The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-07-27

men become to secure a corner on a
large portion of the valley that they
will not even say anything good about
the country, except reluctantly To
them the geological survey did not
convey any information not already
theirs They were aware that beneath
the surface at a distance of from eight
to thirty feet was a sheet of living
water fresh from the Rockies, and that
all they had to do was to sow the al
falfa- and the roots would go clear to
the living water
They knew also that below the Da-
kota sandstone. frequently less than
200 feet, they had never failed to find
a strong artesian flow which made ir-
rigation an easy matter should they
desire to irrigate. Six living, constant
ly flowing wells on one farm alone was
sufficient evidence of that fact. All
this, however, has now become public
property through the medium of the
governmental investigation, and the
arteSian valley of the Crooked creek
will before long be broken up into
small farms of not more than forty
acres Like many others. I went to
see this artesian valley, thinking it was
blindfolded me and taken me into its
center I could have sworn when given
the privilege of seeing. that I was in
one of the beautiful irrigated valleys
of the Pacific Northwest or of the far
Southwest
This artesian valley is only twenty
five miles north of the Oklahoma line,
seventy-five miles east of the Colo
RADIO line and twenty-five miles south
of the Arkansas river It is probable
that the Arkansas river is the source
of this supply OF underground water,
which also underlies small southern
portions of Gray and Ford counties
The valley is not more than twenty
five miles long, not more than twelve
does not average more than four
miles in width and at its narrowest
point one could throw a stone across
it, Just south of the town of Meade
it is drawn together like the puckered
strings of a wheat sack. From there
its larger portion extends north and
east and its narrowest portion extends
to the south and west, including the
famous Crooked L ranch 1t does
not contain more than 10000 acres
and is marked by the Crooked creek
This small stream rises in the south
western corner of Gray county, is fed
by innumerable springs, and enters
Meade county at the extreme north
east corner, only to leave it at the
extreme southeast corner.
From this stream the land rises
about six feet to the mile until il
reaches the first bench of the upland,
and from that point it rises forty-two
feet to the mile as far as the second
flows have been obtained. for in
Meade county there are today more
than 1000 perpetualIy flowing arte-
sian wells On the up1dnds where the
water does not flow of its own motion
it rises to within a few feet of the
surface, making irrigation by pump
ing an easy and practicable PROPOSE
ton. As a matter of fact. the time
is not far distant when the entire por-
ton of southwestern Kansas will be
~ INT "a
of which irrigation will be practiced
with q view to raising garden truck
and the crops which go to fatten and
prepare the stock for the market.
For this reason, according to John
Sebastian, passenger traffic manager
of the Rock Island system, western
Kansas will never support a dense
population, but its productiveness will
not be excelled by any wheat section
in the world
Alfalfa Roots Kept Moist.
But to return to the artesian VAL
ley. The water obtained there, as well
as on the uplands. where the average
elevation is $500 feet. is of the great
thirds of the mineral waters that are
on the market. Its temperature Is
about SO degrees the year round so
that in winter it warns the cattle and
in summer it is always cooling
drink
While in the valley I CHANGED TO
witness a novel experiment During
my stay at the hotel in Meade I had
heard a discussion as to the truth OF
the statement that water could be
reached at any point in the valley
from six or eight to twenty or thirty
feet The following day I saw the
parties to the discussion working in
the valley fields with their land
auger- Watching the process I saw
the auger sunk into the ground in
score Of places miles apart and every
time ii reached the living water The
least depth bored was eight feet and
the greatest tWenty-fye. 4 pretty