Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1907-02-06
SEA SAVES
THE PANHANDLE CROP
Former Sun-8aksd Section % West
Nc~ Receives Abundance Of
Rams

Oklahoma city. Oh. Feb, G-Dur,
ing the last eighteen months and e.,
p~Feialls throughout the snmmer
nlonths Of last season. At a time !
WHEN thu Panhandle Of Texas. north
ern aud eastern New Mexico, west
ern aud central Oklahoma and south,
eFu Kansas. Gere usually visited By
hot winds. which. IN u few hours.
burned TO IA crisp NIL vegetation. the
conditions we're so radically changed
by an abundance of rainfall that this
section of the vest has undergone
an evolution all It's wi
The change has been attributed la
the extensive cultivation Of this por,
ton of the country In recent Years.
The final solution. however. and
what seems Ia be the nos plausible,
from every standpoint. IL the in.
nuence Of the Sal,on sea.
by those who have studied III"
matter. Hhis belief Is almost univer.
sally held In the last nine months
land In the western part OF Okla,
homa and In contiguous territory In
Texas. has jumped from 81 10 s. per
acre 10 si5 tn $50. And the country
IL filling with hUmeseekers 50 rapidly
that the railroads are taxed to their
UTMOST in transporting immigrants.
Hundreds Of families 20 into this
country ever! week. where only "a
few months ago nothing but cacti
aud sand could be seen as far as
the eye could reach.
Two Drought Years.
i In the years 1887 and 1883. prior
to the first opening Of Oklahoma. all
OF western Oklahoma. northern and
western Texas, eastern New Mexico
aud southern Kansas suffered from
the hot winds In the summer. So
terrible In It's work of destruction was
The hot wind which would sweep
everything In its path. that the
entire work of on" season. AT least.
would be lost.
In the two years Of 1887 and 1883
vegetation Of all kinds In the cOun-
try named was utterly ruined. This
was before the first break in tho
Colorado river. where now IL the
Salton sea When the first appear,
ance of this body of water occurre I
In 1889. though small, a difference
in the moisture over the country
mentioned was noticed.
This relief. however. was only tent
porary, The hot winds from the
Pacific country in blowing over this
small inland sea, soon absorbed all
the water. and In a short time 1t al,
most disappeared.
But since the last break in the
!, Colorado river, caused two years ago
I. by the digging of a canal. and the
rapid formation of this sea. the winds
have gathered the moisture from 1t
, ana later to be deposited In rain owe
TIC previously barren tracts Of land.
. Persons who saw the change In tn"
} country attributed it to cultivation
and made a rush for the country.
Remarkable though II may seem.
portions OF western Oklahoma wher"
during the time from the first of
June to late fall, usually there was
not enough rain to lay the dust.
heavy rain fell last summer every
week. The same Ia true OF the Texas
Panhandle and eastern New Mexico.
: All of Oklahoma and Indian Terri
| tory have been benefited by the in,
crease in rainfall during the last
eighteen months. the cause of whic'
as claimed by those who have given
=, the matter diligent consideration. Is
none other than the Salton sea. and
point to the fact that nearly all the
rains come with the prevailing
. southwest winds, which gathering
the water from this 'now-increasin]
body Of water, deposit It again in
coming in contact with the colder ali
farther north.