The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1901-04-18
THE WATER QUESTION AGAIN.

AHTASuM, WASH, Apr. Is, 1901.

In the first place, idiotic men are not
apt, ii ever, to think about or write on
the far-reaching subject Of irrigation,
water supply, water shed, timber supply,
and forest reserve and range. Mere
assertions are not always facts. "No
more danger of water famine than
where they have 100 inches of rain fall
year being ridiculous" when all men
who are acquainted with the climate
the other side of the Cascades know it
is very wet, rainy climate and those
acquainted with the Yakima country
know it is very dry climate and abso-
lutely has to be irrigated. And they
know that the water supply has been
gradually getting less ever since 1867.
Ii the learned counsel (Col. Howlett)
will think, he can recollect a law suit
in Yakima county against fifty or sixty
farmers of Ahtanum valley for several
thousand dollars in 1890 or 1891 on ac-
count Of the growing scarcity Of water
in the creeks. The suit continued for
fails from year to year in the months we
need it most. Does he know OF the liti-
CATION between the Wenas valley
farmers the past three years or so on
account of scarcity of water? Does he
know that Cowychee river goes dry?
There is not water enough to litigate
about. Doesn't he know that Simcoe
and Toppenish rivers for the past ten
or twelve years have, during the spring
and summer, been unusually low, and
before that they got bank full and flowed
over at that time Of year" We all know
that Ahtanum river prior to 1887 oDl8SS
was always bank full in spring and early
summer, and since that time it has been
low and sometimes dry.
"Opinions based on observations after
years spent in irrigated countries" are
misleading when they are not correctly
given, either through carelessness, lack
OF correct knowledge, or wilfull mis-
statement. In the first place the Yak
ina district, differing from any other
arid district entirely, is not alto
gether correct and ii the worthy Colonel
was well acquainted with the Snake
river valley and all its tributaries he
certainly would know it. In the second
place there is Il country or countries
that have larger streams passing through
them than the Yakima river, and sew
eral OF them are suffering gradual
decrease of water in the streams from
destruction OF their water sheds. We
| will note some OF those countries and
rivers to-wit: Snake river and tribu-
taries in Idaho and eastern Oregon !;
Colorado river in Colorado, Utah, Ar-
iona and lower California Rio Grande
river in New Mexico; ella river in Ari-
IONA Pecos river in New Mexico and
| Texas and number of smaller streams
from California to Texas, all suffering
from the same grand cause overdone
with or by sheep grazing.
In the third place, "a desert is sup
posed to be a desert" which is true, but
sometimes desert is reclaimed by pro-
perly watering it from year to year for
successive years and then if the water
supply fails from any cause it will be-
come as truly desert again, and it
makes no difference what caused the
failure OF water either. The only reason
the Yakima country was an arid waste
| was the water had not been applied to
the land but now Col. Hewlett says the
Yakima country is gorgeous land of
| plenty, and and many others say that
| if the decrease in water supply goes on
like it has the past fifteen years, that it
won't be hundred years until 1t will
be desert again with no water to re-
claim it with.
Now the worthy Colonel says: "The
point at issue is the water supply OF
the Yakima and its main tributaries. !"
He saysit is not derived from the noun
tain slopes or hillsides where the sheep
Craze, or are supposed to feed during the
summer months, but from snow capped
peaks thousands OF feet above the line
of vegetation, and he mentions Mt. Raj
ner and Mt. Adams. He says "They
are forever clad in snow and can supply
all the cultivated valleys below when
they most need it," (Which is equiva-
lent to saying that they do it,, meaning
the cultivated valleys in the Yakima ba-
iS rd co.,
geography or an entire lack of knowledge