El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-11-22
For the Relief of the Pima
and Maricopa Indians
The MED is URGENT
Anc II Is Probable that a StrOno
Appeal Will Be Made to,Coneress
Thr ugh the National Irrigation
Congress. The San Carlos Dam
Would Pay For Itself The Busi
ness Men are Organizing to
Push irrigation
: pec.al Ccrresporaepce of Tn. He aid.


cussed at the convention of the nat
ional Irrigation association now in ses-
sion at Chicago. will be the construc-
ton of a big storage reservoir on the
ella river. Arizona. for the relief of
the Pima and Maricopa Indians. Prom
inent government engineers from time
to- time have made careful eXamina-
tions of dam sites along that stream
and the estimated cost of building n
dam at the Buttes. which was at first
believed to be the most feasible site.
was 81 500 900. This would be a diff
cult and expensive piece OF work be
cause OF the depth of bedrock. and F..
II. Newell and A p. Davis. two fore
most government photographers have
abandoned the project. but have re-
ported favorably on the construction
of a dam at San Carlos on the same
stream and affecting the same area.
| There is reason to believe that if a
federal appropriation is made for res
ervoir projects. the San Carlos dam
viii stand for early consideration
| According to Davis. who when here a
year ago. fOresaw the necessity of
more water for the Indians and the ex
| tremity to which they would be re-
duced in case their supply was not in
| creased. there are three important rea
sons why the government should con-
Il
tute Indians of the ella valley which
cannot he cited in support of any other
/ reservoir project in the country. In
| the pirst place the Indians are wards
| of the government They gave up
many of their lands to the government
and in return their accustomed water
supply has been taken from them by
| the white settlers. Then the Pimas.
Maricopas and Papagos should be en-
Icn p6 in % n
Their traditions dating back for several
hundred years tell of a prediction of
| the River Indians" as their name is
interpreted. for agricultural pursuits.
They constructed canals through the
ella and Salt River valleys. and when
the Aztecs were irrigating large ex-
panses of land surrounding Phoenix.
the River Indians put under cultiva-
ton equally as large tracts of land in
the ella valley.
They are an industrious class of In
dams and in the knowledge OF white
men have taken to the plough handle
mroe readily than they have to the bow
and arrow or to other ethical training
which the younger generation is receiv-
ing in greater or less quantities as the
Phoenix Indian school. The third rea-
son why the Indians here should be
favored by a storage reservoir. accord
ing to Davis. should appeal to finan-
ciers of the government Since they
have been deprived of their usual water
supply they have become burden to
the government. and each year as the
supply diminishes the federal expense
increases
II is estimatedt hat the building of
the San Carlos dam would involve an
expenditure of about 81 100000. The
government engineers calculate that
the expenditure would not Only result
in relieving the once prosperous and
now destitute Pimas but a perennial
water supply would be developed. suf-
ficient to reclaim 100 900 acres of pub
Ilic land without the reservation. paying
the cost of the entire project Congress
at the last session appropriated S35.O00
for rations for the famine stricken
Pimas. About half that sum has al
ready been spent in distributing rat
ions among the Indians and the bal
ance will be used to carry them
through the winter. This appropriation
is likely the first of a series of annual
appropriations until the Indians are Civ
en- a water supply by which they will
become self-supporting nation. The
amount spent by the government in
furnishing rations to starving Indians
would equal the interest of money nee
essary for the construction of the San
Carlos dam.
II has been generally agreed among
government photographers that con-
gress is especially warranted in making
appropriation for the construction of
reservoir on the ella river. quite indie
Dendently of the much mooted queS-
ton as TO the advisability of the gov
eminent adopting a general policy of
reservoir construction. The wisdom of
enabling the Indians to become self
supporting people is generally ack-
nowledged and in this instance the
Indians are not only willing but eager
to cultivate their lands and maintain
themselves.
The ella river reservation embraces
357 120 acres and IL Is estimated that
at least 20O.O 900 can be placed under n
system of canals. Under a storage sys-
tenn this reservation could be made to
support all the farming Indians of the
territory. and still afford large sur
plus of land for white settlers 1t is
an executive order" reservation and
at will the land now controlled by the
Indians can be curtailed to an area ac-
tually required for their support. and
the balance thorwn open for public
settlement. simply by an order of the
president
Il. A. Fowler and w. A. Pickerell of
Phoenix and G. X. Baker of Mesa. are
in Chicago as delegates to the Irriga-
ton convention. They will each OPP
pose the cessation of arid lands. al
though on that point the people of the
territory are divided. but the delegates
will represent the unanimous senti-
ment OF Arizona in their advocacy of
the construction of a reservoir for the
Pima Iidians. They will also repre-
sent the sentiment of Arizona by fav-
oring federal aid for irrigation enter