El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-02-06
"HE reeIamation bureau Is

"HE reclamation bureau is on the
last lap of its stupendous work
for the restoration Of the ancient
cultivation Of the upper valley of the
Rio Grande. The actual storing Of the
waters Of the river behind the $1,000, 900
concrete dam which is being completed
at Elephant Butte, New Mexico. has be-
gun. This water will be available for
next seasons crops.
But this is not all The work is now
in full swing on the construction Of the
great canals and bitches through which
the stored waters are to be delivered
to the waiting lands below the dam. On
this phase of the work, alone, more
than $500 900 will be spent between now
and the first Of June, 1915.
Already, through community bitches
built by organizations of the settlers in
the four divisions Of the upper valley
Of the Rio Grande known as the Las
Palomas and Rincon, the Mesilla and
the FL Paso valleys somewhat more
than half Of the lands ultimately to be
benefited by this stupendous project
are under irrigation. For unknown cen
turtles a greater or less portion Of these
valleys has been so irrigated 1t was
so when the first Spaniards came, under
Coronado. wandering through here in
1910. 1t had been so, according to the
traditions OF the Pueblo indians who
then inhabited this section. from time
immemorial.
Disadvantages Eliminated.
These organizations Of the settlers,
lilo IL
two tremendous disadvantages which
the completion Of the Elephant Butte
project win eliminate for all time u
come; their work was brought to i
naught every few years by the per-
tinacity Of the Rio Grande, which dried |
1ncontinently In its bed and left the !
futile irrigation canals to crack i'm 4
potently in the sun; and now and then, |
again, the waters Of the river rose in 1
roaring floods that swept out their frail \
dams and filled the mouths of their
bitches with silt and wrought wreck
and ruin upon all their lands.
Creates Greatest Of Artificial Lakes.
The Elephant Butte dam will store
more than twice as much water as can
be stored behind the great Roosevelt
dam. It will store so percent more than
can be stored back of the Assouan dam
which the British government built at 4
such enormous cost in Egypt. It viii 1
CT cate the Et1L aEAlllGldl lake OF lLH
kind in the world-a lake with 200 feet
of shore line and an average depth of
65 feet.
This lake viii hold s62, 200. 600, 900 gall
Ions Of water-water enough to cover |
the whole state of Delaware more than
two feet deep-water enough to amply
irrigate the 10000 acres which it is /
Intended to benefit for nearly three I
years if.-not a single drop should be
adced to IL in the meantime and not a
TTgr of rain gnnmIn fall he rrrFl Ia
tract
There is no possibility Of the crops on
these lands ever suffering for lack of |
unless the farmer becomes too
incident or too negligent to open his
water gates and let it flow upon them !
It viii always be there, ready.
Conditions Are Ideal.
The land in these valleys has an /
average elevation approXimatinR 1000
feet above the level of the sea. The air !
is clear and pure and invigOrating. The |
elevation coupled with the great dry 1
ness of the atmosphere Cthe average
annual rainfall is only about eight inch !
esq renders the climate peculiarly
nealthfuL The sunshine is almost per- /
weather bureau recording
329 sUnshiny days out of 365-yet the !
temperature is never excessive, perhaps |
largely because Of the great elevation. !
Soil Is Rich AIIuvium. i
The soil OF these valleys is declared ]
by experts to be the richest alluvium in !
America. The combination which now
exists-rich alluvial soil. almost per- !
Detual sunshine and inexhaustible and !
always available supply Of pure water
renders this section one Of the most al
Turing on earth to the intensive agri-
Five Crops a Year Possible.
Practically all crops that can be
grown anywhere else I'm the United {
States can be grown here-and grown e
more abundantly The climate is such | ]
hat a growing season Of more than I