Deming graphic. (Deming, N.M.) 1903-1948, 1910-05-20
|R|GAT|NG FROM
| UNDERGROUND RIVER
ecretary Bedichek Furnish
! es Interesting Story to
FL Paso Herald
|REAT WATER SUPPLY
|ead and Re-read this Story.
Its Mighty Good Food
for Thought.
REAT WATER SUPPLY

n.
One Of the most curious natural
henomena in the Southwest is the
fimbres river. which issues from
be mountains about 20 miles north
i Deming. N. M, only to sink into
be sands. It does not reappear
Pithin the borders Of the United
&ates, but rises again a few miles
Suth Of the Mexican line and there
erms a tremendous lake.
A few years ago an enterprising
md man got ahold of a talented.
|ut drunken. landscape painter, and
be two Of them saw a vision Of
|keamboats putting up the Mimbres
liver and unloading costly bales Of
Merchandise at elaborate wharves
b Deming. The artist made the
dcture and the land man had 1t re-
OF course, II was a
yreat joke on the community, but
4 illustrates, In a way, the soaring
|ancy and buoyant optimism Of
pme of our western land men who
lream dreams and see visions.
DEEP CANAL WOULD SOLVE 1T.
, Now If a canal could be cut down
be Mimbres valley from Deming to
he line of Old Mexico, from 20 to
10 feet deep. the vision Of the land
nan and his inebriated accomplice
Rould not be impossible for realiz-
ntion; for there is verify an under
vround river at Deming. and in the
sells Of this region, the direction
md velocity of this river can be ac-
enrately determined.
However, the canals are unneces-
sary in order to have the use of
water from this river for irrigation.
-
Within the last year or so, big wells
have been sunk which, equipped
with up.to-date machinery, deliver
nll the way from one thousand to
two and even three thousand gal.
Ions Of water per minute. There
are five big well driving outfits in
the vicinity of Deming now busily
engaged in tapping this under
ground flow of water.
RIVER COVERED OVER.
Biologists say that the Mimbre'
Valley has been built up by the
erosion Of the mountains surround
ing it, and that at one time in th'
history Of the world there wa
nothing but a gorge in mountain
miles high, which gorge was th'
channel of a gigantic river over 2
miles wide in places. Then ther'
was a time, say the scientists, whel
sufficient osil was built up u
support vegetation comparable Il
its luxuriance to that of the Anna
zon river bottom. That there wa
abundant and varied animal lif
here Mt one time is proved by tn
fact that many bones are encouni
cred at depths varying from 10 I
40 feet. In many places, It is in
possible to dig 10 or 20 feet dee
without uncovering human bones
and authorities on the subject 50
that Il is quite likely that these al
are the remains Of a prehistorI
race.
ovERFLows OF SILT.
The overhows of this great rive
during thousands of years kept d
posting their silt, this covering Il
river deeper and deeper, until mol
Of the moisture Of its hidden wate
reached the surface. The count
then became a desert, and no
many cons passed by while all tn
region above the covered river 7
mained a desert, II was impossih
for one who has no training In ge'
ogy to imagine. OF course, duril
years Of excessive rainfall, the q
turally rich soil supported abunda
grass. Such was the conditi
when the first cattlemer drove th'
herds into the Mimbres valley 30
40 years ago.
Old timers still talk Of the I'll
when this vast stretch Of valley !
tween Cooks Peak and the Flori