The Florence tribune., 1900-10-06
l Exceptionally Favorable Opportunity to Inaugurate the Much-tallzod- of System of Federal Irri-
 gation.
From tho Los Angeles Times. Julv 1cl
gation.

ssibilitieS in Arizona: ne Glia River Indian reservation is uated about eighteen miles south of Phoe- K ana extends along the Gila River for a staAee of nearly nifty miles. Here are 'afed the Pima and Maricopa Indians to number of nearly five thousand. These dians are known throughout the Terri " as good lndians.' They have always en peaceful in their habits, and aarrieul- ral or pastoral in their pursuits. They now eultivating the lands where the ehistoric races built the nov-ruineeI Casa anGe ana its De,ghboring canals. Irriga- n has been practiced in this valley from ehistoric times. Many ancient diteheS can traced across the plain, showing evidences engineering skill. and testifvine- fo tbe # that large volumes of water were ot c time carried.
 The Piaas and Marieopas have baa, tn recently, a self-sustainiusr nation eF raise their crops of grain and corn tn skill equal to that of the whites. Q settlers, seeing the results which tbe Tn- ms have produced, through the operation the desert land act. brought under cr1lti- non much land in the valley of the Gila. lacent to this reservation. and have buiIt tenslye canals between Florence and fbe hoad station of Casa Grande. Under the ovision of the United States law. all Iend uEht under the desert-land not must bo de productive by the application of ter; Tn order to comply with the proyis- GOmTnfloH f1 Ike diversions from the 6ila River af iI,ts above the Indian reservation, Other ds were taken up under similar condi- ns on the upper portion of the Gila River CSC diyersions b3 the whites qufckly de- yea the Indians of their water supply, TOT the past i've years they have been on the desert without water for their IDS and scarcely enough for their horses ey are put iu the position of either havire steal' starves or be fed as public wards, the @oVernment has been forced to issue ions to them and feed them as if does the diers. Numerous court decisions have en rendered establishing bevond con versy the fact that the Indian has the Or and the better right to the water. buf whites have maintained their water ipiy despite the dictates of the court development of this newer Civilization become so extensive that to eut off if. ter supply would mean the desolation oi ny thousands of acres of fine farms and hards- Evidently, the situation is a diff : one, and the Indian Bureau is hard ,Ssed for proper answer.
 Tn leso an allotment of S35c0 was made n the appropriation for the Indian Office preliminary investigation of the avail. water supply for these Indians. Mir yel was instructed to make this investi. ion by the Secretary of the Interior and dele2ated Arthur P. Davis to take the tier mp in the field. The surveys were esSarlly of apreliminary nature, but thf rage possibility of the Gila River was Y demonstrated. It was shown that fhi. am drained about fifteen tbousnud are miles of the high plateau and moun. region of Eastern Arizona, and that fhf r Is remarkable for its exceedingly Iiyht de. Consequently, the storage possibili. or the stream are great. Recomnaenda. IS were made by Mir. Davis eaiiine- fo, ther and more accurate surveys. and in spring of 1898 Congress passed a second ropriation of S2e00O for the cornnIetior ms investigation. The hydrographic do. tmen5 of the Geological Survey was m neiegated as the proper office to con these surveys.
 The Gila River derives it's source from White Mountains in western New Mexico eastern Arizona, whiclfrise to elevations rom ten to twelve thousand feet. At the 1t where it issues from it's mountoinons in, there are over twelve thonsand are miles draining through its cauous basin has been extensively exDfored shree large reservoir sites located and Feyed; The capacity Of these reservoir mas peen oeternlned and filings have made under the United States laws for IT segregation from the public domain point Known as the Buttes a dam I5( m height above the bed of the stream store enough water to cover IT.. GOO acres rect ueep, or, as it is technically ex- 'sed, 1lt.g0O acre feet. A dam at this t would be approximately 800 feet lona ne bed of the stream and 800 feet at its t- At Rive side. Ariz., it was found that m Ss0 feet long at it's base. and approxi- eiy eOO feet long on top will store a much tter quantity of water. the surveys af site being still incomDIste. At San los on the Apache Reservation, the river es through q narrow gorge 100 feet and dam at this point I50 feet high la oe Dus ze0 feet long at the crest. Such m would store 351 GOO acres one foot deep, xteIislve explorations have been made to rhine the depth of bed rock at each one lese dom sites. At the Buttes tbe he'd
 IS disapDointingly deep, the depths sing m the center of the channel from 75 Ieet beneath the surface of the stream. siyersIce the maximum depth on the of the dam is approximately seyentv- feet- while at San Carlos the deDth to rock IS believed to be substantially less at either of the other dam sites.
 i;e records oi the tow of the Gila River been kept at the Buftes for a number ears, and the. estimates of available irsnppiy are, therefore. based on actual snfemenfs, not on surmise, The ordi- How of this stream is ample to fill the est or tnese reservoirs. and on the driest 'eat as 200,Oo0 acre feet.
 VIII be seen by the above figures that possibility of storing water on this m IS very great. It is doubtful if it any equal Tn this line among all the ms oi arid America. The San Carlos
 
 c. The size of the necessary dam. the iable water supply, the great storage D, and the proximity of railroad faciIi- ire perfecti while the other two sites have features of merit.
 he duty of water in Southern Arizona eater than in California. For the rais- 'i the staple crop of alfalfa, depth of fy-four inches of water is ordinarily ed to the land which is equivalent to q for six months of one miners inch to three and one-half acres. On this s the San Carlos site will furnish enough T to irrigate over 150,00O acres of iand. s assumed that eeeh two acres will SUD- one inhabitant. this would permit of a latson of 75,000 souls to be sustained this reservoir.
 lese figures are more startling when lct Is realized that at the present time the canals below the San Carlos dam re absolutely dry. and that the country the Apache Reservation to the mouth Salt River is in a condition of witbered ght, with it's inhabitants both white ntian reduced almost to the condition tect want. 1t is estimated that 100c0
 of land should be irrigated on the indian Reservation in order to relieve Onditi0n of the Indians. This would
 over 10l,000 acres that could be irri- on the public domain. If 100,0O0 acres 'se public lands could be so irrigated eing subdivided into forty-acre tracts. o actual settlers, at the rate of sl0 to CT acre. the condition of the Indian be wholly relieved, and it is probable 1vernment would be reimbursed for it's outlay. In addition to this, a district ng ideal conditions for irrigation
 soil which is unexcelled, with q te that will prodnce crops in continu- rotation will be made to support 6 ation of I5,00Q, and will add to tine wealth of the Territory. on conser-
 crtim1te over S6.n0 eco.