Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1904-01-27
San Juan County Alone Should
Have q Population as Great
as New Mexico.
IRRIGATION
POSSIBILITIES
A Project to Reclaim Thirty thousand
Acres Of Fertile Soil in San
Juan County.

United States Deputy Surveyor Jay
Turley returned this week over the
Denver & Rio Grande from an extend
ed trip along the San Juan River
where he has been making an expert
investigation of the irrigation possi-
bilities in the San Juan Valley. He ex-
poets to leave within a few days for
the Sacramento Mountains in Otero
County to attend to matters in the in
terest of the public land surveys in
that section.
When seen by a representative of the
New Mexican, Mr.. Turley said: THE
possibilities of development here in
New Mexico. for the homeseeker or
the investor, are very little known and
appreciated even by those of us who
live here, much less by those living in
the states. What surprises me most
is the fact that the virgin-natural re-
sources have been suffered to remain
practically untouched so long. San
Juan County alone should have today
greater population than the entire Ter
ritory of New Mexico. There flows to
er sufficient water to reclaim $4,000
acres of the finest land to be found in
the southwest, or anywhere else for
that matter, and certainly in the en-
ployment of modern methods of irriga-
ton this acreage could be easily doub
led. The San Juan country has an
excellent climate, fine land, great guam
nf OF nd in fo Ut
necessary for the support and the
building up of large center of popu-
lation, and one can but predict most
prosperous future for this vast garden
spot. The mining industry in southern
Colorado, in the mountains in which
the San Juan, the Animas, and the La
Plata Rivers have their sources, fur
nishes permanent market for the
productions along these rivers. Low
er down, in northwestern New Mexico,
l find line for canal that is entirely
practicable and feasible and what sur
prises me is that it has remained SO
long unnoticed, or at least without
some attempt being made TO construct
a canal there Over half of the cost
of constructing the canal will be in
three miles. The head gate would be
just below the mouth of the Rio de los
Pinos, and is an ideal location with re-
spect to the flow of the river as lands
could be watered from the canal with
in 1,500 feet from the headgate, and ov-
er 200 acres can be reclaimed within
two and half miles from the head
hn riv
the line of the canal for three miles;
this includes the expensive work;
from thence on down, land is brought
under the canal all the way. At ten
and a half miles from the headgates
the canal will leave the river at quite
an angle and from this point on down
large bodies of fine land can be re-
claimed. 1t is not a question of land
with us but of water. The line of the
canal will cover more land twice over
than there is water for. We expect
only to reclaim some 80 odd thousand
acres of land We also have in this con-
nection a power proposition The
high line is the most feasible one and
the cheapest to build, and in dropping
down to the lower benches We can
create an immense amount of power.
Some of the finest fruit l have ever
,asted l had the pleasure of eating
while on this trip. The stock ranges
ire in very good condition and the
,attle and sheep are doing we'll. am
glad to note that the Bureau of Immi-
grafton is doing excellent wors in ad- A.,
-ertising the Territory