The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1907-02-23

equal in productivity to the delta of the Nile.
vast apparently as level as table built up by
the Colorado river, that has drawn its materia
from the plains of Wyoming through Green rive,
and adding to it all down through Colorado T-taE
and Arizona. deposited it on the new land it wa,
forming at the end of its flow.
This is the first time in its history that the Colo
RADIO has changed its course and hll the efforts o4
men and money of the great Southern Pacific and
the giant irrigation companies have failed to eoa1
or force it back to its natural bed A river that
has flowed on through the ages, laughing at all oh
stacles tearing the hearts out of opposing moun.
tains and ripping for itself in places channel 3
mile deep and leagues wide, is not going to he
turned aside easily. Great is the strength of the
Southern Pacific; enormous is the power of cor
porate wealth; cunning is the brain and deft the
hand of the American. but as yet the strength of
the Southern Pacific. the power Of corporate
wealth. combined with the shrewdness and clearness
of the American BRAIN have not been able to sub-
due that turbd, tTeacherous, sullen river the Rio
Colorado.
Three times, at a cost of half million of dol
lars. the Southern Pacific has wrenched apart and
moved back its trunk line twenty. thirty aud now
through cloud of profanity, seventy-fve miles
from its lawful bed Already Salton. with all IFS
buildings. its vast evaporating pans and improve
ments is submerged. and fertile farms and ranch
! lands are destroyed, it may be. for all time The
towns and improved lands of Imperial valley. the
/
forna. Mexico and millions of dollars invested in
railroad and other valuable securities are threat
ened and to save them may call for the co-Opera-
ton of two nations dthe expenditure of an enor-
nous sum of money. The whole territory. from
| the Chuckawalla mountains and far south of the
Mexican frontier is menaced with anihilation
Unless the thrush of the Colorado is checked it
is very probable that the Salton sea and the Gulf of
California will again form one great body of wa
ter.
This means that the inland sea will become
an important port where, few years since. there
a field of sand 100 miles from the sea.
Thus. sometimes, do natural phenomena in
time, make for the prosperity decadence of q
nation. In spite of evaporation, the profanity of
the Southern Pacific shareholders and the hercu-
lean attacks of 1000 laborers led by expert by
draulic engineers the inland sea is widening, for
the waters of the great FLYER are rushing to its as
sistance at the rate of 5000 cubic feet per second
This is the volume at the lowest stage of the water
the spring freshets will swell it to $4,000 feet for
that is the average high flow of the river
At present the inland lake is beautiful
sheet of water and is a never failing source of
wonder to eastern tourists after crossing hundreds
of miles of arid wastes, of sand crossword and
cactus. To the west, from the fond duac or foot
of the lake, tower the snow-capped peaks of Mount
San Bernardino and Mount San Iacinto, each
about $1,000 feet high. For ages the Bernadino
has held back the restless, crawling sands of the
thirsty desert which scorched its foothills and at
last the coo waters havSGome and ripping waves
play with its foundations. Facing Salton-or what
was oDce Saton-the seals about twelve miles wide
and tie mountains, rising majestically to the west
mirror themselves its placid surface.
Here in Yuma, they tell me, the temperature
was no higher than usual last summer; yet the heat
the most oppressive III the history of the place
They attribute this oppression to the Salton sea
and dread the approach OF June with a much
greater area under water.
Whatever the outcome of this continuous mum
dation may be- if not arrested, whether the present
waters join the gulf or inland sea is formed.
remarkable climatic change is sure to occur and
indeed is now in process of evolution. For the past
wear more rain has %slle.l IL and around Yuma
than in the last five years end sections of land that
were formerly wilderness of shifting sands are
now blossOming like garden. Here before our
very eyes is the verifcation of the prophecy of
Isaias: "The land that desolate and impas-
sable shall be glad" and the wilderness shall re-
ioice and shall flourish like lily; it shall bud forth
and blossom and shall rejoice with joy; the glory of
Libanus is given to it; the beauty of Carmel and
Sharon"
The vitality of desert seeds is mperishable and
like the peace of the Lord, surpasseth the under
standing of man. There places near here,
bright and green with flowers and grasses that
few years since were wastes of sand and from i'm
memorial time scorched with hopeless sterlity.
Since 'the waters have broken out in the desert
and streams in the wilderness" the face of this
gion is taking on the look of youth and the land
competitive value.
At Salton the water is as translucent as the sea
at Abaone and is even more salty 1t seems al
most uncanny cruise about i'll skifs and launches
over places which. while ago, were barren lands,
and over homes where people lived.
At the present time two great forces are bat
Ting for the mastery of territory large as the
state of Rhode Island On the one side is the Colo
RADIO river tina thas never been controlled by man;
on the other is a powerful irrigation company sup
ported by the genius and resources of great rail
road corporation. There are indications that they
NAV retire from the fight and run for the hills,
leaving the governments of the United States and
Mexico to engage the monster that threatens the
humiliation of Imperial valley and its thousands
of cultivated acres and prosperous homes.
a +