Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1921-10-20
THE SAN JOAQUIN OR THE
MIRACLE VALLEY"
Editor Tribune:

MIRACLE VALLEY"
Editor Tribune:
In a previous letter | promised to
give your readers some information in
regard to the above named valley, but
where shall begin ? There is so much
that could be written of it and its his
tory that it would require a volume of
space. and not sentence but what
would be interesting, for it would ex-
coed the tale of "A Thousana Leagues
Under the Sea-"
| wish to say to my readers that. be
fore | am through. shall give a chap
ter on conditions which will demon
strate that to the pioneers of California
all has not been Flowers and Sun
shine But of that later on
AS | have been writing of The Har-
Messing of the Waters, and by man
will and ingenuity they are compelled
to drive the great electrical wheels of
4
fact that these same waters have only
performed a part of their useful mission
when they have passed through the
great power houses. 1t is interesting
indeed TO know where this vast quanti-
ty of water comes from and how it is
controlled. The mountains of Califor-
mia are Gods great reservoirs of wealth.
where are deposited each and every
winter vast quantities of snow. filling
great gorges and assures in the rocky
recesses where it melts gradually all
the year around, feeding the small
streams that feed the larger ones,
until they become the rushing noun
tain torrents. have before me re-
port of the U. S. Geographical Survey
which gives one very impressive idea
of the immensely of the mountain reser-
voirs. This report states that there
are in California 1870 more than l3, 5000
feet above sea level and at least doz-
en- more than Ia. 600 feet. Among the
latter is Mount Whitney. the highest
mountain in the t.. S.. near which |
lived for more than year. One might
think chat California was about all
mountains but not so. for tais one val
ley above referred to has within it's
boundary 100000 acres 300 miles in
length and from 40 to 60 miles in width
an empire in itself | have heard IL
stated by good authority that were
every acre of cultivatabIe land devel-
oped to it's fullest the San joaquin Val
ley could feed the whole United States.
And only yesterday, the first day Of
October, as | passed through the great
exhibition halls of the Fresno county
fair it looked as though the whole coun-
try might feed on Injuries Of that one
county's productions. ] have attended
many fairs east and west, but this GER
tainy eclipsed them all fruits, vege-
tables, flowers, poultry, hogs, cows and
sheep in vast array. How ] did wish
j were JDuitB anu HtiouE oEoAh bhaN
might participate in the producing of
such - and to think. that Fresno. city
now of more than 5000. as late as 1881
was but handful of houses in desert
of sand. This marvellous transforma-
ton has been accomplished through the
intelligent application Of water from
the mountain streams and the wells Of
the valley. In passing | am prompted
to refer to a financial report Of the
federal fiancial committee which re-
ported the city Of Fresno as being 1.-THE
most prosperous city of the United
States in 1920" | lived in Fresno
three years ago and met old residents
who related that when they came there
the cattle of the great herds of the
surrounding country were so wild that
it was dangerous at times to go from
their own small door yard The earli-
est industry Of this whole valley was
cattle raising. Then came the sheep
men with their flocks of tens of thous-
ands, and the historical fight between
4 the two factions has been the subject
/ of more stories than of any other ever
written. There are still millions OF