Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1903-09-09

RESERVOIRS
Will Irrigate Six Thousand Acres
of Land on the Jicarila
Reservation.
NEW BOARDING SCHOOL
Prosperous and Improving. ..Women
Weaving Many Fine Baskets Which
Find Ready Market.

H. H. Johnson, superintendent anu
acting agent of the Jicarilla Apaches.
at Dulce, is in the city in attendance
at the present term of United States
court, as a witness. Mr.. Johnson will
remain in the city for several days be-
fore returning to the reservation.
In speaking of the condition OF af-
fairs that exist at present on the res
ervation, Mr.. Johnson said that every
thing was in very promising state,
and that the Indians were Industrious
and are working hard on the new
dams and reservoirs that will reclaim
about 5000 acres of the land in the
reservation.
1--WE have been at work on four OF
these dams and reservoirs" said Mr..
johnson, land two OF them are already
finished. We will have the other two
completed before the winter | hope.
The labor is all Indian and there are
from fifteen to thirty-five teams en-
ployed on the work all the time. Be-
sides we have lot of extra men The
dams are Just earthen embankmenti
and the water will be stored floon wa
ters as there is no river to draw from
cannot tell you the exact capacities
of the various reservoirs, but the wa
ter stored will be sufficient to brinr
under irrigation about 5000 acres OF
land in the immediate vicinity |
have plans, however. that will bring
under cultivation a much great ar
area than this.
The work is being done under the
general supervision of Mr.. Johnson
and is a part of the government pla1
for the irrigation of lands on Indian
reservations The government now
employs the Indian and gives him la
Dor and pays for it out of the funds
that were formerly set aside for the
purchase OF rations and annuity
goods There are about 800 Indians
now on the reservation and accord
ing to Mr.. Johnson they are in a very
prosperous and satisfied condition.
Mr. Johnson has been in the Indian
service seven years and in charge at
Dulce for about year, relieving
former agent N S. Walpole. There
are thirty employees at the agency and
at the boarding school. The latter
will be opened next week and will be
attended by 1875 young Indian children
of both sexes, that number being the
limit of it's capacity. The Jicarillas
have not had much chance in the
matter of educational advantages un
til now. but the new boarding school
will give them such, although this is
not large enough to accommodate all
the young Indians of school age on the
reservation The Jicarillas are steady
and many of them are quite indus
trious, the women especially weaving
fine baskets, which find ready and
increasing sale. There are no run
ming streams on the reservation and
the water for the new reservoirs will
be flood waters Of which much is
found in the arroyos during the rainy
season and in the spring when the
snow melts in the mountains to the
north. There has been little trouble
of late with the Indians in the matter
of drinking whiskey, as the supervi-
sion over the stores and saloons in
that vicinity is becoming more strict
right along One merchant was re-
Gently convicted in the United States
court in the Pueblo for unlawfulW
selling liquor to Indians and re-
ceived a fine as well as sixty day
jail sentence Mr.. Johnson is accom-
panied by his wife, who was teacher
for several years at the U. S. Indus
trial Indian school here. Both are
guests of Professor and Mrs. G. J.
Crandall