Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1907-08-11
TELLS OF THE FALL
AND RISE Of
CARLSBAD
HOW PEC0SVALLEY PEOPLE
CONQUERED THE DESERT
Interesting Story of the Siren
uOus Career Of Southeastern
Valley Told by viii C,
Barnes,
(WiIl c. Barnes in the Breeders
GaZette.)

w Ill I IbstIIItN III INC bftNtlGfe
Gazette.)
When one hears Of the great Peco
valley of southwestern New Mexico
one generally recalls Roswell and tn
country adjacent to that lively city
But away to the south OF Roswell sev
enty-five or more miles. lies anothe
section of the valley which aside from
its lack of the great artesian wells o
the upper valley is just as great, jus
as productive and has am equal.
splendid future.
The little city Of Carlsbad. which
lies in the center Of his second vale,
of the Pecos. vas originally calleC
Eddy in hOnor Of Charles Il. Eddy
who. with j. j. Hagerman and Mr.
Tansill, Of Chicago, founded the town
built the railroad to it and gave i
the first large water supply. And
such is the gratitude of communities
as the town grew and waXed prouo
they resented the name Eddy as toe
inconsequential for such a metropolis
n by an act Of the legislature a few
years ago the own changed It's name
from Eddy to the more dignified and
resonant Carlsbad.
About fifteen years ago Mr.. Tansill,
Who made millions selling Punch
cigars, organized a big water COM
pany and they put in a huge dan in
the river some ten miles above The
town, where they impounded "A large
creage Of water quite sufficient for
the needs of the valley for many
years. Then the valley grew like
Jonah's gourd. The desert was made
to blossom like the rose; alfalfa fields
stretched for miles where "A been
bur vast sage brush flats.
The town grew rapidly, a sugar beet
factory costing half a million dollars
was erected and prosperity was on
every side. Then one luckless day
the great dam Of dirt and rock weak
ened under the strain of a mighty
flood in the Pecos and gave way, lcaV-
ing desolation and destruction in he
valley below.
Pluckily the water company went
Ia work and in a vear the dan VAS
rebuilt, stronger and higher and bot
ter han ever, and the farmers about
Carlsbad ook up their NUr again
with renewed zeal. But alas for hui
man foresight, The floods came one
more and a second time the huge
BAN of earth and rock melted away
in a day and for four years the and
lay idle. The trees persisted. the al
falfa died out and IL looked as If the
desert would again claim lis own.
But the people We're plucky and
while many grew discouraged ana LEFT,
more stayed and planned a greater
dam under government auspices. 10
cap it an, the beet sugar factory
burned down n night and things did
indeed look blue for the good people
of Carlsbad. However, by dint of
hard work and untiring energy they
managed to get the United States rec
lamatiun service Interested in their ar
fairs. Government engineers came
out ami reported that the site for the
49, d a1A aHN aAH-A
celled and hat II offered a splendid
opportunity for a government enter
prise where with a minimum of cost
the maximum Of results could be bad.
TheFe was TO be no delay in open
ing up the country. 1t was already
open and with the finishing Of the
dam the returns from the water users
would be immediate and large. They
builded upon the site of the two other
dams, an ideal spot truly. a broad
valley through which the river flowed
and at its foot "A comparatively mar
row gorge between rocky walls where
70 dam 1850 feet long and 80 high
would back NJ the river n form "a
mighty lake for a reservoir. Here the
government engineers went to FORK
and have thrown across the Pecos a
splendid dam Of earth and rock re
infOrced with a concrete core in the
center. They carried the work out
from both sides toward the concrete
until they gradually closed IN or the
Then they turned the entire
river-by this time a small stream
into the main canal and quickly closed
the gap and were favored by good
luck in having no floods TO trouble
them while the work of closing the
gap lasted.
The concrete core Is shaped like a
huge wedge some twenty feet on the
base and tapers up until al the top DO
is only about "a oot wide. Heavy steel
rods are imbedded IN IL all the way up
both horizontally and perpendicularlN
This core is built clear down and INTO
the bed rock all the way across and is
braced on both sides by a great mass
uf stone and earth and at the northern
en- q huge spill way IS cut In the
elid rock wide enough TO carry away
the heaviest flood that can ever come
down the liver for Of course il Is not
the intention Of the builders to have
the water ever flow that over tho
dam but TO have 90 high enough so
that the natural set " the river viii
forever be over the artificial mill
way. on the south side OF the dam
in a solid sandstone bluff is built the
great headgate. an Of concrete. and
as strong u everlasting as the stone
cliffs themselves.
To reach the ~irrigahle lands. how
ever. they rave 10 cross the river with
the water. and here the old water
company built a splendid %aqueduct Of
concrete which. with It's glorious
stretch Of arches reminds one Of the 4
Roman aqueducts. I do not know
where one can see a more graceful
Ind satisfactory sight than this huge
piece u concrete built for ala time
and against whose arches the floods
may do their worst. but never dam
ase Go. II Is indeed "a monument Co
the pluck and skill Of It's builders.
Below his %auueduct burst forth
from the solid rock bottom ~ the
riter some 81 the largest springs !
have ever seen ln west ID the dry
season above the aqueduct the river {.
ia lf times drv. while below 90 "A little /.
ways % again becomes a good sized
stream. The whole vicinity fairly
bui.s with them-big ones and little
'nes single ones and punches 20 "a
dozen pr more. Biologists say these
springs here are the same as the are
-1n wells n hundred files above and
thar an the water comes praciicaay
from the same source II -. 90 must
De- a mighty reservoir L. supply such
2 world of water. year after year
failure.
A few miles below the -aaueduCt the
engineers had another problem tu
solve. FOR here theg had 90 cross Dark
canyon. q rocky shallow wash fhaf
most q the year g. dry but in nood
naes noas a. much water almost ns