Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1908-07-17
The Ruby M0IntaiaS
RENO, Nevada. July 10. 1908.

l send to you Il brief statement Of my
impression of the Ruby Mountains.
Elko county is to he congratulated on
possessing 50 valuable an asset rs these
mountains ind 81 good Il guardian of
them rs Uncle Sam. Nowhere else i'll
the state, | believe. does so small an
area of rocks support so large an area of
agricultural land, and nowhere else i'll
the state do mountains act i'll such an
astounding way. The present season.
when the Truckee river is low and
storage dams are being opened to supply
the seriously depleted stream, the South
Fork of the Humboldt is booming us
tho no dry winter had visited the state,
and tho the Truckcc reached the high |
est stage more than two months ago ut
the time of the spring freshet, the
South Fork is HOW Just passing its flood
when its waters are most valuable for
starting the second crop of hay.
The reasons for this phenomena may
be stated in these words: altitude, crags
and brush. The range towers in crags
NiAoNNAillN WI NtI lll' lHt III "iltlt
freezing temperatures occur regularly
the larger part of the year. The crags
form gigantic wind barriers in the
lee of which the SHOW is piled-each
SHOW bank proportioncd to the heighth
and breath of the barrier behind which
il is formed. There under the influence
of cold and its own compression it is
soliditicd until its bulk opportunities
the bulk of the water into which it will
later he released. 1t matters not
whether the snow falls early or late in
the season. In either case. it is securely
caught and Soliditicd behind the cliffs.
and the snow So gathered exceeds in
power the SHOW stored on the lower
slopes of the range.
And when, in the summc the water
has begun To run from these snow
deposits down the mountain face. il
does not run rs if il were in II Sluicc
box. rising in high flood II, the san
mcltS the snOw and drying to small pro.
portions when the SNOW becomes hard
again at nightfall and the parent
%rivulctS cease Ia flow. The natural
meadows formed in the pockets If the
cliffs and in the canyons, the great
field Of bull brush and the aspcns and
other vegetation that cover the stream
bed act ~ Il gigantic governor holding
the water i'll their spongclikc blanket,
rctarding the current with their
obStructing trunks and roots, and
shielding il with their canopy of leaves
from evaporation by wind and sun.
And SO ciTrCtually does this vegetation
work that the water which starts from
the SNOW fields AT two o'clock in the
afternoon does nOt reach Cranes ucss
than twenty miles distant) until four
teen hours later. altho the water when
it reaches that ranch has so Increased
i'll speed that there it is flowing ut the
rate of four and One-half miles per hour.
But more remarkable still is the fact
that the daily %iluctuation of the stream
here is not more than one and onc.half
inches while the stream is maintaining
steady flow two and onc-half feet deep.
And all this is accomplished without
the aid of pine or cedar which occur
only infrequcntly on the Ruby Range.
The latter timber, the fuel timber Of
Elko county covers the adjacent hills 50
thickly rs to suggest the young orange
orchards Of Southern California.
Practically all Of this cedar is in private
ownership and 50 abundant is the sup
ply that it seems sufficient for treble
the present population Of the county.
The Ruby Reserve is. therefore, Il
reservation of rocks and brush, not Of
timber, and the evident purpose of the
government is to protect the wafer
supply 10y preserving the covering of
vegetation against burning and other
destruction. The bull brush is i'm
pcnctrablc to sheep and its presence and
increasing growth are Il barrier To their
easy ranging. It's spread may also
reduce somewhat the Available pastures
Of forage plants. But the government,
by Il careful system of trail cutting and
clearing where meadows are being on
crOachcd upon unduly by the brush and
aspcns. "a adapt the range tn the use
of both the agriculturist and the sheep
man MS no group of private owners
could do.
But these natural reservoirs Of the
Ruby Range should he supplemented by
artificial ones. tits not enough to have
an abundance Of water in the winter
and during the first and second irriga.
tions. The great bulk of early water
which inns 10 waste and lies useless In
tho Humboldt Lake ut the mouth Of the
Humboldt river should I've caught in
reservoirs ut the source of the stream
for use during the early irrigation season
and the water o being freely used in
its stead should hc held back for the
third irrigation in the midst of the dry
season. The surplus water could he
used for desert lands now lying dry.
Fortunate are Ellto and Humboldt
counties in their irrigation asset. They
should guard IL well.
Very truly yours.