Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-11-23
TO RECLAIM DESERTS
Details of Two Great Irrigation
Projects.
OF TIE CHA RIVER
Proposed Diversion of the Waters
Of St. Mary River.
THE BENEFITS TO BE GAINED

| The demand made by the National Irriga-
ton Association, which will adjourn its
! eighth annual session tomorrow in Chicago
| is particularly strong and unanimous this
year in the direction of government aid in
| the reclamation of the arid lands of the
west. Such action was expected by the gov
| eminent officials interested in the work of
| the photographed department, and they
were prepared for it. For many years past
| Congress has been asked to cede the arid
lands to the several states. thus allowing
the states to develop reclaim them in
any way taey might see fit There has
been strong and increasing opposition to the
cession of these lands. The water experts
| of the government, long as the people
| of the west seemed to desire the cesson
of these lands to the individual states, have
assisted the movement as far 1T lay in
| their power. The cessonists however
within a short time have changed their
tactics. realizing that their cause was
| hopeless, and have turned their attention to
| the securing of an appropriation TO COM
mence the tremendous projects which have
| been already outlined by the engineers of
| the geological survey
There is not an arid state in the west in
(which there is not more sites
lected by the government for possible stor-
! age reservoirs. from which to furnish water
| to many hundreds of thousands of acres
| of now unproductive land. These reservoir
| sites have been surveyed, the water supply
estimated and the necessary land reserved
| from settlement, that when the time
| came for their construction either by the
states or the rational government the work
could begin at once.
A bill will probably be introduced at this
session for the appropriation of such money
as is necessary to carry out two of these
reservoir enterprises. which considered
by the geological survey being typical
and representative of them all and of the
greatest value to the country at large.
One of these is the damming of the ella
river at San Carlos in Arizona, and the
other the diversion of the waters of st.
Mary river which now flow into Hudson
bay from ST. Mary lake in Montana. into
the drainage of the Milk river, which is a
tributary of the Missouri
Damming the ella River.
The proposed dam across the ella will
cost about 81 10000, and will store suffi-
cient water to irrgate about 100000 acres
of land now uninhabitable on account Of
It's aridity. There is particularly press
ing reason why this dam should be built,
for in the ella valley are the reservations
of the Papago, Maricopa and other Indians.
wards of the government. These lands
many years ago were productive, for the
remains of old bitches are still to be found
in various places. They have long been I'M
productive, however owing to the appro-
priation of the water nearer the head
waters of the stream by Mormon and other
settlers. In the present condition of these
reservations the Indians merely con-
sumers. With water for their land they
could become producers as well as have
the Indians on the reservations We're farm
ing is possible. About 10000 acres of
these Indian lands could be irrigated from
the proposed ella reservoir, leaving 100000
which could be thrown open for settlement
to hOmesteaderss and from which the GOV
eminent could probably recover the amount
originally invested in the dam by charging
the settlers either limp sum or an annual
royalty for the use Of the water
The St. Mary River Project.
The St. Mary project in Montana is one
of peculiar interest and great Importance.
| st. Mary river rises in the upper St Mary
lake on the east slope of the Rocky noun
tains Lower St. Mary lake is practically
one and the same body with the upper lake,
as they separated merely by narrow
strip of land. These two lakes are about
eighteen miles long and a mile and half
wide. A short distance below where the
st. Mary river starts from the foot of the
, lakes the Swift Current river flows into it.
furnishing volume of water almost equal
to that of the original stream. The St.
Mary then flows In northerly direction
and about ten or twelve miles from the
mouth of the Swift Current crosses into
Canada. To the east of the st. Mary river
in Montana is low divide. On the eastern
side of this divide heads the north fork of
MIX river, which is of the Missouri river
drainage. The St Mary, after crossing the |
line into Canada, flows into Hudson bay
Thus this low divide to the east is really |
the highest point between the watersheds
of the Canadian and the American system |
of rivers.