The Dolores star. [volume] (Dolores, Montezuma County, Colo.) 1901-current, 1917-09-14


Deen only paf1auy e1Avate4 Now
30 those isnornnf Of engineering. an
earn oam may seem q temporary az
pe0enf, although most Of the great ir.
ngnuon dams OF the world are Of that
character: ana everybody Knows that
u tne water snouio rise nigh enough to
ovefnow an eartn oam it would not last
longer IMAM IL takes 20 describe its
utter giving way. a nood would sweep
II out OF the way at once.
The device whereby possible foods
are controlled and such dangers avert.
ed. consists Of broad channel at one
side Of the dam, and at such q dis
lance below its crest that II, through
any mischance or natural happening.
such as the failure Of the slutce gates,
excessive rains, cloudbursts, or foods,
the height Of the water IL increased
until 1t promises to overflow the dam,
this opening will carry OF the surplus
harmlessly. An earth dam without a
spillwny would presage almost certain
destruction to all who lived In the val
ley below 1t.
In the case of the Picket Wire dam,
the spillway had to be cut and. in part
blasted out of the mountain side-that
is, through the spur of the mesa. which
reached down from its high wall
towards the narrows. There had been
series of plumbers and misbaps,
which included the explosion of a shin
ment of dynamite on the railrond. with
very disastrous consequences tn ACCOM-
panying rock crushers and mixers. and
other machinery. The spillwnv n, NOT
been COMPLETED. Its openinp sbould
have been about twelve feet below the
level of the dam. vandeyenter WINS not
responsible, of course, The chief enei-
neer had fumed and protested. hut had
been directed nv beodounrters IN 20
ahead with the other work and TACKLE
the spillway later, There was. indeed.
little reason TO hold nm the building Of
TINT particular dam because of the
noncompletion of the spillwoy
That was n country go the most do
voted Inhabitants freely admitted in
which II. WINS always safe to bet that
II would NOT rnin. no matter how
threatening might he the onne,ronce
Of the sky for in ninety-nine times ont
NJ n hundred tho neoat,ve would ,v,n
the bet. Soid Inhabitants did not cav
the hundredth time might comnensate
for all the other failures. The weather
was like the little girl with the pro.
verbal curl-when 1t did rain there
was no doubt in anybody's mind as tn
the fact, Sometimes the fountains of
the great deep, which, in HOLY Scrip-
ture Mt least, extended overhead. would
be broken open and the violence of the
fall and the quantity of II. and sudden
ness of II, would be such that the West
erners would graphically call 1t q
"cloudburst," which. indeed, 1t seemed
to be.
Outside the rainy season cloudbursts
were unileard of, and even in that sea.
son extremely rare. For the valley
Of the Picket Wire and in the plain
beneath carefully tabulated reports Of
the rainfall for years had been consid-
cred by the engineers. They had cho-
sen the right season for the building
OF the dam. but when its crest began
to rise above the designed level of the
spillway the delay in opening the chan
mel gave cause for some alarm. It Is
80, a'n =, certain nut 70
,'s a. o.u 'eso 'i,at' VI JIM.
., ,S po n.Sn neo 10 oniy 'ne
an,,, wv ,' ~ winch nlen are aifa'u, y,
49, 80 n - e na..'n " v ue iel.u sun
a.. -. .'..e.,n . ~. ~
49, o ~ 20. o IN nv .-, sU a
aanssaess - ."a ...,n -.
~ ~. ,aa.u,.. 80. w.. "ao In
80. =. ~ ~ "on W JUG SUI
~. .a ~ a"s =. o.s. ~ ~ ue'o'' "
= VS. 'e
Inc shape OF the country Dehind II
was sucn that wnen the P1cket wire
ho"eu WIN suhicient Voiume TO I'LL It.
~ % $3.50 IS ...,s.,S osn .ne w.
Nil. o.. $500 I'll. ,...,,s a as ' ~
so "u s'. ~