Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1899-09-23
THE DRYRsT STATE
RAIN FALL VARIES FROM THREE Tc
TWENTY-FIVE INCHES A YEAR
The People Do Not copcesn Them
selves Much About the Rain, But
They Have q Fine system of Irri-
cation.

Arizona has some timber IN the
mountains and grass ia the valleys.
but these grow in spite OF the fact that
Arizona is in the dryest part of the
United States. Even within the boune
aries Of this one territory, however. the
rainfall varies from over twenty five
inches year at Camp Goodwin In the
mountains to three inches a year at
Yuma on the desert. Twenty-Five inch
es of rainfall year means. perhaps. a
possible crop. Three Inches a year
means no water AT ALL The people OF
Arizona do not, therefore, concern
themselves much with rain. They talk
about 1t once in while, and on occa-
sions an inch or two comes down in
a solid chunk and is called a cloud
burst, but such a rainfall has little re-
lation TO the possibilities of the soil
from a productive point of view.
The settler in Arizona first seeks rum
ming water, and then. with confidence,
settles himself upon the land and
straightway proceeds TO get rich. for
running water upon Arizona soil is like
unto gold mine-lt produces wealth.
This has been the system ever since
the memory of man. for there are Ari-
zona bitches which are nearly 400
years old, and the pre sent generation Is
nor quite sure what manner OF people
dug them.
IL is within the memory of man. how
ever. when Arizona was almost a
trackles desert, overrun with fierce and
warlike Indians, and ii Is within the
memory of even the children of Ari-
iona that all this has changed; deserts
have been made to bloom and all war
like Indians have either been sent To
the happy hunting grounds or are used
for exhibition purposes in wild west
shows and Eastern expositions.
All this has been done by ignoring
the usual way of watering tie earth
and by utilizing the melting snowbanks
as their waters raced toward the sea.
Fifteen hundred miles of artificial wa
ter courses. or bitches, have these am
bilious and Industrious Arizona people
dug, and 100000 acres of this wonder
full valley lands grow rich with green
things of the earth in response To the
water from these bitches. 1t is not all
fun to settle on these arid lands. and Ii
il no easy task to have dug these
bitches, but the results have paid ten
fold to those who dared the task.
Great mining camps are always near
by. Miners always have money to spend
They want the best the earth can give
them. and the irrigated lands of Arb
zona have been paid for with the
money dug from the bowels of the vol
canic hills.
The running streams of Arizona are
now doing all they can and still more
water is wanted. To get this the peo-
pie Of the valleys not so favored with
preparing to store the little that falls
from the clouds at some seasons of the
year. In the mouths of rugged can
ons they will place great rock dams.
The melting snow and The winter rains
will here mingle and lie quiet until the
drought strikes the valley below and
the parched vegetation calls for their
use. Then the stored water will be
loosed to add more greenery. hence
more wealth, to the dryest place in
America