The Sumpter miner. [volume] (Sumpter, Or.) 1899-1905, 1901-09-04
IRRIGATION
POSSIBILITIES.
Opinion of Government Off.
cial on Eastern Oregon.

Mr.. Newell has spent years in the SER
vice of the government, conducting sur.
veys in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and
California. He finds that eastern Ore
gon is better supplied with water to re-
claim its so-called deserts than any
state or territory he has yet visited.
81 have been sent out by the depart
ment of the interior" he said yester.
day, at the Portland, "to take observa.
tions with regard to the irrigation pos
sibilities; to the location of storage reser.
voirs and the adaptability of dry regions
to the sinking OF artesian wells. The
government recognizes the necessity of
providing useful information for the
benefit OF those who desire to reclaim
arid lands.
"Private enterprises cannot be expect
ed to make extended surveys for the
purpose of finding how much water
might be made available through sys-
TEN of reservoirs, and so these enter
prses lag for lack OF trustworthy data.
Congress has not yet undertaken the
task of constructing large irrigating
systems or building huge reservoirs,
even on the public lands, but it has
authorized surveys to be made when the
expense of map-making and or observ-
ing the amount Of water running to
waste in the rivers would have been too
heavy for individual effort.
II found that eastern Oregon rests
on vast lava beds, which flowed from
volcanic centers into the lake that pre-
viously existed. The flow was irregu-
lar, sometimes quite general, and reach
ing 100 miles from the crater; ut others,
flowing from local hillock from short
distance.
"The soil produced from the basaltic
rock is rich in all that agriculture re-
quires, but the light rainfall of southern
Sherman, Crook, Harvey and Malheur
counties renders irrigation necessary.
Several ditch companies are now operat-
ing in Crook county, and when the ca
mails have been dug, water will be suppli-
ed by the Deschutes river, grand
stream, whose flow is abundant ut all
seasons of the year.
81 found the John Day river large
stream, but 1t flows through gorge
large part Of its length, which would
render the task OF carrying its waters u
the prairie lands above an expensive
one. In Harney and Malheur counties
the lands are level in many instances
and much soil could be reclaimed by
running the river out upon the valleys.
Reservoirs might be built ut convenient
points to store the winter and spring
moisture and prevent waste.
81 found many places which could be
made fertile by the sinking OF artesi.
an wells, and would favor the govern
ment sinking one experimental well on
one of those level uplands now dubbed
as deserts would suggest setting
up an apparatus capable OF sinking
through 5000 feet Of the basaltic fOrma-
tion, and the appropriation for this ex.
pertinent should not be less than $O,.
600, though we would probably use it
all. There would be no use in begin.
ming the experiment, however, without
being prepared to put it through. II
the people Of Oregon want this exper.
iment made, they must ask for 1t az
the people OF other sections do when
they want anything.
II would also favor the making Of a
complete map Of eastern Oregon, based
ON careful photographic surveys.