The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1914-11-18
TheoryWhich Demonstra.
tons Bear Out.
A SECRET KNOWN TO INDIANS
And Buffal0es. But Long Seal.
ed To the knowledge
Of White Man.
GIVES INExHArsTIBLE SUPPLY

|
of the sights of the great tableland
of Western Texas. formerly known
as the Staked Plains. is great
streams of water forced from many
shallow wells by powerful pumps.
In the early days the region was a
/ treeless and waterless waste, hnd
how the Indians and buffaloes lived
there was long mystery to the few
white men who had followed the
trails. The secret was revealed by a
mule.
A family of movers" were trav-
cling through the uninhabited re-
gion when their water gave out. Near
the present town of Plainview they
halted under little clump of hack
berry trees. the only vegetation they
had seen for days. and turned the
mules loose TO shift for themselves.
One of the animals put its nose to
the ground and seemed to be follow
ing some kind of scent. After going
along for a few yards it stopped and
began paving into the earth. The
man saw that the soil was moist and
with a spade he dug down a few
feet The hole quickly filled with
water-clear. sweet and cold.
1t appears that it was the prac-
tice OF the Indians to obtain their
water supply by digging into the
sands of the draws that run through
the region and after satisfying their
wants, to carefully fill the holes so
that their secret would not be dis
covered by whites. The buffaloes
also got water by paving into the
earth when there was no water hole
near. Often they were a hundred
miles apart.
While surface wells and wind
mills solved the ranching problem.
il was not considered practical
way of irrigating the land. by de-
grees it was established that the
whole plains territory was splendid
ly adapted to agriculture.
Some four years ago the discov-
cry was made that the water basin
from which the windmills obtained
their supply was of vast area and
practically inexhaustible in its stor-
age capacity: also, that lying not
far below this first water strata was
one or more other lakes or rivers.
Then came the first utilization of
the discovery through the centrifu-
gal pump upon the wells. The flow
from the many pumps that now dot
the land are evidences that the un-
derground supply has really increas-
ed. This is indicated by the rising
of the water in the wells. Water
from these wells is now being utiliz-
ed for irrigating the level lying
land. One concern bought $4,000
acres of land in the Plainview terri
tory two years ago. and already has
installed fifty-four pumps in as
many wells. The company plans to
drill BAG more wells.
The water is found in almost alb
solute purity and inexhaustible
quantities at depths ranging from
30 to 100 feet. That this big sea of
underground water has a constant
movement toward the south is
claimed by men of sci,...s mo have
investigated the matter. No one
knows for certainty where the
supply has its source, except that II
must come from rainfall or snow.
Most of the wells are of 900 to
1900 gallon per minute capacity 1t
Is calculated that each of these
smaller wells is capable of irrigating
100 acres of land. The cost of
pumping is from 70 cents to 81 for
an acre-foot of water. Ii is estimat-
ed that more than one million acres
have been reclaimed through this
Underground water supply.