Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1908-12-10
Will Irrigate the
Land of the "Big
Red Apple
W. GOFF BLACK ORIGINATOR
Capital to Furnish Vast Tract
With Water.-RaiIroad
Will Tap Country


now under construction in the fruit.
full county of San Juan in the north
western part of the territory The
name of this new enterprise is the
Eden Canal company and its irriga-
tion system will furnish water for
about 10000 acres OF the finest and
best land in the Southwest between
the valleys of two very strong and
well fed streams, namely, the Animas
and the San Juan rivers. The Animas
is especially considered in the system,
as it is perennial stream that year
in and year out, in all seasons, car
ries a great flow while the San Juan
river is one of the longest and most
permanent streams in northwestern
New Mexico and southeastern Utah.
There are thousands of acres irri-
gated already in the extensive val
leys of the two rivers where great
crops of the finest of apples, pears,
peaches and small fruits have been
raised for years which are shipped
in car load lots and find a ready and
profitable sale in Chicago, Kansas
City, Denver, Pueblo and Colorado
Springs The yield is great and al
most sure every year. Once in a while
it is hurt by light frosts in the late
spring but even then the damage is
very small. Alfalfa is also extensively
grown and vegetables thrive to perfec-
tion Many horses, cattle and sheep
are owned in the county and livestock
raising is profitable. On the north and
south banks of the San Juan and west
of the La Plata river are very great
coal beds containing huge deposits of
lnerchantable ccal especially fit for
railroad locomotives and extending ov-
er 660 square miles.
Work Being Pushed.
The general manager is William
Golf Black. bright, energetic ex-
perienced business man, a surveyor
and irrigation engineer of much cap
pany is now securing the rights of
way for the ditch system across the
eastern part of the Navajo reserva-
tion and will succeed in this in few
days. Many of the rights of way across
the five mile mesa between the two
rivers have been secured and the re-
mainder have been secured by
the settlers and land owners there.
Construction contracts for the bitches
are now being considered and will be
let to contractors by the first of jan
uary merit. Engineer George Ander-
son will be in charge of the construc-
tion system. Wood and Morgan, con-
tractors of Durango, have part of the
great contract and are already pre-
pairing for the work They are .secur-
ing laborers, draft animals, provisions,
ditching machines and will begin at
the first headgate at the northern
end Of the canal.
The route out of Colorado will start
in at the Indian ditch headgate on In
dian land, absorb the present l5-mlle
mesa ditch and pass out over Cedar
Hill, watering all the lands now under
ditch in Colorado. The Eden canal
will cover in all approximately 10000
acres of land, Of which 10000 acres
are said to be level and tillable at this
time. The central railroad point to
this fine area Of fruit and farming
land is Aztec, the county seat and one
Of the chief places Of the New Mexico
fruit belt. The Eden company will
bring to that part of the county a
splendid development and doubtless
II will make Aztec town OF several
n thousand population.
Railroad Facilities
The Denver and Rio Grande rail-
road has passenger and freight line
through this section which will be un-
der the irrigation system Of the Eden
Canal company, and trains are run
ming over this line regularly. Exten-
HIOuS HUH IL W llIC SeAt'S So~-
west Of the La Plata river and north
Of the San Juan river are contempla1t-
\ ed by the road and will, 50 IT is Pc
lieved, be built before six months are
over.
San Juan county is called "The Land
Of the Big Red Apple" on account
u Of the large number of pounds of this
\ delicious fruit produced and on ac
count Of it's excellence and toothsome
X ness. The San Juan county apples
command very high price in all the
cities as far east as st. Louis; SO dc
the peaches, pears, cherries and small
fruits. Immense quantities Of them
s# are shipped yearly to the market. The
many prosperous mining towns in the
n San Juan region IN Southern Colora
do are also great consumers Of tthe