The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1901-05-09
Mr.. Marks Replies to Col. Hewlett.
AHrANuM, WASH, April 23, l9Ol


EDITOR Herald: Please permit me
to present few lines. Colonel L. S.
Hewlett says in your issue of April 25,
that failed to touch on the main points
at issue.
The colonel said: First-"Condition
in Yakima county are different from
any other country in the United States"
Second-"There is no other arid district
in the United States through which a
river, carrying water equaling one tenth
that OF the Yakima river, passes.
Third-"A desert is supposed to be a
desert. So taking these three things
together there must be some unusual
reason for the peculiarly situated Yak
ina valley. at one time an arid waste,
but now gorgeous vale of plenty" All
OF which noticed and replied to espec-
tally in your issue of April IS.
The colonel admits that he said moth
ing about the smaller streams, but SAYS
| paid especial attention to them. And
he says,"It is reasonable to suppose
that these streams will not run bank
full when all the water is used for irri-
eating purposes. You take any stream
with limited water supply like the All
tanum and Wenas and tap them at doz-
ems OF points along their course for water
to irrigate the land with and what have
you left to keep up the main flow witho"
Now, | say this, that from 1871 to
1SS6-7-S all the small streams ran bank
full all the spring season before we COM
menced irrigating and most of the time
through May, June and half of July,
after we had tapped them with dozens
OF bitches, but since 1888 they have never
run near bank full before we commenced
irrigating or at any other time. These
facts are well known and talked of by
all the farmers.
In your issue OF April 4 the colonel
says the point at issue is, "Where is
the water supply of the Yakima and it's
main tributaries derived?" l say the
main tributaries, are all the smaller
streams that pass through the principal
valleys and furnish them with water
and empty into the Yakima river; and
| say that the Toppenish, Ahtanum,
Cowychee, Natchez, Wenas, Umptanum,
and two or three other streams in west
kittitas comprise the greatest number
of the main tributaries to the Yakima
river and they all derive their water
(much or little and it is we'll known it
has been getting less ever since 1SS6-7-S)
from the mountain slopes when the
snow is going off and the springs on the
mountain slopes that were once pro-
tected by brush thickets and small
groves that have long since been killed
by sheep and fire. (The fires were set
out from 1887 to 1897 mostly.) Now it
is well known fact that all those trib-
utarles except very small stream of
the Natchez, to the Yakima river and
many more smaller tributaries to the
same river, all derive their water from
the mountain slopes where sheep have
been grazing the past Is or 16 years !;
also that none of their sources are above
the timber line except where the sheep
men have burnt it off to make it so.
know whereof l write, as l have been
over the ground and also can verify it
by many old farmers and stockmen
who live in all those valleys and expect
to take the opportunity to do so in the
near future. J.P. MARKS.