Bisbee daily review., 1906-06-27
San Pedro Valley Farmers Are Drilling in Earnest for
 Heavy Flow.
ARE CONFIDENT THAT
 THEY WILL SUCCEED.
Bishop John Merrill Talks on Possibilities of San Pedro in the Vicinity of Saint David With Enthusiasm.

Bishop John Merrill. of St. David, one of the foremost farmers of the San Pedro Valley. was a business wis itor in Bisbee yesterday, and in con yersation gave vent to his enthusiasm as to the possibilities of his section of the valley.
 Drillers are now down 200 feet and arc going to continue to depth that they think will demonstrate the eX- isIence of artesian water in such a degree as will supply sufficient water for the irrigation of the entire St. Da- yid district.
 An agreement has been entered into between the owners of land under . proposed irrigation project and the company which is going after the wa ter whereby a franchise is granted the latter to drill and supply water to the farmers of the valley at an annual cost of s4 per acre. If this can be successfully accomplished, residents of St. David Will feel that they have got the best of the proposi- tion. At present they are expending much more than the nominal sum of Si per acre and are not getting any material results in the way of a perma- nent flow.
 Driller Mackey, who has charge of the drilling operations. is so sure of the success of his estimates that he agrees 10 produce an artesian flow long before he has used his entire string of tools.
 Speaking of the conditions. and the new artesian project yesterday, Bishop Merrill! said: 'I have not the slightest doubt that MT. Mackey will produce water for us in quantity that will be more than sufficient for our present needs. and the needs of as many more farmers as now reside in St. David.
 Tt has been demonstrated that wa ter in inexhaustible supply exists at a shallow depth from the surface, but to get it in such shape that We ay use it without pumping is what we have been striving for for years. think that we have gone about it right at last. Mir. Mackey, who owns and operates the drilling outfit. is man who is looked upon as an expert in lis line, and when he says that Ee be ieveS we have artesian water there, iie only corroborates what many others have said in the past.
 With flowing wells, we have the facilities for irrigating a tract nf land that will rival the richest in the Salt River Valley, while we are III uiUser proximity to a better market than Maricopa county farmers have been. With a flow of water such as We eX- pect to get, and our rich soil, I con fidently expect that the San Pedro valley will outshine the Salt River valley in the production of everything now raised there, with the possible eX- ception of alfalfa. It is true that our soil does not lie to such a great depth as that in the Salt River country, but the richness of our land has been demonstrated to be far superior to theirs.
 q look for developments in the very near future that will make the San Pedro section the producer for not only all of Cochise county, but the important mining camps of Sonora. It will not be long till We are shipping right into Bisbee all the farm products that Bisbee can use. l can safely say the same in regard to Douglas, Tombstone and Cananea.
 "Once that we get an arteSlan now, I also look for the population of our section to double in q short tiu;c. we already have some fine ranch homes, and it will not be long till the num- Der of these is at least doubled. Keep your eye on the San Pedro and es- pecially on St David
 The contract with Mir. Mackey calls for the drilling of holes to a depth of 1900 feet, and MT. Merrill states that with the tools ke has on the ground Mackey can easily go to a depth of from 1900 to 2000 feet. Failure to strike water in the first drill hole viii not deter the citizens of the valley from trying elsewhere or even going to a greater depth. They are after water and are willing to spend their entire income from their farms to ac- complish the desired purpose.