Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1899-09-20

ioAtef promised something further in regard to the Eureka ditch or canal.
 .. r. Wiag6eld, A. B. and Wm. hutcheson, Lonnie Bristow, Bert Maxwell, Joe Price and Ed. Mul holland located land on the Fort verde military reservation over four years ago and built this ditch. Ii now covers seven fine ranches with about 300 acres in cultivation and covers nearly or about 1000 acres. and oy Hume over Beaver creek land 1t being extended for three or four mIles) will cover about 3OOO acres more land on Lower Verde on the east side of the river and north oi Clear creek. or course an exten- sion of the ditch would necessarily require it to be widened from an & loot ditch to about a l6-foot ditch.
 The Ralston ditch on the west side of tLe river is a ditch about six feet wide and four or five miles long, and covers about 1000 acres of land, about 300 of winch is now in culti- vation.
 Both these ditches have been taken out since the opening up of the Fort Verde military reservation for homestead entry. All these enter prises have their drawbacks, and find all new ditehes are lots of trouble notwithstanding they are all surveyed with the utmost precision and carefulness there IS so many dil- ferent kinds, sorts and conditions of soil that they pass over they will sink in some places below ditch grade, and unless a person is ac- quainted with the soil they would feel sure it was the fault of the sur veyor, and it takes two or three years for the ground to settle and 10 build up the loS places, and in a few instances to deepen the high places.
 Istated to one of the oldest tim CTS and best known citizens of your town my intention of writing up this section Of the country for you and he advised me to say just as lit- tie about the water question ss pos sible, lest l might cause the Salt river people some 0fense. and they might make us trouble. Now. that is not my object in making mention of our resources or our water sup ply, and will say right here by way of comparison we have fully one half as much good land in Verde valley susceptible of cultivation as there IS in Salt river, and just as good in every way, equally produc- tive and 8 much better climate, and our market is right at home instead of having to cross a burning sSnd desert 40 to 70 miles to a mInIng camp we have them right at home, and l sm quite we'll acquainted with the valley and its condition and will further state we have Is school dis tricts, and including Jerome sn in corporated city of more than 4OOC inhabitants, over l200 of which are on the United Verde pay rolls; also about 60 irrigsting ditehes in the valley, and all over vast agricultural and grazing resources. We are s people and community of ourselves and not boosting, we do not propOs' to back down or take any threats from any one about our water sup ply.
 So far as our use of water is con cerned, and for fear It slips my mem ory, want to speak of the absoluti necessity of our legislature land | not in their power then 10 the con gress of the United States to pas laws to compsi the people of th' ! Mogollou and San Francisco noun tains to pile and burn or in som way to care for the pine tree-top and brush so as to prevent lores | fires. and to increase the range rid CTS so as to keep vIgilant watcl on the range and timber belt. Whil speaking of this mountain section we feel very grateful to our Sal river brethren for all their kiu' votes m the legislature about ou game laws so as 10 raise qusl deer and antelope for ther e: pecial benefit. While cooling oi up here in summer. they kill and de strov more game on these campin out trips than the inhabitants c
 -avapai kill during the huntinI
 season. In fact they pass her openly speaking of going up int
 the mountains to take a hunt.
 Iulnv last letter 1 spoke of tn
 Johnson ditch and of the country
 would cover. 1 now give tabulste
 statement of the entire Middl
 Verde country, including the Ian irrigated by the O. K. ditch, one ( very best and oldest ditches ID th
 Verde valley, and in my next lettt
 will give a write up of Upper Nero
 and Peck's lake country, and think
 have done my part in showing oJ
 railroad people what there IS her
 apriculturally speaking, and If son
 nersou interested and more comp
 tent than 1 am will take up the mi
 ing subject and show the mining T
 sources or activity as l have u farming part of it I will feel that
 have done our part.
 find the.e are 2765 acres of laI
 either patented or filed on with z. 1, acres in actual cultivation and 22' , acres susceptible of cultivation al !, and 40 acres in alfalfa. All ( Middle Verde in the vicinity . Aultman and below the mouth , Oak creek.
 If the Johnson ditch was COT s pleted it would cover a large area country not yet located and 1t wou . make one of the finest settlemen iu Verde valley, and is one of the II
 provements that will be made m t near future and right on the e1a
 spot and line where the Prescott
 Eastern railroad will be built.
 The military post has been bul
 ouer D years and a few days sin tt was our first visit by lightning. ,
 struck the school and church bull
 ing and followed through the TO
 down a post, tore to smlthereens
 door and strange to say set nothiI
 afre. ..,
 There is no trouble here with
 dians and no danger, although
 have more than We need. Still tn
 are peaceable and industrious a . work when they have an oPPoTl
 nifty. o' W. I h ,s of land filed on, amount cultivate 1. .mount of irrigable land, owne