The Parker post., 1912-04-13
INDIANS ARE NOW
SELECTING LANDS
Superintendent Babcock Authorized
to Make Tentative AIIotments at
cognized by the Department.

Tentative allotments of the lands
on the Colorado River reservation
set apart for the Indians will begin
at once according to advices received
from Commissioner Robert G. Val
entine, by Superintendent o. l.. Bah
cock, Wednesday.
The permanent allotments of tei
acres apiece cannot be made until fun
ther appropriations are made by the
government but temporary selec-
tions may be made at once and theso
selections will be recognized i'm thc
final allotments.
Superintendent Babcock is given
authority to supervise this immed-
late selection He has made ar
rangements to record the tracts pick,
ed out by the Indians. Several of
the redmen have already indicated
which land they want The other
are fastening to do so in order tt
get the best as it lis a case of first
come, first served.
Mr.. Babcock states that the pump.
ing plant will be in working order
Within thirty days and just as fast
as the Indians get their new land il
shape and the laterals dug, they will
receive the water
Six miles of bitches have been dug
and these will carry water to several
hundred acres of the richest land
in the valley. There remains $780,.
900 cubic yards of dirt to be removed
to complete the bitches and laterals
but the work has been temporarily
discontinued as the appropriations
for irrigation purposes are low and
money to finish the work will not be
available until further opriatiom
are made. 1t is expected that the
money will be forthcoming this sum
mer although no definite informaticr
has been given out by the authoritiec
at Washington regarding the matter
A temporary frame building is be
ing erected over the engine at the
new pumping plant as there is not
money enough available to constru
the concrete building planned, al
this time. The lack of a permanent
building will in no way interfere with
the work of pumping water as. tho
machinery is practically all installed
and will be In shape to run full ca
pacity by the first of May. Thc
workmen installing the plant say they
expect to start the big engine for &
trial run in about ten days.
A survey of the bitches prepare
tory to putting in the headings anC
diversion gates has been going or
this week. The construction of these
will be finished by the time the plant
is i'm working order.
The land selected by the Indians st
far has been mostly back along the
mesa. They are showing a marked
preference for the higher ground
Several of those farming land along
tion of remaining ON these farms
Although the bitches will not all
put in at this time there is enough
land along the six miles already con
Stucted to supply those Indians VII
desire to begin farming their a1lc.
mentS at once.
The work of clearing the land hac
been going on for some time and will
be taken up with renewed interest
now that the redmen are practically
certain of their allotments.
Each Indian will be permitted It,
pick out ten acres of land for him
self, ten for his wife and each o.
his children. This will mean a val
uable tract of land for the large fam.
lilies
Most of the Indians are planning
to put their land in alfalfa ALTHOUGH
A. c. Plake, the government farmer
who supervises this work, expects tc
encourage the planting of truck gar
den vegetables.
Alfalfa has been the most profit
able crop for the Indians i'm the past
One tract of II acres yielded a groG3s1
return of $4,000 in addition to furn-
ishing feed for ten head of stock
some thine ago. Other alfalfa fields
have done nearly as we'll and tn
certainty of this crop makes it at
tractive to the Indians.