Free press., 1906-09-22
UNLIMITED WATER.
RECENT EXPERIMENT. SHOW
SURPRISING RESULTS.
Artesian Water at Moderate DePth in
the Arkansas Valley in Western
Kansas
MEANS MILLIONS TO THE STATE.

drilled in by Edward Parsley, OF
Syracuse, on his ranch, a mile
south of Coolidge, on the line
of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa
Fe. in western Kansas. finds ar
tesian water at depth of 240 feet
This is not new find, for an artesian
well has been flowing on E. p. Taylor's
adjoining quarter nearly 20 years
But better than new find, the Pars-
ley well, by its close proximity to the
other we'll and other evidences. fix
and make certain for all time that far
below the "underfiow" of the Upper
Arkansas Valley, itself so valuable for
irrigation and domestic use. 5 a veri-
table lake of water, which. il tapped,
| comes to the surface b. natural pres
sure, or which, if necessary, may be
pumped. More than this. it is soft
water. making it useful in locomotive
engines and other steam boilers.
Hard water will make steam, but it
| corrodeS the boilers, and so the rail-
way companies, especially, are always
on tho lookout for soft water in semi
arid regions.
Indeed, it is the constant search for
Santa Fe for use in it's locomotives
and in its local shops along the line,
and to aid and encourage manufactur-
ers and others who must have water
in their business, that has led to Mr..
Parsley's experiment south of Cool
idge. BY many experiments and much
expense the company proved to GER
tainty that the country along its line
in western Kansas overlies a reservoir
of water. The underfiOw, at a shall
lower depth, was certain and beyond
dispute, but the deep water was an un-
known quantity until the railway COM
pany demonstrated it's existence be-
yond a doubt. Drill holes were put
down by the company along the line
at intervals, and the deep water
tapped without exception. The latest
wells by the company were bored at
the foot of Main street, in Syracuse,
and water was found in Dakota sand
stone at depth of 140 feet. One of
these wells is to be bored deeper, but
for the present it supplies the needs
of the company. 1t is not an artesian
WELL but is pumped. Between the
Dakota sandstone and the underflow
above it is a deposit of impervious
soapstone, or shale. proving that there
is no connection between the two.
The underflow is the sunken waters
of the Arkansas, and the other is car
ried from the mountains in the porous
| sandstone which underlies this region
at a depth of 130 feet and lower.
In the Parsley we'll the water spout
fna oh ~ k<,o ~f
inch pipe from a depth of 100 feet.
and "a inches from 1876 feet. From
240 feet the water spouted five feet
above the top, and when a section of
| 16 feet of pipe was added the water
| flowed even out of that. Mr.. Parsley
will experiment with it. more to see
exactly how far it will rise in the pipe.
and later he will substitute an eight
inch pipe for the three-inch, and the
| flow naturally will be increased by the
change. From three-inch pipe in the
well on the Taylor ranch adjoining,
the flow is about 40 gallons minute,
irrigating 35 acres of orchard and gar
den, in addition to supplying the fam
lily and the livestock. Mr.. Parsley's
success has moved the neighbors to
bore wells. J. w. Egger, on Section
10, has water to the top of the pipe
at depth of 200 feet and Paul Rice,
Section %, L. P. Taylor (another
weld. Section 26, and Edward Ross,
Section SO, are drilling with a GER
tainty of finding flowing water. Over
the state line. in Colorado, Lewis
Mathews is drilling.
This flow of water even comes to
the surface in spots without drilling
for it. Strange to say, Hamilton coun-
ty, which lies in a region that is la
beled ''semi-arid" by geographers and
biologists, contains perennial springs
This is not the statement of a land
agent" or of boomer" but OF an un-
prejudiced observer who has seen the
springs and drunk of their waters
North of the Arkansas river in this
vicinity, tributaries of that stream
are seven creeks-Horse and Bic
Sandy in Colorado, and West Bridge
East Bridge, Plum, Syracuse and Sand
in Kansas (Hamilton county,. These
are dry creeks" as the saying is
serving only to carry off storm waters
but two miles from the river and for 2
distance of three miles further. nu
merous springs break from the little
bluffs within four feet of the grass
roots, and if opened and properly
cared for the supply from each is sufi
cient for family. And they are no
in the low-lying fat of the Arkansa:
Valley, but in the upland. For in
stance, 40 feet higher than the town
site of Syracuse. or a total altitude
of $500 feet, is the Kitchener ranch
where the family has spring hous,
for the preservation of milk, butte
and vegetables. The bottom of thi.
spring is not to exceed five feet below
the surface of the ground, and tn.
flow is sufficient to keep a large ponC
full to depth of six or. eight feet
from which water is taken for live
stock and garden. This is not on tn,
creek bluff, but 100 feet away from 1t
and 20 feet lower, in the bed of tn,
creek, for a distance of three mile
are numerous water holes, full tn,
year round. At the Kitchener hous
and elsewhere along the creek clump