found tho relics OF people antedattnR the In
diana and far superior to them mentally"
KANsAs's NEW AND ONLY LAKE.
1t IL Fourteen by Five Miles in Extent and
VIII Contain Water IL Any 10 to BE Had.
From tie ST. Lom, Globe Democrat
GREAT BEND. Kan. Feb. 16-The LARGEST
irrigation experiment ever undertaken In
Kansas is nearly ready for practical test
The water has heen turned into the. Koen
ditch. which leaves the Arkansas River here
and runs to the Cheyenne bottoms. about
thirty miles, For two years work has been
going on. and 1t seems likely that the coming
spring will see its completion. In the search
for a practicable method OF handling = the
waters going to waste down the broad valley
miles In every direction. with the result that
the engineers found back OF the foothills. to
the north. a peculiar confiRuration that gave
possibilities for O vast inland lake.
A tract OF heavily erased prairie fourteen
miles long and three to f1ve miles wide lies
near Hoisineton. It is the bed OF nn ancient
lake. and the entire surface Is depressed six to
forty feet below the level Of the surrounding
country. The land has been Of no value as
farming land. and.h been practically unused
for that puroose. grazing being the only good
that could be secured from II. When coursing
was popular In Kansas these bottoms fur
pished the best coursing grounds in the West.
and the American Coursing Association held
yearly meetings Many lovers OF Rreyhounds
camc from the Eastern cities and even from
Europe. and the RatherinRa were the gala
evenLs In sporting circles In the West Dogs
worth thousands OF dollars were exhibited and
made their races UP aud down the long level
surface OF the antediluvian lake. A handsome
clubhouse was erected on the edge OF the bot
toms and the place became famous A study
Of the surrounding country showed that there
was a possibility OF reconverting the bottoms
into lake again. and as the soil was In many
ways too heavy for successful. farming 1t was
easv to purchase 1t for the purpose The
project for 30 using it was elaborated as part
OF general irrigation system. to include
much OF Barton county. which received
the hearty Endorsement OF the farmers. as the
crops here have been affected seriously by the
dry weather In the past The Cheyenne bot
toms. once o gathering place for the Cheyenne
Indians for.half. of Kansas. was selected as the
place to locate the main reservoir. both be-
cause Of its natural contour and because OF
the lay Of the country surrounding 1t. allowing
OF canals in all directions.
1t is a curious fact that the first thought OF
converting this piece OF prai rie In to AZ. 900
masses OF cloud piled up in the northwest one
summer day. and when they burst it was over
a depth OF seven feet. For two years the wa
ter was still visible. showing that the soil at
the & bottom Al, + water tight Then it was pro.
water from the Arkansas River. thirteen miles
away. F. B. Koen and g. A. Trites. old;time
Of the enterprise and superintended the work
They employed se1enty;hve teams. and work
In HS sou es 5 T
expected to enlarge 1t to 1.20O cubic feet, when
I: will be large enough to flll the eptire lake in
gators take the water out of the stream in Col
the water it holds. but there is restitution.
lor the water. after leaving the bitches. seeps
the G into The vast sand Lake or
nnds its way back into the Arkansas again. so
u that the river that was dry below the bitches In
low and is again watering the fields adjacent
on either side. Tc get an ext extra supply Of wa
the river at the grade Of one foot to the mile
The river having grade OF seven feet. the
ditch wiz in tho course Of tive miles get twelve
catching the drainage water OF the cverio and
leading It into the main canal. The experi-
by the Gilbert Brothers few Yeas ago DEM
onstrated that, while there, might not be
without other, aid much water could be
drained In that manner. and It will prove a |
valuable adjunct to the canals ordinary Gu
usual manner.
OF course this can only be done II the river
This Is always to degree problematicai The |
bitches Of western Kansas built In the boom
hye o ths hd nsrd tine gpsdng pabd and
ers. A bill Is even now before the Legis- |
lature to allow counties along the Arkan-
county funds, to general fund. to be
used in legal, proceedings to, compel the
water. out Of the river. The river does not.
except at the food season; fqrniah enough
Time as r saa s0ps as Ii
ask for water there is little left. n the fight
between the two States ends In victory Tor
abundance OF water for all.
The water was turned into the ditch. which
running a 1ull stream when the cold weather
and dispute about the title to some OF the
land in the bottoms TO be 9GySerhowed caused
pect to resume flooding the bottoms as soon
IS sprlng.npens, and will take advantage OF the
hrst hood @ water down the river from the
1t Is planned o-bulld several'smal launches
around the shore. making 1t pleasure resort
'or western and central Kansas The Kansas
eds q that s
thousands OF young mon and women who
never saw lake or body OF water larger than
lock to the new lake in summer W to enioy io the the
luxury OF real boat ride Hunters also look
axe. for they expect IL to become favorite
place for ducks. These are be-
streams are so few and so frequently dry that
he focks fly high ON both their spring and
light at all bstween the Platte and the Clmar-
on It is thought that with large. calm
II there are no delays. because OF legal COM
,licatlons. and irthe Arkansa sfurnlshes sum-
,ient water las seems likely. owing to tho
leavy SHOWS In tho mountainBl. tho lake
Ihould be filled by June.