The Florence tribune., 1900-08-18
ians and Industrious White Men Are Practically Destitute
 for Lack of Water.
ptionally Favorable Opportunity naugurate the Much-talked- fsystcm of Federal Irri-
 gation.
the Los Angeles Times. July lO.l

1es in Arizona:
 lila River Indian reservation is about eighteen miles south of Phoe- extends along the Gila River for a of nearly fifty miles. Here are he Pima and Maricopa Indians to 'er of nearly five thousand, These Ire known throughout the Terri good Indians.' They have always ceful in their habits, and ae.ricul- pastoral in their pursuits. They eultivating the lands where the 'ic races built the now-ruined Casa nd its neighboring canals. Irriga- been praeticed in this valley from 'ic times. Many ancient ditches can across the plain. showing evidences eering skill. and testifying to the
 large volumes of water were at carried.
 'imas and Maricopas have been. scently, a self-sustaining nation. SC their crops of grain and corn Sill equal to that of the whites. CTS, seeing he results which the In- 'e produced, through the operation sert. land act, brought under culti- uch land in the valley of the Gila, to this reservation. and have built canals between Florence and the station of Casa GraHde. Under the lof the United States law. all land lnder the desert-land act must be roductiye by the application of n order to comply with the provis- lis law. the settler was ccmpelled to versions from the Gila River at 'ove the Indian reservation. Other re taken up under similar condi- the upper portion of the Gila River. 'ersions by the whites quickly de- le Indians of their water supply. he past five years they have been le desert without water for their scarcely enough for their horses. put in the position of either having starve or be fed as public wards. overnment has been forced to issue } them and feed them as it does the
 Numerous court decisions have idered establishing beyond con the fact that the Indian has the l the better right to the water. but es have maintained their water espite the dictates of the court. lopment of this newer civilization ne SO extensive that to cut of it's pply would mean the desolation of 'usands of acres of fine farms and Evidently, the situation is a diffi-
 and the Indian Bureau is hard or proper answer.
 an allotment of SS5O0 was made appropriation for the Indian Office liminary investigation of the avail CT supply for these Indians. Mir. as instructed to make this inyesti-
 the Secretary of the Interior, and ted Arthur P. Davis to take the D in the field. The surveys were ly of a preliminary nature, but the possibility of the Gila River was tonstrated. It was shown that this trained about fifteen thousand lies of the high plateau and noun )n of Eastern Arizona, and that the emarlahle for its exceedingly light 'onsequently, the Storage possibfli- 9 stream are great. Reconmenda- re made by Mir. Davis calling for md more accurate surveys, and in z of l8y8 Congress passed a second ation of S20,o10 for the completion yestigation. The hydrographicd de- : of the Geological Survey was egated as the proper office to con- e surveys.
 fla River derives its source from Mountains in western New Mexico .rn Arizona, which rise to elevations en to twelve thousand feet. At the ore 1t issues from its mountainous here are over twelve thousand liles draining through it's canons, n has been extensively explored. , large reservoir sites located and The capacity of these reservoir been determined and filings have ie under the United States laws for regation from the public domain, [ known as the Buttes a dam 150 eight above the bed of rhe stream enough water to cover 174, GOO acres deep, or, as 1t is technically ex- 174.0O0 acre feet. A dam at this uld be approximately 300 feet long of the stream and 800 feet at it's | Riverside. Ariz., it was found that feet long at it's base, and approxi- 0 feet long on top will store a much Iuantity of water, the surveys at
 being still incomplete. At San Q the Apache Reservation, the river trough a narrow gorge 100 feet ] dam at this point 150 feet high but 2OO feet long at the crest. Such ,uld store 361 900 acres one foot deep. tive explorations have been made to e the depth of bed rock at each one dam sites. At the Buttes the bed disappointingly deep, the depths n the center of the channel from 75 /; beneath the surface of the stream. side the maximum depth on the ie dam is approximately seventy
 while at San Carlos the depth to is believed to be substantially less ither of the other dam sites.
 cords of the How of the Gila River T kept at the Buttes for number and the estimates of available Jply are, therefore, based on actual ments- not on surmise. The ordi-
 of this stream is ample to fill the these reservoirs, and on the driest which we have a record it has been IS 200, ,000 acre Sect.
 be seen by the above figures that ibility of storing water on this g very great. It is doubtful if it equal in this line among all the of arid America. The San Carlos , particularly, is one of unusual he size of the necessary dam, the
 water supply, the great storage ] the proximity of railroad facili- perfect; while the other two sites features of merit.
 ity of water in Southern Arizona than in California. For the rais- staple crop of alfalfa, O depth of )ur inches of water is ordinarily the land, which is equivalent to a six months of one miners inch to es and one-half acres. On this San Carlos site will furnish enough iFrigate over 150.000 acres of land. sumed that each two acres will sup inhabitant. this would permit of Q Jn of 75,000 souls to be sustained reservoir.
 figures are more startling when realized that at the present time
 canals below the San Carlos dam bsolutely dry. and that the country Apache Reservation to the mout h River Is in condition of " ithered
 with it's inhabitants both white m reduced almost to the condition
 want. It is estimated that 10000
 land should be irrigated on the an Reservation in order to relieve ition of the Indians. This would er 100000 acres that could be irri- the pnblic domain. If 100000 acres public lands could be so irrigated ysubdivided into forty-acre tracts, etual settlers, at the rate of 5l0 to acre, the condition of the Indian wholly relieved, and it is probable 'nment would be reimbursed for it's tlay. In addition to this. district
 ideal conditions for irrigation, oil which is unexceiled. with a hat will produce crops in continu- tiou. will be made to support a 5u of 75,000. and will add to the .altli of the Territory. on a conser- INA fl08 il