Evening star., 1905-10-29
FLOODING THE DESERT
Break in the Irrigating DitcF
Near Yuma.
WITT r0pM A T.hKE
WILL FORM A LAKE
PROTEST FILED BY THE MEXICAN
AMBASSADOR.
Reported Attempted Assassination Of
Gen. Trepoff-Death Of His Father
Development Of Canada.
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.

BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
snec,a Correspoudence Of The Star and the Chicago
Record-Herald. 49, 4
The Colorado river is still pouring through
the break In the banks of an irrigatln8
ditch a few miles south Of Yuma. Arizona
and is gradually flooding the Colorado des-
ert, the larger portion Of which Is below
the level of the sea. The flood stream Is as
large as the Potomac river, measuring W.
600 cubic feet a second. and hyorauilc en-
gineers estimate that the lnpour Is twice
as great as the evaporation The lrrigatlns
canal has been gradually enlarged and the
stream that has flowed from 1t mas mace lls
bed along the line of dry couiee known as
the Alamo river, and an even larger stream
known as New river, has been created
Practically all of the water of the COLORADO
is running through this break. Below II
the river bed is almost dry.
What has long been known as the Coio
RADIO desert lies on the California side OF
the Colorado river, in San Diego county, on
the Mexican border 1t was formerly a part
of the gulf of California. The silt brought
down from the mountains by the river
formed a bar which gradually grew into a
dam until it inclosed an inland sea OF salt
water nearly 800 feet deep at Its deepest
part. This water has all evaporated except
small lake, known as the Salton SINK 2of
feet below the level of the sea. For many
wears this sink has been mined for the
salt it contains. and the tracks of the
Southern Pacific railroad were laid along
its eastern shore The phenomenon Is IA
miliar to those people who have travelled
across the continent on the Sunset line.
Just north of the Mexican boundary a
tract known as the Imperial valley, OF
which / wrote you from San Diego last
summer, has been taken up in homesteads
by about 10000 settlers. and is irrigated
by a system of canals owned until a few
days ago by the California Development
Company. The soil Is exceedingly fertile
ayn1 70 lrrr1-
ers have produced profitable crops of grain
and vegetables. The chief towns, Brawley,
Imperial, Heber and Holtville, are reached
by a branch of the Southern Pacific road,
and the prospects of the new country have
been very promising. there being about 500,--
600 acres of government land susceptible or
irrigation. South of the border Is an equal
area of land somewhat higher in elevation
being above the level of the sea, belonging.
to the Colorado River Development Com
pany, whose chief stockholders are Gen.
Harrison Gray Otis, editor of the Los An
geles Times, and his son-in-law.
Filling Up the Desert.
The principal canal of the present irrigat-
ing system leaves the Colorado river few
miles below Yuma at an elevation of 100
feet above the sea, and crossing the Mexican
boundary al elevation of eighteen feet,
flows eastward through the Imperial valley.
The town of Imperial, In the center of the
valley is sixty-two feet below sea level,
and the grade deScends until the lowest
depression Is reached at Salton sink. 237
feet below the sea-. This slope gives rapid
current to the flood, and the break in the
river bank has grown so large that /. is
now beyond human control. The desert Is
being gradually filled. The water is al
pied by the salt miners, who have been
entirely driven out The Southern Pacific
railway has been compelled to rebuild twen-
ty miles of Its tracks and set them back
seven miles on the high ground. Hydraulic
engineers estimate that it will be three or
four years before the water will reach the
cultivated farms In the Imperial valley, but |
they believe that the entire desert, up to
the sea level contour on the inclosing, hills 4
will become a great lake before the end of
twenty years.
The engineers Of the Southern Pacific |
Railway Company believe they can stop
the overflow and divert the river back to
Its original channel, and they are now max
ing plans with that end In view. Other
engineers are quite doubtful as to their sue |
cess. Il
Mexican Ambassador Protests.
The federal government is building dam |
across a gorge of the Colorado about twelve
miles above Yuma, for the purpose of irri- |
eating about 10000 acres Of land In the |
valley around that city. 1t has been pro- |
posed that the government purchase the |
irrigating works of the California Develop |
ment Company and combine the two. The |
Southern Pacific has recently. been com |
PEELED to buy out the irrigation company, |
and will relinquish Its interests to the gov |
ernment on any reasonable terms; but moth |
ing can be done until the flood has been |
stopped permanently and the endangered !
territory has been protected against future |
oyerflows
The extension of the system is also ar |
rested by the Intervention Of the Mexican |
government, prompted by Gen. Otis and his |
associates Some months ago protest was |
filed by the Mexican ambassador at the |
Department of State in Washington against |
the action of the American company In |
taking so much water from the Colorado |
river, which runs through Mexican terri |
tory as well as the United States The |
matter was referred to our ambassador at
the Mexican capital who has not yet made |
a report. As the break In the canal takes |
practically all of the water away from
Mexican territory. the grounGN OF complaint
are now stronger than ever. 1t is proposed
to settle the question by treaty, but 1t
would be useless to attempt negotiations
until the consequences Of the present over
fiow have been definitely determined.