Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1909-04-04
AGRICULTURAL LANDS
IN PARKER COUNTRY
THE FERTILE BLYTHE ESTATE,
THE ADJACENT ACREAGE
AND THE INDIAN
RESERVATION.
Tour of Inspection Lasting a Week,
Made BY w. A. Drake and Party.

W. A. Drake, general manager, and
Paul p. Hastings, general freight and
passenger agent Of the $. F. p. K p
system, and W. II. Doum, industrial
agent OF the coast lines Of the Santa
Fe, were in Phoenix yesterday enroute
home from a weeks trip overland
through a portion of the Colorado
river or Parker country. Mr.. Drake
gave a very interesting interview con-
corning the present and prospective
resources of the agricultural country
living on both sides of the river, be-
low Parker. They Travelled 100 miles
by wagon, by boat OF on foot, to and
from Parker, going down to Ehren-
burg on the east side of the river,
crossing the ferry and proceeding west
over the Blythe tract, and then back
again There were some side trips,
enought to make up the additional
mileage, for il is only forty-five
or fifty miles from Parker to Ehren-
burg by the direct road. They went
down along the highline road bord-
ering the contact" between the mesa
and the bottom lands and returned
along the river road, so they could
get the finest sort of an idea of the
bottom lands on the Indian reserva-
ton, which includes all the good land
east of the river in those parts.
The Blythe ranch or estate is own
ed by Frank Murphy of Los Angeles
and associates, and is veritable
oasis in the desert. The Interstate
Land company is the selling agent OF
owners The estate consists of 49,
600 acres, all west Of the river in
Riverside county, Cal, of which 3D.
600 acres is as fine agricultural land
as can be found in any country. OF
this. 5000 acres has been sold To
settlers. 1000 acres have been improV-
ed. and 1900 acres are under crop.
The settlers are coming in from no
one place, but from many places In
different parts of the country, making
a cosmopolitan population.
The lands of the estate are all I'M
der bitches, which are owned by the
Palo Verde Mutual Water Co, the
head works being in solid rock on
the west bank of the river a mile be-
low a place known as Black Point.
Outside of the Blythe estate there is
an equal amount of good land, much
OF which has been taken up by
settlers, who can secure water
through the same bitches. 1t is un-
derstood. however, that practically all
this desirable area that has not al
ready been settled upon, has been
withdrawn from settlement, in the
interest of the reclamation service.
Hitherto the settlers on the govern
ment land have most of them proved
Of
they are now privileged to buy water
rights in the bitches serving the
Blythe lands to replace the old pump !
ing plants. and at a considerably less
expense There are about 900 people |
in the Blythe settlement proper.
which is about five miles west Of
Ehrenburg and about 500 altogether
in the valley settlement.
Some of the valley area is overflow
land. flooded by the river in time of
high water, but ievees are being built /
to keep the river back and this work
seems quite inexpensive compared TO
similar undertakings in some places |
1t will not be long until the lowlands |
will thus be safely reclaimed from the /
encroachments of the river As fine
crops are raised there as in the Salt 1
River valley, or anywhere else AT /
the present time ii is a somewhat in
accessible place in respect Of trans
portation. Most of the freight is
brought in from point on the I
Southern Pacific, west Of Yuma. On |
the completion Of the A. & c. railroad /
to Bengal, Cal, however, the wagon
haul will be reduced, as the railroad
will run within thirty-five miles OF /
the Blythe settlements and the wagon
road connection will be level desert
highway.
Nearly whole day was spent in
crossing the lowiands or river bottom
lands east of the Colorado. between
Parker and Ehrenburg. Mr.. Drake
saws there are between 10000 ana
10. 600 acres of these bottom lands, as
rich as any agricultural land to be
found anywhere, all on the Indian
reservation which is inhabited by only
a few hundred of the aboriglnes.
Most of this land is level and can be
easily cleared for cultivation Not
over five or ten percent Of II Is over
flow land, the rest being just above
the high water line. The proper re-
clamation of this calls for some pro-
iect similar to thas at Laguna further
down the river, ana IL is nopeu llid'
at no distant time in the future this
will be undertaken and large part
of the land be thrown open to settle
ment. This wonderful tract of bot
tom land begins about mile below
Parker, which Is on a bluff or rather
a mesa.
The irrigation of this big field Of
agricultural land will be comparative
ly easy matter. If there is any fault
at all to be found with it it is that
the land is almost too flat and the
ditch grades would have to be run
carefully. though somewhat better
grades could be secured than that of
the river in which the fall along that
stretch is only about a foot to the
mile. \
Mr.. Drake and party left on this
,,ornf,,1,s train for Prescott