Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1917-04-11

7 ing ike q sentinel guarding the man.
moth dam. babe us pass through the
natural gateway into the realm we so
+ Ionred 10 see. Here we beheld for
I the first time the great Roosevelt
dam. almost quarter of a mile in
1 length. rising 2S4 feet above the
rocky foundations of its base. From
4 ont q gigantic rock at one side OF the
I dam poured the wealth of waters
which have been the means of trans
I forming a desert into fertile, pro-
/ iuctive valley Of : quarter-million
acres rich today IN extensive crops.
The dam itself made of sandstone
and cement. stores the waters of Salt
4 river and Tonic creek. q volume of
1 ]. So. 305 acre feet which Is enough TO
I supply the lands which are under the
4 system with all the water that Is
/ needed for three years without the
7 addition of another drop. 1t is guild
4 ed In proper quantities TO the valley
+ region by means Of Slulce gates to the
[ bed of the river whence It flows on.
uniting with the Verde river, to the
network Of canals IN the valley, which
I distributes it TO al needed places.
To many people the words "c0nSer-
vation'' and reclamation" have very
i little meaning. This dam, one of the
greatest In the world, Is a part of the
/ reclamation project, a resultant work
of our valuable bureau of the federal
government the reclamation service
/ Before this project was undertaken
snow from the distant mountains
melted In the spring and became q
rushing torrent Contrariwise, in the
/ long. hot. summer months it was but
q tiny stream. During the term of
President Roosevelt the federal gov
eminent made definite plans TO hold
the torrent in check and transform it
i into a great lake, thereby storing
enough water TO cover ,284 900 acres
one foot deep. The accomplishment
| of this plan means the formation of
| the largest artificial lake IN the world,
% miles in area, and the reclamation
of 100000 acres of land.
In 1902 congress passed the new
lands reclamation act providing for
the use of national funds to reclaim
arid lands by irrigation projects
These lands are subdivided into small
holdings for actual settlers. The cost
of the project is being paid back by
these settlers IN a stipulated number
of instaIlments. Uncle Sam acts
merely as q credit agency.
The climate and soil conditions thus
produced enable the farmers TO grow
4GLA0LSy OLdLSESg AREA4 E1Ls
olives, figs and nuts as well as varI-
ETY. of grains and vegetables
To develop this natural reservoir,
which lies IN an almost inaccessible
mountain region near the headwaters
of the Salt and Tonic rivers, has cost
/ the United States government ap-
/ proximately nine million dollars
The base of the dam covers an acre
of ground. At the top from bank to
bank It is spanned by fine coneourse
], $50 feet long. At the bottom of the
great gorge sheltered by a natural
cliff. is a power house where IS gener-
ated more than $4,000 horse power of
electricity from the two spillways,
which, It IS estimated, viii bring In a
gross annual revenue of 81, $50, 900.
By driving along the top OF the dam
i we were able to see the broad expanse
| of the glistening blue lake, dotted at
one side by q group of round-topped
Indian tepeeS- We were eager TO see
( the native Apaches IN their own set
tlement, hoping TO learn more OF their
customs, so we drove slowly TO the
nearby village and tried to make q
friendly approach / viii leave you,
friends, to estimate our success in the
latter attempt, after / narrate with
keen rec0llecGOns my experience
there While walking leisurely along
among the thirteen members of our
party, I saw approaching Us an old,
bare-footed, gray-haired Apache won1-
an, wearing a bottle of water sus-
pended from the back of her neck and
carrying pail IN each hand I de-
cfded at once that this was a golden
opportunity to get good snapshot Of
the native, so / quickly adjusted my
camera and peered into the finder,
watching her closely. I noticed that
the bent form was crOuching TO the
ground and / concluded she was bash
ful and, perhaps, q little afraid Of so
many strangers. If my heart felt q
trif1e sympathetic for her in her sup
posed embarrassment, the feeling was
soon replaced by another which is
quite averse TO sympathy. Can you
guess what took place? The crouch
ing figure, far from shy, had
placed her pals OF water on the
ground for purpoSe-and that pur-
pose, / decided later, was TO acGuaint
me with the Indians, although IN q
different way than L had anticipated
With wierd, wild shrek, she jumped
upon me, seized my coat and tugged
violently. It was then sympathy van
Ished, and absolute fear and fright
tooks its place I thought for a few
seconds that my @tir1ep had surely
come, for / expected nothing less than
drawn knife-blade to appear over
my head It may be said the battle
was short and decisive, but long after
freedom was granted by her Highness,
she stood by the roadside, screaming
IN wild cries, and suffering IN her
native tongue Later I learned that
her indignation was due 70 the super
stHous belief that the camera repre-
sents the Evil Eye which takes away
the soul The torn coat was more
easily repaired than my state Of mind.
/ could not get the truly humorous
perspective until the next day Need
less 70 say we did not make an ex-
tended visit 70 the Indian village.
We were soon On the hOmeward trip