The Imperial press., 1905-08-05
CONDITIONS AT CANAL HEADING
Press Representative Visits Scene of California Development Com panys Operations Colorado River
 Things Heard and Seen


 been talking about This so-called ietty was 8 row of piling perhaps a half mile long and ran from the head of the island which formerly lay in the middle of the river to 8 point on the Mexican bank. This ietty was built Of piling, reinforced with brush and small trees. When first built this jetty had been partially successful, as it had consider ably reduced the volume of water being diverted by the lower Mexican intake, having decreased this flow from seventy-two per cent of the stream, to tifty-seven per cent of it. However the piling had given way and the flow of water to the lower intake had increased again, till the measurement made last Sunday by the U. S. Photographers, Mir. Brainard. showed that Only about fourteen per cent of the water in the river st Yana remained in it at a point below the lower intake.
 Mr. Redwood made an examination of the bar forming below the upper row of piling. and also measured the depth and noted the direction of the water flowing to the lower intake and decided that if the sand bar thus formed was going to be successful, it would go on and build itself with the start al- ready made, and would fill up the channel leading to the lower intake sufficiently to cause the main current to change and run down the channel next to Arizona, while still diverting plenty of water for Imperial Valley over the bar that would form in this case. He therefore ordered the entire Sprk of pile~tiriving aud jetty building stopped to wait developments. While the camp was being tdismantled and the work Of loading up the boats for the return trip to Yuma was in progress, Mir. Rockwood, MT. Corey, Mir. Gaines and the PRESS scribe took a trip down the lower intake to explore the fast ness of that part of lower California and incidentally, to permit Mir. Redwood 10 instruct Mir. Gaines in the next move that is to he made against the Colorado This tlip was the most interesting fea- ture of the whole days journey. We were soon in the whirling maelstrom and being carried along at "Scotty Special" speed. We never saw any water in our life that was travelling any faster than the stream We nayi- gated down the lower intake. We could only guess how fast it was travel ling but it must have been at least ten miles an hour. Arriving at our obiec- tive point We got ashore and left the. two lpdiaD b0atmen to get the boat 1 back to camp, while We took it afoot The Indians succeeded by leading the bm, back up stream hv the chain, walking on the bank to do so. We went out across the strip of land be- tween the Colorado river and the Im- perial canal below the lower intake aad there Mr. Redwood unfolded his plans for gaining control nf the river.
 I3ie plan is to first ascertain the best point from the standpoint of soil and i.eation, to put in q headgate The. point on which this leaigate will be located is Aitat 1900 feet wide and the gate will be locatei about a half mile l1a1s from the Colorado river. Here. after making careful investigation for location. the pits will be dug and the. headgate installed. From remarks Mir. Rock wood let drop We are conTinced he will take no chances on this gate not being strong en0ugh or large enough to handle ali the water that may come against 1t. After this gate ia completed the canal leading to it will be opened from both ways, both above and below. and the water turned throughit. Then, with an abundant channel to carry the water through the feasigate there will be little difficulty to close the old chan nel and then, by means of the head gate, be able to control the stream coming to this Valley. It is not ex- pected that this work will be done before the first of Noyem Der, and at that time the river is always very low. 1t is not expected that more than one-