The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1907-07-12
NO MORE AT PRESENT.

We have lots more material about
Carlsbad, but some of it will require
actual work to write, and will not be
undertaken for the present. Fol owe
a week we have been merely drifting
and have not even cad a newspaper.
Tomorrow or e day We shall go
through the accumulated pile of pa
pers and find cut how the balance of
the world has been getting along
without our advice.
Perhaps the greatest engineering
irrigation plant at Carlsbad was the
building of the siphon pressure-pipe
for carrying the water of the west
side canal underground across Dark
Canyon. The cement pipe is six feet
in diameter inside and over o hun
dred feet long. The water of the ca
nal flows in at one end and boils up
at the other like a great spring, the
pipe being entirely buried from sight.
Normally Dark Canyon is dry, and
1OI W oil ISh udLu vi 4lAOdAA
ment with ditch on top carried the
water of the canal across the canyon.
But floods washed the dan out nearly
every year. There was not grade
enough for a fiume such as crosses
the Pecos i've above town, hence it
was up to the government to get the
water across the canyon in some way
SO that the floods would not interfere.
With the underground siphon, floods
in the canyon will pass harmlessly
over. Some day a permanent dam
will be constructed to store the floods
of Dark Canyon, too. and it is esti-
mated that a reservoir sufficient to
frrigate ten thousand acres will re.
suit.
the entrance to the pressure pipe
at Dark Canyon is protected by up
right iron bars set close enough to
prevent a man being drawn into the
pipe should he fall in the canal above.
A story is related of a man throwing
in a small dog to see if he would
come out alive at the other end. The
dog came out, but he was not only
mighty wet but very dead.
Under the spillway at the big dam
Engineer Reed pointed out a minia-
ture Gave of the Winds" which ne
said could be entered by shutting a
section of the gates. Although this
was before hearing the dog story,
none of the guests accepted h invi
tation to go in and get cool.
While h government was con-
structing the irrigation works, Carls.
bad herself has solved another water
problem that had existed since the
foundation of the town. Be it said that
Pecos River water is not drinking
water. There is good water in wells
in Dark Canyon under the bed of
which there flows a subterranean RI
yer through clay that is 'piped" full
of holes. Most of this water comes up
in the bed of the Pecos river. For
many years all drinking water was
3auled t Carlsbad from a Dark Can
yon spring. Bill Anderson, now of
Roswell, was the first water-hauler
OF the village. The few residents in
the early days had been in the habit
of taking turns hauling water in bar
rels and jugs for the whole communi-
ty; but this was so much bother that
a tank was built and Anderson was
made the official w~ater-wagon man.
As the town grew, the matchmaking
right came to be regarded as valua-
BILE property, yielding a revenue of
three to five hundred dollars a
month. Later, the railroad pumping
plant furnished most of the city wa
ter-and now the Public Utilities
Company composed of nome mem
is prepared to perform the service.
However, the entire city is not yet
piped, and one or two water wagons
are still running. The new pump for
the waterworks system arrived and
was being installed last week. The
pumping will be done by electric pow
er generated miles away from the
pump by the plant at the old Tansill
dam. So it will be seen that Carls-
bad has herself accomplished some
thing nearly as important IS the