Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1904-08-25
Survey Of the San Ped.o River.

Survey OF uie odH rSogo pNeF.
On the San Pedro river, IN south
western Arizona, the government en-,
gineers have been at work for year
and have completed the survey of
project of the utmost Importance.
This viii irrigato more than aoO.eno
acres now useless, TAa wonderful fer
tility of this soil has been shown by
the numerous little ranches that have
been established along the river and
that supply many Of The mining camps
of southern Arizona with their vege.
tables, fruit. forage and milk, But
these individual efforts are necessars
lily of small consequence and the area
that they can cover IL very restricted,
With this project completed the score
Of little toy ranches that now dot the
san Pedro valley above Tombstone
will be replaced by a belt Of fertile
farms as wide as the valley itself and
miles In length. This irrigation pro
ieet combines with the erection Of
dams and the construction Of main
and lateral canals, an engineering pro.
blem of more intricate and rather
unusual nature. This Ii nothing less
| than the relocation of The main line
standard guage railway for thirty
miles through the mountains and the
reconstruction In h substantial and
permanent manner
This the government has undertake
en- 10 do and II will turn over the
new rnad 10 The El Paso a Northeast
ern system free from all debt and
iincumhrance we'll hallasted, laid with
heavy rails, and complete In every
1 detail even 10 the erection III water
tanks. station houses and sidngs.
\ This portion 81 the San Pedro project
alone will cost about S50n,00o. II was
built through the san Pedro valley
and its present track will be under
water for thirty miles when the PRO
posed dam is completed.
Work III already well under way ON
the so,ealled Tontn basin dam, near
Phoenix, In the ella river, which n
4 TO irrigate about 100000 acres and
/ which IL 10 cost more than $a,o00,00o,
/ The government Is erecting at the new
boom town Of Roosevelt immense co.
Matchmaking works. Fortunately d
.Erock suitable for the making ~ con,
crete was discovered In the immed'
n late region Of the proposed dam and II
Is estimated that by making its own
n concrete The government Will save nj
least s4 barrel on thc scores u
Il thousands Of barrels 20 be used n
the dam.
Concrete firms In the central west
! Kansas aud elsewhere thought there
was no opportunity for any competi
tion and charged high prices. the
n railroads wanted as much more in
! freights. but the government cut the
knot Into which the entire project was
being tied by the construction Of lis
4 own works.
\ This IA the first actual construc
tion under the national irrigation laws
passed by the recent congress. Az
such II Is of double interest md I'm
\ poriance The thorough manner IN
which the government undertakes its
constructions Of magnitude II well ex
emplIfied here. Already 500 men arc
at work. all on preliminaries, for the
4 dam has not yet been started mol
Ihas the canal which Ii to convey the
water to be imponnded But there Il
y n great concrete works and large
and powerful electric light plant tc
\ furnish illumination for night work
as the construction Is 10 be- continued
day and night, once u II begun. Thef
there are water works syatems, hos
pitfalls ana The Ike ana i railroad Y
connect the site with the Santa Fe
road. wagon roads through the noun
tains and q great power canal that
win furnish nll power for thc aetuai
construction Of the works
New Villages springine Up.
Il A village of n hundred adobe houses
4 wood huts, Iron covered shantles
tents, etc, has already sprung up and
there IL present hi drovea the usnal
hangingon element, gamblers, thieves
and women driven from every Other
refuge and all the scum Of The south
\ west The tough element Ii IN III
glory and predominates outside The
works A typical southwest of the
| sos, that seemed 10 have been driven
beyond the confines Of civilization BY
the advancing energy OF the eastern
capitalist, has focused here again and
fIourishes In all its pristine ylgOr and