The Florence tribune., 1900-09-08
Good Indians and Industrious White Men Who Are Practically Destitute
 for Lack of Water.
An Exceptionally Favorable Opportunity to Inaugurate the Much-talked- ofSystem of Federal Irri-
 gation.
IFrom the Los Angeles Times. July 1O.l


 possibilities in Arizona:
 The Gila River Indian reservation is situated about eighteen miles south of Phoe- nix, and extends along the Gila River for n distance of nearly fifty miles. Here are located the Pima and Maricopa Indians to the number of nearly five thousand. These Indians are known throughout the Terri tory as good Indians They have always been peaceful in their habits and agricul- tnral or pastoral in their pursuits. They are now cultiyating the lands where the prehistoric races built the now-rnined Casa Grance md its neighboring canals. Irriga- tion has been practieed in this valley from prehistoric times. Many ancient ditcheS can be traced across the plain showing evidences of engineering skill, and testifying to the fact that large. volumes of water were at one time carried.
 The Pimas and Maricopas have been. until recently, self-sustaining nation They raise their crops of grain and corn with skill equal to that of the whites. The settlers. seeing the results which the Iu- dians have produced, through the operation of the desert land act, brought under cuIti- vation much land in the valley of the Gila, adjacent to this reservation. and have built extensive canals between Florence and the railI oad station of Casa Grande Under the provision of the United States law all land bought under the desert-iand act must be made productive by the application of water. In order to comply with the proyis- ions of this law, the settler was compelled to make diversions from the Gila River at points above the Indian reservation. Other lands were taken up under similar condi- lions on the upper portion of the Gila River These diversions by the whites quickly de- priyed the Indians of their water supply and for the past five years they have been left on the desert without water for their .rops and scarcely enough for their horses They are put in the position of either having and the government has been forced to issue rations to them and feed them as itdoes the soldiers. Numerous court decisions have been rendered establishing beyond con roversy the fact that the Indian has the prior and the better right to the water but he whites have maintained their water supply despite the dictates of the court The development of this newer civilization 1as become so extensive that to cut of it's water supply would mean the desolation of many thousands of acres of fine farms and orchards. Evidently the situation is "a diff ,ult one, and the Indian Bureau is hard pressed for proper answer.
 Tn 1895 an allotment of $500 was made rom the appropriation for the Indian Office or preliminary investigation of the avail lble water supply for these Indians Mr. Newell was instructed to make this investi- le delegated Arthur P. Davis to take the natter up in the field. The surveys were necessarily of preliminary nature but the forage possibility of the Gila River was ully demonstrated. It was shown that this tream drained about fifteen thousand quare miles of the high plateau and noun ain region of Eastern Arizona. and that the iver is remarkable for its exceedingly light -rade. Consequently, the storage possibili- les of the stream are great. Recommenda- ions were, made by Mir Davis calling for urther and more accurate surveys, and in he spring of 1898 Congress passed a second appropriation of S2c,000 for the completion this investigation- The photographic de- gain delegated as the proper office to con- uct these surveys.
 The Gila River derives it's source from he White Mountains in western New Mexico nd eastern Arizona. which rise to elevations from ten to twelve thousand feet At the oint where 1t issues from it's mountainous asin, there are over. twelve thousand Iuare miles draining through it's eanons he basin has been extensively explored nd three large reservoir sites located and Irveyed. The capacity of these reservoir tes has been determined and filings have cen made under the United States laws for leir segregation from the public domain. ta point known as the Buttes dam l5O ,et in height above the bed of rhe stream i'll store enough water to cover 174, GOO acres ne feet deep, or, it is technically ex- ressed, 1l4,0O0 acre feet. A dam at this pint would be approximately 800 feet long the bed of the stream and 800 feet at it's est. At Riverside. Ariz., it was found that dam $50 feet long at it's base, and approxi- ately 800 feet long on top will store much -eater quantity of water, the surveys at Iis site being still incomplete. At San 8rlos. on the Apache Reservation, the river tsses through narrow gorge 100 feet ide, and dam at this point I50 feet high ould be bus 200 feet long at the crest. Such dam would store 301. GOO acres one foot deeD, Extensive explorations have been made to stermine the depth of bed rock at each one these dam sites. At the Buttes the bed ,ck is disappointingly deep the depths .nging in the center of the channel from 75 i24 feet beneath the surface of the stream. Riverside the maximum depth the sts of the dam is approximately seventy e feet, while at San Carlos the depth fo d rock is believed to be substantially less an at either of the other damsite
 The records of the flow of the Gila River we been kept at the Buttes for number years. and the estimates of available iter supply are, therefore. based on actual easurements. not on surmise. The ordi- Try How of this stream is ample to fill the rgest of these reservoirs, and on the driest ars of which we have record it has been great as POO, 0O0 acre feet.
 It will be seen by the above figures that possibility of storing water on this cam is very great. It is doubtful if it s any equal in this line among all the cams of arid America. The San Carlos m site. particularly. is one of unusual srit- The size of the necessary dam, the ailable water supply, the great storage sin, and the proximity of railroad facili- s are perfect; while the other two sites 70 have features of merit.
 The duty of water in Southern Arizona greater than in California. For the rais- of the staple crop of alfalfa, depth of enty-four inches of water is ordinarily piled to the land which is equivalent to a W for six months of one miners inch to eh three and one-half acres. On this sis. the San Carlos site will furnish enough ter to irrigate over 150,000 acres of land. 1t Is assumed that each two acres will sup Tt one inhabitant this would permit of a pulation of 75000 souls to be sustained .m this reservoir.
 These figures are more startling when fact is realized that at the present time of the canals below the San Carlos dam are absolutely dry. and that the country ,In the Apache Reservation to the mouth theS Salt River is in condition of withered iught. with it's inhabitants both white Indian reduced almost to the condition abject want. It is estimated that 10000 es of land should be irrigated on the Indian Reservation in order to relieve condition of the Indians. This would ve over 16c.000 acres that could be irri- ed on the public domain, If 100000 acres hese public lands could be so irrigated being eubdivided into forty -acre tracts, to actual settlers. at the rate of Sl0 to per acre. the condition of the Indian uld be wholly relieved, and it is probable government would be reimbursed for its Ire outlay. In addition to this, a district ,ring ideal conditions for irrigation. h a soil which is unexcelled, with a nate that will produce crops in continu-
 rotation. will be made to support a sftlatiou of 75,000. and will add to the ,l.c wealth of the Territory. on conser-