El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-02-24
WeII-DriIIing Methods In the Mimbres YaIIey
By R. Bediehek, Deming N. N.

this valley in srtesian water. The
pumping proposition is considered the
safest the least expensive, and all
around the best proposition. So there
IS much more interest in developing
proper pumping wells than in develop
ing artesian water At the present
time there are more auger-outfits IN
the valley than any other type, ana
many good wells have been put down
with these rigs. The well OF the Lit
tie Vineyards Co., probably the largest
wei in the valley, was put down oy
one Of these rigs; the wells Of n. L. NC
Bride, P. K. COnnaway, J. NJ Snyder,
w. F. McROberts, all good wells were
put down with auger-outfits. Still
there Is considerable dissatisfaction
with these rigs, on account OF the
length Of time necessary TO complete
a well with one When the water
strata are encountered, they eXcavate
tremendous reservoirs which later IN
many Instances must be filled in with
gravel to prevent caring- They have
the advantage Of putting down large
hole and thus allowing the installation
Of the pump at. almost any level de-
sired
Rotary Rigs Abandoned.
Rotary rigs for well-drilling in the
Mimbres Valley have practically been
abandoned. While drilling with this
character OF rig, the sand and gravel
strata carrying water are clayed up so
as to prevent caving until the hole II
Then the clay so used must be pumped
through the screen in order to develop
the well 1t has been found that some
times this works and sometimes II does
not. At any rate, the claying OF wells
in order to make the hole stand up Is
considered dangerous practice
There are many ordinary dug wells
in the Mimbres Valley furnishing water
for irrigation. The well OF Reed and
Carter, q mile west Of Deming, Is a
good example Of this type OF well II
IS dug with pick and spade down %
feet Then the pump was pumped on
well-diggers dug as much deeper. as
possible. about five feet A perforated
cement brick curling was used IN the
bottom Of this we'll and it has proved
very successful The plant at present
delivers about five hundred gallons Of
water per minute and the well itself
cost not TO exceed $4,000
The Albright Well.
new type OF well known as the
alright well" Is now being tried out
here by Messrs. McAlath Bros, Of Naca-
vile, Calf. They used No Key
stone rig operated with a 25 horse
drill IS used for ordinary boring, and
the drill is replaced by sand bucket
when caving strata are encountered,
the casing being forced down right
after the sand-bucket. The ordinary
well Of this type is cased with twelve
inch casing down to the bottom of the
first water bearing stratum, and the
hole is then reduced TO eight inches
an6 continued on down as before
through the second water bearing
stratum. If the two strata thus far
encountered seem to be strong enough
10 furnish the amount Of water desired
the well is stopped at this point A
piece OF eight inch casing is cut just
long enough to reach from the top OF
the second stratum to the top OF the
first stratum This piece OF casing IS
dropped down in the eight-inch hole
The larger twelTe-inch casing IS then
lacked Up until its lower end is Just
below the level Of the first Waterbear-
ing stratum, thus leaving access for the
water into the well between the lower
end Of the tWelTe-inch casing and the
upper end Of the eight inch casing, ana
also through the lower end OF the eight
inch casing which IS embedded in the
Digging the Pit.
A Dit is then dug around the casing
of sufficient size 10 allow the instala-
ton OF the character Of pump desired
down TO the water-leveL At the wa
ter-level the twelYe-inch casing IS cut
and the pump installed, using the cas-
Ing below as q suction. and reducing
from the pump to the regular twelve
inch casing which acts as the dis
charge
This type Of well has not been thor
oughly tested here yet. The only one
now put down is that Of DR.. o. o. Os-
born. four miles east Of town. and the
pump is not yet installed. so 1t is i'm
possible 10 say what the well viii de-
liver.
rigs in the valley all with contracts
ahead. one firm having as many Is ten
contracts to fulfil As experience IN
this field is enlarged, better ana