Gilpin observer., 1907-06-20
caop REVIEW 80 YEARS AGO.
Professor Thomas Was Indeed a True
Prophet.


Denver.-A unique feature Of the
case of s. w. Brown ct al. versus the
city of Denver, which is occupying sew
eral weeks in the District Court, is a
letter written thirty-nine years ago by
w. r. Thomas, now a professor in the
agricultural College at Fort Collins
At the time the letter was written
Professor Thomas was an editorial
writer on a Denver daily r-per and
was one Of the best informed men OF
the state in regard to water rights AS
the case in question is to determine
the rights Of the farmers to city ditch
water. he was called as a witness.
The ancient letter which brought
about his testimony was discovered
among the files in the state museum
at the capitol building and bears the
date of publication, May goth, 1868.
1t Is two columns in lenth and it fig
ures what mouIS of water the farm
ers were getting from the city ditch at
that date. When Professor Thomas
took the stand, having been called by
Charles Allen, attorney for the city,
he testified to the acreage of land in
those days under the city ditch.
Following is portion of the letter:
Among the Farmers. An Editorial
yer to the Mountains. May 18, 1868.
In beginning series of letters on
the agricultural resources of Colorado,
| know of no better section to COM
mence with than that portion Of the
Platte valley which lies between Den
yer and the mountains.
The facts and figures which I will
give will neither be guess work nor
estimates-unless so stated-but are
taken from the information by conver-
sation with those who are able to state
them as accurately as possible. My de-
sire is to give my readers as correct
information as 1t is possible to do. and
neither labor nor pains will be spared
to accomplish my object.
The Valley.
"The portion of the valley over
which 1 have just passed is one of the
most settled and best cultivated in
Colorado Its length from the canon
where the river leaves the mountains
to the Larimer street bridge is said 10
be twenty miles, which is probably cor
ret. or nearly so. The width of the
valley will average from a mile to a
mile and a half, through which the
river winds, leaving broad bottom on
either side for the first ten or twelve
miles from the city, when it hugs more
closely to the eastern bluffs and leaves
the best of the farming land on the
west side. Above the mouth of Plum
creek on the east side there is but one
farm under cultivation. while on the
other side the farms extend to the very
gate of the canon. AS to the richness
of the soil l can convey a better idea
by stating what has been done as
will before completing this communi-
cation.
The Crops.
Never looked finer and never was
there a better promise of an abundant
harvest. The farmers are nearly all
through sowing. and those who are not
are most busily at work. A few days
will probably see every grain of see1
covered.
Beginning on the east side of the
river at the mouth OF Plum creek. the
| farmers who have put in crops are: D.
Gregory. A. S. Babcock. J. S. Est:ack.
r. J. Lyman, r. H. Lee. l.. B. Ames,
X. S. Little. L. W. Bacon. j. NJ. Brown.
Peter Magnus. Thomas Lockhart,
Thomas Skerritt, H. P. Bennett. Ricn-
ard Beeson. Rufus Clark, ]. H. Shreve,
Jacob Masterson, Jack Smith. A. F. S.
Middauh. e Millison, r. Richardson,
and l. P. Van Normen."
Professor Thomas continued in his
letter to tell exactly what crops each
person had planted and how much Of
each kind. His testimony of days gone
by proved of great interest to those in
the courtroom.