Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1900-12-08
THE MESCALERO RESERVATION,
concluded From Second Page.)

WV ~ 800 81 ~ 49, 'N'
months, with an abundant growth of
grass, good for pasturage; in the winter
months, these lands are covered with
several feet of snow, while during the
spring months they are covered with
dead grass, left from the previous year.
This serves as an excellent cover to hold
the rain fall, which usually appears about
the middle of May or the first of June.
The mountains and higher elevations in
the southern portion of the reservation
are covered with dense forests of fir,
black and silver spruce, Alpine aspen,
sugar and yellow pine (pinos pondorosis),
scrub oak, locust and various briers. The
fir grows to al immense size, is wind
shaken. rotten, soft and of very little or
no commercial value: the aspen is value
less; the scrub oak make very fair fire
wood, but is of no value for any other
purpose except as forest cover and as a
very valuable conservator of moisture:
the pine is the most valuable lumber tree
and is used by the Indians and the school
for the construction of buildings, for re-
pairs, &c. For finishing or other fine
grade OF work, this pine is too soft and
is practically valueless.
The narrow valleys are fertile, but
contain no water with the following eX-
ceptions. Nogal, Silver Spring, Elk
Spring, 1'ularosa, Garlic, Rinconada,
Tres Ritos and Ruidoso. The Tularosa
flows $40 cubic feet per minute; the Rui
dose, 500 cubic feet; Silver Spring, 3s
cubic feet; Elk Spring, Nogal, Garlic,
Rinconada each about Is cubic feet and
the Tres Ritos 100 cubic feetpe minute.
| With the exception of the Ruidoso, Tu-
larosa and Tres Ritos streams, they do
not flow sufficient water to enable a per-
son to measure accurately the flow Of
| water in second feet. So all streams
were measured as above stated. Meas
urements were made in May, 1900, dur
ing the dry season, rain not having fall
en- on any portion of the reserve since
April 5, 1900, aud then only in very small
amounts. You can see atonce that with
three exceptions there is only drinking
water in all these canOns; no irrigation
is possible by reason of lack of water. In
| Tularosa and Tres Ritos canons irriga-
ton is carried on. This fact causes a
great deal of i'll feeling on tho part of the
people of Tularosa and Tres Ritos to-
ward these Indians. These citizens
bring complaints every season, to the
superintendent, about the Indians using
the water and claim prior appropriation.
Continual threats are made to come up
to the reservation and cut the bitches OF
the Indians. Can we raise crops with
QUO irrigation? Well, yes, if the season
happens to be a wet one. Each Indian
has a patch in the portion of the reserve
that we irrigate, and also a patch in the
portion that needs no irrigation. Ii the
season is wet, crops are raised in both
places. If the seas IN is dry, half a crop
is raised in the portion that we irrigate
and none at all in the portion depended
on for the annual rainfall to mature the
crops, This last season was a complete
failure as to crops on the higher eleva-
tions. This fall we have sowed 800 bush
els of wheat, which at this date has not
%sprouted. The wheat sowed last spring
did not mature on the higher elevations,
and was finally cut for hay. The potato
+ was a complete failure. Six hun
dred bushels we're planted, but not a
single one was dug. The Indians sup
plement their farming with the raising
of sheep and goats. They are, however,
already quarreling and fighting over the
springs and the pasturage. Not a week
passes but that the superintendent is
called on to settle some such affairs and
to define their ranges.
On other portions of the reserve there
are small springs, but during part of the
year they are dry or else do not flow a
sufficient amount of water to measure.
No portion Of the Ruidoso on the re-
serve is farmed or used for any pur-
pose, as it rises at the foot of White
mountain peak and runs east between
PERCEPTIONS mountains, leaving no room
for ranches. The Indians have located
their ranches in the following watered
valleys: Tularosa, 81 ranches and the
school farm of 200 acres: Silver Spring,
IA ranches; Elk Springs, 36 ranches;
Nogal, 5 ranches; Garlic, 9 ranches;
scattering 8 ranches; with 3 sheep
ranches in the Rinconada. In addition
to the above, mountain regions on this
reservation form the source of the water
supply of the Bonito, Cedar and Hondo
streams. The Ruidoso, Garlic, Hondo,
Bonlto, Eagle and Cedar streams are
tributaries of the Pecos river. On all
of these streams there are ranches ag-
%gregating a large area, outside OF the
reserve, which are entirely dependant
upon these mountains for water. To
supply these streams with water snffi-
cient to irrigate the crops and water the
herds of these ranches. nature has re-
served q vast reservoir in the shape of
over q half million acres of rugged,
boulder and forest covered mountain
lands to hold winters SHOWS and sum
met's torrential storms till they trickle
down slowly to water the hot, parched
and grateful valleys and plains far be-
low. The rain retarded by vegetation,
including forest trees and their cover
sinks into the loose formation and breaks
out at lower elevations as springs. Ar
tesian water in the vicinity of Roswell,
unquestionably, has its origin in the
Sacramento and White Mountains.
All arabic land on the reserve has
been taken up by the Indians. and,
though small in area, compared with the
great extent of territory, 1t is all the
land that is of any value for farming
or grazing on account of the scarcity
of water. All available springs ana
streams, even wet weather springs. have
been taken up and are being utilized.
We have a standing reward of $50 to be
paid any Indian who will find OF this
reservation twenty acres of land in one
piece fit for agricultural purposes on
which can be found at all times Of the
year sufficient water for drinking pur-
poses for one family and two horses and
not already allotted to an Indian.
We have twelve boys in. this school
who are now arriving at the age when
they should take up a ranch and get
married. They have no parents, some
of them have no relations living. Our
offer was made for the purpose of tiud-
ing a piece of land for them. We
despair of finding a ranch for these boys
on this reserve. The reserve is here,
the facts are here, they can be seen by
any person who has interest enough to