Mohave County miner., 1912-04-27
Northern Strip Improvements.

county Assessor Frank l.. Hunt re. turned from an extended trip through the north part of Mohave county, last week, and reports great activity throughout that section.
 At Beaver Dams one of the greatest irrigation projects in the state is ripening into reality. The pro]ect en- braces the building of dam at the Narrows, on Virgin river, and the em- pounding of the waters of that stream to night of S5 feet, the structure being 255 feet wide at the base and ap- proximately the same width at the top, the canyon having very little flare. The promoters of the project are I. c. Torhsen and Wm. M. O'Brien, of Salt Lake City, Hugh Wilson, of New York, and Harry Jacobs, of Salt Lake City, as engineer in charge. Torhsen and O'Brien have been working on the project the past three years and now claim to have it amply financed. Their option on the site expires soon, so that they have concluded to begin active work on or before the 18th of May. The dam will be built in the narrow part of the canyon, where the Virgin river cuts it's way through West mountain, of the Virgin range. At this point the cliffs in each side of the stream rise almost perpendicularly several hundred feet, affording an ideal spot for a damsite. The river bottom is rocky and reachable with small expense. The dam is to raise the water high enough to carry it into the mesa lands along the Virgin, the canals along that stream being carried down fifteen miles from the head Laterals are to be carried throughout the valley and the farmers will be as- sured of ample water right. The canal will be ten feet wide at the bot tom and fourteen feet wide at the top and will carry water sufficient to ir- rigate 15,00O acres of land. This land along the Virgin is rich in natural phosphates and is capable of producing anything that any land in the world will produce. It has been used to grow cotton on for years besides all classes of fruits and agricultural pro- ducts. By bringing in the mesa lands the farmers will have chance to vary their crops and produce such a quantity that it will be but a short time until they will command a rail- road to take the crops to market.
 The project is estimated to entail an expense of at least 3oO,OOOs and the lands under the project are to be sold at price of from sos per acre up, with perpetual water right.
 Another project that will bring several thousand acres of land into the market is that in Canaan Valley, where Lauretzen & Rost company is taking water from the mountain to Short Creek lake, where it will be compounded for irrigating many thou. sands of acres. Already a big flow of water is running into the lake and large number of men are at work rein forcing the banks of the lake. In this valley there is an immense acreage of land that can be brought under culti- vation, the greater part of which would be ideal for the growing of fruits. The work of blowing the lands and preparing it for the crops is we'll under way and within the next few weeks all the seeds will have been sown.
 At Wolf Hole lake, twenty-five miles south of St. George, farmers are taking up lands and sewing grain un- der the dry farming theory. Experi- ments have shown that the lands can be made to produce largely by this method and with the present year it is probable that all the lands that are within easy market conditions will be taken up. Everywhere along that sec- tion of the county men are taking up lands and It will be but a short tim @ until all the available lands of the northern strip will be settled upon. In fact all along the border from Kanab to Fredonia there is noticeable activity among the farmers and all are ready to take up lands for farming I r.,ct