The Florence tribune., 1900-08-11
That Recent Government Iayestigauons Disclose in Regard 10 Irrigation
 Possibilities in Arizona.
cod Indians and Industrious White Men Who Are Practically Destitute
 for Lack cf Water.
n Exceptionally Favorable Opportunity to InauguPate the Mueh-talked- of System of Federal Irri-
 Ention.
From the Los Angeles Times. Julv 1al
EntIon.

If nited States Geographical Survey. fur shes The Times the following irrigation lsSltilitiss in Arizona:
 ne Giia River Indian reservation is tuated about eighteen miles south of Phoe- x. and extends along the Gila River for a stance of nearly nifty miles. Here are cated the Pima and MaTicopa Indians 10 ienumber of nearly five thousand. These nilans are known throughout the Terri sry as good lnclaus.' They have always zen peaceful in their habits and asricul- irai or pastoral in their pursUits They e now eultiyating the lands where the 'ehistoric races built the now-ruinetl Casa rande and its neighborirg canals. Irriea- on has been practiced in this valley from ehistcric times. Many ancient ditehes can traced across the plain. showing evidences engineering skill, and testifying to the ct that large volumes of water were at sle time carried
 The Pirnas and Maricopas have been. ltil recently, sef-sustaiping nation. ley raise their crops Of grain and corn tth skill equal to that Of the whites. 10 settlers. seeing the results which the h. ans have produced, through the operation the desert land act, brought under eulfi- ton much land in the valley of the Giia, Jacent to this reservation. and have buiit tensive canals between Florence and inc road station of Casa GFande. Under the ovision of the United States law. ali innI 'ught under the 6esert-laud act must be ede productive by the application of iter. In order to comply with the provis- IFS of thls law the settler was compelled to ake diversions from the Gila River at 'ints above the Indian reservation, Other 1cs were taken up under similar condi- )ns on the upper portion of the GiIa River tese diversions by the whites quickly de- wed the indians of their water supply. q for the past i've years they have been on the desert without water for their ops and scareely enough for their horses iey are put in the position of either having steal. starve or be fed as public wards q the government has been forced to issI,e tIoHs to them and feed them as it does the idsers- Numerous court decisions have en rendered establishing beyond con- lversy the fact that the Indian has the Tor and the better right to the water, but whites have maintained their water pPly despite the dictates of the court development of this newer civilization become so extensive that to cut of it's fer supply would mean tue dosolatiou of my thousands of acres of fire farms and sharos. Evidently, thesitUation is a diai- if one, and the Indion Bureau is hard esSed for proper answer.
 In 18s5 an allotment of Ss500 was made pm the appropriation for the Indian Office preliminary investigation of the ayaii- e water supply for these Indians. Mir. well was instructed to make fhis investi- tion by the Secretary of the Interior, and delegated Arthur ?. Davis to rake the tter up in the field. The surveys were ,essarily Of apreliminaTy nature but the rage possibility Of the 6ila River was ly demonstrated. It was shown that this cam drained about fifteen fheusarsd iare miles of the high plateau and morn- h region of Eastern Arizona and that the Ter is remarkable for it's exceedingly light ide. Consequently, the storage possibiii- 5 of the stream are great. Recommenda- ms were. made by Mir. Davis calling for fther and more accurate surveys. and in spring of 1898 Congress passed a second Droprlatlon Of Sze,00O for tine comnletion this investigation. The hydrographic de- 'tnent of the Geological Survey was i'm rIa4 O frarNr It these surveys.
 The Gila River derives its source from White Mountains in western New Mexico eastern Arizona, whieh rise to elevations rom ten to twelve thousand feet. At the mt where it issues from its mountainous in, there are over twelve thousand are miles draining through it's cauons. basin has been extensively explored, three large reservoir sites located and veyed- The capacity of these reservoir $ has been determined and filings have n made under the United States laws for 1T segregation from the public domain. point known as the Butfes a dam 1ag in height above the bed Of rhe stream store enoue h water to cover I74, eco acres feet deep, or. as it is technically ex- ssed. 17f000 acre feet A dam It this Tt would be approximately aD feet long he bed of the stream and S0G feet at it's zt. At Riverside Ariz., it was found that nm $50 feet long at it's base, and approxi- loly 800 feet long on top will store q much
 
 site being still incomplete 1t San los. on the Apache Reservation. the river ses through narrow gorge 100 feet e. and dam at this point I50 feet high id be bus POO feetlong at the crest. Such nm would store S6I. 900 acres one foot deep. Extensive explorations have been made to ermine the depth of bed rock at each one hese dam sites. At the Butfes the bed is disapDointingiy deep. the depths ging in the center of the channel from 75 T feet beneath the surface of the stream. Riverside the maximum depth on the ! Of the dam is approximately seventy feet, while at San Carlos the depth to rock is believed to be substantially less at either of the other dam sites
 he records of the flow Of the Gila River been kept Ut the Buttes for a number years, and the estimates Of available ersupply are, therefore, based on actual SHrements, not on surmise. The ordi- flow of this stream is ample to i'll the est of these reservoirs, and on the driest $ of which we nave record it has been reat as 26o, eco acre feet.
 will be seen by the above figures that possibility of storing water on this ans K very great. It is doubtful if it any equal in this line among ali the ans of arid America. The San Carlos site, particularly, is one of unusual it. The size of the necessary dam. the lable water supply. the great storage n. and the proximity of railroad faeili- are perfect; while the other two sites have features of merit.
 he duty of water in Southern Arizona eater than in California. For the rais- of the staple crop of alfalfa, q depth of Ity-four inches of water is ordinarily jed to the land. which is equivalent to for six months of one miners inch to three and one-haf acres. On this B, the San Carlos site will furnish enough pr fo irrigate over 150.903 acres of land. is assumed that each two acres will sup one inhabitant. this would permit of Q silaaon of 75.000 souls to be sustained n this reservoir.
 hese figures are more startling when saet iS realized that at the present time the canals below the San Carlos dam itre absolutely dry, and that the country the Apache Reservation to the mouth eSalt River is i9 condition of V ithered gbt. with it's inhabitants both white Indian reduced almost to the condition 1iect want. It is estimated that 10,UG0 of land should be irrigated on the Indian Reservation in Cader tO relieve condition of the Indians. This would over lO9,00e acres that could be irri- on the public domain. If 1O0,001 acres ese public lands o0uld De so irrigated ,eiDg snbdivided into forty-aere tracts, to actual settlers tt the rate of si0 to jer acre. the condition of the Indian be wholly relieved, and it is probable overnment would be reimbursed for it's e outlay. In addition to this. n district ing ideal conditions for irrigation
 q soil which is unexcelled, with u ite that will produce crops in continu- rotation, will be made to support a lafion of l5.o16 and will add to the ewcaifh of the Territory. oll cossses- estiaass. over so.C00.VOO