Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1908-09-30
GOVERNOR PRINCE TELLS Of
YESTERDAY AND TO-DAY

d rieation congress, at Its successive
# sessions has taken in this important
work
d hut first, a word as to the historic
I significance of the region In which we
meet this year, in connection with
i irrigation.
q I have already alluded TO the fact
a chat this is the first time that the
If congress has held q second session in
the same city. 1t was very proper
that this compliment should be paid
to Now Mexico, for New Mexico Ia
the birthplace of American irrigation.
Long before the first adventurous
|Spaniard saw the swift-flowing waters
OF the Rio Grande, the forefather,
of the Pueblo Indians had settled IN
It's fertile valley ana constructed long
lines of bitches with which to irrl-
gate their crous of beans and corn.
OF melons and pumpkins, and the
heldS OF cotton from which they
made the NariouslE eolored NANTES
which We're the objects of such adj
mlration of the first European ex-
@plorers.
In the far northwest of the terri
tory, along he san Juan river, and
its tributaries, are still to be seen the
lines of the acequias Of his ancient
people; and so accurately were they
constructed, that modern engineers.
seeking the best route and lewis for
projected works for irrigation, find it
SO rarely possible to improve on the
ancient lines, that they have finally
come to adopt them without question.
The remains of these ancient water
ways constitute unwritten history; bur
the earliest chonieles of explorers and
conquistadores, OF warriors and of
priests, tell the same stnr1.
Cahe2a de Naea, tho first white man
TO visit these fertile valleys, tells OF
the folds Of corn which abounded
everywhere. and particularly men
ttons the place whore he and his half
starved companions, after crossing
the deserts on the east, were Toasted
by the hospitable natives on beans
and melons, All through this reRlon
he refers continually to these same
vegetables, which were so plentiful
that the Spanlards gave thanks to
Heaven for their abundance" and al
so speaks of the shawls or blankets
made OF the cotton raised ~ the pen
pie.
Five years later. in 1871, as soon
as Coronado entered New Mexico, at
Ctbola, he found great stores OF beans.
melons and corn; and the chronicler
lays special stress on the character Of
the latter, which he tells US had very
short stalks, with the ears starting
near the ground, but of a size. which
amazed the Spainards, as they con-
tanned from 200 ia 500 grains. which
far exceeded anything then known In
other countries,
At TihueX. In this very valley. n
but a few miles north of the spot on
which we are assembled. all the pen-
pie were found clothed in cotton gar
ments, and Coronado made a requi-
sition Of net less than 500 pieces Of
cloth for clothing for his sol
diers; from which we Judge of the cx-
of the culture among the or
iginal inhabitants. SO productive was
the cultivation of the Rio Grande val
ley, that Castaneda tells us the har-
vest of one year Is sufficient for
when they begin to sow. the
fields are stlll covered with the corn
which has not vet been gathered"
Forty years afterward. In 1889, An
tonic de Espcjo, travelling up this
same Rio Grande. found abundance
Of corn and melons. and the people
dressed in cotton clothes: and near
lsleta. u indian chief presented him
ACE hollis Of cotton. He tells
MS that the people all wore NANTES
Of cotton, striped blue and white. like
those OF China, and on his trip 10 the
westward he was presented with more
q hundred nantes, some colored
and some white, ana "A great quantity
II handkerchief or towels, with tas-
ut the corners. And. again, when
hr final expedition n permanent
European settlement came, under
)nate. in 1898, he found the same ir-
igatcd fields of beans, corn and mel
ms, aud the same extensive growth
IF cotton all along the valleys. The
newcomers. who were not strangers
n their old homes To this method or
cultivation. naturally adopted the sys-
az their predecessors. and con-
inued it unchanged throughout all
he long years of Spanish and Mexi-
an control
Those who have lived much in
teXlcan communities, in these later
avs, know that however i~rregularlv
he people may set their fences or
ven locate tehir dwellings, when il
ONES to laying out the lines OF an
cequia, they have what seems an in
Iition but which | suppose is an in
erlted Intelligence, by which they
elect unerringly the most favorable
)ute, ~curving back and forth where
rroyes are plentiful. but always with
ne minimum Of fall TO be sufficient
the constant moving OF the water.
For more than two centuries before
he industrious Mormon dug the frat
ne of ditch for irrigation in SaIt
axe City, the Sapinard had been
Using great crops OF corn and wheat.
beans and chilli and oalabasas by
'tficial use Of water now so familiar
us all; and so New Mexico has
ood Tor long years. though sur
'unded by fierce and hungry tribes.
ltirely self-supportlng. and draw
3 nothing from abroad but a little
gar and coffee and a few articles
hich were not OF the necessities. but
e Injuries OF life.
In recent times, the people OF New
exico were almost the first to raise
e questions regarding public irrlga-
'n' which have since been so wideiv
Town and thoroughly discussed: for
tho 10th and 18th Of March. 1892.
T heId a great convention at Las
egas. the original cali for which 1
In my hand. and am proud of
wing Issued as governor. which was