River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1902-04-24
FAILURE or RAINMAKING.
The Experiment in Western Kansas
Decade Ago That Turned
Ont SO Poorly.

Ont SO Poorly.
OF the original public domain"
| there still remains unoccupied very
considerable part, comprising large
areas in Nebraska, North Dakota,
South Dakota, oklahoma and other
! states and territories. Unfortunate
ly, most of this is too arid for agricul-
ture. BY the help of irrigation, great
areas, otherwise unavailable for cul-
tivation, have been transformed into
| veritable gardens, but other regions,
| covering hundreds Of thousands OF
square miles, may never be made use
| full to the farmer because, as has been
proved by careful investigation, the
| total rainfall, it every drop OF 1t could
be utilized, would not be sufficient to
water more than one-twentieth OF TINS
land. If this fact could have been
realized a few years ago, an immense
amount of suffering and money loss
would have been avoided, says the
Philadelphia Saturday Evening Post.
| Until very recently there existed
lamentable ignorance iss the east as
| of the west There has ever been
reluctance on the part of the public TO
admit that any portion of the United
States could be unproauctive. The
treelessness of the great plains was
| frequently declared to be due to the
| Indians, who We're supposed to be adj
dicted to the practice Of burning the
| forests. Indeed, it was actually imag-
ined by some that rainfall would nee
| essarily follow settlement. If people
would move out into that part of the
country, there must be rain. Anyhow,
they could plant trees, which, it wase
believed, would bring rain. But in the
arid regions trees caunot be made to
grow.
With the determination Of the buff
falo came the final conquest of the In
/ dams of the plains. In 1874, the Conan
| ches and Kiowas, who composed the
hostile barrier as far north as west
| ern Kansas, were reduced to submis-
sion, and at the same time the Chey-
ennes and Sioux were humbled. Then
followed great rush into the arid
belt Thousands Of good houses were
put up, and vast areas were surround
ed with wire fences Many people put
their dwellings, on wheels and moved
them bodily into the new country
Crops were planted, and all signs
seemed to point to prosperity.
The crops, indeed, grew beautifully
in April and May, but in june and July
hot winds dried them to crisp. Nat
urally, great suffering followed and
the plucky homesteaders, after two or
three years of struggle, were com
PEELED to abandon the farms.
When the distress came, appeals for
help were made to the government
Claims were actually presented in con-
gress which asserted that, Uncle Sam
having given the land to the settlers,
it was the duty of the government to
water them, and thereby make them
habitable. Hence it was requested
that the government establish irri-
CATION works on a large scale.
Finally. the situation being des
perate, it was demanded that a bonn
bardment of the skies be undertaken
for the purpose of producing artificial
rain. In 1892 congress appropriated a
large sum to carry out this scheme,
and $1,000 was spent in an experimental
effort in western Kansas. Explosives
enough to stock fair-sized volcano in
active operation were shipped to that
| region, as well as 60 balloons 100 huge
kites, freight car full Of wooden
mortars to fire bombs, and other APP
| paratus. An arid plain was selected
and the mortars were planted across it
for distance of about two miles. Al
suitable intervals OF space the bal
looms were arranged for ascension,
and fight of kites was let loose.
The ballons were filed with one
third oxygen and two-thirds hydrogen,
and each one was sent up under con-
troll of double wire. When they
reached the desired height, they were
| ignited by electric sparks, and the oxy-
gen and hydrogen in them suddenly
combined with terrific explosions, the
two gases uniting to form water. At
the same time the kites, carrying loads
of dynamite, were set off in similar
fashion, and the mortars were all fred
to add to the din. 1t was the theory
of the men in charge that there was
plenty of moisture in the upper air,
and that the explosions would make
vacuum in the atmosphere, into which
the moist PARTICLES would rush, cau8-
ing condensation and precipitation
| Unfortunately, however, the expert
ments were a total failure