Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1900-12-20
Some Facts and Figures About the
Public Lands in the Rocky
Mountain Region.
SOME INDIAN ALLOTMENTS.
Establishing Irrigation Works on Indian
Reservations Some Extracts from the
Annual Report Of the Secretary of
the Interior.

mountain district.
The report states that the total area
of public lands is, approximately, 1,071,-
SS1 1922 acres, of which 917, 1876, $50 acres
are undisposed of, and 154, 745, 1872 acres
have been reserved for various pul'
poses. OF this area Colorado has 80, $50, =
PAT acres unappropriated and unre-
served; 5,490,001 acres reserved; and H.
POI, 912 acres appropriated. New Mexico
has S. 41, 10 acres unappropriated; o.
967, 412 acres reserved; and 15,920,2l
acres appropriated. Wyoming, 4S,S5S, 1863
acres unappropriated; S,O46,2 26 acres re-
served; and 6,02S, 1856 acres appropriated.
Utah, 49, 67, 451 acres unappropriated;
5,4S7, SOS acres reserved; and 5,096,32l
acres appropriated.
Referring to allotments of lands on
Indian reservations, the report states
that ON the Shoshone reservation (Wyo-
ming), Allotting Agent Werts was re-
lieved from duty after he had made a)5
allotments; his predecessor had COM
pleted 1910. Further allotment work has
been suspended, pending the determine
ton of a suitable system of irrigation
for this reservation.
IRRIGATION ON RESERVATIONS
Efforts are being made by the int.
| rior department to establish practical
irrigation systems on several of the liz
dian reservations in the west. The In
dian appropriation act for the curren,
| fiscal year authorizes the secretary oi
the interior to employ not exceeding
two superintendent of irrigation, VINO
| shall be skilled irrigation engineers
Under this authority George Butler is
employed as superintendent of irriga'
ton on the Wind River reservation II
Wyoming, and John D. Harper has rc
Gently been appointed such superin.
tendent for the pueblos of New Mexico
several of these communities being II
a distressing state of poverty from lacl
of water.
The amount of the appropriation
available for irrigation purposes durin1
the current fiscal year, aside from tbs
l lllluS VI d Lew lllbCS, 10 Poo,ooO'
On Colorado River reservation, in Ari.
IONA, a steam engine and pump have
been installed, by which water has beer
| supplied to and successfully irrigated
a limited tract Of land.
On the Crow reservation, Montana
and Wyoming. $66, 900 of the funds OF
the Crow Indians have been expended
during the year upon the irrigation sys-
tenn. The headgate of the great Big
Horn ditch is practically completed
and a ditch on Pryor creek has been
| constructed, which will water from o0t
to 1000 acres.
The construction of this irrigation
system, which has been in progress dut.
ing the last eight years, has resulted in
| great improvement and advancement
| among the Indians, aside from provl1-
ing one of the best systems in the coun-
try. The money, which belongs to the
Grows, has been paid out, for the most
part, to the Indians themselves, and
this money they expend much more jul
d~iciously than that which they receive
as annuity payments and which comes
to them without labor or effort on their
part.
The ditch heretofore constructed on
the Wind River reservation, Wyoming,
has proved to be practically worthless.
Plans for a new irrigation system are
in course of preparation, which will be
capable of %irrigating a sufficient guam
tity of land for the use of all the In
dams on the reservation.
NEW MEXICO INDIAN WATER
RIGHTS.
Relative to water rights of Indians in
New Mexico, the report says that last
year the Albuquerque Land and Irriga-
ton Company sought to appropriate
surplus waters of the Rio Grande at q
point just south of the pueblo of San
Felipe, and to construct a canal
through that pueblo, and also through
Santa Ana and Sandia pueblos, and the
lands of many individuals. Protests
were made, and the matter came into
the district court at Santa Fe, which
held that the company had a right to
construct the canal across the Indian
lands, but that the Indians had rights
as prior appropriations of water in the
Rio Grande, and the full capacity OF
their present bitches was guaranteed to
them.
WORK OF JUDGE VAN DEVANTER.
The report contains a complimentary
reference to- Assistant Attorney General
Willis Van Devanter, as follows: "For
the first time In over twenty years the
work is now practically current, a re-
suit effected only through the unremit-
ting efforts of the assistant attorney
general and his assistants in the dis
patch of the extremely difficult public
business intrusted to them. Their work
merits the highest communication, and
1 take pleasure in so stating.
"The matters at this time awaiting
consideration and disposition are: One
hundred and forty-ive appeals from
the commissioner of the general land Of /.
fee; S. motions for review of decisions
heretofore rendered upon such appeals;
48 miscellaneous matters, including
railroad land grant adjustments; 10 re-
quests for law opinions by the assistant
attorney general.
THE matters considered and disposed
of during the last year are as follows:
One thousand seven hundred and one
decisions. receiving the signature Of the
secretary of the interior, in appeals
from the commissioner of the general
land office; 429 decisions, receiving the
signature Of the secretary of the int.
rior upon motions for review; 524 de-
c~isions, regulations and orders, receiv-
ing the signature Of the secretary OF