The Imperial press., 1905-09-23

channel of the Colorado where the lower intake leaves 1t, the distance is just about mile and a half directly west to the bluff of the sand hill covered mesa which skirts the bottom lands all down through this part of Mexico. The Imperial intake has for some time been carrying practically the whole flow of the Colorado river and this volume of water washing against the face of this mesa bluff has swept away the dirt and sand and exposed a mag nifcent deposit of the best kind of sand stone, oyerIaid with .l layer of cement gravel about eight feet thick. The sandstone has been tested and pro- nounced all that could be asked for the purpose of ballasting the headgate and making the works safe.
 Nothing more fortunate could have happened at the present time to absO- lutely assure us of the success of this headgate or to insure the safety of our irrigating works. This deposit of sand stone and gravel is only 400O feet from where the headgate will be built and there is all open river running between. The rocks can be quarried and dumped direct onto Captain Mellens barge and lowed to the headgate by a steamboat with the greatest possible economy ot time and expense Mir. Gaines had Indians gathering up lumber to floor the barge with for carrying this rock. Captain Mellens next trip will bring the rest of the maternal for the head gate. the work of completing the by pass for the water should be completed within day or two after our visit everything would be Ill readiness for driving the piling and putting in the dam, and MT. Gaines assured us that if we~come back again i'll four weeks time we,would find the water flowing around the~headgate site,, the dams all in, water pINnped out of the pit and three crews of Carpenters working day and night on the leadgate which would be being constr1| |cted as fast as men could do it. He ff exceedingly felated over the close proximity of the rock deposit and saySthat now there is no difficulty but what can be speedily over come and that an absolutely safe head ing and ixake works are assured.
 WheGgAsked how much time it would Sake, lie said he could figure out how I it should be done in two months, but that he wouldn't say it would be done l that soon. About January was the verdict of the newspaper men present.
 After looking over the ground, viewing the big pile of material stacked up on the bank for the headgate, visiting the place where the caving sand forced the dredger to abandon it's undertaking and getting a good idea of matters generally, we were invited to camp by Mir. Best and seated to such a meal as one would 1 be surprised to get under the circum
 stances. The boys on the Imperial i IiCdUSdIC i've Wcl1, tllO IOI OIIOC III 6t week the editors got a square meal. Editor Lawrence tarried so long at the tapioca pudding that the return trip was delayed for several minutes. How ever he finally disposed of his third ''help" and the return journey was taken up 1t took just one hour to make the four miles to Hanlons Head
 ing up the canal. There we took on
 Mr. Gaines and the boat we came down ill and returned to Yuma, arriving there about 30 in the evening.
 Commenting on what we saw and comparing present conditions with
 what they were when we made the trip seven weeks before, we can truly say that while the California Develop ment Company has not made the pro- gress MT. Redwood hoped for at that l time and while there is no doubt but l that lots of time, energy and money was spent on work that proved useless and plans that failed, still substantial progress has been made and with the l fortunate disclosure of a sandstone deposit so close to hand, there is abso- lute certainty of the success of the work.