ALBERT R. MAUi, LIBRARY AT 'ORWELL UNiVtf^'-'' ■\' 3 1924 073 864 880 Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924073864880 ProducticHi Note Cornell University Library produced this volume to replace the irreparably (teteriorated original. It was scanned at 600 dots per inch resolu tion and compressed prior to storage using CCnT/ITU Group 4 compression. The digital data were used to create Cornell's replacement volume on paper that meets the ANSI Standard Z39.48-1992. The production of this volume was supported by the United States Department of Education, Higher Education Act, Tide H-C. Scanned as part of the A. R. Mann Library project to preserve and enhance access to the Core Historical Literature of the Agricultural Sciences. Titles included in this collection are listed in the volumes published by the Cornell University Press in the series The Literature of the Agricultural Sciences, 1991-1996, Wallace C. Olsen, series editor. RECLAIMING THE ARID WEST BOOKS BT GEORGE WHARTON JAMES ABIZONA, the WONDEBLAin> Caufobnia, Rouantio and Beadti- FUI. The Wonoebs of the Colobaso Desert In and AROtJND THE Gband Canyon THBOUQH RAMONA'S COUNIBT The Lake of the Sky, Lake Tahoe OuB Amebican Wonderlands In and Out of the Old Missions of California Indian Blankets and Theib Makebs Indian Basketbt House Blessing Cesemony and Guest Book The Indians' SECREn?s of Health Eeboes of Caufobnia The Indians of the Painted Desert Region Etc., Etc. IH ^^^^^^^^^^^^K^^^^^^^^^^^^^^tBl^^^'^ . 'if^^ 'I^^H^^H ;,' ^i^^^^^^H ^^^H^^H^^^^^^^^^^^HH^H^^^H^^f-'^F j^^H^^^l^^^^^^^H w^^^^B^BKK^^^SL^k fc. ^%, _^ m^^^^^K^^t^m WK^&M^^^^^ ^'%t ^^H^^^^^^^^^^^^^^l ■fl^l^^ '^i^^^^^^^^^^H ^I^PH^^I ^^K^S^-' H^^^^^^^H liM^f'- -^;'M^^^^ll^MnH^^^I ^^^H^^^^Ig^^Plgil^gl^^M ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^V ' i-^WSfV ' ^|MB3iBffi|BBaK&a8^^ ^^^^^^^m 'K'^ A ^^^HI^^HHh^^hiI^^^^^k^^^^ ^^^^^HI^B /' ^ ^ ^^^^^HBBfl^^B^E^H^^^^^^^I^S^^s^^S^^ ^^^^^^■■^^B. y^ "J/^k ^^^^^^B^^HHfi^^^^B^^^H^nS^^^^^^^B^S^s^ HH JOHN WESLEY POWELL RECLAIMING THE ARID WEST The Story of the United States Reclnmation Service BY GEORGE WHARTON JAMES WITH ILLUSTRATIONS NEW YORK DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY 1917 TC J 21 176247 COPTRIGHTf 1917 By EDITH E FARNSWORTH TO JOHN WESLEY POWELL The Father E Pbojbct, New Mexico — Texas 250 XXIII The Wnj.THTON Pbojbct, North Dakota . . 263 XXIV The La-wton Project, OktiAHOma . . 271 XXV The TTHATnjTiA Project, Oregon . . . . 279 XXVI The KT.AMATH Project, Oregon — Calitornia . 289 xxvn The Brtj.f. Foubchb Project, South Dakota . 306 xxvm The Strawberry VatJiKT Project, Utah . . 319 XXTX The Okanogan Project, Washington . . 326 XXX The Yakima Project, Washington . . . 334 XXXI The Shoshone Project, Wyoming . . . 351 xxxn Iotjian Projects . . 366 The Pima Pro.tbct, Arizona . . . . 367 . . 367 The Plathkap Project, Montana . . . 373 The Fort Peck Project, Montana . . 384 xxxni A Vision oi" the Future .... . . 387 ILLUSTRATIONS John "Wesley Powell Frontispiece rAciNO PAGI Koosevelt Dam and North Spillway. Salt Kiver Project, Arizona 68 Orange Grove near Camelback Mountain. Salt River Project, Arizona 76 Cultivating in young orchard on the Grand Mesa. Grand Valley Project, Colorado 76 Laguna Dam, one mile long, across Colorado Kiver. Yuma Project, Arizona — California 94 Diversion Dam and Ditch. Orland Project, California . . 110 East Park Dam, downstream face — height 127 feet, length of crest 220 feet. Orland Project 110 Boiler Crest Diversion Dam and Canals, Grand River. Grand VaUey Project, Colorado 118 Irrigation and Farming on Bench Land near Grand Junctiwi. Grand Valley Project, Colorado 122 Main Canal, Grand River. Grand Valley Project, Colorado 122 In the heart of Gunnison Canyon, near the Tunnel. TJncom- pahgre Project, Colorado 130 Arrowrock Dam and Reservoir. Boise Project, Idaho . . 142 Spillway of the Minidoka Dam, and Lake Walcott. Elec- tric power-house in the background. Minidoka Project, Idaho 148 Interior of Minidoka hydro-electric power-house. Mini- doka Project, Idaho 154 Electrically heated High School at Rupert. Minidoka Project, Idaho 154 Jackson Lake Reservoir and Teton Mountains — ^Mt. Moran in center. Minidoka Project, Idaho 160 vii viU ILLUSTEATIONS rxonra FAO> Headgate, showing gate stands, Yellowstone Biver. Huntley Project, Montana 166 Direct pumping plant. Huntley Project, Montana . . . 166 Fort Belknap Dam, looking upstream. Millr River Valley, Montana 180 Site of Diversion Dam, Sun River Canyon, Aug^ust, 1907. Sun River Project 190 Simm's Creek Pressure Pipe, Fort Shaw Unit. Sun River Project, Montana 192 Method of reinforcement of Simm's Creek Pipe. Sun River Project, Montana 192 Headworks Main Canal. Lower Yellowstone Project, Mon- tana—North Dakota 198 WhaJen Diversion Dam and Headworks. North Platte Pro- ject, Nebraska — Wyoming 210 Spring Canyon Flume. North Platte Project, Nebraska — Wyoming 210 Diversion Dam on Truckee River, Southern Pacific train in background. Traekee-Carson Project, Nevada . . . 218 Lahontan Dam, Spillways and Power-house, Carson River. Truekee-Carson Project, Nevada 224 The City of Fallon on what was once the Carson Desert. Truckee-Carson Project, Nevada 228 A part of the Nevada Desert before Reclamation. Truckee- Carson Project, Nevada 228 Lake McMillan Storage Reservoir. Carlsbad Project, New Mexico 236 Avalon Dam and Spillway. Carlsbad Project, New Mexico . 240 Cement lined section Main Canal. Carlsbad Project, New Mexico 240 Hondo Reservoir, looking north from Outlet Tower. Hondo Project, New Mexico 244 Elephant Butte Dam. Rio Grande Project, New Mexico — Texas 254 ILLUSTEATIONS ix rAOIKQ PAOI Country home in the Mesilla Valley, near Las Cruces, New Mexico. Eio Grande Project, New Mexico — Texas . 254 La Mesa Schoolhouse. Rio Grande Project, New Mexico^ Texas 260 Cutting Alfalfa. Rio Grande Project, New Mexico — Texas 260 Pumping barge at low water on the Missouri River at Willis- ton. Williston Project, North Dakota 264 Pumping barge at high water with single lengths of discharge pipes between the ball-joints on the barge and bank of thf Missouri River. Williston Project, North Dakota . 264 U. S. Reclamation Service coal mines and miners. Williston Project, North Dakota 268 Largest drop in South Canal. Uncompahgre Project, Colo- rado 268 Lake Lawtonka. Lawton Project, Oklahoma 272 Three Miles Falls Dam. Umatilla Project, Oregon . . . 280 Looking up Klamath River, Oregon, east of Keno, over the Tule and swamp lands, 1905. Klamath Project, Oregon —California 292 Intake Gates of Main Canal. Klamath Project, Oregon — California 300 Lost River Dam. Klamath Project, Oregon — California . 300 Belle Fourche Diversion Dam. Belle Fourche Project, South Dakota 308 Placing the concrete blocks on upstream face of Belle Fourche Dam. Belle Fourche Project, South Dakota . 314 Spillway at head of Waste Channel, north end of Belle Fourche Dam. Belle Fourche Project, South Dakota . 314 West Portal of Strawberry Tunnel, nearly four miles long. Strawberry Valley Project, Utah 320 Power-house and Wasteway Chute. Strawberry Valley Pro- ject, Utah 322 Bridge across Wasteway at north end of Strawberry Dam. Strawberry Valley Project, Utah 322 X ILLUSTRATIONS TAOINQ PAGB Peach orchard one year old on Maple Bench. Wasatch Mountains in background. Strawberry Valley Project, Utah 324 Coneonully Dam, with Spillway and Reservoir. Okanogan Project, Washington 328 Vista from Round Top Hill back of White Ranch. Okano- gan Project, Washington 332 Cold Springs Dam, Reservoir, and Outlet Tower. Umatilla Project, Oregon 332 Lake Keechelus Reservoir as seen from the Sunset Highway. Yakima Project, Washing^ton 336 Diversion Dam in Yakima River, Headgates and Gate tender's house on the Sunnyside Canal. Yakima Project, Wash- ington 342 Main Tieton Canal, Tieton Canyon, 600 feet above the stream. Yakima Project, Washington 342 After four years of the Reclamation Service. Yakima Pro- ject, Washington 348 Shoshone Dam. Shoshone Project, Wyoming 354 Shoshone Reservoir at Sunset, from 1000 feet west of Dam. Shoshone Project, Wyoming 360 Two Medicine Canal Headworks and River, from north side of Canal. Blackfeet Project, Montana . .... 370 Flume on Fisher Canal. Blackfeet Project, Montana . . . 370 Sunrise on Nine Pipe Reservoir. Mission Range in back- ground. Flathead Project, Montana 376 Post Creek Headworks and Mission Range. Flathead Pro- ject, Montana 380 Desert lands before Reclamation. Yakima Project, Wash- ington 386 Dam on Poplar River. Fort Peck Project, Montana . . . 386 INTRODUCTORY These words are penned just at the time when the citizens of the United States are arising to the stern demands of war. German autocracy is seek- ing to rule Europe and then the world. After long and patient waiting, suhmitting to many and alto- gether inexcusable aggressions and injuries, the United States has joined forces with those who have been the especial objects of the fierce and determined onslaughts of Germany. For the American spirit is essentially opposed to the German spirit. We are as antagonistic as darkness and light. If darkness reigns light disappears. If light conquers darkness is non-existent. Autocracy — Germany — says the few shall rule the many. Kaisers, princes, rulers exist by the grace of God. Democracy — ^the United States — affirms that power inheres only in citizen- ship, and that there are no "ruling classes" author- ized by Divine Goodness. There should be no rulers, claims Democracy; only those who act as representa- tives of the people's will. Here, then, the issue is clearly defined. It is freely conceded that the United States has not always lived up to its high ideal of democracy, but not even its bitterest foes can deny that it has been working steadily to the higher planes of democratic thought, life and purpose. It is to record the most triumphant evidence I be- lieve the United States has yet presented of this xii INTEODUCTORY onward and upward marcli that these pages are writ- ten. For the work of the Eeclamation Service is founded deep in democracy — the needs of the com- mon people, and in the intense desire of thought- leaders, who loved men as brothers, to give the low- liest, poorest, and humblest the opportunities, at least, to reach after the enjoyments of comfort, pros- perity and happy living for themselves and their families. Irrigation has been practised for countless cen- turies. Within the boundaries of the United States scores of miles of prehistoric irrigation canals have been found, and Egypt, Abyssinia, China, India were all practising irrigation when the writing of history began. Yet never before in the history of the world have irrigation works of gigantic magnitude been under- taken purely and simply for the benefit and profit of the people. Nay, more, the people ultimately are even to own and control them, as they own and con- trol their wheelbarrows, ploughs, harrows, and auto- mobiles. It is in this regard, — the pure democrat- ization of the great irrigation systems — that the methods of the United States differ from those of all other nations, ancient and modem. The influence of this forward step few realize, even of those who are actually engaged in its triumphant progress, or reap- ing the benefits of its beneficent march. History, however, will record it as an epoch-forming event, as important to the true development of mankind as the signing of Magna Charta was important to the English people, or the signing of the Declaration of Independence to the American people. It takes / INTRODUCTORY xiii democracy beyond the " talking " stage. It is a demonstration. The people are ruling — them- selves; the powers of government are being con- trolled — ^by themselves; these powers are being used to benefit not a privileged, aristocratic, spe- cially-blessed and endowed class — ^but the whole of the people. All who will may come and partake of its gifts, and millions yet unborn are to see the light of day under conditions as superior to those under which many of our day live that — ^if they but know — their hearts will overflow with thankfulness and gratitude towards those whose wisdom planned so helpfully for their greater enjojrment of life. The gift of such a system is a gift not simply to the United States but to the whole world of human- ' ity, and that world owes the gift to John Wesley Powell, the organizer of the U. S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of Ethnology, as well as the father of the Reclamation Service, whose achievements this book recounts. In another chapter I speak more of his work in this regard. How well I recall the thrills that went over me as, with glowing enthusiasm, this far-visioned lover of his race, this true minister of the gospel of better- living, outlined his plans. Few men knew the arid West as did he. He had travelled over its barren and almost useless acres, miles, leagues, until be knew them by heart. He could locate them in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and all the other west- ern states, and his keen eye, too, had taken in — roughly speaking, of course, — ^the irrigation possi- bilities of each area. Here, on this river, a storage xiv INTEODUCTOEY dam could be located, yonder, its beneficent stream turned into a main canal, which should feed a thou- sand and one laterals, and thus bring life to the thirsty land. He visualized before me, so that I also saw them, these dams being erected, these canals excavated, the head-gates and laterals put in, the settlers flocking in, the eager clearing and levelling of the land, the sowing of the seed. He saw and made me see the first rude homes of the incomers going up, he heard the joyous laughter of the children, and saw the hopeful steps of the wives, as well as the eager move- ments of the men. And as the years progressed he clearly pictured the deserts gone, the waste areas reclaimed, the first primitive homes and bams dis- placed by the more substantial erections of pros- perous farmers, the roads made as solid as those of the Eomans, linking progressive towns one with an- other, where railways would come to connect with the outside world, and all the material evidences of hap- piness and joy would prevail. He saw school- houses, churches, theatres, banks, stores, and civic structures rise in these towns, heard the hum of ma- chinery in factory and mill, and his face shone with a light as of transfiguration, when all these pictures flooded his imagination. Was it not a great result to labour for, to plan and work, to work and wait, to urge and urge and con- tinue urging, for ? This was one of the great motives of Major Powell's life. He was essentially a demo- cratic leader, nay, more, a bishop, a shepherd, a guide to the great flock of men, women, and children, who were never to know him personally, but who INTRODUCTORY xv were to feel through not only their own lives, but those of their children, for countless genera- tions yet to come, the all-urging love of his great heart. And to a greater or lesser degree he imbued every /one of his lieutenants with the same idea of all-help- ful brotherhood. You cannot get men of science to talk of these things ; they may even openly and out- wardly laugh, or, perchance, scoff at them, yet those whose eyes penetrate the surface, both see and feel that there is a great heart of pulsating brotherhood under the cold or grim exterior of these men. No missionary has ever worked with more devotion to a high and noble cause than have Walcott, Newell, Davis, King, Bien, Lippincott, Hill, Quinton, "Whis- tler, Henny, Savage, Weymouth, Paul, McConnell, Baldwin, Cone, Ensign, Cole, Blanchard and a score of others I might name, for the promotion of the great ends of the Reclamation Service. As Director of the Geological Survey Major Pow- ell was able to devote considerable attention and time, both personal and of his scientific workers, to the gathering of data to be used in the educational and legislative campaign he had already determined to wage. Few dreamed of the purpose of what he was doing, but by 1887 he had so educated certain leaders in Congress that the Senate itself appointed a committee to make a tour of the arid regions and study their conditions. Then came the terrible drought of 1890 iu the re- gion of the Great Plains. Gardens, farms, orchards withered under the scorching heats, and the waters of springs, creeks, and even rivers seemed to have xvi INTEODUCTORY disappeared. Thousands were ruined and despair ruled in many hearts. Yet it was this very terrible misfortune that put active life into the irrigation movement. Farmers, merchants, newspaper men began to think of the subject, even though they had the vaguest ideas in regard to it. One of them, how- ever, William E. Smythe, then an editorial writer cii the Omaha Bee, sent out by his chief to study the drought-stricken lands of Nebraska, began to write on the subject. Little by little it expanded, un- folded, until as he himself states it : Irrigation seemed the biggest thing in the world. It was not merely a matter of ditches and acres, but a philosophy, a religion, and a program of practical statesmanship rolled into one. There was apparently no such thing as ever get- ting to the bottom of the subject, for it expanded in all directions and grew in importance with each unfoldment.j The result of these articles was the holding of local conventions in Nebraska upon the subject. These, in turn, led to a State Convention, which was held in Lincoln, where Mr. Smythe was made chairman of a Committee to arrange for a National Irrigation Con- gress. This was held a few months later at Salt Lake City. Thus the campaign of education was fairly launched. For immediately Mr. Smythe re- signed his berth on the Bee, launched the Irrigation Age and thus became the open and avowed apostle of the new gospel of democracy. The second Congress was held in Los Angeles, California, in 1893, and how well I remember its ses- sions. In my Heroes of California I have told one of the thrilling incidents that occurred there. Year after year these congresses did their appointed INTEODUCTOEY xvii work, and public sentiment was more and more aroused. Senator Carey, of Wyoming, succeeded in getting a bill passed in Congress, granting a million acres of their arid lands to each of the states, pro- vided they would irrigate them. But it was not until 1897 that real light began to shine. The dawn had ;ome, but few were able to read its signs aright un- til Captain Hiram M. Chittenden, of Yellowstone National Park fame, published his report on Reser- voirs in the Arid Region. He struck the key-note when he recommended that the government acquire full title and jurisdiction to any reservoir site which it might improve, and full right to the water neces- sary to fill the reservoir; also that it should build, own, and operate the works, holding the stored wa- ters absolutely free for public use under local regu- lations. This report called forth a new propaganda. In the words of Mr. Smythe: What was needed at this juncture was an organized propaganda, alive, tireless, sleepless. The Irrigation Con- gress had done a great work and years of usefulness were yet reserved to it. But it had no funds or paid officers. It met but once a year at widely separated points and always with a different membership. The time had now come when the cause required a working organism quite as effective as that of a church, a political party, or a great business enterprise. This need was met by George H. Maxwell and his Na- tional Irrigation Association, the latter formed at Wichita, Kansas, in 1897, at the close of a meeting of the Trans- Mississippi Congress. Mr. Maxwell was an energetic young lawyer of California, with a remarkable talent for organi- zation and a gift of forceful and eloquent speech. He was one of the numerous converts of the Irrigation Congress, xviii INTEODUCTOEY which he joined at the Phoenix convention in the previous year. He determined to abandon his law practice and de- vote himself exclusively to the irrigation propaganda and the solution of other social problems which, as he clearly foresaw, must go hand-in-hand with the great scheme of reclaiming millions of acres of arid lands. The National Irrigation Association was not to supplant, but to strengthen and supplement, the pioneer institution, the National Irrigation Congress. Mr. Maxwell saw that nothing could be done without a promotion fund. There must be offices in leading cities, periodicals and newspaper bureaus, and constant activity on the platform. "Who should finance the great under- taking? "Why not the numerous industrial and transpor- tation interests, who would be the inevitable beneficiaries of new agricultural districts throughout the "Western half of the continent and the resulting movement of people and products ? Mr. Maxwell believed that if the managers of these enterprises understood their true interests, they would give liberal support to a work of this kind. He proceeded to convince them of the fact, and was thus enabled to carry on the propaganda with a vigour and success unprecedented in the history of the movement. He found an able and in- defatigable lieutenant in Mr. C. B. Boothe, a prominent merchant of Los Angeles, California. The Ninth Irrigation Congress, assembled at Chi- cago, in 1900, adopted strong resolutions on the line of Chittenden's recommendations. By this time the propaganda had done its educational work so suc- cessfully that the politicians began to take notice. All three of the great parties placed planks in their platforms, pledging themselves to the cause of gov- ernment irrigation. This brought the matter fairly and squarely before the people. In one of the later chapters I shall recount the actual history of the passing of the Eeclamation Act in Congress. This INTEODUCTOET xix book is a recital of the work done in accordance witii that Act. In its preparation I have received aid from num- berless sources. A few of these it would be ungrate- ful of me not to recount in detail. To the kind cour- tesy and encouragement of F. H. Newell, the first Chief Engineer, and later. Director of the Eeclama- tion Service, and long its animating spirit, for many valuable suggestions, I am most grateful. And in equal measure, and with the same unfailing courtesy, kindness, goodwill and ready response, have I re- ceived the generous aid of present Director A. P. Da- vis, and the Service's Statistician, C. J. Blanchard. Every call for help, for a fact, a figure, a suggestion as to photographs, etc., brought an immediate re- sponse, and gave one to feel the joy of the cama- raderie of the leaders of this great army of peace. For while I honour and revere the man who uses his genius to prevent the enemies of his country from injuring it, and who places his life in jeopardy to protect the lives of his fellow-citizens and their chil- dren, I have an equally deep regard for the man who, without any of the glamour of war, any of its con- tagious mob-hurrahism, works faithfully, conscien- tiously, untiringly for the promotion of the higher well-being of his fellow-citizens. "All hail to the heroes of war," I frankly acclaim, when it is a war of protection, of democracy, of defence; but with equal vigour do I shout, "All hail to the heroes of peace." One of the requirements of the TJ. S. Eeclamation Service of all of its project engineers is a full history of each project, from its early inception, kept up XX INTRODUCTORY annually as the work progresses. By the courtesy of Mr. A. P. Davis, the Director and Chief Engineer, and the Project Managers and Engineers, I have been favoured with the use of these histories, and in every case have availed myself of their contents. Practically all of the technical information both as to engineering details, water flow, soil possibilities, etc., pertaining to the projects have been taken. bodily either from Director Davis's interesting vol- ume, a purely scientific treatise written especially for engineers,^ — and these Project Histories. As these latter are departmental documents never in- tended for general publication, I have not hesitated to give the facts required in the engineer's and man- ager's own words, where possible, and I gladly ac- knowledge this fact. In the brief fifteen years since the passage of the act of Congress, scores of millions of dollars have been expended, hundreds of thousands of acres re- claimed from the desert, millions of tons of fodder, grain, fruits, vegetables, milk, butter, cheese, and stock produced, hundreds of millions of chickens raised and eggs secured, hundreds, nay thousands, of comfortable homes established, and scores of thou- sands of men, women and children set walking in the pathways of competency, health, education, and happiness, as the results of its operations. These great ends were not achieved without the exercise of marvellous foresight, great generalship, scientific knowledge, practical skill, tremendous en- 1 Irrigation Works Constructed hy the United States Oovemment, by Arthur Powell Davis, Chief Engineer, U. S. Reclamation Service. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1917. INTRODUCTORY xxi ergy, and persistent effort, yet it has all been done by an army without flaring banners, blaring heralds, the beating of drums, the clashing of cymbals, or the insistent arousement of martial music. As yet the world has not learned to honour its generals, officers and soldiers in the armies of peace, as it does those of the well-advertised armies of war. Most citizens see nothing thrilling in reports on watersheds, reser- voir sites, or the discussions of experts as to types of dams, methods of construction, relative values of materials, and the worth of certain cements. In the following pages I have sought to set forth, in simple and direct phrase, the work of the found- ers, organizers and present workers of this great Army of Peace — the U. S. Reclamation Service. There are today thousands of families, single men, aye, and single women, in cities, east, west, north, and south, and also in the country places, who long for homes of their own, in the larger, freer West of which they have read or heard. They long for the out-of-door life, greater freedom for their children, larger outlook, greater results from individual en- deavour. While the Reclamation Service has issued many small pamphlets descriptive of the different projects which it has brought to successful opera- tion, and others in the processes of development, there in no one work which discusses all the projects from the stand-point of the layman and the home- seeker. This is what I have sought to do. In so far as I have succeeded I am glad, and if the book gives help to those seeking information and leads them to go out into the large and free spaces xni INTEODUCTOEY of the once arid West, I shall be both satisfied and gratified. fp>^-'^^^^^ Pasadena, Caufobnia, July, 1917. RECLAIMING THE ARID WEST RECLAIMING THE ARID WEST CHAPTER I THE FATHER OF THE U. S. RECLAMATION SEBVICB In Europe today great armies, led by skilful gen- erals, are fighting a war of devastation, destruction, horror, death and hell. Men are being elevated to peerages, dukedoms, receiving crosses and having all kinds of honours conferred upon them because of their skill in destructive acts of war. The human race ever has been hypnotized into hurrahing over the heroes of the battle-field, and those skilled in the arts, crafts, and iniquities that feed the vulture. Personally I have no love for the vulture's croak. I enjoy not the song of the bullet, whether it be Brit- ish, German, French or Russian ; nor for the shriek of shrapnel and the roar of mortar. I see none of the glory of proud-panoplied war. I react to none of its enthusiasms. To me a war of aggression is a relic of barbarism, damning from every standpoint those responsible for it and a proof that they have not yet progressed, — save in exterior polish and ma- terial things, — ^beyond the cave-man and the age of the stone-ax and club. Hence I beat no drum to call attention to eloquent praise of earth's man-made hell. I sing a nobler but, possibly, far less stirring and popular theme. It is thrilling, however. 2 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST \ It was a glorious privilege accorded me, twenty- five or more years ago, of association with Major John Wesley Powell, when he was planning for the salvation of the arid lands of the American West. Here was a conquest that called upon a man's most exalted imagination and taxed his noblest endeavour. With a prophet's superhuman vision and a patriot's true devotion to the highest interests of his fellow- citizens, Major Powell bent the energies of his scien- tific mind to the organizing of this great warfare. As early as 1878 he made his report on the Lands of the Arid Region. No one can read this today, nearly forty years after it was published, without being profoundly impressed by the far-seeing wis- dom and sagacity of its author. In it he shows two great advantages of irrigation, viz. : 1. That crops thus cultivated are not subject to the vicissitudes of rainfall, and, 2. The water for irrigation gener- ally comes doiyn from the mountains and plateaus freighted or charged with fertilizing materials gathered from the decaying vegetable matter and soil of the higher regions. But he also saw that the work was too great to be accomplished by individual enterprise. He grasped its vastness and realized that only under govern- mental direction and by its expenditures could it be accomplished. He explains many of the gigantic engineering problems involved in extensive stor- age of waters ; the erection of stupendous dams ca- pable of sustaining the never-ceasing pressure of such large volumes of water as would be needed to make irrigation of large areas constant. For he saw that only when the water-supply was assured. THE EECLAMATION SERVICE 3 by vast storage reservoirs, against two or three suc- cessive years of drought, would it be feasible to in- vite home-seekers to take possession of the arid lands and reclaim them. Euin and disaster would be sure to follow if water failed for but one year, and, sometimes, for but one critical month. Hence plans must be comprehensive and adequately con- sidered and all the problems involved thoroughly solved. The conservation of all water supply was also duly considered, and the great broad plan, after- wards so successfully inaugurated under President Eoosevelt, was clearly outlined. Though a great friend of the Indian he foresaw that the necessary conservation of snow and rainfall could not occur if the aboriginal population was allowed to continue to roam freely over the public domain, and set fire to the forest for the purpose of driving out the fur- bearing game and thus securing their pelts. He predicted the need of timber culture, of greater pro- tection of lumbered-over areas, of reforestation. Then, as a result of his comprehensive study of the conditions existent in the arid lands, he outlined a "Land System," which, however much modified in actual practice, showed a statesman-like grasp of the subject, and, to my mind, the most purely democratic and for-the-common-good system up to that time de- vised in the known history of the world. He sought to provide against monopolies in both land and wa- ter, especially the latter, and insisted that the User- Eight of water should inhere to the land upon which it was used. He deprecated the filing upon and hold- ing of large water-rights for speculative purposes, 4 RECLAIMING THE ARID WEST and showed that no person or corporation ought to be allowed to hold water-rights for future use against the actual needs of actual settlers upon the lands. He also counselled the careful and thorough classi- fication of timber, pasture, arid, and mining lands, to prevent fraudulent acquisition of valuable lands un- der ignorant officials or dishonest claims, and mil- lions of dollars would have been saved to the later purchasers of land, or claimants of government lands, had his safe counsels been more closely fol- lowed. The need for national legislation upon this great subject was early apparent throughout the West. Comparatively few people in the East were able to grasp the situation. Conditions there were so en- tirely different. There, natural rainfall was relied upon for the natural watering of all crops. Rain fell in abundance. How could Easterners compre- hend conditions where annual rainfall amounted to little more than they were familiar with in a month, or, in extreme cases, in even a week? As soon as men began to possess the lands of the arid West and sought to cultivate them the scarcity of water became an irritating problem. Many of the succeeding chapters hint at the distresses experienced during this epoch. . But Major Powell, unknown to the suf- ferers, was preparing for their speedy relief. Slowly, but surely, he was carrying on his campaign of education. United States senators and repre- sentatives, public speakers, writers for newspapers, magazines, engineers, chemists, experts on under- ground water, mountain streams, watersheds, dams, and reservoir sites, were all being moulded for the THE RECLAMATION SERVICE 5 accomplishment of this work in a manner that now reveals his organizing genius. Years before any one else realized the magnitude of the task, or the tremendous expenditures it entailed, he had foreseen and prepared for the overcoming of the difficulties, and removing of obstacles. With consummate gen- eralship he trained men, with whose abilities his po- sition as head of the United States Geological Sur- vey rendered him familiar, so that they were duly prepared for the position of Director, Chief Engi- neer, Project Engineers, etc., of the Reclamation ( Service when it was duly authorized by Act of Congress. He enthused men of eloquent tongues so that they gladly went forth as heralds of the dawn of the new day of irrigation, of reclamation of arid lands. He claimed the serious attention of governors of states, of the financial heads of the nation and of the respective states. He flung forth in clarion tones the new watchword, "Water the arid lands and give them to the people." He bade hope spring up afresh in the hearts of thousands who for years had been "bound to the wheel of labour" in crowded and unhealthy cities. Opposition sprang up from a variety of sources, some honest, many selfish, all tenacious, pugnacious and pertinacious. United in the one purpose of changing or defeating his plans, Major Powell's op- ponents sought to discredit his leadership, destroy confidence in his integrity, and defeat his long-ma- tured plans. Openly and secretly, by definite bribe and subtle allurement they sought to diverfhim ^rom his unselfish, noble, and patriotic purpose. Un- 6 KECLAIMING THE ARID WEST flinching, daring, honest to the core, open as the sun- swept deserts he faced his foes and critics, won or silenced them, defied or over-awed them, and yet, at the same time, guided and directed the large army Congress practically had placed under his control. Grant, in the height of his career, never was a more noble and inspiring personage, a fitter subject for the rhetorician's pen or the orator's eloquence, than was this great general of peace, fighting for the happy future of thousands of American citizens, and reso- lutely following the campaign marked out years before. In due time the responsibility of generalship was placed in the hands of those who were once his "boys," the lieutenants he personally had trained to carry on his work so nobly and gloriously begun. Before his summons came from the Divine Ruler to "come up higher," he had lived long enough to see the beginning of the consummation of his high hopes, to feel the joyous, thankful throb of many hearts that responded to them, and to see the comfortable homes of happy and contented people spring up where before had reigned the cactus, the rattlesnake, and wild desolation. Of course misteikes were made, many and various. "Wherein has any great work been accomplished with- out mistakes ? Here, however, a new departure was being taken. A work on a larger scale than the United States had yet attempted was to be begun. There was scarcely an engineer in the land whose experience was to be compared with the features which now loomed up largely in the horizon. Pri- vate and corporate — even state — capital had THE EECLAMATION SEEVICE 7 shrunk back appalled at the gigantic tasks that the Eeclamation Service was now about to attempt. There were a few leaders, who were so far compe- tent, but every man had to be tested, proved, anal- lysed, in the searching light of his own endeavours, grappling with gigantic problems that had never been solved elsewhere, feeling his way ; experiment- ing if you will — ^the only thing possible, unless each engineer on his own problems had been given super- human perspicacity, intuition and foresight. What man of brains is there who would expect, under such circumstances, anything less than that errors would be made, false steps taken, wrong con- clusions arrived at? It was in the nature of things, that, no matter how high the motives and aims of the earlier promoters of this work, they should have failed to grasp all the problems that confronted them. The very exuber- ance of their high hopes led them to see over — "overlook" — some of the difficulties that were sure to arise, as well as the slothfulness, sordidness, meanness, laziness, of some who would want to take advantage of the great possibilities the Government offered. But in the light of the great achievements of the Service the mistakes are insignificant and unimport- ant, and none but a small-minded carper and cavil- ler would refer to them in any other spirit. What should be recalled is the work accomplished, while fights were going on in the halls of legislation to defeat the purely democratic character of the work as outlined. Exploiters, who sought their own selfish ends, endeavoured to control legislation, so 8 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST that the national government would be induced to expend its money on the gigantic engineering fea- tures of vast irrigation systems, and then allow the watered lands to be controlled by the states in which they were located. Graft and corruption spread their hideous heads on every hand, and bribes were offered and alas ! sometimes taken, though the band of federal leaders stood firm for the principles they had enunciated. And so the work progressed, and great structures began to rise throughout the West, though in such remote and inaccessible locations that the ordinary citizen knew nothing of them. When ultimately he was aroused sufficiently to visit them he exclaimed in astonishment at what had been achieved. How little the outside public dreams of the precau- tions taken by the engineers to see that aU the great features of these gigantic structures were proof against any contingencies that might arise. Days, weeks, months, even years of careful and thorough observations, afterwards judicially analysed and col- lated ; conferences, discussions, investigations on the ground by chief engineers, consulting engineers, project engineers, assistants, and local men who might be supposed to know of peculiar or occasional conditions not generally understood; watching the progress step after step, checking up, testing, gaug- ing where possible — ^the anxious care, the devotion accorded to every department of this work, few know or realize. Struggling with the torrential flood-waters of the California and Arizona streams, where river-banks wash away in a single night ; listening to the pound- THE EECLAMATION SEEVICE 9 ing and grinding, smashing and crashing of ice piling up in streams, and waiting hreathlessly for the breaking of the jam and watching the fierce waters hurling the stupendous masses of ice with terrific velocity upon the dams in the frozen streams of Mon- tana and Idaho ; battling with millions of gallons of inpouring water; puzzling over chemical problems such as the eating away of solid concrete by elements in the water which were not understood; seeing a whole community waiting for water when it was most needed, because improperly constructed private ca- nals broke and filled up the government's canals with silt and debris, or washed them away, so that water could not be delivered ; watching the flow of a great stream sink away in a reservoir which had been created at great cost, as at Hondo ; these and a thou- sand and one disheartening experiences had to be met and overcome. I do not write of what I imagine ; I tell that which I know, for I have been present at these discussions ; I have heard the frank criticisms, the open objec- tions, the fearless questionings. One aim, and one only, seemed to animate every man in the work, and that was to give the best service that was possible to him. Success in the highest, fullest, broadest sense, was the only goal worth striving for, and to gain this, every ounce of a man's physical strength, every re- action of his mental power, every truest faculty of his soul, must be alert, intent, devoted to his task. Another important feature should be named here. Not only were precautions taken against accidents to the engineering features, the dams, reservoirs, head-gates, canals, and general distribution system 10 BECLAIMING THE AEID WEST of the water, but, during the progress of the work of construction far greater care was exercised to make everything healthful and sanitary for the work- men employed and also for the future. Imagine the sites of these great works, during the construction periods, practically all of them far away from towns or lesser settlements. Each one was the sudden dumping-ground of a small army, from directing engineers to rudest labourers. Their food, water, sleeping accommodations, and every day needs, such as bathing, laundry, hospital, club-house, general recreations, etc., had to be provided for. The following extract from a report of one of the engineers is typical of what was done everywhere : At once, the problem of sanitary protection became of vital importance. It was comparatively simple to care for the main camp, which was under the absolute control of the Reclamation Service, but when little settlements began to spring up here and there, as more and more of the men brought their families to the job, the problem became more complex. Fortunately, public sentiment was all in favour of enforcing the necessary regulations. These covered the location, proper construction and disinfection of toilets, dis- posal of garbage, protection of water-supply and the fight- ing of flies. The camp physician was given the duties of chief sanitary officer, and under his direction the camp foreman and his crew of janitors and camp men looked after the main camp. To aid in the proper enforcement of the necessary regulations outside of the main camp, it was arranged to look after the necessary work like disin- fection, garbage collection, the furnishing of garbage-cans, fly-traps, etc., at a certain fixed charge for the service per- formed, and nearly all of the persons living outside of the main camp were glad to take advantage of this arrange- ment. All applicants for employment were given a brief physi- THE RECLAMATION SERVICE 11 cal examination by the resident physician, which was made more thorough if deemed advisable. In this way the unfit or undesirable were eliminated. Vaccination for smallpox or anti-typhoid inoculation was given at the hospital with- out charge. Air-tight metal garbage-cans were provided, and were kept in serviceable condition. Garbage and refuse were collected every day or two, hauled away and burned. No breeding-places for flies were allowed to exist. Fly- traps were used constantly. All toilets and buildings where flies would be attracted were screened and pro- vided with special screened entrances. Sleeping quar- ters were scrubbed, aired and disinfected frequently. Iron springs and mattresses were provided, and these were taken out and cleaned periodically. The cost of this work was not high, but the results were most satisfactory, as the general health of the community has always been away above average; there have been no epidemics of any kind and only one case of typhoid, which probably originated outside of camp. This helpful, humanitarian spirit has been para- mount from the inception to the completion of the work, so far, and I am sure will continue to the end. I speak in sincere earnestness when I affirm that I know of no body of men, in public work, so single- eyed, so devoted, so absolutely absorbed in their work, as I have found the engineers of the United States Reclamation Service to be. These are the men I would crown with laurel, the public servants I would serenade (if such a procedure is ever desir- able), the leaders I would decorate with honours and titles. The debt of gratitude the Nation owes to them can never be estimated, never adequately ap- preciated, never repaid. And yet, in a speech made at Stanford University, 12 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST California, March 24, 1911, ex-president Roosevelt gave full notice to the men engaged in the great work of the Reclamation Service as to what they might expect from both government and people. He had learned that republics proverbially are ungrateful, and said : ' ' There will be no exceptional reward for these men. Those who are sufficiently prominent will ultimately be investigated by Congress. That you wiU have to expect." In spite, however, of this doleful prognostication by one whose experience and practical knowledge of congresses none can question, this Army of Peace holds steadily not only to its work, but to the high democratic ideals that originated it. CHAPTEE n THE ORIGIN OF THE EECLAMATION ACT In other chapters a brief recital is made of indi- vidual work leading to the passage of the Eeclama- tion Act by Congress. To give fuU attention to the claims of all who aided in its passage is impossible, even were it necessary. It seems to me important, however, that some idea of the gigantic task the pas- sage of such a measure entails upon many, should be given to the general reader. I have already showji how Major Powell began the campaign of education, laying the foundations of the work to be in the fundamental principles "of human brotherhood. J Also how he trained some of the later leaders and workers while they were his subordinates in the United States Geological Survey, The helpful lay work of William E. Smythe and George H. Maxwell, in the campaign of education, was of inestimable value, but actual results of legislation were a prime essential, when the time was ripe. This was accom- plished as follows. The Senate and House of Eepresentatives were both familiar with irrigation bills, but they were aU local and framed solely for the benefit of specific dis- tricts. There was no united, broad, comprehensive spirit of real development in the vision of those who fathered them. The members of the East and South knew nothing and cared less about irrigation. It was a subject as foreign to their conceptions of the 13 14 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST needs of the United States as though it had applied to Kamschatka or Beloochistan. Even President McKinley, after his re-election, made no reference to it in his message. But the subject was discussed with considerable enthusiasm, notably at the ninth annual session of the National Irrigation Congress at Chicago, 111., November 21 to 24, 1900. At this meeting Mr. Francis G. Newlands, then Representa- tive from Nevada, and Mr. George H. Maxwell, chairman of the executive committee of the National Irrigation Association, were particularly energetic in the discussion of proposed legislation. At that time there were two radically opposing views strug- gling for recognition. The first was for national development and the second was for turning over the public lands or their proceeds to the States. Messrs. Newlands and Maxwell were particularly enthusiastic in their advocacy of the first course. At this time Frederick H. Newell was doing im- portant work in the Geological Survey along na- tional irrigation lines, in accordance with the Powell policy and plans. He was the best man, therefore, in the United States, to give definite and practical shape to any contemplated legislation, and on No- vember 30, 1900, Mr. Newlands called upon him to discuss a bill which he proposed to introduce into the House, in which he was then a representative from Nevada. At his request Mr. Newell prepared a draft of a bill, which he introduced on December 17, relating particularly to water storage on the Humboldt River in Nevada. Let Dr. Newell now tell the story in his own words, as given in his testimony, February 5, 1909, before THE EECLAMATION ACT 15 the Coimnittee on Irrigation of Arid Lands, House of Representatives. At that time he [Mr. Newlands] was convinced that there should be a more general bill, and I assisted him in drafting a measure along the lines of the River and Harbour biU. He continued his agitation of the subject in and out of Congress and had a series of evening meetings at his resi- dence, where, on January 8, 1901, I had the pleasure of delivering an illustrated talk, showing lantern slides similar to those which I have shown before this committee. There were present at that time the Secretary of the Interior and many of the western Members of Congress; in all about sixteen public men. Growing out of this activity both committees of the House, namely, that on Public Lands and that on Arid Lands, began to hold meetings. The hearings before the Committee on Public Lands were held on January 11, 18, 23 and 30, and were addressed by Mr. Newlands, Mr. Max- well, myself, and others. The bill presented by Mr. New- lands was H. R. 12844, and served as a text for his dis- cussion. The Committee on Irrigation of Arid Lands held hearings from January 28 to February 9. During the progress of these hearings Mr. Newlands kept up his activity, and on January 17 gave a dinner to the Public Lands Committee at which the outlines of the bill were discussed in general terms, and on January 22 he asked me to assist in drawing another bill. On January 25 my records show that we discussed the bill, setting aside the proceeds of sale of lands for purposes of irrigation, and with Mr. Maxwell's advice it was put in definite form. The next day after some further consideration of the pro- visions with Mr. Maxwell and myself, Mr. Newlands intro- duced the bill, H. R. 13846 (56th Cong., 2d Sess.), setting aside moneys received from the sale and disposal of public lands. This bill (H. R. 13846) attracted at once considerable attention and formed the basis for a number of similar bills introduced by other members. It contained the principal 16 RECLAIMING THE AEID WEST elements of the Reclamation Act as finally passed. The first section set aside the money derived from the proceeds of public lands and authorized construction, and the second section authorized the Secretary of the Interior, through the Director of the Geological Survey, to continue the examina- tion and ascertain the practicability of diverting rivers and of providing supplies of water by artesian wells. The third section provided that reports should be made, and the fourth section covered the question of withdrawal of lands. Provision was made that "the right to the use of water shall be perpetually appurtenant to the land irrigated and beneficial use shall be the basis, the measure, and the limit of the right," this being the language which Mr. Maxwell had worked out at various sessions of the Irrigation Con- gress. Provision was also made for irrigating private lands and for making payment in ten annual instalments, limiting the entry to 80 acres. The next question discussed by Mr. Newlands and his friends was that of getting the bill advantageously intro- duced in the Senate, as it had been proposed in the House by a member of the party in opposition. After considerable discussion at Mr. Newlands' residence, and acting on the advice of Senator Pettigrew and others, it was concluded to ask Senator Hansbrough to introduce the bill. Mr. Maxwell was asked to approach him on the subject. As a result, on January 31, Senator Hansbrough introduced the bill as S. 5833. (He refused at first and was persuaded with difficulty.) This was reported from the Senate Com- mittee on Public Lands on February 4, 1901, with a few amendments, which were subsequently rejected. In the meantime, Mr. Newlands was actively at work dis- cussing his original bill (13846) and perfecting it in detail. He introduced it again and again under different numbers. It appears as H. R. 14088, of February 6 ; H. R. 14326, of March 1 ; and still again as H. R. 14338, the changes in each case leading toward the form ultimately adopted. The hearings of the House Committee resulted finally in report from the Committee on Public Lands, being known as Report No. 2954, and presenting a biU known as H. R. THE EECLAMATION ACT 17 14280, embodying the idea of a reclamation fund and au- thorizing the Secretary of the Interior to make surveys and examinations and to construct the work. It is essentially a brief summary of the first part of the Newlands bills. . . . The closing days of the Fifty-sixth Congress were marked by great activity in the introduction of similar bills and discussion of them. The attention of the entire coun- try was drawn to the subject by the sentiment broadly dis- seminated that one of the reasons for Senator Carter's "talking to death" the River and Harbour bill was found in the fact that the West could not secure recognition of its needs. With the close of this Congress there seemed to be a clearly outlined policy, looking toward the early enact- ment of legislation along the lines indicated above, and which would carry out the pledges made by the diflferent political parties. The matter was not allowed to rest, but was discussed at the various conventions. Efforts were revived to side- track the idea of national reclamation by turning the pro- ceeds from the disposal of public lands over to state ofiScials. Enough was done in this direction to stimulate the friends of national irrigation to still greater efforts. Immediately following the death of President McKinley, on September 14, 1901, Mr. Roosevelt gave personal atten- tion to the subject, and on the next but one Sunday follow- ing I was instructed to meet him, and on the afternoon of September 23, at the house of his sister, Mrs. Cowles, he discussed fully the whole situation, asking Mr. Gifford Pinchot and myself to prepare memoranda which he might use in his first message to Congress on the subject of fores- try and irrigation. This message called the attention of the Fifty-seventh Congress to the matter. It was already in the minds of the western members, but they seemed hopelessly divided on the subject. It was recognized that if success was to be attained there must be unity of action. Accordingly a general meeting of western members was held on December 3, 1901, and an organization perfected by the selection of Senator Francis E. Warren, of Wyoming, as chairman. 18 EECLAIMING THE AKID WEST This committee held almost daily sessions, and Mr. New- lands, as secretary, submitted a report on December 28, 1901, with a draft of a biU which embodied the ideas of the original Newlands bill and the legislation favourably re- ported by the Senate Committee on Public Lands and Arid Lands. Final action on the subject was set for January 7, 1902. From this time forward the progress of the Beclamation Act was confined mainly to matters of detail in securing the attention of Members, organizing forces, and arousing public opinion. In the latter Mr. Maxwell was particularly active. The history of the passage of the bill is in the debates in the Congressional Record. It finally passed the House on June 13, and became a law upon the signature of the President on June 17, 1902. It is interesting and instructive to read the various successive drafts and note the changes in language, denoting the great care with which every word and line has been scrutinized. A study of the changes is valuable in explaining why the Reclamation Act has been so successful. Many of the men who are not conversant with the great care with which the bill was prepared have expressed surprise that so few changes are considered necessary even after six years of practical experience. It must be borne in mind, however, that the bill was drafted and revised not wholly as an experimental measure, but as one resulting from many years' investigation of the subject by men who had made it a life-work to thoroughly know the physical conditions of the West and the results accomplished by private and cor- porate enterprise. The biU, in other words, is not one which has been prepared on a theoretical basis by men who have simply been students of economics," but before its passage was subject to the most rigid scrutiny by thor- oughly practical irrigation men and lawyers versed in water litigation. ^ President Koosevelt's interest in behalf of the bill cannot be over-estimated and he deserves all the honour that attaches to his name at the Roosevelt THE EECLAMATION ACT 19 Dam and elsewhere for Ms earnest advocacy of the cause. Unlike his predecessors in the presidential chair he was familiar with the arid West and its needs. As a young man in delicate health he had come out to a ranch in Wyoming, and had there f el- lowshiped with cowboys, hunters and men who knew the country and its possibilities. He there saw with his own eyes the marvels of irrigation on soil that was called desert, and this and a hundred other experiences impossible in the East, gave him not only a knowledge of the West, but an intuitive sympathy with it that could have been gained in no other way. In his first message he put the question upon a na- tional basis. He said : The reclamation of the unsettled arid public lands pre- sents a different problem. Here it is not enough to regu- late the flow of streams. The object of the Government is to dispose of the land to settlers who will build homes upon it. To accomplish this object water must be brought within their reach. The pioneer settlers on the arid public domain chose their homes along streams from which they could them- selves divert the water to reclaim their holdings. Such opportunities are practically gone. There remain, how- ever, vast areas of public land which can be made available for homestead settlement, but only by reservoirs and main- line canals impracticable for private enterprise. These irrigation works should be built by the National Govern- ment. The lands reclaimed by them should be reserved by the Government for actual settlers, and the cost of con- struction should, so far as possible, be repaid by the land reclaimed. The distribution of the water, the division of the streams among irrigators, should be left to the settlers themselves, in conformity with state laws and without in- terference with those laws or with vested rights. 20 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST Then, in speaking specifically of irrigation of the arid West in detail, he followed closely the lines laid down in the Newlands bilL To show, however, how its enemies sought to emasculate the true democracy of the bill, it is well to refer to the fact that in joint committee the feature of Mr. Newlands' bill providing for the withdrawal of lands from entry under aU laws except the home- stead, without the benefit of the commutation clause, until the works should be finished and the water ac- tually ready for delivery, was stricken out by the committee. As William E. Smythe effectively states it : This action was intensely disappointing to the organized irrigation movement, who believed it was done solely in the interest of land-grabbers who desired to get possession of the choicest morsels of the public domain in advance of homeseekers. George H. Maxwell declared that it amounted to a betrayal of the most sacred objects of the movement and said it was infinitely preferable that the entire measure should be lost at that time rather than that a condition should be created under which it would be not only possible, but probable, that the lands would be stolen before the genuine homemaker could get an opportunity to file upon them. His aggressive stand aroused a storm of opposition to the amendment. It resulted in an animated conference at the White House, at which the President announced that he would not sign the bill in that shape. The original provision was then restored so that it was made impossible for any one to obtain title to public lands irrigated by the Government, without five years' residence and actual cultivation. Thus restored to its original condition the bill passed the House, June 3, 1902, by a vote of 146 to 55. President Roosevelt signed it on June 17, the 127th anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill. CHAPTER in ntEIGATED LAND FOB THE LANDLESS For centuries, in every so-called civilized country, the land has been the property of the few. The masses of the people were allowed to live upon it, to work it, to make it productive, but the ownership and whatever profit accrued from its cultivation be- longed to the few who claimed its possession. True democracy has sought to change this condi- tion. A practical belief in the brotherhood of man compels the endeavour to put our brothers upon as good a footrag as we ourselves stand. But human selfishness dies hard. It thinks first not only of itself, and its actual needs, but its refinements, lux- uries and even dissipations, and looks on, as none of its affair, at the pathetic and oftentimes vain strug- gles of others less able, less fortunate, or less rude than themselves in the strenuous battle of life. While the new day has "dawned," it has not yet come to its full high noon. The day of large land- ownerships is not yet passed, I regret to say; but it has begun to pass. A break has been made. The vast land-holdings in America are being divided,, and the different countries of Europe, even, are awaken- ing to the fact that the monstrous injustice of the so-called higher class, in holding their vast estates without adequate taxation, and sometimes with no taxation at all, can no longer be tolerated. The day is coming foreshadowed in Edwin Markham's "Man 21 22 EECLAIMING THE AKID WEST with the Hoe," when the brutal creature, bowed down by the weight of centuries, shall begin to rise in dumb rebellion. His eye is catching the flash of God's own light of freedom and real manhood. He is begiuniag to stand upright; to see the "swing of Pleiades," and to feel the beginnings of desires and aspirations to which he has hitherto been a stranger. He sees these wide lands in another light than did his fore- fathers. Why should he not own a small fraction of them? or at least be enabled to cultivate them and reap the produce for himself and his family, rather than for others? V^ Little by little these dreams and newly sprung -;;;^aspirations have grown. Slowly men have seen and '~-) realized their inherent birthright. Now they are ^^' crying in loud chorus ; "It is for us to possess what i the Creator evidently intended should be ours at least for use and blessing." The Homestead Laws of the United States were this country's answer to this essentially natural hu- man cry. Thousands of pioneers settled upon the public lands, struggled up from poverty to affluence as the result of their own endeavours upon the soil of a free republic, and thus demonstrated to the world the inherent power of a true though not fully developed democracy. Onr homestead laws, however, were abused, as were the desert, forestry, and mining land acts. Capitalists, by fraud and collusion, secured large tracts of land, contrary to the spirit of democracy, and held them for speculation. At first, neither the officials of government nor the people seemed to care, but after a few generations had passed it was lEEiaATED LAND FOR THE LANDLESS 23 discovered that the public lands were shrinkiiig with fearful rapidity. All the choice pieces were already absorbed from the public domain. Nothing but the undesirable portions remained, or the barren and desolate desert areas of the "West that were regarded as practically useless. This cry led to a tightening of the laws. But the locking of the doors of the land stables did not bring back the stolen horses. They were gone, and gone forever. Hence, when the fathers of irrigation began their campaign, they decided to safeguard as far as possi- ble the irrigated arid lands from the thief, the mon- opolist, the grabber, and keep them to become the actual homesteads of those who would live upon, im- prove, and actually enjoy them. How well they accomplished their aim history is rapidly recording, in the joyous testimony of thou- sands and thousands of families who are landowners — and in spite of the hardships they think they have had to endure, are a thousandfold better off than their fellows in autocratically governed lands. Yet few there are who can see that these joyous re- sults have come about through the aridity of the western lands ; that had these public lands been nat- urally watered, as those are in the East, this further triumph of democracy would not have taken place, perhaps, until weary and bloody centuries had elapsed. It is this very feature that it is' so important to discuss. There are certain public works that are too large, too stupendous, to be xmdertaken by any but the 24 EECLAIMING THE AKID WEST government. Such was the building of the dikes that protect Holland from the sea ; the great road- systems of the Romans ; the building of the Panama Canal; and the leveeing of the Mississippi Eiver. The work of the Reclamation Service is of this same gigantic character. The cost of a single dam in several instances has gone into the millions of dol- lars, and except as a government measure the carry- ing on of these works would have been impossible. Had the lands been well watered as those east of the ninety-seventh meridian the West would have been settled up under the same conditions as those that obtained east of this line. But individual set- tlers — after the first few had located upon the sides of running streams — could not cope with the dry conditions. Even when a band of them "got to- gether" and tried to put in their diversion dams and canals the floods and freshets, in every known case, sooner or later washed them out, and their last estate was worse than their first. For, in many in- stances, the settlers had cleared desert lands with incredible labour, levelled them, put in their crops or orchard, relying upon a constant supply of water. So long as water flowed they were happy, and things looked promising, but when, through the washing out of a dam, the water stopped, then actual Euin arose and grasped them by the throat. It was no slow process. In the hot sunshine of the West one week without water on their crops meant dire disaster, and a full month, irrevocable ruin. The farm-home-seeking instinct of the American people urged them out upon the public lands, but when all those east of the ninety-seventh meridian lEEIGATED LAND FOE THE LANDLESS 25 were taken up the cry began to arise : ' ' Give us the West." To the uninformed Easterner the cry was absurd. The West was a desert. We have but to read the expressions of some of our wisest states- men in the houses of Congress to know how useless the major portion of the lands of the "great west- ern deserts " were regarded. Contempt for their possibilities was the least expression of the popular eastern disregard. Hence the need for the cam- paign of education, so effectively organized and car- ried on by Powell, Smythe, Maxwell, and by New- lands in the House and Senate. To the millions of the East the West was "the land that God forgot." In the light of the experiences of today how fatuous was this blindness. Yet how true it is that what man today, in his ignorance, regards as a curse may to- morrow turn out to be his greatest blessing. The scientist now tells us, — and the cultivation of millions of acres in the arid West has proved its truth — ^that the very condition of aridity is an assurance of great fertility when water is applied. Professor E. W. Hilgard of the University of California, the greatest agricultural expert the West has produced, thus stated the case : Soils are formed from rocks by the physical and chemi- cal agencies commonly comprehended in the term weather- ing, which includes both their pulverization and chemical decomposition by atmospheric action. Both actions, but more especially the chemical one, continue in the soil itself ; the last named in an accelerated measure, so as to give rise to the farmer's practice of "fallowing" — that is, leaving the land exposed to the action of the air in a well-tilled but unplanted condition, with a view to increasing the succeeding year's crops by the additional amount of plant- 26 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST food rendered available, during the fallow, from the soil itself. This weathering process is accompanied by the forma- tion of new compounds out of the minerals originally com- posing the rock. Some of these, such as zeolites and clay, are insoluble in water, and therefore remain in the soU, forming a reserve of plant-food that may be drawn upon gradually by plants; while another portion, containing especially the compounds of the alkalies — potash and soda — are easily soluble in water. Where the rainfall is abun- dant these soluble substances are currently carried into the country drainage, and through the rivers into the ocean. Among these are potash, lime, magnesia, sulphuric and a trifle of phosphoric acids. Where, on the contrary, the rainfall is insufficient to carry the soluble compounds formed in the weathering of the soil-mass into the country drainage, those compounds must of necessity remain and accumulate in the soil. Is it not singular, in vie-w of Professor Hilgard's contention, that careful readers and observers had never noted that the most fertile countries were the arid ones, and not the humid and well-watered ones? In spite of crude implements and obsolete methods India, China, Egypt, Palestine and other arid or semi-arid lands are the most famous for their fertil- ity. Various explanations for this fact have been offered, as, for instance, the commonly referred to overflowuig of the Nile, thus depositiug its fertilizing sediment upon the land. This idea held, and still holds, so firmly that many believe it is the sole ex- planation, and yet in the Colorado Eiver country, the irrigation-farmers are spending many thousands of dollars in eliminating this river-sediment before the water reaches their lands. There are other conditions, however, than the fer- IRRIGATED LAND FOR THE LANDLESS 27 tility of the soil that render arid countries desirable to live in. It is no mere figure of speech to refer to them as "lands of blue sky, sunshine, pure air and cool nights." The arid West is the nation's God- given sanitarium. How many hundreds of thou- sands have found it so. There is no muggy, over- powering, sweltering heat, day or night ; fierce, biting heat, there certainly is, but it is dry and therefore not conducive to sunstroke or apoplexy, or the lesser discomfort of perpetual stickiness. This absence of humidity renders both heat and cold far more bearable and therefore arid countries are more desirable as places of residence, winter and summer, especially for the old and feeble, the frail or diseased, than those that are humid. To go back now, however, to the cry of the home- seeker for these arid western lands. To be lived up- on they must be made fertile by the application of water. This could be done only by the co-operation of a number of settlers, or by the intervention of the : government, and in either case the demand arose forj co-operative effort and co-operative purpose. Alone, a man, however able and industrious, starved. He could not turn the course of a river, build a canal system, conduct water across great ravines or yawn- ing chasms, or construct immense storage-dams. Co-operation, therefore, was imperative. The value of the learning of this lesson, prior to the Govern- ment's taking upon itself the burden of reclamation, few can estimate. It is the chief secret for the dif- ference that every sentient person from the East feels immediately he strikes the West. There is a new "feeling" in the very atmosphere. The land is' 28 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST different, the scenery is different, the people and their habits are different. The co-operative efforts of the men of the West also taught them many other important lessons, which are to influence mankind's progress to the end of time. For instance, they began to realize that the final test of "right" to water was that it be put to beneficial use. The old English law of riparian rights, viz., that one was entitled to a proportionate share of all water flowing by his land in accordance with his land-holdings, long since was found to be inadequate to cope with the water problems of the West. The present laws, therefore, in many of the states, practically declare it to be obsolete, and the usage established by the Eeclamation Service is now obtaining on every hand, viz., that the only right one can have to water that is needed for the general good, is the right beneficially to use it. This principle is also applied, in some, perhaps all, of the western states to springs, etc., originating upon lands that are privately owned. No longer can a selfish pro- prietor say: "I own this water, and whether I care to use it or not is no one's business. It is mine, and here it stays until I want it." The State steps in, and gives to any person who will beneficially use it, the right to appropriate and pipe it away. And an actual right of use thus gained is an appurtenant to the land, not to be bartered, or sold away from that land but kept for beneficial use there and there only. In order to aid in a clear understanding as to the meaning to be attached to the term "beneficial," there have been many conferences upon the matter by those interested. It has been shown clearly that IRRIGATED LAND FOR THE LANDLESS 29 the most beneficial methods are those that produce the best results from the most economical use. As there is "water enough, so far flowing, developed, or stored, to meet the demands of a relatively small per- centage of potentially irrigable lands in the West, it necessarily f oUows that the economical use of water is a question of as great importance to the public welfare as is the beneficial use to the welfare of the individual. Therefore, every true patriot, every good and unselfish citizen, will endeavour to instruct himself that he can the more economically use the water that a beneficent government has aided him in securing for his personal benefit. In speaking of riparian rights there is another requirement the western irrigation usage has done away with, viz., that all users of water from a river must return it to the channel undiminished in quan- tity. This, of course, is directly antagonistic to ir- rigation, as a large amount is absorbed both in the soil and the growing things. Hence all irrigation states have modified or rejected the riparian doc- trine. When the Reclamation Act was being considered these essential and basic principles — contrary to the universal usage of the world — forced themselves to the forefront. The "practical politicians" laughed when they heard such expressions as "There shall be no monopoly in government-irrigated land." Yet who is there — except the monopolist himself — that does not realize the immense wrong done to the real homeseeker, the toiler, the would-be farmer who loves the land he desires to see productive under his hands with an intensity he cannot suppress, by those 30 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST who * ' own' ' land for speculative purposes ? I believe with Joha Euskin that the time will come when such a monopoly will be regarded by decent men as worse than highway robbery. Major Powell, Senator Newlands and others saw that aU our laws needed reform in this matter, but they determined, if pos- sible, to so construct the Eeclamation Act that it would not need to be reformed. It should contain withia itself the leaven that would ultimately change all laws that made monopolies of the things of God in Nature possible. They planned, therefore, so that the Eeclamation Act forbade the delivery of water on any govern- ment project to privately owned lands to a greater extent than 160 acres. Thus an effort was made to take it out of the power of capitalists and speculators in land to take selfish advantage of the beneficent work of a government of democracy designed for the benefit of aU citizens alike who desired to avail them- selves of it. Pressure was thus brought on the own- ers of large tracts to divide them, to sell to those who would develop them, and thus the army of our small and prosperous farmers is rapidly growing. Even sovereign States have been so carried away with the spirit of landlordism that they have sought to hold on to land irrigated by the Eeclamation Serv- ice for speculative rises in price. In every case this spirit has been checked by the Service. For instance, the State of Washington owned certain lands in the Tieton unit of the Yakima Project. Secretary Lane wrote to Governor Lister, calling his attention to the fact that "development is arrested by certain State lands withheld from cultivation, it lEEiaATED LAND FOE THE LANDLESS 31 is alleged, in a spirit of speculation, the State hold- ing for future profit." The governor responded that he would bring the matter before the State Land Commission, and the lands in question have since been appraised and of- fered for sale. The farm unit upon the Eeclamation Projects was fixed at forty, sixty, eighty acres — seldom more — and private owners of land were prohibited from purchasing a water right for more than 160 acres in one ownership. Then the act aflSrmed the people's ownership of water, to be beneficially used after it had been con- served and stored. But in its distribution for bene- ficial use each man, no matter how much or how little land he owned, should be on an equality with every other man. Here was a new note in pure democracy. It struck at water monopoly, and practically made the water-right belong to the land, from which noth- ing could ever alienate it. The storage and diversion dams were to be built, canals and laterals constructed, and water actually put upon every man's land by the government. The costs were to be paid back iu ten yearly payments, without interest, and, when these payments, with the annual maintenance and operation costs, were com- pleted, the whole works were to be turned over to the people who owned the irrigated lands. Again the politicians laughed. This was a joke; it was revolutionary; it was unconstitutional. They did not regard it as worth serious consideration. It so far violated the old-time political methods that they could not see the handwriting on the wall. 32 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST Even the leaders were so blinded — ^fortunately — that they were assured the biU could not pass, so that they made no attempt to muster their forces to defeat it. And none were more astonished than they to find themselves swept to defeat by the response of the great body of the House of Representatives to the popular demand. It was the tolling of the bell of doom to selfish, monopolistic, special-class legislation. They did not see it. Few did, but, nevertheless, it is perfectly clear, and future centuries will note this as the epoch-forming time. The act was passed. The president had signed it. It had become the law of the land. Charles D. Wal- cott was appointed the first Director, and F. H. New- ell the Chief Engineer. The organization of the workers began, and the politicians now took it upon themselves to dictate as to who should be employed, what projects should be started, where dams should be located, or, in other words how they should finger as much of the money of the Service as they could. Needless to add a fight was on at once. Steadily, but firmly, they were bidden to keep their hands off, and this policy has ever since been adhered to. While this struggle was being precipitated in Washington, another of a different character, was being forced upon the engineers in the field. Not even the most sanguine of the workers for the establishment' of the Service dreamed of the impa- tience of the people to get upon the land as soon as the bill was passed. Demands for the starting of the work poured in from home-hungry people all over lEEIGATED LAND FOE THE LANDLESS 33 the West, and many impatient ones, refusing to lis- ten to the wise counsels of the leaders, rushed upon the land, paid their preliminary fees, started to clear and level their holdings, built their rude homes, and then were compelled to sit idle because water could not be supplied to them for one, two, three, or more years to come. One result of this uncontrollable impatience was that the officials, naturally desirous of making every reasonable effort to meet popular need, began with very limited data in regard to the probable extent of work required and future conditions of crops and markets. This led, naturally, to underestimates of final costs, and when the people began to realize that these costs were larger than they anticipated and must ultimately be paid, considerable dissatisfaction was expressed. Yet in spite of difficulties of every kind the work went quietly on. And it is a joy to relate that more favourable developments arose than obstacles. One of these was the realization of the wonderful possi- bilities for the development of electricity on the va- rious projects. Millions of dollars will ultimately be saved to the farmers in this one item alone, and in the chapters on the Salt Eiver, Minidoka and many other projects it will be seen what the utili- zation of this power already signifies to the farm- ers. It was soon found, also, that telephones were nec- essary for the actual needs of the engineers, and, as canal-systems developed, to give timely warning of floods, breakages, etc. In due time these telephone systems were made available to the settlers, and 34 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST when the projects are paid for, in most cases they will be owned and operated by them. So the good work goes on. How: wonderfully, sometimes, things with which, we are perfectly familiar strike us with new force under new conditions. For a life-time I have sung the majestic chorus of Mendelssohn, from Elijah, "Thanks be to God; He laveth the thirsty land." Again and again have I thrilled to its passionate power, but never did I dream of its full significance until I saw water pouring through the irrigation canals of our thirsty West; the gentle murmuring of the flowing waters suggesting the music made by the land as it sucked up, absorbed, drew into every thirsty pore, the life-giving, stimulating, seed-grow- ing fluid, CHAPTER lY SOME OP THE DrFFICTJLTIES Many of the difficulties encountered in the earlier days of the a^tation for irrigation of the arid West, in the passage of the Eeclamation Act, in the building up of the organization of engineers, etc., have al- ready been recounted. There are others, however, a few of which it seems well to present to my readers that they the more fuUy understand the greatness of the results already accomplished. Not the least of the difficulties the Service had to contend with was where public men attempted to use their positions to obtain information of projects un- der consideration, so that they might pose before the public as directing, influencing, or advising the Serv- ice to their political advantage. Again and again, both at the head offices in Washington, and the local offices throughout the country, "prominent men" would appear, and indignantly criticize the engi- neers and others for their "unnecessary secrecy," refusal to give out facts and figures, neglect to avail themselves of the information possessed by local authorities, etc., etc. Yet it can readUy be seen, now, that in spite of the caution and care of the Service, the most casual re- marks were seized upon and made the basis for later criticisms. Take the Klamath project as an illus- tration. Because of the very listening to the "local authorities," and taking the "public men of the re- 35 36 EECLAIMINa THE ARID WEST gion into their confidence," the tentative remarks of the engineers were resolved into pledges of original cost of construction. The newspapers and others boomed these purely casual remarks, based generally upon the consideration of the "facts and figures" of the "local experts." One of the greatest diflSculties was often caused by the settlers themselves, in their haste to get upon the land. They saw the water that was to change their uncultivated lands running to waste. It ap- peared to them a tremendous quantity — sufficient to irrigate ten times more land than they had located upon. But water supplies are inconstant; they vary within a wide range. One year there may be a heavy rain-fall, and the next a larger still, only, how- ever, to be followed by three or four seasons of drought. Think, then, of the terrible predicament of men, with their families, and their stock, located upon lands which they have reclaimed from the orig- inal desert, levelled, ditched, and planted out to or- chard or crops — all in good faith and in supreme reliance upon the ability of the "government" to supply all the water all of them might need, when- ever they needed it. Now they are confronted by a serious and perilous situation. Nature and the gov- ernment have failed them. They have little or no water at the very time they must have it, or their crops wUl dry up, their young trees will die, they themselves will be ruined. Exactly this situation has occurred both before and after the Service entered the field. Impatience and want of foresight, going hand in hand, often pro- duce serious consequences. Many a man has toiled, SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES 37 slaved and expended his little savings in an earnest endeavour to reclaim land, only to wake np to find himself unable to get the water he must have, and must have now, to save his crop from immediate destruction. As far as it was humanly possible the Service sought to avoid these dire catastrophes, but human nature is urgent and insistent, impatient and self- willed, and public pressure was brought to bear upon officials, engineers and project managers to hurry things up. The people were clamouring for water ; everybody could see it was running to waste. Why couldn't they have it? In a few instances they were allowed to have their way, only to come to a realiza- tion that, as the acreage of cultivation increased, it was more and more imperative that the permanent supply of water be put beyond any peradventure of a doubt. And the only way this could be done was by the enlargement of storage facilities. Larger dams, or new dams, must be constructed. This meant ad- ditional expense, ultimately to be borne by the con- sumer, the settler. Sometimes it was discovered that the peculiar na- ture of the soil required far more water than had been supposed. Even tests and years of farming on one area of a project gave no clue to the conditions found to exist on some other part. A score, a hun- dred, new elements of inequality, or disturbance, were discovered, and, ere the project could be said to be in full working order, all these elements of in- equality or inharmony must be removed or con- quered, no matter at what labour or expense. And nobly the officials, engineers and managers of 38 RECLAIMING THE AEID WEST the Service responded to these demands upon their knowledge, skill, ingenuity, tact, patience, and equa- nimity. Settlers who had started in to undertake great thiags with limited capital, and even more lim- ited knowledge of what was before them and must be overcome, could not always see what was being done for them, and how much thought and care were required to remove the obstacles that, unexpectedly, had sprung up in their path- Unprejudiced out- siders can see and understand and they unhesita- tingly commend the high public spirit, the pa- triotic adherence to impleasant duty and the pouriag forth of the scientific and practical knowledge of men who were seldom paid by the Government any- thing like the amount they could have received for less work elsewhere. One of the unavoidable errors made in early days of all irrigation work — ^whether undertaken by engi- neers of the Reclamation Service or of other organi- zations, was the placing of the probable cost of the enterprise too low. There were no precedents for guidance and there was a steadily increasing demand for larger and better works than those at first con- templated. That is to say, if the original estimates were based upon wooden structures and the cheapest possible method, it was found that as work pro- gressed and land values increased, the people inter- ested made demands for a better type of work and for larger and more comprehensive schemes. WhUe the pioneers were satisfied to drive across the canals and ditches, the next comers insisted upon having good bridges. While the man who built his own irri- gation lateral was satisfied with any kind of rude SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES 39 device to control the water, his successor demanded from the Government officials the very best and latest pattern of water-gate, thus doubling or trebling the assumed cost. It is a well recognized tendency of the human mind to demand the very best of machinery and service when furnished by a corporation or by the Govern- ment, and there is an equally strong or greater tend- ency to question or even repudiate the bill when ul- timately presented for payment. Thus, it happened that while the landlords on the one hand urged upon the Government officials more and more expensive work, they were later equally insistent that they should not be called upon to pay for these added facilities and greater safeguards but that they should refund only what they regarded as the original esti- mates although these had been stated at the time as tentative in character only and pertaining to the rel- atively simple works then under consideration. This question of the estimated cost thus formed a matter of much complaint. At the outset and throughout all of the operations the engineers of the Reclamation Service have at all times and on all occasions called attention to the fact that the esti- mated cost can be stated, as required by law, only after the work has been done and then "shall be determined with a view of returning to the Eeclama- tion fund the estimated cost for construction of the project, and shall be apportioned equitably." The men who are ultimately to pay this estimated cost have tried to hold it down to the quantities which they allege were given to them informally during the period of discussion of the project Moreover, un- 4Q EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST der pressure of self-interest, many of them forget the qualifying statement made, for example, that the main works "wUl cost from $20 to $30 an acre, pro- viding we do not build many permanent head-gates, bridges, and provided that the distribution system is constructed by the farmers themselves." In the popular mind, only the lowest figure of $20 per acre remains fixed and the qualifying clauses disappear during the somewhat heated discussion which has followed. However this may be, there was so much to do, so many projects to be considered, so many gigantic plans to inaugurate, that it was impossible for any body of men to go carefully over all of the details and to foresee all the contingencies. Not being gifted with skiU of prophecy, the engineers could not fore- see the steady rise in prices and materials and la- bour, nor the decreased eflSciency of labour due to its scarcity; nor was it permissible for them to as- sume that there would be unusual or unprecedented floods or catastrophes such as experience had not shown to exist. They could not safely predict that a great part of the land when reclaimed would not be immediately utilized and thus would fail to bring back its pro rata of original cost. Even had they foreseen clearly and accurately prophesied all of these conditions, they would have been in worse plight because no one would have believed them and they would not have been entrusted with the carrying out of the work. These and other alleged mistakes of the engineers have been greatly exaggerated because they fit in with a very insidious doctrine which has been quietly SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES 41 promulgated, namely: that of ultimate repudiation by the land owners of the debt owed to the Govern- ment for bringing the water to the lands. While the local politicians appreciate that they would meet with no sympathy in the unequivocal proposition to repudiate, yet they very practically reason that if it can be shown that mistakes were made or that the final cost was underestimated at a period five or ten years before, then there might be a hope of inducing the Government to accept a less amount than was actually expended. This indirectly puts a cash pre- mium upon proof of the engineers' incompetence or bad judgment a"nd has resulted in many unfair at- tacks upon men who, from their official position, are unable to defend themselves or, because of proper self-respect, do not care to enter into a wordy war. An example of the increase of cost to the ulti- mate payor of the bills, namely the farmer, over that at first assumed, is the Truckee-Carson project, the original estimate on the basis of works then proposed being $22 per acre to be paid in ten annual instal- ments. This was raised, to the lands first reclaimed, to $26 per acre ; for other lands $30 per acre ; and to the later comers who had the advantage of increased facilities, to $60 per acre. It should be noted, how- ever, that this increase of charge for the use of the water is far less than the unearned increment in value of the land, which has gone to the land owner and has raised his property from being practically worthless up to conditions where he demands a hun- dred dollars or more per acre for the raw land sim- ply because the Government has made it possible for water to be procured at any price. 42 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST Many similar increases over the first assumed or unofficial newspaper statements might be given but, to those who are not financially interested, the rea- sons are seen to be natural and beyond fair criticism. Numberless difficulties of the most serious charac- ter arose from the failure of contractors fully to in- vestigate conditions before putting in their bids; consequent inability to perform their contracts ; the letting of sub-contracts to men of inadequate finan- ces to carry the work through to completion; the coming of storms — ^blizzards, severe snowfalls, heavy rains, floods — to prevent progress ; strikes of workmen; mismanagement; rises in prices of ma- terial and labour; unforeseen difficulties and condi- tions which led the officials of the Service, in honour, to change the terms of contracts; attachments on contractors ' plants ; delays demanding irritating ex- tensions of time ; unfulfilled promises of too-optimis- tic contractors; breaking down of machinery and difficulties experienced in making repairs at such long distances ; accidents to workmen ; disputes over claims for damages as the result of such accidents; inadequate equipment of contractors ; the inability to secure sufficient men and teams on reasonable terms, and also to get enough to do urgent work on time, prior to the coming of surely-expected floods, frosts, storms, etc.; inability of contractors to realize the magnitude of the work they had attempted, etc., etc. What a long list it is ; things great, things small, things petty, yet all needing attention, wisdom, tact, and patience to overcome. Unforeseen difficulties ' constantly were arising, difficulties that it was im- possible to foresee, any more than the expert engi- SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES 43 neers of America, engaged on the Panama Canal, fore- saw the slides of the Culebra Cut. Nothing but actual work revealed these conditions. Of a sindlar character were the side hill slides on the St. Mary's Canal which led to abandonment of the affected por- tion, and its construction on the other side of the river. To the ignorant layman this seems a pre- posterous procedure. The water is taken out from the river on the side opposite to that where it is needed for irrigation, and then made to recross the river in an inverted giant siphon. In addition to this the construction on the "wrong" side implied building across the dry bed of a creek where sand, silt and rocky channels existed; the crossing of a fierce torrential mountain stream, and the final car- rying of the waters of an 850 second-foot canal across the St. Mary Eiver where, at the most favour- able location, the structure must be over half a mile long and provide for a depression of about 175 feet and be carried across a bridge. Yet careful investi- gation and actual experience demonstrated that it was cheaper to abandon the work partly done, meet the difficulties named and incur the expense of cross- ing the river, than proceed on the line originally laid down. Unforeseen difficulties wrecked the Pecos Irriga- tion Company, a private corporation, when great caves developed in the gypsum formation under a certain part of Lake McMillan, and this same condi- tion rendered the abandonment of the Hondo Project necessary, as well as several reservoirs btdlt in that part of New Mexico by private capital. One of the great problems that confronts aU engi- 44 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST neers in the irrigation of large areas is that of drain- age. The continuous inpouring of water raises the sub-surface water-table, causing boggy or marshy places, and sometimes creating ponds of consider- able extent. Seepage also occurs, and this creates its own peculiar difficulties that are both tedious and expensive to overcome. In some cases where the canals were found to be in very pervious ground they were lined with clay or cement as was deemed best. Then water users were urged to irrigate their land in the shortest pos- sible time, be as economical as possible in applying the water, be careful about wasting water, and espe- cially at nights, and to construct proper waste-water ditches. Main or trunk drainage ditches or canals were also provided. The solution of the problems of drainage and seep- age are of the intensest practical interest to the farmer, as upon them often depends the failure or success of his life-work, and to the scientific and tech- nical engineer they are fascinating as giving him the material for mental conflicts which men delight in. Naturally in a nontechnical work of this charac- ter no attempt has been made to state the surface and drainage problems that have arisen on the various projects, but the interested reader will find them thoroughly presented in Director A. P. Davis's comprehensive book. Irrigation Works Constructed by the United States Government. The most practical way of preventing the careless use of water, such as ruins 15 to 20 per cent of aU irrigated areas is through "touching the vest pocket nerve." While the irrigator may understand and SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES 45 appreciate that he is using too much water, and is causing injury, yet the convenience of the supply or indifference to future consequences will result in his continuing the destructive process. If, however, he is told that he can use all the water he wants pro- viding he pays in proportion, he quickly begins to take notice. This policy brought out by the engineers for the Beclamation Service has resulted in great advantage. On some of the projects, for instance, a man is permitted to have water at the rate of 50^ per acre-foot for the first acre-foot applied to his irrigable land. For the next he is to pay 60^, the total being a fair amount for the year or season. If he needs more he pays at a steadily increasing rate, say 20^ for the next % acre-foot, 25^5 for the next and so on up until the price of additional water be- comes prohibitive. It is wonderful to see how the attitude of the care- less man changes under such conditions. He may have been using and claiming in good faith that he needed 6 acre-feet on his sandy land ; when, however, he has to pay at an increased rate for everything over two acre-feet, he quickly discovers that he can not only get along with part of the water but can raise crops twice the value of those previously pro- duced. One of the problems that has arisen to disturb the lay minds of some of the settlers on the various proj- ects has been the disposal of the natural springs that were found on certain lands, or that developed after the Service had installed its dams and distrib- uting systems. Many legal opinions have been ex- pressed in various States on this matter. There ^6 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST does not seem to be any unanimity of law upon the subject, but the Eeclamation Service has insisted upon certain fundamental principles, two of which are that the right to the water from either type of springs depends upon its beneficial use, and that no right can be sold or disposed of; it can merely be exercised as an individual right "for use on the premises" for the watering of stock, domestic use, etc. On the Sun Eiver Project it was found that alkali was having an injurious effect upon some of the con- crete work. One of the engineers while repairing a few culverts, attempted to replace a cracked 24-inch pipe. This pipe, on being removed, was found to be not only cracked but very much softened. Fur- ther investigation revealed that the entire culvert was in the same condition. Consequently, the pipe was all removed. This pipe, after being in the air for a time, hardened a very little. Further investi- gation showed that the concrete near the water-line was in the worst condition and that there was no difference whether the concrete was a dry mixture, such as the pipe was made of, or a slush mixture like the head-walls, or mortar. The water in this coulee was strongly alkaline. The effect of the alkali on many of the pipes is most peculiar and quite distinct from disintegration in its familiar forms. The pipe becomes swollen and cracks, revealing a soft or putty-like interior. In other pipe and in most concrete in mass the surface seems to soften and scale off, resembling the weath- ering of a stone. As a result of the alkali action above noted and SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES 47 similar action on several other projects, the Eecla- mation Service, in co-operation with the Bureau of Standards, the Office of Public Eoads and Rural En- gineering of the Department of Agriculture, and the Association of American Portland Cement Manu- facturers, has been conducting for several years a thorough investigation of the effect of alkali on con- crete. The conclusion has been reached that the disin- tegration is caused both by the expansion resulting from crystallization of salts in the pores and by chemical action of the solutions with the constituents of the cement. It naturally follows and has been amply proven that porous concrete due to either lean or dry mixtures is most subject to disintegration, and that the remedy lies in making the concrete as dense and as near water-proof as possible. Another difficulty of an entirely different charac- ter is where serious injury was caused to the lands of the settlers by the improper handling, inadequate engineering and faulty construction of a privately- owned canal which had prior rights over those of the Eeclamation Service. Investigation showed that the Crown Butte Ditch Company secured their rights by private filing on 30,000 inches of the Sun River and was supposed to irrigate 6,500 acres. Their ditch crossed several miles of government land and they had no right of way. Their first flume was poorly constructed and after two seasons' use, half of it blew down and was replaced. Twelve years later the company built a wood-stave pipe to take the place of the flume, the water users in the meantime having operated the canal at their own expense and 48 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST without any payment to the company. But now, ow- ing doubtless to government actiAdty, the company was galvanized somewhat into new life, and began to make improvements. But no adequate preparations had been made for needed and suitable drainage. In 1907 heavy rains occurred. The company's canal broke m several places and caused considerable dam- age to the right of way and the canal of the Eeclama- tion Service, — ^in one place completely washing away a rip-rap spillway. The actual cost of the repairs caused by the failure of the Crown Butte Canal Com- pany to keep its canal in proper condition was $3,- 986.85. It can well be seen that water-users under the Sun Eiver project must be protected from such possible losses, and it was the work of the Director, Project Engineer, and Attorney to get this whole matter in proper shape before relinquishing control of the project. Private rights of way often have had to be secured for the dams, reservoirs, canals, laterals, waste ditches, etc. These have also implied the rights for roads in order that ready access might be had for maintenance and operation. The question of fences, bridges over canals, fords, etc., has been a most complex one, for obviously it was impossible to allow indiscriminate fencing, bridging or fording, yet occasionally, and for tem- porary purposes, these privileges seemed indispen- sable. The Service has also laid out all County roads within a project after full consultation with the County officials. Most of the canals and waste water SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES 49 ditches were bridged, so as to make all the projects available for rapid settlement and development. As soon as this was done and the roads and bridges' dedicated to public use the maintenance, improve- ment and extension of them was turned over to the regular county organization. Not only has the Service had to consider all the many and varied needs of the living; even the dead have presented problems that have had to be solved in a satisfactory manner. For instance in the Fort Shaw unit on the Sun River Project it was found that no reservation for cemetery purposes had been pro- vided, although a cemetery had been maintained since the establishment of the military post, — ^forty years before. The Supervising Engineer therefore recommended that this actually existent cemetery to the extent of ten acres be formally set apart for the use of the settlers of the Fort Shaw unit. Many of the problems would have been much sim- plified had there been no settlers until the projects were actually completed and ready to be turned over to them. But this was impossible under the law as it then existed. This law has since been radically changed. The government officials have, however, to a limited extent, counselled prospective settlers as pri- vate landowners often do seeking purchasers, al- though such counsel has been largely disregarded. With the private capitalist it is good business to see that every settler is located where he is sure to be satisfied. Private capital has long since learned that a helping hand to a genuine worker is often a real 50 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST benefit. Banks extend credit ; merchants allow farm- ers to get into debt deeply for implements, and in most cases they find the help materially beneficial and an incitement to higher endeavour. Private capital is generally ready to advise with those who come to avail themselves of opportunities afforded, and guides them as to what they may, or may not reasonably attempt. Similar advice has been given by the Reclamation Service through its Settlement Section, in recent years, even though a free-born American citizen, or one that had become natural- ized, might and often did resent and disregard it. It was unquestionably good business to tell a clerk, who, with his family, was longing to leave the shut-up life of the city and move on to a piece of land in the arid West, that he would need a good deal of money, a great amount of optimism, a tremendous amount of persistent energy, a never-failing power for work, a courage that no amount of disappointments and failures could kill, or he ran the risk of never becom- ing a farmer, and of losing every cent of the earnings of a life-time that he was going to put into his ven- ture. Yet the question is still asked, what concern of the Government is it that city wives might break their hearts in the lonesomeness of the new surroundings ; that the children, used to the noise and bustle, the as- sociation and perpetual excitement, of the cities, would soon be weary of, and hate, the steady, mo- notonous, and comparatively lonely life of the west- ern farm? In recent years the Eeclamation Service has come to realize the great difficulties that would SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES 51 beset even the thoughtful who had fully considered for themselves, when the barren first years were en- countered. It is during the first five years, or so, that the settler on new land needs help and encour- agement. The officials, however, thought the set- tlers should be able to pay back the costs of constructing the vast irrigation systems in ten years, and it seemed a reasonable thing to require that the payments should be made in ten equal annual in- stalments. But practical experience demonstrated in a short time that, in many instances, this was utterly im- possible. Moving upon the land, building houses, barns, stables, however modest and economical, bringing one's family, purchasing stock and needful tools, seeds and trees for planting, clearing, levelling and planting out the land, preparing (as had to be done in some places) the farm laterals, making roads to connect with the turnpikes, and a thousand and one small things, yet, which, in the aggregate were large, completely exhausted the finances of many who thought they were extra-forehanded. Yet the demands of the law were imperative. No mill of the gods grinds more surely than a rigid legal system, where wise judgment is hampered by legal restrictions. The result was that although extension of time was provided by not declaring the projects completed, yet it was deemed wise by Congress to lengthen the time of repayment of construction costs from ten years to twenty years. The first payment required upon entry was made sufficiently large to insure good faith on the part of the applicant, and — then assuming that the entryman would expend his 52 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST funds in improvements — during the next few years the amounts to be returned to the Government were very small, the rate being increased so that the heav- ier payments come toward the end. This extension of time was greatly appreciated, especially by those who entered upon public lands. In cases of pur- chases of private lands, however, the results have been to increase the price demanded of the new- comers because of the fact that the Government's requirements were lessened. CHAPTER V AIDING THE SETILEBS What a mixed flood of humanity it was that poured upon the arid lands as soon as it was known the Gov- ernment was going to spend a hundred millions and more to reclaim them. And with what mixed mo- tives they were animated. Yet all, in their own way, were in pursuit of happiness. Some didn't want to work, nor did they intend to, but they wanted one of Uncle Sam's farms that were to be had for the ask- ing. On the other hand most of them were earnest home-seekers, desirous of bettering their condition by being established on the land, and willing to work to bring that desirable aim to accomplishment. That earnestness of purpose, however, did not sub- consciously render them aware of the hard work ahead of them. Experience is the great teacher of us all, and in our processes of learning we are in- clined to become impatient, critical and fault-finding. But in spite of this the attitude of the project man- agers, in the main, has been that of kindly helpful- ness. That was the spirit of all the early day lead- ers, and well has it been passed on to those who lead today. Although governments advance slowly in the direction of social service, it is a source of great gratification that they actually are advancing, and this forward movement has been aided wonder- fully by the activities of the ofiB.cials of the Kecla- mation Service. 63 54 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST As far as possible, in the earlier construction, set- tlers and their teams were engaged to help in the work. This did not always work out to the best advantage, but the engineers were instructed to do it whenever possible. Sometimes Work was post- poned to give the settlers the opportunity of doing it. Thus thousands of dollars on the various projects were put into circulation. As early as possible Demonstration Farms were urged by the project managers. Yet the Service did not wish to take away from the respective States the responsibility for the organization and control of such farms. Hence the question presented difficul- ties which stood in the way of ready and practical solution. In some cases, however,, the Project En- gineers, in consultation with the settlers and the State authorities, determined to do what seemed feasible in furthering this helpful work. Permission was found for this in the Eeclamation Act which au- thorizes certain examinations of the soil, etc., needed as an essential basis of construction and maintenance of irrigation works. And in the Act of June 30, 1910, making appropriations for the Department of Agriculture, provision is made under paragraph "General Expenses, Bureau of Plant Industry," "for investigations in connection with the utilization of lands reclaimed under the Keclamation Act, and other areas in the arid and semi-arid region," and the sum of $76,680, is appropriated therefor. This work has been of great value to the settlers and farmers upon the projects, in aiding them to determine what Was best to grow, and how best to grow it. Even in growing the simplest of crops AIDING THE SETTLERS 55 many of the settlers needed instruction, and those who were well-informed and had had large expe- rience have been materially aided. In many places, new crops, such as sugar beets, have been introduced. Later an expert Superintendent of Farming has been engaged, and he and his assistants have regu- larly visited the projects, counselled with the farm- ers, and not only given them advice, but in many in- stances have gone on to their farms and demon- strated how things should be done. Much has been done to teach farmers how to irri- gate their farms properly. Irrigation is a science, as well as an industry, and those who have thor- oughly studied it and had large experience have been sent out to demonstrate how water should be applied to the various crops ; how to avoid using too much water — for too much is almost as injurious as too little — and how to secure the most profitable results. The importance of this phase of educational and helpful work cannot be over-estimated. How to cope with pests and destroy them has formed another important branch of educational work, and settlers are gradually waking up to the necessity of scientifically fertilizing their lands. The proper use of barn-yard manure; the relative values of commercial fertilizers; the crops that can be "turned-under" for the nourishment of the soil, and matters of this kind are constantly presented. Farmer's Institutes are held where project man- agers, scientific irrigators, farmers, chemists, dairy- men, etc., meet the settlers and give them helpful instruction upon these many and varied lines. To provoke and promote co-operation, mutual un- 56 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST derstanding and helpfulness, true solidarity and gre- gariousness, the community spirit and pride, have ever been aims of the leaders. "Get together" con- ferences of all kinds have been held; the project engineers and managers generally have sought to gain and keep the good-will of the settlers and land- owners by a furtherance of their best interests ; vis- iting experts in irrigation, fertilization of soil, rota- tion of crops, choice, purchase and care of stock, harvesting, care and marketing of fruit, vegetable, dairy and other products are but a few of the activ- ities in this direction. Nor are the women and children neglected. They have been encouraged to form clubs of every helpful kind, and to promote tree-planting, flower-growing, a study of the economic value of the birds found in their localities, how they might help in sorting, pre- paring and packing produce for market, canning fruit and vegetables,, and other similar activities. In this they have been greatly aided by the sym- pathetic activity of Mrs. Louella Littlepage, who for many years has devoted much of her time, con- sistent with other duties in the Eeclamation Service, to the study of these matters and has given advice not only by letters but by brief and newsy notes in the Reclamation Record. Who can estimate the Wholesome effects on hun- dreds and thousands of families, such endeavours must produce? Animated by this spirit of prac- tical brotherhood the nation has become the bene- ficiary of these altruistic efforts, by having its citi- zens bound closer together in more enduring ties. The Water Users' Associations of the various AIDING THE SETTLERS 57 projects are formed of the settlers, farmers, and landowners who claim the right to the use of the water provided by the project, and who live on its lands. The associations are formed to assure the Government that the landowners wiU apply for water from the irrigation works when they are ready for service, and that they will so adjust the existing claims to the use of water that the administration of all the water available for the lands under the proj- ect, whether supplied from private or from gov- ernment irrigation works, shall be under one control, that of the water users, themselves. In conformity with Section 6 of the Reclamation Act, the manage- ment and operation of these irrigation works shall pass to the owners of the land irrigated thereby, when the payments required on the Construction Costs are made for the major portion of the lands ir- rigated from the waters of any of the works thus pro- vided. While the Water Users ' Associations now es- tablished cannot be recognized by the Secretary of the Interior as the corporation contemplated by Sec- tion 6 of the Reclamation Act, because the time fixed by law for the turning over of the irrigation systems has not arrived, yet they are being prepared for the duties of management and operation of these irriga- tion works, since their form of organization is made with this end in view. Under the Reclamation Ex- tension Act the Water Users' Associations may be designated by the Secretary of the Interior as fiscal agents to collect the building and annual operation and maintenance charges on each project. Each share in the Assodation represents the water right for one acre of land; and necessarily each share- 58 RECLAIMING THE AEID WEST holder must be a homesteader or owner of land re- ceiving water from the irrigation works. Such stock of water-right becomes part of and attaches to the land, and can be conveyed only by conveying title to the land. Each homesteader or owner of land receiv- ing water from the canal is obliged to subscribe for as many shares in the Association as he has acres of irrigable land, limited, however, to a total of 160 shares. He must also be a resident upon the land or live within the neighbourhood thereof (within fifty miles), and if an entryman upon a homestead, he must comply with the provisions of the homestead laws. Those owning more than 160 acres of land receiving water from the government canals are pro- hibited from purchasing a water-right for an acreage in excess of this amount. For the pro- tection of such owners, it has been arranged for the Association to hold in trust the amount of land which they own in excess of 160 acres until it can be conveniently sold as directed by the Secretary of the Interior, or requested by the owners themselves. The Association further assumes all the duties of levying and collecting the charges against the land and of making suitable contracts with the water users, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior. In some cases the Water Users' Associations have not taken much active interest in the work of their respective projects. This seems to be poor policy. Though the Reclamation Service officials and engi- neers are now controlling the maintenance and oper- ation of the plants, it is certain that they cannot al- ways continue to do so. When the time comes this AIDING THE SETTLEES 59 work will devolve, perforce, upon the actual owners of the land and the works. Should they not, there- fore, as early as possible avail themselves of the scientific and practical knowledge of the project managers, so that when the systems come under their control they may know how to run them in the most intelligent and profitable fashion? Elsewhere I have spoken of the development of electricity upon the projects, that already accom- plished, and that made possible in the future. It is beyond the ken of man to approximately conceive what this will mean to the farmers and their families when it is utilized to the full. There will be electri- city and to spare for lighting, cooking, and heating. Fans, sewing-machines, churns, sawing-machines, lathes, grindstones, pumps, and a thousand and one labour-saving devices will be in operation wherever the electricity is forthcoming. Thus much of the drudgery of farm-life will disappear; our boys and girls will not flee from the farms because of their burdensome labour and tedious monotony. With electrically-propelled vehicles (by no means a remote possibility), they will be able to visit each other, riding over the finest kind of scientifically con- structed roads, and when night time comes, they may meet in common assembly halls where moving pic- tures, stereopticon lectures, concerts, entertain- ments, dances, and the like will satisfy the grega- rious instinct that seems to be implanted in every hu- man breast. Let me caution the reader, however, against sup- posing that the aim and work of the Reclamation Service clears away all difficulties and discourage- 60 EECLAIMING THE AKID WEST ments from the path, of the settler. There are many obstacles in life that no man or body of men can foresee, prevent or obviate. In reading the project histories I find accounts of killing frosts, raiexpected floods, caused by sudden and unexpected rains, cloud-bursts, or melting of the snows, wind- storms, grasshopper pests and other misfortunes that act as set-backs and often cause serious dis- couragement. These, however, are the acts of what we call Na- ture, and all men must bow to them, make the best of them, triumph over them, or succumb and go under. 3?here is no other way. The Eeclamation Service plans and purposes to help as far as it may and can; the Weather Bureau adds its knowledge of climatic conditions to give advance information and warning that will provide added security to the farmer, stock- man and fruit-grower, but no man must expect that his life wiU be free from aU burdens, set-backs, re- sponsibilities and struggles. The life to be desired, however, is that which avoids and is free from all preventable annoyances and difficulties — and this the Service seeks to promote in every way — ^and then, whatever else comes, let each man rise in his own (divine might, and, by the power of his unconquerable $oul, triumph in spite of all that may seem to be against him. Far more difficult than the battles with Nature are those in which the patriotic settlers must join with the Eeclamation Service in contending for high moral istandards. In my book on the Heroes of California I have told of the magnificent fight and splendid spir- itual victory won by Major John Wesley Powell over AIDING THE SETTLERS 61 the politicians and speculators. It is to be by no means assumed that these men have quietly accepted defeat. On the contrary they and their kind are always with us and when beaten in the open retire to ambush. The same kind of battles are to be fought in different ways ; all along the line eternal vigilance and resistance to wrong is the price to be paid for continued high principle. It is no longer a question as to whether or not the public lands should pass directly into the control of the speculators. That contest has been settled by the United States taking charge of the reclamation of its lands and by offering inducements for the subdivi- sion of the privately owned lands and the putting of these into the hands of actual settlers. It has ad- vanced the money on the assurance that this will be returned to be used over again to reclaim other lands and benefit other settlers. To secure this return it has sought many safeguards, but these can not be f uUy effective unless supported by a high moral stand on the part of the public, and especially of the men who have been benefited and who should be willing to do their part in permitting others to share in similar benefits. Here is where the petty politician and speculator in lands sees his opportunity. While he would not risk his chances of raising a storm of general protest by urging direct repudiation of the amount owed the Government yet he has seen that he can secure a cer- tain amount of popular approval by more cunningly devised schemes such as will defer the repayment and secure to the men who are trying to sell land an ex- tension of time by means of which they can increase 62 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST their prices and secure for themselves unearned in- crement of value of the land. This is easy to do. There are plenty of instances of real hardship, of misfits on the farms, such as nec- essarily occur when a large miscellaneous population drifts into a new country. While the majority may be fairly prosperous there is always a minority who must necessarily fail. Among these are a few who would be far better off in some other occupation. By exploiting the disappointments of these people and by encouraging complaints from the ne'er-do-well, it is easy at any time to raise a great volume of sound. While most of the farmers are busy in their fields earning the necessary money to pay their debts, a vociferous crowd of idlers may assemble in towns and clamour for relief. Moreover, it is always very easy to demoralize a community by free gifts, whether it be of seed, of lit- erature, or of public buildings. Once inoculated with the germ the unthinking crowd cries for more. The conception that some one must pay for these gifts, and that true citizenship demands that the benefi- ciary do his part, is kept in the background. The great contest demanding far stronger moral fibre than that needed in battles with Nature is now being waged by the strong men of the Reclamation Service aided by the larger minded citizens on each project — in trying to keep down this popular wave of repudiation and to expose the insidious forces work- ing through a community. It is so easy for some one speculator, or politician, to start the cry that "we are willing to pay a proper cost for the works" and then show that this portion, or that portion, was not abso- AIDING THE SETTLERS 63 lutely necessary, or to allege extravagance. The en- gineers who have devoted the best part of their lives to this work and who may have achieved notable results in economy and efficiency, are no longer in sight, or can not defend themselves from attack. Even if extravagance cannot be proved, yet as before stated, there are plenty of cases of misfortune among the irrigators, and because of one or two of these pitiable instances an indefinite extension and ulti- mate reduction of cost is demanded. While no right thinking man desires to oppress any individual and while each is willing to recom- mend an indefinite extension in deserving cases yet there is no proper excuse for using these few cases as a reason for action which will prevent those irri- gators who can do so from making payment and re- turning to the Government the money which has been used for them and which in turn should be beneficially employed for others equally deserving. The general public, however, who might be benefited, has no im- mediate representative in this matter, other than the conscientious officers of the Reclamation Service. These inheriting the spirit and vision of Major Pow- ell must each fight out the same old question as to whether he will take the easy course and win imme- diate applause or tread alone the difficult path pointed out by their great guiding predecessor. We may confidently predict, in the long run, a vic- tory and the overcoming of the forces which are con- tinually at work nibbling away the reclamation fund. Assuming that it can be preserved in its integrity and used again and again we may look forward to the building of other large projects and of still wider aid 64 RECLAIMING THE ARID WEST to deserving settlers. There are mnumerable oppor- tunities and instances even greater than those de- scribed in this book. The vision of great usefulness still inspires the men who have consecrated their lives to this great mission. They need and deserve the whole-hearted support of every one, in their fight for the maintenance of clean administration and of high but practicable principles. CHAPTER VI IN THE LAND OF THE GIANT SAHUAKO, THE SALT ETVER PEOJECT, ARIZONA This was one of the first projects upon which work was actually begun after the passage of the Eeclamation Act. It is one of the largest, as far as acreage to be reclaimed is concerned; it is the most spectacular, perhaps, of all the works of the Eeclam- ation Service, owing to the location of the great Eoosevelt Dam in the wild, rugged and picturesque Salt Eiver Canyon; it is the best known, owing to the fact that its storage dam, with the consequent reservoir, and the adjacent town all bear the name of the president who signed the Eeclamation Act ; it is the most romantic in its environment, as it is located on the famous "Apache Trail" in the very heart of the country made memorable as the secret haunt of those scourges of the white race, the warlike Apaches. Possibly nowhere in the world are the advantages' of governmental works of irrigation on a large scale so evident as in the Salt Eiver Valley. For years casual travellers had reported the existence of an- cient irrigation canals, and in the seventies and eight- ies Lieutenant Frank H. Cushing, of the Bureau of American Ethnology, asserted that these canal ruins, with the Casa Grande ruins, and other remnants of cities or communities, demonstrated the fact that at one time a vast sedentary and agricultural popula- 6S 66 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST tion occupied a large part of the Salt and Gila Eiver Valleys. It was later found that at least eleven main canals existed, and in the neighbourhood of 135 miles have been actually traced, which were capable of watering upwards of 100,000 acres of land. It may be said in passing, that it was these prehistoric canals and cities that gave the name to Phoenix — a city rising out of the ashes of its forgotten past — ^later to be the capital and metropolis of the State, and the com- mercial centre of one of the most productive valleys of the world. In due time careful investigation by agricultural experts confirmed the judgment of the pioneer lo- cators, that the soil of this valley was admirably adapted for the growth of every kind of tree, plant, fruit or vegetable that was found in any country of earth except those that were purely tropical, and the climate was ideal for rapid and perfect growth. The natural result was that, as soon as the mines began to be actively worked, prospective farmers lo- cated in the Salt Eiver Valley, tapped the Salt Eiver with canals, and commenced operations. The first canal was known as the Swilling Ditch, from Jack Swilling, one of the pioneers who had been a Texas Eanger, and came to Arizona in the early sixties, with the Walker party that found placer gold near Pres- cott. Visiting John Y. T. Smith at Fort McDowell, he there saw the agricultural possibilities of the valley and organized a company at Wickenburg. From this little nucleus has grown the Phoenix of today, A part of Swilling's ditch later became known as THE LAND OF THE GIANT SAHUAEO 6T the Salt River Valley Canal, and another as the Mari- copa Canal, From 1870 to 1894 various other canals were built, the principal ones on the north side being the Grand and the Arizona, the Cross-Cut connecting these two. On the south side were the Tempe, San Francisco or Wormser, Utah, Mesa, Consolidated, and Highline. The diversion for the Arizona Canal was made by means of a timber-crib rock-fiUed dam covered with heavy planking. The other dams on the river were temporary affairs of brush and rock, that were usu- ally swept away more or less completely by the periodic floods that occur in the river with great cer- tainty. After the floods these dams could not be repaired until the river had reached a comparatively low stage, with little water available for irrigation, and as a result, the valley was generally in a state of water famine. The outcome of this condition can be conceived only by those familiar with the imperative need for water in the hot weather. Given the water, growths seem miraculous ; without it, the destruction and re- version to desert is equally miraculous in its speedy operation. The irritation, desperation, and despair of men who saw themselves ruined by a shortage of water led to innumerable quarrels, for careful ob- servers were convinced, as early as 1854r-5, that the farmers could not rely upon more than the low-water flow of the river, and that even this was jeopardized by the shortage that invariably followed the destruc- tion of the dams during flood-times. During the period from 1890 to 1899 the shortage of water was very pronounced, and some of the cultivated land 68 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST reverted to desert. These things naturally retarded the development of the Salt Eiver Valley, and led its citizens to cast about for means to remedy the evils. Litigation, which seemed without end, clogged the courts, feuds were started, some of which came near to being deadly, while the sane and sensible conferred with each other and determined that there was but one basic solution to the problem. This was more water, and more constant or steadily-flowing water. This implied the creation of a storage reservoir of sufficient capacity to supply all needs throughout the agricultural year, and the organization of a sys- tem of distribution that should eliminate all local quarrels, be uniform and equitable to all concerned. To accomplish these desirable and essential results, however, implied an expenditure too vast for private capital. The County and Territorial governments were called upon — ^for Arizona was not yet raised to the dignity of statehood — and reconnaissance exam- inations and surveys were made. In the meantime the perpetual litigation was more and more emphasizing the need, the absolute neces- sity, for pulling together and eliminating the expen- sive, irritating, and generally useless "la wing." In 1900 the citizens of Phoenix organized a water-stor- age committee for "promoting investigations and developing some project for the storage of water." Major Powell's known sympathies were called upon for aid, and in 1901, Mr. Arthur P. Davis, now Di- rector and Chief Engineer of the Service, made fur- ther investigations of a most rigid and scientific character. In June, 1902, the Eeclamation Service came into ■^ s f^ a. o o C5 © THE LAND OF THE GIANT SAHUAEO 69, existence. Everything was ripe in the Salt River Valley for its taking the loose threads of many canal corporations, and private individuals, which were never in any other than a snarled and tangled condi- tion, smooth them out, put in the necessary storage system, an effective and economical distribution sys- tem, and thus put an end to the irritating catises that had retarded the development of the country. At the same time the Reclamation Service could test its worth, prove its mettle as it were, by constructing a model plant which would make possible the irriga- tion of many thousands more of acres, and therefore attract a large influx of new settlers to this divinely- blessed land. Coincidently Mr. George H. Maxwell, immediately upon the conclusion of his long and successful cam- paign in the aid of Mr. Newlands and the President in getting the Reclamation Act passed, began system- atically to initiate work to smooth conditions in the Salt River Valley. As an experienced lawyer he saw the legal difficulties and appreciated that nothing could be done without the active help of all concerned. He put his splendid energy at the disposal of the Water Users' Association, backing up the efforts of its President, Mr. B. A. Fowler. They and innumer- able assistants started in on a long and difficult cam- paign to win over and adjust the private interests. To record how this was done and to narrate the schemes, the diplomatic victories and to properly characterize the tact, skiU and judgment combined with practical wisdom that were brought into exer- cise would require a book larger than this and be perhaps even more interesting. 70 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST. The Eeclamation Service eagerly undertook the arduous task. The preliminary work already re- ferred to had satisfied the engineers who were now at the helm in the newly organized service (to which they had been transferred), that a storage dam should be constructed on the Salt Eiver at a natural site near the mouth of Tonto Creek, which should yield water for the irrigation of aU the privately- oWned lands of the valley, and that electricity should be generated at the reservoir for the pumping of water from wells. This plan was recommended to the Secretary of the Interior, with the further pro- viso that negotiations be initiated with the owners of existing canals, and of the land, to the end that every conflicting interest could be merged into one harmonious and successful whole. In March, 1903, the Secretary approved the plans, and in the same month the Salt Eiver Valley Water Users' Association was organized, whose articles of incorporation were also approved, and with whom a contract was signed by the Secretary in February, 1904. Now the reader is ready for a few facts about the water conditions and the work to be done. The proj- ect is located in Maricopa and Gila counties. The sources of water supply are the Salt and Verde riv- ers, and wells in the Salt Eiver Valley. The area of the Salt Eiver drainage basin is 6,260 square miles, and that of the Verde, 6,000 square miles. The an- nual rainfall on the irrigable area is seven inches, while the annual run-off of the Salt Eiver, (at Eoose- velt, ^ with a drainage there of 5,760 square miles) 1 It is interesting to note that from 1889 to 1914 the maximum run- THE LAND OF THE GIANT SAHUARO 71 from 1888 to 1907 was, maximum, 3,260,000 acre-feet ; minimum, 154,000, or a mean of 804,000; while the Verde River at McDowell, from 1888 to 1908, gave a maximum of 1,858,000 ; minimum, 117,000 ; or a mean of 586,000 acre-feet. This gave a mean of the two streams of 1,390,000 acre-feet, per annum. The plan, however, contemplated the erection of only one storage dam, that at Roosevelt. Here the site was chosen by Nature. A very short distance below where Tonto Creek flows into the Salt River from the north the latter pours through a narrow gorge into the canyon of the Salt River. It is a wild, rugged and picturesque spot, and when the river was at flood, the Tonto- Apaches, of the old days — ^who were the aboriginal residents of the whole surround- ing country — ^were treated to a scene of turbulent waters almost as grand and awe-inspiring as their aboriginal brothers in the North were in the habit of witnessing in the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. To create a dam here of sufficient power to stop and tame the Salt River, especially at flood-time, meant a gigantic piece of solid engineering. As com- pleted it is 280 feet high, 1125 feet long, with an automobile road across the top, sixteen feet in width. There are 342,325 cubic yards of masonry in the structure. To build such a massive dam would have been regarded as a great work, in the heart of a city, close to quarries and with every method of trans- portation readily available. But to accomplish such a task in the heart of a desolate, mountainous coun- off at Boosevelt was 3,226,470; minimum, 1S3,394, witli a mean of 772,052 acre-feet; and of the Verde for tlie same period, maximum, 1,801,500; minimum, 116,679; mean, 562,065 acre-feet. 72 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST try, seemed almost impossible. The site of the dam is about forty miles from Globe on the east, and about sixty miles from Mesa, on the west, the latter being the nearest railroad station in the Salt River Valley. There was no road from either point to the dam. Eailroad rates to Globe were very much higher than those to Mesa, and after careful investi- gation it was decided to build a wagon road from Mesa to Eoosevelt, over which necessary supplies and materials for building the dam could be transported. The cities of Mesa and Phoenix contributed by a bond issue about $70,000 towards the construction of this road. It is one of the romances connected with this high- way that many miles of it were built by the Apache Indians, and that they were found to be such re- liable workmen that they were sent out in squads, or bands, without any white boss or time-keeper than their own inherent sense of honour. This sixty miles of road is now a part of the world-famed "Apache Trail," over which thousands of American and other travellers are being conveyed annually to their in- tense delight. At the inception of the project bids were obtained from the leading manufacturers of cement for 200,- 000 barrels — the amount that it was estimated would be required. These bids showed that the cement would cost heavily at Globe, and that this cost would be so much increased by hauling to Eoosevelt that the price Would be $9.00 per barrel. This price was prohibitive, as it added practically $1,100,000 to the cost of the project. The engineers, therefore, began to look around for a way out of the difficulty. They THE LAND OF THE GIANT SAHUAEO 73 found on the mountains above the dam site a large limestone ledge, and at the foot of the mountain an ample supply of. blue clay, both of which are neces- sary to the manufacture of a high grade of Portland cement. The Service thereupon announced that it would erect a cement mill and make its own cement. This called forth a vigorous protest from the manu- facturers, who requested that another opportunity be given them to offer bids, which was done, and the price was then made of $4.70 per barrel, delivered at Koosevelt. As careful tests, however, demonstrated that the Service could manufacture the cement on the spot for $2.20 per barrel, including the cost of oper- ating the plant, the Secretary of the Interior rejected all bids and authorized the erection of the mill. This was done at a cost of about $123,000 and it worked daily, turning out about 400 barrels per day, until the work on the project was completed. Between twenty and thirty thousand barrels were also hauled from Eoosevelt to Granite Eeef, near Mesa, for use in the construction of the diversion dam that was simultaneously being built there. The small cost, too, led to the use of some 20,000 barrels more of cement in the Eoosevelt Dam than otherwise would have been used, naturally strengthening its con- struction and rendering it far more durable. Economy had to be practised in every way, as the whole country — Congress included — ^was watching operations with interest, and upon the economy or extravagance shown in this great work the Eeclama- tion Service would be judged. A vast amount of lumber was needed. A fine pine forest was found in the Sierra Ancha Mountains, some 4,000 feet higher 74 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST than the river. A small mill of the portable type was purchased which sawed some three million feet of lumber. This was hauled over a wagon road, es- pecially built, to the various locations along the canal where it was needed. Some $15.00 per thousand feet was saved by sawing this lumber in the moun- tains, even after taking into account and charging to the lumber, the entire cost of the road and sawmill, less the small sum for which the sawmill was sold later. In placing the giant rocks in the dam, and for the conveyance of the thousands of tons of concrete re- quired in the structure, a large amount of power was needed. How to secure this cheaply was a grave question. It was decided to bring in water a dis- tance of thirteen miles in a canal, to be used for the generation of electric power. While this canal was being completed, it was necessary to run a steam engine to manufacture cement for local use, and to do a number of other things required in any camp where construction work is going on. Although it was but a relatively small plant, it required a pile of wood four feet high, four feet wide, and from a mile and a quarter to a mile and a half long every month, and nearly all this wood had to be packed on burros' backs from one to ten miles. It was not only diffi- cult to get the wood, but it was becoming pretty ex- pensive by the time they were able to turn the water from the power-canal through the water-wheels. This power-canal generated all the electricity re- quired by the contractors for power during the con- struction of the dam, and the low price they bid for their work was owing to the fact that the Eeclamation THE LAND OF THE GIANT SAHUARO 75 Service charged only half a cent per horse-power hour up to 400 H. P., and above that one cent per horse-power hour. This cost was about one-eighth to one-tenth of what the contractors would have been out had they hauled oil from Mesa, or cut and hauled wood for the generation of power from the rapidly diminishing supply near the dam. A large number of teams were required to do the needed work, haul supplies, etc. To keep them busy all the time required careful planning. This was accomplished as follows. There were several farms in the valley, occupying the reservoir site, which had to be purchased, as they would be flooded as soon as the dam was completed, and storage of water be- gan. When teams were not otherwise engaged they were set to work on these farms, and in the first year of operation, they showed a net profit of about $9,000. As I have before explained, the Tonto Basin, which is flooded by the Eoosevelt Eeservoir, was once the home of the Tonto Apaches. Large numbers of these Indians were used on the preliminary work and during the entire construction of the dam. In answer to my queries on the work of the Indians Mr. Louis C. Hill, the Supervising Engineer, sent me the following interesting particulars : When we first began to hire these Indians they were a wild-looking lot and had to be treated very differently from the ordinary whites available. Within a short time, how- ever, they dressed very much as the white or Mexican labourer. About the only difference that could be noticed between the Apache Indian and the white man or Mexican, was that the clothes worn by the Indian showed the result of frequent washing, while the clothes used by the hobo 76 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST white men and Mexicans had no such marks. At first, many of the foremen were prejudiced against Indian labour, and I remember during the early part of 1905, when the floods in the river had prevented some of the work going on, a large number of Indians were thrown out of employment. Just at this time an equally large number of White Mountain Apaches came down to the dam, prob- ably driven out of their homes by the hard times, the result of the years of drought preceding the big floods of 1905. A conference was held with their chiefs, at which many of the Indians and their families were present. The only thing for which the Indians asked was the opportunity to work, although I knew that a number of them were suffer- ing from lack of food, and that the whole tribe was living largely on rats, mice, and the small game that could be found in the neighbourhood. After the conference had progressed a little while, one chief of the Tonto Apaches, Yesterday, by name, gave a very impressive talk lasting for two or three minutes. The interpreter translated it as follows : "He says that when he was young, General Crook came into the country and took the Indians all away from the Tonto basin and took them to San Carlos and put them on a reservation there. Now they had been permitted to come back to the country that had once been theirs, and they thought that if there was work they ought to be given a first chance at it, rather than to give the work to the Mexican and to the hobo white." I told him that I thought his contention was a good one and he certainly should have work, along with all of his people who needed it, and were willing to work. We used the Apaches in the construction of roads and on all kinds of work, and I do not know of any better class of workmen or unskilled labourers than these Apaches proved to be. They were especially valuable to us in view of their ability to maintain themselves without an elaborate camp in some of the out-of-the-way places where it was with the greatest difficulty that we were able to pack stuff to them. Orange Grove near Camelback Mountain Salt River Project, Arizona Cultivating in Young Orchard on the Grand Mesa Grand Valley Project, Colorado THE LAND OF THE GIANT SAHUAEO 77 Merely to mention one of the minor items, showing the difficulty of doing the work in this remote spot, I recall that when the men were working on the road at the top of the Fish Creek Hill, before the summer rains, it cost the Service twenty-five cents per day per man, to haul drinking water for their use, as it all had to be packed on mules. I have entered thus into somewhat particular de- tails about several matters to give the reader some idea of the obstacles the supervising and project en- gineers had to overcome. The accomplishment of a great task is often far easier than the building up of the organization with which it is to be done. In the beginning of its work the Reclamation Service had neither the men, the experience, nor the organization. As before explained the Eoosevelt Dam is for the purpose of storing water until needed. The water backs up for a distance of 24 mUes, with an average width of one mile. At its deepest the reservoir is 225 feet deep, and it covers 16,832 acres with a capac- ity of 1,367,300 acre-feet. This vast reservoir and its surroundings, has now become a national pleas- ure park. The Southern Pacific Company is erect- ing a magnificent and commodious tourist hotel on a point quite close to the dam, and in the temporary villa near by, scores of people stop daily as they ride over the Apache Trail, or come for a week, a month, or even a longer vacation. For the reservoir is well stocked with gamy fish ; there are power-boats, sail- boats and row-boats in number to be hired; near-by are wonderful cliff-dwellings, many of which are only recently discovered, and there are places where deer, 78 EECLAIMINQ THE AKID WEST antelope, mountain-lion and bear may be hmited, as well as a score most romantic, picturesque and won- derful spots where fights with the Apaches have given an added interest to places that are as striking in their scenic qualities as any of the famous attractions of the continent. Instead, therefore, of the water of the Salt Eiver flowing irregularly as it did prior to the erection of the dam, sufficient is allowed to escape daily for aU the required needs of the many ranchers in the vaUey below. From this dam to the Granite Eeef Dam, which is four miles below where the Verde Eiver empties into Salt Eiver, the water flows in the old bed of the river itself. This dam receives its name from a great reef of granite on which it is placed. It is of rubble concrete weir type, with a maximum height of 38 feet, and a length across stream of 1,100 feet, and diverts the water to the systems of the North and South Side canals. In addition to these dams, there have been put into operation nine pumping-plants, with an approximate capacity each of ten second-feet. One pumping- plant, located at the junction of the Western Canal and the Kyrene branch, pumps water through a 54- inch pressure pipe 5,930 feet long to an elevation of 40 feet, and waters approximately 7,500 acres of land. All the electric power used in these plants is generated at Eoosevelt Dam by water from the res- ervoir. The canal- and lateral-system of distribution com- prises 815% miles, and on the completion of the en- tire project will provide for the delivery of water to THE LAND OF THE GIANT SAHUAEO 79 each 160-acre tract of irrigable land in the over two hundred thousand acres of the vaUey. Irrigation is carried on 365 days in the year; the average rainfall is approximately eight inches, while the average elevation of the irrigable area above sea level is 1,200 feet. The original contract between the United States and the Salt Eiver Valley Water Users ' Association provided that the United States could not open the project until after the completion of Roosevelt Dam. As the time of the completion of this dam grew nearer and nearer, the people in the Salt Eiver Valley felt that something should be done to postpone the time when payment must begin, and accordingly a contract was entered into by the United States and the Water Users' Association, whereby the latter agreed to build three power-plants in the valley and do certain work up to an estimated cost of $900,000, provided the United States would extend the opening time of the project at least two years. These power-plants were to become the property of the United States as soon as completed. The Water Users' Association fulfilled its part of the contract. The power-plant at Eoosevelt that was used to build the dam was added to until now its capacity is about 10,000 K. W., or 13,000 H. P. The capacity of the plants in the Valley is from seven to eight thousand horsepower. Several years ago contracts were entered into selling practically all the power, except that which was re- served to fulfil certain contracts and for pumping. The plant is not entirely completed to date, but the revenue received for the months of May and June of 80 EECLAIMING- THE ARID WEST this year are about $36,000 for May and $39,000 for June, or net, about $28,000 and $31,000. For the next twenty years, therefore, these power plants each year will pay all that portion of the as- sessment against the project due to their cost and will reduce that part of the payments for the strictly ir- rigation portion by a very large percentage. After the project is paid for the revenue from these plants win not only pay the entire operating expenses of the project but will leave a handsome surplus for dividends or for further construction and improve- ments. Owing to great floods that came down the Salt Eiver in November, 1905, the contractor lost all his works, and although it was but thirty-five feet to bed- rock and excavation conditions were very simple, and there was little if anything to be done to the bedrock in the river, it was not until September 20, 1906, that the first stone was laid on the Eoosevelt Dam. The celebration announcing its completion occurred in March, 1911, at which time. President Eoosevelt gave the dedication address. The building of this great storage reservoir, of the Granite Eeef diversion dam above Phoenix, and the rehabilitation of the old canals and their enlarge- ment and the construction of new canals in the valley, speedily transformed the Salt Eiver Valley. In, 1904^05 Phoenix was a small town of five or six thou- sand inhabitants, with unpaved streets, and in a gen- erally dilapidated and run-down condition. The farmers over the whole valley were somewhat dis- couraged ; for, as I have explained, water conditions were extremely bad. No diversion dam existed in THE LAND OF THE GIANT SAHUAEO 81 the river but such as would go out with every flood, so that as one old settler said at the dedication of Granite Eeef Dam, "Whenever there was no water in the river we had good dams, but whenever there was plenty of water coming down the river the water washed away our structures and we had no means of diversion," so that it was frequently a question of when they were worse off. After the completion of Granite Reef Dam, when- ever there was water in the river it could be diverted into the canals, and after Roosevelt Dam was fairly well along, so that the lowest gap was some hundred feet or more above the floor of the stream, there was no further trouble with the water supply, and the Salt River Valley has changed its assessed valuation from somewhere in the neighbourhood of fourteen million dollars to about eighty million dollars in about eight or nine years. This alone speaks volumes as to the value of irrigation in a country like the Salt River Valley. Merely to enumerate the varied crops that wiU grow in this highly favoured valley would be to fill up pages of this book. SuflSce it to say that every- thing that will grow anywhere else in the United States can be grown here, with preference for the semi-tropical crops, such as grape-fruit, oranges, lemons, Egyptian cotton and the like. In this year, 1917, the Goodyear Rubber Company, who have thor- oughly investigated the growth of Egyptian cotton, have purchased or leased 21,000 acres, which they are now planting to this one crop alone. An even better variety of cotton, however, than the Egyptian, has been developed in the Salt River Valley, known as 82 RECLAIMING THE ARID WEST the Pima Cotton, and this is the variety the Good- years are planting. Last year's (1916) crop report showed 47,349 dairy cattle; 23,964 beef cattle; 125,000 sheep; 71,500 hogs; 299,600 fowls; 1,600 ostriches; 9,640 hives of bees. Eighty-one thousand acres of aKalfa pro- duced 326,000 tons ; thirteen thousand acres of bar- ley produced 332,000 bushels. There is also a splen- did market for dairy and beef cattle, these latter be- ing pastured on the mountain ranges and fattened on the valley fields. In 1917 nearly double the number of dairy cattle are daily being milked. The chief city of the Salt River Valley is Phoenix, which is one of the most rapidly growing cities of the West. It now has a population of about 24,000 and is becoming a truly cosmopolitan and rarely beautiful city. Its winter climate is making it world-famed and its suburban localities, like Ingleside, have at- tracted such world-travellers as Sir Gilbert Parker, the distinguished statesman and novelist, who comes here for recuperation every winter. At Chandler, one of the new towns that have recently sprung up in the Salt River Valley, with a present population of 600, the already-famous San Marcos Hotel has been erected, which has in three seasons become to Ari- zona what the Glenwood Mission Inn is to California. Though increasingly enlarged each year it is yet found to be crowded as soon as each winter season opens. Other towns in the Valley, with their popu- lations, are Mesa, 3,000; Glendale, 1,200; Tempe, 2,000; Peoria, 300; Gilbert, 50; Scottsdale, 30. These are but straws that point out the path of continued progress in the future. Those who regard THE LAND OF THE GIANT SAHUAEO 83 Arizona as a mere state of wild pioneers and wilder cowboys will soon be compelled to revise their ignor- ance. They have not considered the civilizing effect of the Salt Eiver Project of the United States Eec- lamation Service. The project was opened by order of the Secretary of the Interior on January 18, 1917, it being under- stood that the first payment was to be made Decem- ber 1st of this year. The cost of the project in the opening notice was fixed at $60 an acre, to be paid in twenty annual payments without interest, $1.20 per acre each year for the first four years, $2.40 per acre for the next two years, then $3.60 per acre each year for the next fourteen years. The Water Users' Association is now negotiating a contract and it is expected that the project will be turned over to them. This, however, will have to be accomplished through a vote of the Water Users ' As- sociation. There is no government land subject to location on the project. Any prospective settler coming here must purchase land from its owner. Prices range from $100 per acre up. The cost of water in the past has been $1 for the first two acre-feet per acre; 60^ per acre-foot for the third acre-foot, and 75ff for each acre-foot over the third. In 1917 on account of the heavy expenditures caused by the floods, the price of the first acre-foot has been increased to $1 with a charge of 60^ per acre-foot for the second and third acre-feet per acre, and 75^ for all over that amount. It is not probable, however, that this charge wiU be in force more than this one year. The engineer-manager has been pay- ing a good deal of attention to the power possibil- 84 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST ities, and points witli some little pride to the success of the system, as it is very interesting to see an irri- gating project pay its own way by the power develop- ment as a sort of by-product. A brief sketch of what has been accomplished in this department will fittingly bring this chapter to a close. Of the approximately ten and a half million dollars expended on the Salt Eiver Project, three and a half millions went to pay for the hydro-electric power-system. That is of the $60 per acre charged the settler for construction, $20 was spent on the power-system in the expectation that speedily it would become a dividend-paying proposition. This system as now developed consists of plants at Eoose- velt Dam, the Arizona Canal Drop, South and Main Consolidated Canals Drop, and Tempe Canal Drop. These plants are connected by a permanent 45,000- volt transmission line strung on steel towers set in concrete footings, all the construction being of the most up-to-date character. There are six substa- tions, Phoenix, Glendale, Sacaton Indian Eeserva- tion, Chandler, Mesa and Miami. This power-system was primarily intended to give power for the construction of Eoosevelt Dam, but when this work was completed it was found there was a growing demand for electric power throughout the Salt Eiver Valley and cities approximately near to the Dam. The stations named are each now using this power, and from December 1, 1915, to April 30, 1917, the plants showed an earning capacity, above cost of operation, of $313,372.08. In addition to this the Service used for pumping power to the extent of $15,173.99, and charged off as "cost" for deprecia- THE LAND OF THE GIANT SAHUAEO 85 tion $116,521.08. Hence it will be seen how profitable this power-system will be to the Water Users' Asso- ciation when it comes into full possession of it, and the clear indication of the tremendous benefits that are accruing to the people themselves from the con- struction and operation of these great and beneficial public works. The present Project Manager is WUliam S. Cone, with oflBce at Phoenix, Arizona. CHAPTER Vn IN THE VALLEY OF THE AMEBIOAN NILE. THE YXTMA PBOJECT, ABIZONA-CALIFOBNIA The Colorado Eiver has always suggested the Nile, and the Mohave, Colorado, Arizona and Sonora Des- erts that it crosses are near enough like Egypt to suggest it in everything save its pyramids, sphynx, ancient ruins, and modern fellaheen. The fertility of the soil in the one valley is matched by that of the other; and now that modem irrigation methods are conducted on a large scale, the dam of Assouan is matched by that of Laguna. Date palms wave over fields of cotton, alfalfa, wheat, barley, milo-maize, Egyptian com, chili and a score of other grains and vegetables, while the same pure blue sky and insistent sun overarch the scene during the day and the rich velvety pall of bluish black, studded with brilliantly scintillant stars, covers it during the night. While the Colorado Eiver in the earlier years of American occupancy was called the Red River of the West, and from Spanish days was supposed to be navigable, it was soon found that its usefubiess in that department of state and national life was more imaginative than real. Lieutenant Ives graphically recorded his struggles to ascend it in his small stem- wheeler, and his discovery of the canyons through which it flowed ere it entered the desert. So roman- tic and different is the Colorado that F. S. Dellen- baugh has published a fascinating volume entitled 86 THE AMERICAN NILE 87 The Romance of the Colorado River, devoted to its history. In her Vanished Arizona Mrs. Summerhayes gives a vivid picture of the trip she took up the Colorado when she went to join her husband, who was ordered to one of the military posts of Arizona, The brown, sluggish flood, the wide expanse of desert on either . side, the heat, the slowly progressing vessel, the sand-bars are aU brought clearly before the reader, and, on reflection, the conclusion arises that the Colo- rado River is not a river of commerce; it is not a nat- ural navigable channel for the ships of trade. While stern-wheelers of small craft can go up the river from the Gulf of California as far as the mouth of Black Canyon when the conditions are favourable, fifty years of experience and knowledge have demon^ strated that it is far less a river of transportation today than it was in the beginning. Hence it was a great, and today it is a source of deep regret, that the United States, in its convention with Mexico, upon the fixing of the boundary line between the two countries, affirmed that it was a navigable stream. This affirmation has stood in the way of the full util- ization of the waters of the river for purposes of irri- gation, evidently the chief usefulness, at the present, anyhow, it may attain. \ Long ago Major J. "W. Powell realized this as a^ fact, and he foresaw the diversion of the almost use- less waters of the river upon the rich soil on either side of its lower course. Above this lower stretch its banks rise to the towering walls of canyons, cul- minating in that natural phenomenon of majestic scenery known as the Grand Canyon of the Colorado 88 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST — the most stupendous abyss of rock known to man. Hence, when the Eeclamation Act was passed, one of the first rivers to be thoroughly and intelligently studied was the Colorado, with a view to the utiliza- tion of its waters upon the near-by desert lands. The Colorado, however, presented so many prob- lems, difficult of solution, that it was not easy to de- termine where the diversion dam needed should be located, or to fix upon the type of dam which should be constructed. Two or three sites were proposed, and systematically studied from the engineering standpoint before the site of the present dam was de- termined upon. Another difficulty was found to exist, that the normal low-water supply of the Colo- rado Kiver was insufficient for the satisfactory irri- gation of the large areas contemplated, and this could be remedied only by the creation of large storage reservoirs in the drainage areas of the Grand and Green River systems, these rivers forming the Colo- rado. It was finally decided, however, that there was a sufficiency of water for the irrigation of the Yuma lands, and after the making of the preliminary sur- veys, the Secretary of the Interior, May 10, 1904, authorized the construction of the dam at Laguna, ten miles northeast of Yuma. It was originally contemplated that the main diver- sion would be on the Arizona side ; the water would be carried down toward the Yuma Valley on that side of the river, siphoned under the Gila and passed through a tunnel under the mesa back of the town of Yuma. Further study made evident many difficul- ties in this route, and after more study and a number of estimates made, the canal was finally located on THE AMERICAN NILE 89 the California side and carried under the Colorado Eiver in a siphon at Yuma immediately below where the railroad bridge crosses the Colorado Eiver. In addition to serving land on the California side, in the old Indian reservation, this water also serves lands on the Arizona side below Yuma in the lower Yuma Valley, and it is planned that, ere long, it will also be pumped up, from 80 to 100 feet, to the mesa lands south of Yuma, where from forty to seventy thou- sand acres of excellent citrus fruit lands will be re- claimed. The oranges and grape-fruit grown hither- to on these lands are of the finest quality, and while the pumping will be expensive, the value of the lands will more than justify the expenditure. The lands adjacent to the Colorado Eiver are pro- tected from overflow during flood times by means of dikes. The board of engineers, which approved the plans for the project, consisted of Messrs. A. P. Davis, present Director and Chief Engineer ; G. Y, Wisner, J. H. Quinton, W. H. Sander, B. M. Hall, and H. N. Savage. The preliminary surveys were directed by Mr. J. B. Lippincott from the mouth of the canyon where the Colorado Eiver emerges to the Mexican boundary. He finally selected this site, as it prom- ised most, everything being considered, though an- other project, to be located near Parker, which would have irrigated 100,000 acres, was seriously consid- ered. At that time, however, there was no railway at Parker, and this is essential not only for purposes of construction but also to provide a means of market- ing the products of the project. There being no bed rock in the Colorado Eiver at 90 RECLAIMING THE ARID WEST this, or any other available location, it was decided to construct an overflow -vfeir of the Indian type. This is built on the quicksands of the river, anchored in solid rock on each side. Its dimensions are, roughly, length 4,780 feet, maximum width 250 feet, height fifteen to nineteen feet except in centre, which is forty feet, composed of a rock-fill between two parallel walls of concrete extending entirely across the stream between the natural rock abutments on each bank. The top of the rock-fill and the down-stream surface of the dam are sheeted with a concrete pave- ment eighteen inches thick. The backwaters above the dam form a lake ten miles in length and of varying width. The water of the Colorado River sometimes bears three per cent, of silt, and when used direct from the stream upon agri- cultural lands produces a "silt blanket," detrimental to the best crop results. The problem that science was called upon to solve through the medium of modern engineering was to eliminate a part of this silt deposit and still allow sufficient percentage of it to be carried down to the farms to insure constant natural fertilization of the soil. This has been ac- complished by means of concrete sluiceways at both ends of the dam, one in Arizona and the other in Cali- fornia. These sluiceways are 1,000 feet in length and so graduated in dimension that the water that passes through them maintains a velocity of about sixty feet to the minute, allowing the proper propor- tion of silt to form sediment in the bottom. It is flushed off periodically, through openings constructed for the purpose, into the river below the dam. The two sluiceways form the communicating link THE AMEEICAN NILE 91 between the lake above the dam and canal system. At their respective outlets are "controllers" allow- ing the water to flow as wanted into the canals. The controllers are so arranged that the top water only flows over, retaining the silt behind the gates to be sluiced into the river as described. The soluble fer- tilizer carried in the water is not impaired and only the proper proportion of silt goes with it. It is interesting to note that the United States Geo- logical Survey Water Supply Paper 274 reports that 338,000,000 tons of mud and silt, as suspended mat- ter, together with 4,550,000 tons of sodium chloride, or common salt, 3,740,000 tons of Glauber's salts, 4,000,000 tons of lime, 2,400,000 tons of gypsum, and 4,800,000 tons of Epsom salts, are annually carried by the Colorado Eiver and deposited in the Gulf of California. Ever since the gold rush to California in 1849 Yuma has been w'ell known. It was near here that the Spaniards, over a century before, established two Franciscan Missions for the Indians, both of which ended disastrously. The Indians rebelled against religious control and the exactions of the Spanish soldiers, slew the friars and other hated foreigners, and destroyed the Missions. This same spirit was shown when the American gold-seekers and pioneers came into the land. Hence a fort was established, on the hiU overlooking the Colorado Eiver, on the Cali- fornia side, which, however, has long since been abandoned, and is now used as the headquarters of the Indian agency and school. While Ehrenburg, further up the river, was the landiag-place for the stem-wheelers that plied up 92 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST. and down from the Gulf of California, and supplies for Arizona were hauled therefrom, the coming of the Southern Pacific Eailway, in 1877, created a depot for supplies for the great mining industry of the region which from now on began to develop with rapidity. But it was not untU the late 'eighties and early 'nineties that agriculturists awoke to the marvellous fertility of the Colorado Eiver valleys, and when they did, there were not enough of them to combat the mighty power of the turbulent and uncon- trolled Colorado in flood times. For, with its vast watershed of 242,000 square miles, iacluding the headwaters of the Grand and Green rivers in Wyo- ming, Utah and Colorado, which reach up into the high mountain ranges, where the snow falls deep and long, it pours down incredible volumes of water when the springtime opens up the floodgates. The puny attempts of the earlier settlers at damming the river and building controlling levees were pathetic in their inadequacy. Yet the land allured and beckoned with a fervour that many could not resist. And the years to come, when all the beneficent work of the Reclamation Service is completed, and time for development and stability has proved the wisdom of the foundation- layers, will demonstrate how far-seeing were some of these men who staked their little all of money and their prodigality of work and faith, only to see every- thing swept away by an unexpected flood. For we now know that this Colorado River is the Nile of America, and that there is no richer land under the sun. It has been the fashion to joke about the heat of Yuma, and there is no denying its heat — ^which THE AMERICAN NILE 93 ranges as high as 119° Fahr. — ^but men of wisdom are now seeing in that heat the great factor in the won- derful growth of crops in the Yuma region. With a rich and fertile soU, an abundance of water, and heat — steady, persistent high temperature — ^the country becomes a great forcing-house, a conservatory for the growing of fruits, vegetables, etc., that struggle to attain maturity elsewhere. Sensible men, there- fore, seeking a location where they can control the growing of rare crops, gravitate toward Yuma. The Reclamation Service officially states: In climate Yuma Valley is dry and semitropie, a climate productive noi only of wealth but of health. While the temperature averages about seventy-three degrees, the thermometer does not give any idea of the climatic con- ditions because of the lack of humidity in the atmosphere. The secret of the long growing season lies in the fact that the sun shines ninety-five per cent, of the days of the year, and it is rarely cold enough to injure the most delicate plant. Flowers bloom the year around, and the frosts which occur occasionally in the early morning hours of the winter months, notably in December and January, are not severe enough to interfere with winter gardening. The rainfall averages about three inches and occurs at irreguleir intervals during the summer, fall and winter months. The vallej' is free from severe stonns and tornadoes are" un- known. The most severe wind-storms rarely last more than twelve hours, and during these no houses or trees are in- jured. Night is as comfortable as the day, and throughout the year many people sleep in houses constructed of cheese- cloth stretched over frames. Nature has not only supplied the region of the Yuma Project with many of those features essential to the pro- duction and maintenance of abundant life, but has left it singularly free from destroying elements. The valley lies outside the path of the regular winds, and is therefore never 94 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST visited by severe storms. The evening winds from the Gulf of California appreciably .lessen the heat of the day and make the nights pleasant. It is also well to remember that during the last thirty-five years there have been but 145 days -when the Government thermometer recorded to and below thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit, an average of four to the year, and on four of those years freezing-point was not reached. The period during which the ' ' cold spell" lasts is from two to five hours. Hence it will be seen that the growing season is from January first to December thirty-first, without cessation, and that the possible variety of fruit and vegetable products is unlimited. While citrus fruits do not thrive in the lower lands of the river bottom they do well on the mesa above Yuma. Indeed, though I myself am a Californian, I confess freely that the oranges of the Tuma mesa are richer in flavour and sugar content than California grown fruit, and that in my judgment, there are no grape- fruit in the world that can compare with those grown here. I have eaten half a dozen, one after another, without sugar, so rich and delicious do they ripen in this beneficent clime. Then, too, citrus fruits ripen so early that they are in the market before Christmas, and thus bring the highest prices. Egyptian cotton, with its long, fine, strong staple, is rapidly becoming a profitable crop. It is found to grow here as well as in its native Nile habitat, and as soon as the farmer overcomes the initial difficulties in its production, he realizes large profit from its cultivation. THE AMEEICAN NILE 95 Date culture is also assured. The experimental stage is practically passed. Profitable results have been obtained at the Experimental Station, and while the bringing of date palms to maturity and bearing is rather a slow process those who can afford to plant and wait are pretty certain of satisfactory returns. Dates need great heat and an abundance of water — "feet in water and heads in the sun," say the Arabs — and the abundant supply of water now se- cured by the Eeclamation Service, combined with the steady sunshine, provides these two needed factors in their profitable development. Of vegetable-growth too much cannot be said. During the winter cabbage, cauliflower, beets, lettuce, radishes, onions, endive and many others thrive and they can be grown the rest of the year also. Luscious watermelons, cantaloupes, casabas, enor- mous tomatoes of exceptional flavour, wonderful cu- cumbers yield over and over during the warmer sea- son as long as they are planted, irrigated and culti- vated. Sweet com may be planted every three weeks from February to the middle of August and will furnish roasting ears considerably more than half the year without interval. As soon as one crop is harvested the ground is ready for another. By planting between the rows of growing com or potatoes, for example, two crops wiU result from the same ground at practically the same time. Irish potatoes can be planted in Jan- uary and harvested in May. Com planted between the potato rows in March will mature by June 1st. On the same ground corn has been planted August 1st and turnips added between the rows the last of 96 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST September, all maturing. Vine products, such as pumpkins, squash and others, produce heavily. Su- gar-cane, sorghum, peanuts, maize and the like are native. Milo-maize has become quite a standard stock feed and is used to some extent for human con- sumption. Its grain is very rich and nutritious. It turns out about four tons of threshed grain per acre. Alfalfa is the principal hay crop, and its growth, like everything else in this section, is very rapid. A cutting of hay is not uncommon at three months from planting the seed, and it is not uncommon to secure seven, eight, nine and, in some cases, as high as ten and even twelve cuttings per year, with an average yield of from ten to twelve tons per acre. Alfalfa seed is also a profitable product, one farmer having secured as much as 1,800 pounds per acre, from four acres. Another farmer's yield on thirty-four acres was 1,200 pounds per acre. Barley and com may be grown on the same ground the same year, each producing fifty bushels to the acre. Barley is also grown for hay and yields from two to four tons per acre. Wheat and barley can be sown in the fall and pastured aU winter, and a good crop harvested early in May. Alaska wheat does very well here. The grains are large, clean and very nutritious. All grains are free from smut or other diseases or pests in this locality. Under such conditions it can be seen that hogs, cattle and poultry thrive. With an abundance of water and varied fodder and grains for feed they fatten readily, and being on the main line of the Southern Pacific Eailway, with the Arizona mining country for market on the one side, and California THE AMERICAN NILE 97 with its vast tourist and regular population on the other, the profitable disposal of all products is as- sured. Yuma is 251 miles southeast of Los Angeles, 250 miles west of Tucson, Arizona, 197 miles south- west of Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, and 562 miles west of El Paso, Texas. It is on the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway, with that magnificent highway affording ready communication in both directions, A fine steel bridge now crosses the Colorado River, and this nat- urally makes Yuma a converging point for automo- bile travel to and from East or West. The span is over 350 feet. There are also two Howe truss bridges, one on the main canal of 110-foot span, and the other over the Reservation Drainage Canal, on the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway. Yuma is a growing city, fairly progressive, as its appearance testifies. It has a fine high school, with excellent grammar schools and churches, public works that are a credit and modern clubs, including two women's clubs. In the schools six languages are taught. The streets are macadamised, the city has cement sidewalks, a good water system, electric lights and gas, two banks, several hotels, two daily and one weekly newspaper, some manufacturing con- cerns, canneries and up-to-date places of amusement. A cursory survey of the vast engineering plant and work of the Reclamation Service reveals the se- cret of Yuma's development, together with that of the surrounding country, including the smaller settle- ments of Somerton, Gadsen, Kopa, Wendendale, Bouse, Potholes and Bard. The Laguna Dam, though submerged, is a scene to stir one 's imagination. It is 4,780 feet long, and 98 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST 250 feet wide. It was a gigantic task, not finan- cially successful to its first contractors. Conse- quently it had to be completed by the Eeclamation Service's own engineers and workmen. During the building of this monster structure the most severe test upon the ability of man to stop the river was experienced when the centre of the stream was reached. The sluiceways at either end were intended to carry the flow of the river during the con- struction period, their capacity being 16,000 second- feet. As the cofferdams were extended from either side of the river the opening in the centre became narrower and the quantity of water forced through the sluiceways, constantly increased. When mat- ters were in this critical shape word was received from the man on lookout duty up stream that a flood was on its way down and would reach the dam in a few hours. Every man on the work knew that the battle was on from that moment. The force was increased to 600 men and trainload after trainload of quarry stone was dumped into the opening. All through the night the men toiled, under electric light, not knowing at what moment the cofferdam might give away under the weight of the rising flood. From the supervising engineer, L. C. Hill, down to the foremen every man was in his place on the line of battle, and by taking advantage at every point, the dam was kept above the torrent, and the victory over the Colorado was won. The great concrete structures for diverting the flow of water on either side of the river are impres- sive and satisfying, and equally so as one drives along the canals and laterals, and over the substan- THE AMERICAN NILE 99 tial concrete bridges, getting glimpses all the way along of the 235 wooden structures of various types, comprising farm-unit water gates, lateral checks, and turnouts, culverts, bridges, drops, etc. The great siphon, for the conveyance of 1,400 sec- ond-feet of water, was built under the oversight of Francis L. Sellew, the project engineer. This em- braced concrete caissons for two shafts, connected by a concrete tube under the river, having a diameter of fourteen feet. The tunnel was driven from the Arizona side, the men working under compressed air, which was necessary to prevent seepage from above. The depth of the shaft is 80 feet on both the Califor- nia and Arizona sides, the concrete tunnel being 950 feet in length. The up-stream end of the siphon is controlled by a cylinder gate protected by a screen to keep large floating objects from entering. The gate is 14 feet in diameter. The tower above the siphon on the California sid'e is a handsome concrete structure, surmounted by an American eagle done in solid brass. The Eeclamation Service, in order to further its construction work, built a railway on the levee on the California side, thirteen miles in length, from Yuma to Potholes — as the station at Laguna Dam is called. It is now operated by the Southern Pacific Company. The Eeclamation Service also constructed a railway upon its levee on the Arizona side reaching down from Yuma to the Mexican line. This comprises about 25% miles and it is operated for the conven- ience of the settlers of the Yuma Valley, as well as for the necessary protection of the levees from flood. The irrigable area of the Yuma Project comprises 100 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST some 128,000 acres, divided into separate units, as follows : Yuma Indian Resei^ation, 15,000 acres, of which 6,500 acres were opened to white settlers under public notice in 1910, the balance being divided among the Indians in 10-acre pilots; Yuma Valley, 55,000 acres ; Gila Valley, 18,000 acres, 8,000 of which are on the north side of the Gila River ; and the mesa land, 40,000 acres. The Service is now ready to supply water to 60,000 acres. In June, 1917, 36,000 acres were actually irri- gated, and the area is now increasing at the rate of about 500 acres per month. Irrigation is carried on every day in the year, and the elevation of the ir- rigable area varies from 100 to 300 feet above sea- level. The average annual rainfall for sixteen years is 3.62 inches. The farm unit for land in private ownership on the Yuma Project is 160 acres, but where land is taken up under the Homestead Act, the unit is 40 acres. At present there are no public "lands available for entry in the Yuma Valley, or the Indian Reservation on the California side of the Colorado River. The irrigation of the Yuma Mesa, where the lands are considered to be adapted principally to citrus and other fruits, is provided for by a recent Act of Con- gress whereby the public lands are to be sold and the money so raised used in the construction of the necessary pumping plants and distributing system. The Reclamation Service is now working out the plans for this project, but the date of the sale of the lands and the time when water will be available for their irrigation are still indefinite. Provision is also THE AMERICAN NILE 101 made to take in what private lands lie within the areas of the proposed pumping units. Privately owned lands in the Yuma Valley may be purchased, and information as to terms and prices can be obtained from the Yuma County Commercial Club at Yuma, Arizona, who will also supply names of dealers. Seventy-five dollars an acre is about the minimum price for which uncultivated lands can be had, and at this figure the location would neces- sarily be some distance down the valley from the town of Yuma. For lands near the town much higher prices prevail, rising with improvements and location. It is estimated that the average expendi- ture win not run much under seventy-five dollars per acre for getting raw land into alfalfa. This would include clearing, levelling, bordering, and planting. Other classes of cultivation will vary in accordance with the crop desired, running from pasture to or- chards, and the "personal factor" of the rancher will always enter largely into the cost. A "Warrenite" (macadam and asphalt) highway has been completed from the town of Yuma down to Somerton, fifteen miles below, and this, with what service can be supplied by the Yuma Valley (Gov- ernment-owned) Eailroad down the levee on the west side of the valley, should not be overlooked when con- sidering the cost of haiiling products to Yuma. Cars coming up on the Yuma Valley Eailroad can be switched directly onto the main line of the Southern Pacific for carrying to their final destination, and a great deal of hauling by motor truck on the Somerton highway is now facilitating transportation. The cost which the rancher must repay for Govern- 102 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST ment construction in the Tuma Valley nnit was re- cently announced as $75 per acre. The cost for wa- ter is 75 cents per acre-foot (1 acre covered to a depth of 1 foot) and about 5 acre-feet per year will be used to each acre of land. In making the con- struction payments a period of twenty years may be taken, or the farmer may pay up sooner if he so de- sires. These figures may appear to be high to one not initiated into the practice of irrigation, but when it is borne in mind that from five to seven cuttings of alfalfa hay may be taken from the land during one year, and that great concentration in the raising of all other crops in like proportion may be carried on for three hundred and sixty-five days in the year, the per-acre charge ought to fade away on its side of the ledger if the landowner combines good farm man- agement with plenty of hard work. Besides this, the long period of twenty years that may be consumed in paying up the charge is carried by the United States Government without any burden of interest; or, to look at it from the banker's view-point, the Government allows the farmer to pay back interest at an average rate of only five per cent, a year for twenty years, and then makes him a present of the principal. The present Project Manager is W. "W. Schlecht, with office at Yuma, Arizona.* CHAPTER Vm GEOWING OEANGES TJNDEB THE SHADOW OF MT. SHASTA. THE OELAND PBOJECT, CALIFOBNIA California has been known ever since the days of gold as the state of romance. Romantic in its Span- ish Missions, when the Franciscan friars planted the olive, the vine, and the orange ; in its wonderful gold rush, which made it the mecca of thousands of gold- seekers from almost every country under the sun; in its cowboy epoch, when cattle were its dominant in- dustry ; in its agricultural and horticultural develop- ment, when it was found that, given water, its soil was productive beyond the ordinary thoughts of or- dinary men ; in its alluring attractiveness to the tour- ist pleasure-lover, and health-seeker; in its moun- tains, lakes, canyon-valleys like the Yosemite, sea- side resorts, and islands ; in its hunting, fishing and other sports; in its outdoor recreations; in its ex- quisite flower displays and the glory they confer upon its homes — ^these, and a score of other features, have added to the romantio reputation of California throughout the world. In its rise into prominence as a place of fruit cul- ture certain far-seeing men of later days took note of the fact that the orange, planted by the Mission Fathers, in certain parts of the state, seemed to have thriven abundantly. They began to experiment with it, therefore, as a horticultural possibility. Well do 1 remember — ^pne of the first things I ever saw in San 103 104 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST Francisco — ^the unloading of a vessel at one of the ■vfharves there, possibly from Hawaii, the chief bur- den of which was oranges. Many of the boxes were opened on the wharf and sorted, the rotten fruit being thrown aside. To my surprise certain men took the seeds from these rotten oranges, washed and then sacked them with the evident intent of using them. Afterwards I learned that they were sent to Eiverside — ^which had been established a few years earlier — and there planted, thus beginning the grow- ing of seedling oranges for the markets of California. Then by a fortuitous concomitance of circum- stances a Eiverside orange-grower received six navel-orange trees that had come to the Agricultural Department, at Washington, from Bahia, Brazil. From these six trees sprang the Eiverside Washing- ton navel-orange industry, there now being millions of trees of this variety in California and Arizona, aU of which are descended from these original six trees. Two of these, by the way, are still in exist- ence, in Eiverside. Oranges thus became recognized as a regular crop of the southern part of the state of California, and soon lemons and grape-fruit were added to the list. But it was early discovered that citrus fruits could not endure much frost, hence it was deemed that the only region in which they could successfully be grown, without risk from frost, was south of the Tehachapi range, and even there only in certain "thermal belts." This supposedly natural allotment for the sphere of citrus culture was accepted as final by the ma- jority of people, but, thank God, there are always a UNDER MT. SHASTA'S SHADOW 105 few minds who refuse to accept popular conclusions, and who question, test, experiment. Some of these tried the planting of oranges and lemons in the foot- hills of the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley. Others, a little later, were tempted to test them fur- ther north, and in most cases with success. A few more daring ones were satisfied that a thermal belt, where frost was unknown, existed in the upper end of the Sacramento Valley, and they planted orange groves there, which, to the surprise of those who did not know the climatic facts, thrived abundantly and brought good profit to their owners. Then there came a few seasons of destructive frost in Southern California. Citrus orchards lost mil- lions of pounds of fruit, and although there were comparatively few trees that were ruined, many growers lost so much fruit that their incomes were seriously impaired. By this time the tests in the Sacramento Valley had proved so successful that one grower sold out his Riverside groves, and began the planting out of five thousand acres of oranges, grape- fruit and lemons in the foothills of the Sacramento Valley. A few years prior to this time the Reclamation Service had determined to establish an irrigation project in California. The choice of location fell upon the upper portion of the Sacramento Valley — as its lands are semi-arid — in Glenn County, near to the town of Orland. This used to be the centre of one of the greatest grain-growing areas in Califor- nia, heavy crops of wheat and barley being produced annually, the rainfall occurring mainly in the winter months, and averaging about seventeen inches per 106 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST year. But in due time the soil became exhausted through the growing of a single crop, until grain- growing was no longer profitable, and the farmers' attention perforce was turned in some other direc- tion. In the early days of American occupancy the whole of this region used to be owned by a few men who refused to part with any portion of their holdiags. A better day, however, finally dawned, either when these men died, or were blessed by a change of heart, and the large ranches began to be subdivided and sold at reasonable prices, so that men of ordinary means might come in and establish farms and homes here. The necessity for irrigation was realized as far back as the '80s and an irrigation district was formed under the State law, but no work was done, because of inability to finance the undertaking. Later the Stony Creek Irrigation Company was incorporated, dug a few miles of canal and irrigated, through a portion of each summer, about 150 acres of land in and around the town of Orland. Also the Lemon Home Water, Power and Light Company, which had laid out a colony near the Tehama County line, built a short canal for the purpose of irrigating the lands of the expected colonists, and those of one or two of the old residents ia the section traversed by the Company's ditch. The colonists, however, did not materialize and the irrigation service of both com- panies was only partial, lasting through the early summer only and failing at midsummer when the heat and the need of water were greatest. The source of water supply is Stony Creek, a very considerable tributary of the Sacramento Eiver, and UNDER MT. SHASTA'S SHADOW 107 one of the largest streams emptying into the Sacra- mento from the west side of the valley. It dis- charges a large volume of water during the season of its greatest flow and at times is a raging torrent, but it dwindles rapidly as soon as the rains cease and by July 1st is usually entirely dry at Orland. The U. S. Geological Survey had located several reservoir sites along Stony Creek and its tributaries but the people were too poor, too sceptical, and too discouraged to make use of them and, at that time, private capital had steadfastly declined to see oppor- tunities for profitable investment in the Sacramento Valley. Under these circumstances a few of the peo- ple in the vicinity of Orland, with the assistance of the Sacramento Valley Development Association, took action looking toward the construction of a Gov- ernment project under the Reclamation Act. In the year 1905 the owners of 40,000 acres of land signed an agreement to accept and be bound by the terms of the Reclamation Act and to sell off their holdings in excess of 160 acres in tracts of not to exceed forty acres, and in February, 1906, a Water Users' Association was formed and duly incorpor- ated and presented a petition to the Secretary of the Interior, reciting the facts regarding the fertility of the soil, the favourable climatic conditions, and the advantages offered to settlers, and asking that the surveys along Stony Creek be completed and for the early construction of an irrigation project in the vicinity of Orland. A surveying party and diamond drill outfit were put into the field in July, 1906, and continued at work until the following November. 108 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST In November, 1906, a board of engineers recom- mended the construction of the Orland project under certain conditions, and the Orland Unit Water Users' Association at once reorganized to meet the new con- ditions. To provide the required storage the reservoir site at East Park in Colusa .County, California, was se- lected and designs wtre prepared for a concrete dam 90 feet in height above stream bed on Little Stony Creek at a point about three miles above its conflu- ence with the main stream, to impound 46,000 acre- feet of water for use after the failure of the natural flow of Stony Creek in the midsummer of each. The water, when discharged from the reservoir, was to follow the bed of Little Stony and Stony Creeks to Miller Btittes, a distance of 41 miles, and to be di- verted at the point where the creek breaks through the foothills and begins its flow southeastwardly through the valley toward the Sacramento Eiver, the diversion to be accomplished by a low concrete dam at Miller Buttes into the South Canal whence it is distributed to that part of the project lying south of Stony Creek. A diverting weir for the North Canal was also contemplated but its location was not fixed at this time. Meantime an office had been established at Orland and Mr. T. H. Humphreys was placed in charge as Project Engineer. The work of securing the lands necessary for the reservoir was pushed actively (val- uable aid being rendered by the officers of the Water Users' Association) and about 4,000 acres were pur- chased. In the spring of 1909 work was begun on the East UNDER MT. SHASTA'S SHADOW 109 Park Dam, and with the exception of one or two brief interruptions on account of high water, it continued until it was completed June 15, 1910. This dam is located in a gorge of conglomerate, is built of con- crete and is on a jadius of 275 feet. It is 139 feet high above foundation and has a top length of 250 feet. It is ten feet thick at the top, and 86 feet at the base. Twenty feet above the bed of the river is a circular conduit which constitutes the main out- let. This is controlled by two sluice-gates each 4x5 feet, set in tandem, seven feet apart on opposite sides of a gate tower. Originally the dam had a storage capacity of 46,000 acre-feet, but it is now increased to 51,000 acre-feet. The spillway is located in a saddle about a quarter of a mile from the dam. It is a concrete structure founded on hard shale. It is a weir consisting of nine semi-circular arches resting against piers eight feet wide. The arches have a radius of 13H feet, and the whole structure is curved to a radius of 474 feet, its total length being 415 feet. It is designed for a capacity of 10,000 cubic feet per second, with a depth of overflow of 3.7 feet. A water cushion is formed by a series of small weirs two feet high on radii of 29 feet, built down-stream from the main weir. The acreage included in the project which it was supposed could readily be irrigated from the dam amounted to 14,300 acres. But for two successive seasons after the project was opened, the run-off into the reservoir fell far short of the capacity — in one year to about one-fourth, and the next to a little over one-third. Something must be done, and done in- 110 BECLAIMING THE ABID WEST stantly, to provide against the disaster of water shortage. Fortunately all the acreage was not call- ing for water. It was decided to build a feed canal from Big Stony Creek to the reservoir, a distance of seven miles, and to increase the storage capacity by 5,000 acre-feet, by building the spillway three feet higher. These improvements were carried out in 1914. The diversion dam for this feed canal is a con- crete arch built to a radius of 100 feet, with a crest length of 154 feet, and a maximum height of 44 feet. Its greatest thickness is six and one-half feet, and this diminishes to three and one-half feet near the top. The crest of the dam is curved down-stream in vertical section, in order that the overflow may fall free from the dam and cause no vacuum. The system contemplates the delivery of water directly to every 40-acre unit through 138 mUes of Government canals and laterals, and when com- pleted will contain 2,000 concrete control structures of various kinds. Beginning in October, 1909, the South Main Canal (the old Stony Creek Irrigation Company's ditch) was rebuilt from Hambright Creek, some five miles northwest of the town of Orland, to its terminus on the northern boundary of the town, 31 reinforced concrete drops were constructed and the necessary bridges and siphons to carry the canal under the country road at the two or three points of crossing were built. The first Government irrigation was in the season of 1910, in which year water was furnished to 500 acres of land mostly in and contiguous to the town of Diversion Dam and Ditch Orland Project, California East Park Dam, Downstream Face — Height 127 feet, Length of Crest 220 feet Orland Project, California UNDEE MT. SHASTA'S SHADOW 111 Orland and largely land which had formerly been served by the old company ditches. As the East Park dam was not finished until June there was no stored water available and irrigation was continued only until the natural flow of Stony Creek failed, which was during the month of July. The beginning of irrigation in 1911 was delayed about two weeks by a flood following a torrential rain on March 5th. The creeks were out of their banks and, for a time, a large volume of Hambright Creek was pouring into the South Canal and overflowing into the county road and over the contiguous prop- erty. The South Canal, designed to carry a maxi- mum of 150 second-feet, was receiving from Ham- bright Creek about 260 second-feet for several hours and it stood the strain successfully, both in its banks and structures, little damage being done. At the headworks the flood had pUed up the gravel in the sluiceway and before the gates and had entirely filled the channel on the south side of Stony Creek so it became necessary to clear away the deposits before the gates and excavate a channel to bring the water over the intake. The South Main Canal, as it was purchased from the Stony Creek Irrigation Company, descended nearly 35 feet in the three miles above the Ham- bright Creek crossing, a fall which would produce too high velocity for the amount of water necessary to irrigate the project. This necessitated rebuilding the canal and the construction of a number of very expensive concrete structures would have been nec- essary to reduce the velocity. As an alternative it was decided to build a new canal along a higher level 112 EECLAIMING THE AEID "WEST — a canal that would require no drops whatever and would, besides, provide a power site at its lower end should a power plant become desirable. A line was located along the hillside, the right of way secured at a cost of $1,350, and advertisement inviting proposals for its construction issued on August 1, 1910. In due time this was completed and is now in suc- cessful operation. At the outlet of this canal there is available for future hydro-electric development not less than 450 horse-power. As the city of Orland grows this power will undoubtedly be called for. Before the authorization of the Orland Project the land was worth comparatively little. In favourable seasons a small crop of grain could be grown on a part of what is now included in the project limits, but for the most part the fields lay idle. The coun- try was sparsely settled, only an occasional ranch house surrounded by a small grove of trees breaking the monotony of the level plain — a thirsty land cry- ing for water to make it fertile. The town of Orland was a collection of more or less dilapidated wooden stores which, leaning against one another for sup- port, expressed the discouragement felt by the peo- ple. The short irrigation season afforded by the old companies which supplied but about 150 acres had done little more than demonstrate what might be accomplished with a full season and plenty of water. As soon as the project was assured, things began to move; prospective settlers began to make inquiries, the price of land went up with a bound from $15 and $20 per acre to $50, $60, $75, and in the course of three years to $125 and $150. The real estate men UNDEE MT. SHASTA'S SHADOW 113 were kept busy selling farms to the people who came in, land was levelled, houses were built, and a general air of prosperity prevailed. In the town, where the improvement was first shown, the changes were extraordinary. In one year (1909-10) $100,000 was invested in new busi- ness buildings; most of the old unpainted ram- shackle buildings were torn down and replaced by modern structures of concrete and the business part of the town, six years after the beginning of active work on the project, presents blocks of well buUt re- inforced concrete buildings with modern plate glass fronts quite in metropolitan style. More than two hundred new residences have been built, mostly of the attractive bungalow type, and the town, though somewhat scattered, has taken on a "smart" aspect unusual in new communities. In the country the development has been none the less marked. New cottages have sprung up in all directions and large barns have been built to shelter the horses and dairy cattle which have been brought in; fields of alfalfa show vividly green where for- merly the yellow burned-up native vegetation held full sway, and young orange, almond and other fruit trees are flourishing; the lowing of cattle and the cackling of hens have taken the place of the erstwhile silence and the voice of chanticleer is heard in the land. The value of improvements on irrigated lands in 1910 was $25,000. Today the valuation conserva- tively is estimated at $875,000. The project was opened by public notice on the 24th of May, 1916. It now contains over 20,000 acres of irrigable land, about 14,000 acres of which are now 114 BECLAIMING THE AEID WEST (1917) under irrigation. Over 600 applications for water right have been received up to date, covering 17,000 acres. In the last eight or ten months fully a hundred new settlers have been added, most of whom are developing their holdings. The dairy business has increased in a remarkable manner. In 1911 there were perhaps 125 head of indifferent milk cows to be found. Today there are more than 4,000, and 70 per cent, are of graded and pedigreed stock. There are two creameries in active operation, which are paying out about $45,000 a month for butter fat, and this means prosperity for the farmers. In addition the orange industry has thriven beyond all expecta- tions. In 1916 twelve car-loads were shipped east, these being the first carload shipments ever effected, and as other orchards come into bearing the output will materially increase. And, as has elsewhere been shown, these oranges ripening so early, reach the eastern markets ahead of those shipped from other parts of California, and win the heaviest prices. While unimproved land valuations have scarcely increased since 1913, viz., $100 to $150 per acre, there has been a very beneficial change in the method of placing them in the hands of settlers. Instead of requiring a payment of half or more down, as was done in earlier days, a payment of ten or twenty-five per cent, is expected, with no other payments for three to five years, except taxes and interest. Then the balance may be paid in four or five more years. In this way the settler is given full opportunity to get fairly well established before full payment for his land is exacted. The building cost of the project has UNDER MT. SHASTA'S SHADOW 115 been fixed at $44 per acre, with the twenty year pe- riod for paying it in. As a result of these favourable conditions the town of Orland has rapidly grown. From a population of about 600 in 1910, it now (1917) has fully 3,500. On the occasion of the opening of the project it was my pleasure to give the main address. By an unfor- tunate concomitance of circumstances the representa- tive of Congress, the Governor of the State, and the district engineer were all prevented from being pres- ent, and by an equally peculiar but fortuitous con- comitance, they each invited me to act in their stead. So I had the weighty responsibilities and honours of Congress, the Governorship, and scientific engineer- ing to uphold, not only in the address that was de- livered to a great throng that had assembled from all the surrounding country, but in observing what the Service had accomplished for the benefit of the region. Perhaps it was to this combined weight of responsibility that I owe my ever-growing reverence and respect for the helpful work the Service is ac- complishing. For ever since those days spent in studying the Orland Project I have been more eager than ever to see all the other projects, and as I have studied them in their wonderfully varied detail my respect and reverence for those who have created them, as well as my pride and patriotism, have grown. The present Project Manager is A. N. Burch, with offices at Orland, California. CHAPTEE IX WHEEE INDIANS ONCE ROAMED, THE GBAND VALLETt PROJECT, COLORADO The irrigation plan of the Grand Valley Project provides for the diversion of water from the Grand Eiver by a dam about eight miles northeast of Pali- sade, Colorado, into a canal system on the north side of the river, for the irrigation of lands lying north and west of Grand Junction, Fruita, and Mack, Colo- rado. About 42,750 acres will be supplied by grav- ity and 10,250 by pumping plants to be located along the main canal. The Grand Eiver has its source among the high peaks of the Front Eange in the north central part of Colorado. Flowing in a generally southwesterly direction through Middle Park, it enters the Gore Canyon near Kremmling and from here to Palisade is confined between canyon walls for the greater part of its length. At Palisade the canyon walls recede and the river enters the Grand Valley where is pre- sented the only opportunity along the entire course of the river for extensive diversion of its water for irrigation. Flowing through the valley for a dis- tance of 30 miles, it again enters a canyon, continuing its course to its intersection with the Green Eiver in Utah. From Palisade, to a point near Cisco, Utah, the valley is about 100 miles in length and varies from two to twelve miles in width. Just east of the Colorado-Utah line, the valley is divided by a high 116 WHEEE INDIANS ONCE ROAMED 117 ridge traversing it from north to south, known as the Excelsior Divide. For a long time it was considered that it might be feasible to carry water through this ridge by means of a tunnel or deep cut to water the Utah lands, but investigation showed the land on the Utah side to be 200 feet higher than that on the Colo- rado side, and that the Utah lands could not be reached without pumping. The Grand Valley Project, therefore, was planned to include only those lands in the State of Colorado lying east of the Excelsior Divide, and the term Grand Valley includes that part of the valley between the mouth of the canyon at Palisade and the Excel- sior Divide, about three miles east of the Utah line. It was estimated that the total area of land in this valley susceptible of irrigation would be about 118,- 000 acres. The elevation of the Grand Eiver at the mouth of the canyon is such that only 40,000 acres, all on the north side of the river, can be covered by grav- ity ditches starting at this point. This acreage was naturally the first to be developed and is all under irrigation from the canal of the Grand Valley Irri- gation Company. To cover the remaining 78,000 acres, an additional elevation of 100 feet had to be gained. To do this it was decided to use a gravity canal diverting from the north side of the Grand Eiver and beginning at a point far enough up the canyon to permit the use of a low diversion dam. This gravity canal would also supply water to elec- trically driven pumping plants to supply six sepa- rate areas of excellent land lying above the canal. Prior to 1881, the Grand Valley was included, with the larger part of Western Colorado, in the old Ute 118 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST Indian Eeservation, and the little that was known of it before that time was gained from the meagre re- ports of the more hardy pioneers, hunters, and trap- pers, and from information obtained by the Hayden expedition. Beall, one of the geologists of this expe- dition, describes this section of the country as "for the most part a desert, covered with a sparse growth of stunted sage brush, which grows in a stiff alkaline soil made from the debris washed from the Book Cliffs," and this opinion prevailed for years. In August, 1881, the Indians were removed to the Uintah reservation in Utah, and on September 4th the lands in the Grand Valley, which had been par- tially surveyed during the summer, were thrown open for settlement. Large numbers of people were wait- ing in the frontier towns, and, when the word came, there was a rush of settlers seeking to secure the most desirable lands. In a short time the city of Grand Junction had been founded and all the lands along the north side of the river taken up, these lands being the most desirable since they could be more readily brought under irrigation. Early in 1882 work was commenced on the first ir- rigation ditches in the valley, and four were built within the next two years. In 1886 these four ditches were consolidated and thereafter operated under one management as the Grand Valley Canal. Meantime, the development of the valley had been rapid, and, in 1886, it was estimated that 10,000 acres of land were under cultivation. With the completion of the Grand Valley Canal, all of the lands in the valley which could be watered at a low cost, comprising about 45,000 acres, were brought under ditch. WHERE INDIANS ONCE ROAMED 119 From this time until the passage of the Reclama- tion Act in 1902 a large number of survey lines were run and many attempts were made to accomplish the construction of the so-called High Line Canal by pri- vate enterprise. The apparently unlimited volume of water going to waste annually down the Grand River, and the thousands of acres of fertile land awaiting only the application of water to transform them into productive orchards and farms, made the project appear very attractive. While favourable conditions were reported by local engineers, the difficulties seemed to be too great for private capital to overcome, and at the time of the passage of the Reclamation Act nothing had yet been accomplished toward the construction of the High Line Canal. Immediately after the approval of the Reclamation Act, local citizens requested the exam- ination of their plans looking toward its construc- tion by the Reclamation Service. From the favourable reports which had been made, the project appeared worthy of consideration, and steps were taken at once to place a party in the field for the purpose of making a detailed survey of the proposed canal. As a preliminary to the field exam- ination, the lands involved were, on July 17, 1902, temporarily withdrawn from entry under the terms of the Reclamation Act. Before sufficient time had elapsed to allow the Service to proceed with work in accordance with the results of this examination, representations were made to the Department by certain citizens of Grand Junction, and others, that private parties were de- sirous of building the system. Relying upon the 120 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST favourable reports made by the engineers of the Eec- lamation Service, to secure the capital necessary to build the canal, these persons saw an opportunity to reap promoters' profits, which would be lost if the work were done by the Government. At that time the principle had been adopted of non- interference with private enterprise. It was still popularly believed that irrigation investments could and should be made a source of individual profit. The people as a whole had not been educated to see that work of this kind could not be a safe investment and it was only after practically every large private irrigation project had become bankrupt that this underlying principle was recognized. Under these conditions it was deemed wise for the Eeclamation Service not to intrude upon what then appeared to be a proper field of private or corporate effort, and to hold off. Had this not been done there would always have been the complaint that the Government had interfered with private affairs and that the work could have been done cheaper in some other way. Doing away with this fallacy was possibly worth the loss of time which necessarily ensued. During four years of waiting, however, nothing locally was accomplished and in 1907 the Service was again urged to take up the construction, but as a great deal of expensive work had been undertaken on other projects by this time, there was not avail- able in the fund a sufiScient amount for any large ex- penditures such as the Grand Valley plans required, before 1910. The co-operative plan of work had been inaugurated shortly before this time, and the idea was conceived by the Water Users' Associa- WHEEE INDIANS ONCE EOAMED 121 tion of raising a sufficient sum to enable the work to proceed with more rapidity. Subscriptions were so- licited by the Association and in October, 1908, ap- proximately $125,000 had been subscribed in cash and labour. A representative of the Association was sent to Washington, who on October 15, secured from the Secretary of the Interior the tentative approval of a form of contract, providing for the early com- mencement of work under the co-operative plan. This contract provided in brief that the Secretary should allot the sum of $125,000 to be available for expenditure on the project during the year 1909, at the same rate the amounts subscribed by the Asso- ciation should be expended ; the latter amounts to be covered by co-operative certificates issued by the Department, which could be applied at their face value in reduction of water right charges; that the allotment of $100,000 already made for carrying on the work during 1908 and 1909 should be available in addition to the new allotment of $125,000 ; that after the year 1909, the construction of the project should be continued by expenditures from the Eeclamation Fund to the extent that money should be found avail- able. The estimated total cost of the project as then proposed was about three million dollars. At about the time the Eeclamation Service was ready to commence operations various individuals again made representations that it should abandon the project and leave the field clear for private en- terprise. The favourable conditions which existed at that time in the market for irrigation securities, together with the standing which the project had attained from the favourable reports of the Service 122 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST engineers, made it appear to he a very attractive one from the standpoint of the promoter. The Wa- ter Users' Association, however, protested vigor- ously against any interruption with the plans of the Service, and, in 1909, construction was commenced. Work on the camp had been in progress only a few days and three of the buildings were in the course of erection, when telegraphic orders were received from Washington to suspend all work, as the question of the legality of the co-operative contract had been raised. On June 2, 1909, the Attorney General ren- dered his opinion, now a matter of record, declaring illegal the co-operative plan of work in general, and the Grand Valley contract as executed by Secretary Garfield in particular. This was a great blow and from 1909 to 1912, the program for the Grand Valley Project continued to be uncertain. Then the Service decided to under- take it. Even after arrangements were successfully completed for financing the work, much time was lost because of the difficulties encountered in securing the necessary rights of way at a reasonable cost, and in reaching a decision as to the location of the main canal. However, matters were finally adjusted, and con- struction commenced during the fall of 1912 on the tunnels for the main canal, and the next year prepa- rations for the construction of the diversion dam were started. Actual work on the dam commenced Augfust 27, 1913. From this time on, work on the en- tire project was pushed rapidly, and by the end of 1916 the diversion dam and headworks were comple- Irrigation and Farming on Bench Land near Grand Junction Grand Valley Project, Colorado Main Canal, Grand River Grand Valley Project, Colorado WHEEE INDIANS ONCE EOAMED 123 ted, and of the canal system there remained to be fin- ished only the last seven miles of the main canal, lat- erals for 15,500 acres in the second and third lateral districts, the power plant and pumping system, and such drainage and flood-protection works as may be required. In the designing and construction of the Grand Eiver Dam the engineers had to solve the problem as to how they should raise the level of the river at low stages sufSciently to send 1,425 cubic feet of water per second into the head of the main canal, and yet at high water to pass a flow of 50,000 cubic feet per second without raising the water level to a point where it would endanger the road-bed of the Denver and Eio Grande Eailway. This was effected by building a solid concrete weir, surmounted by eight massive piers and provided with seven roller crests for regulating the height of back water at the canal intake. Six of the roller crests span openings 70 feet long between piers and are 10 feet 3 inches high. The seventh roller is 60 feet long, 15 feet 4 inches high, and it regulates the flow through the sluiceway in front of the canal intake. At times of low flow the dam diverts the full flow of the river, part of which, however, is returned through the power-plant at the lower end of the canyon division. Nine gates, each with an opening seven feet square, regulate the flow into the canal. The roller crests and regulator gates are operated by electricity. A three-hinged arch steel service bridge, 6 feet in width, consisting of seven spans, extends the fuU length of the dam. The total length of the dam between abutments is 124 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST 536.5 feet. When the rollers are dosed at low river stage, it raises water about 20 feet above the general bed of the river. A peculiar condition was found to exist in the or- chard region of the main canal near Palisade, which has not been encountered elsewhere. As soon as the land is soaked with water it subsides from one to five or six feet. Where the irrigation was carelessly and unevenly done the subsidence is uneven, and in some cases a line of clearly marked difference of sev- eral feet was formed which it has been very difficult to overcome. The soU of the irrigable area is sandy loam, and adobe ; the mesas or benches are admirably adapted to the raising of fruit, while sugar beets, alfalfa, grain and vegetables are also staples. The fruit is shipped widely, even to the faraway cities of the East, while the local demand absorbs practically all of the other products. There are twenty thousand acres of public lands on this project which will be opened to settlement under the terms of the Reclamation Act, probably in 1918. The present Project Manager is S. 0. Harper, with offices at Grand Junction, Colorado. CHAPTEE X 'mid the snowy peaks op the eockies. the xjncompahgbe peoject, coloeado The snow-clad peaks of Colorado always have had a fascination for a certain class of minds. Not alone are tourists, world-travellers, the wealthy, moved to deep emotion at the sight of magnificent mountain heights that aspire starward, and catch the snows of winter, holding them until the warm spring-time sends them in dashing, sparkling torrents through the deep canyons into the placid valleys helow. Many a poor man, even though he be a "man with a hoe" or a city dweller, thrills with deepest emotion as he sees such peaks, though for the life of him he could not express his feelings in words. But the allurement is there, and when the suggestion of home-making is added to the mountain lure, there is little wonder that men of this type flock to take pos- session of such home lands as are offered. Some- times it is the wives that long for such environment. Again, of course, it is possible that men seek these locations for no other purpose than the direct and simple one of making money, or making a home. For, whenever there are great mountain peaks and ranges there are sure to be extensive valleys where cattle raising, dairying, and farming may be success- fully carried on. In western Colorado, on the western slope of the Continental Divide, there is such an attractive moun- 126 126 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST tain valley, extending from northern Delta County, southward through Montrose and into Ouray County. The Utah state line is nowhere more than seventy- five miles distant, and the area has an extreme length from north to south of above forty-five miles and a maximum width of about fifteen miles. It contains 381 square miles, or 243,840 acres, of which about 100,000 are comprised within the Uncom- pahgre Project of the Reclamation Service. The area is bounded on the west and southwest by the TJncompahgre Plateau, on the south and south- east by the San Juan Mountains, and on the east and northeast by the Cimarron Ridge and Vernal Mesa. Toward the northwest is the continuation of the val- ley. This surrounding high land ranges in eleva- tion from 8,000 to 14,000 feet above sea level. Mont- rose, the chief town on the project, is 5,800 feet. There are five physiographic types within the val- ley, namely, 1, the comparatively narrow alluvial belts bordering the main stream channels; 2, the broad terraces, representing former alluvial plains of the same streams; 3, smooth slopes, alluvial fans, and broad, smooth coves with strong downward slopes around the heads of small drainage basins — this type occurs exclusively on the east side of the TJncompahgre River ; 4, small, usually isolated, hills of shale that have not yet been reduced to grade level; and, 5, Temnants of f oraier alluvial fans "whieh. existed when the valley floor was a few hundred feet higher than at present. It is the three first types alone that are irrigable, and are included in the lands of the project. The area was a part of the reservation occupied THE SNOWY PEAKS OF THE KOCKIES 127 by Chief Ouray's band of Utes prior to 1881. The Indians cultivated small patches of land, raising chiefly beans and potatoes. The naturally watered meadows were used extensively for pasturing their ponies and sheep. Promptly upon the removal of the Indians to their Utah home the country was opened to pre-emption and claims were filed. Most of the early settlers were native-born Americans from other parts of Colorado and from neighbouring states. They established themselves along the Un- compahgre and Gunnison rivers, where water could be most easily turned upon the fields, the vicinity of Montrose being some of the first territory settled. A steady influx of settlers followed. The chief oc- cupation, naturally, is farming. In the fall of 1882 the Denver and Eio Grande Kailroad was extended from the east into the region as far as Montrose on the Uncompahgre, and down that stream and along the Gunnison to Grand Junc- tion, the important railroad centre some fifty miles to the northwest. A branch line was built up the Gunnison and its North Fork to Somerset, about thirty-five miles eastward, in 1901. In 1888 and 1889 another branch was built up the Uncompahgre from Montrose to Ouray, about twenty miles beyond the region in which we are interested. It now gives free access to Telluride and other mining towns in the southwestern part of Colorado. No part of the region is farther than fourteen miles from a railway and with the construction of a projected electric line connecting Cedar Eidge in the northern end with Uncompahgre Valley points, no part wiU be over seven miles distant. 128 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST Montrose, the largest town of the area, has a population of about 4,000. It is the conunercial centre of a rich and rapidly developing farming sec- tion. It is the junction point of the standard and narrow gauge divisions of the railway system, and is the gateway to the great San Juan mining coun- try. It owns its own system of mountain water, has seventy-two miles of cement sidewalk, is well sew- ered, owns its electric-light plant, has daily, one semi-weekly, and two weekly newspapers, nine churches, all the secret societies, fine grammar and high schools, women's clubs and all the accessories of cultured and progressive western civilization. It is the county seat of Montrose County. Delta, the county seat of Delta County, also on the project, re- ceived its name from the expansion of river plain at the confluence of the Uncompahgre and Gunnison rivers and is next in size with 2,500 inhabitants. Like Montrose, it is located in a rich agricultural sec- tion. These towns furnish good local markets and are also important as shipping points. Olathe, an- other town, now has a population of about 600. Id 1912 it was able to ship more than 1,100 carloads of farm products. The town has well laid cement side- walks, owns its water system — a pipe-line, twenty- three miles long, bringing pure mountain water from springs in Dry Creek Basin — and in 1914 completed its own sewerage and drainage systems. Austin, Colona and Cedar Eidge are other towns of Delta and Ouray counties but not in the project, the latter alone not being on the railway, but proud in the pos- session of a nearby vein of good coal, which is being profitably worked. THE SNOWY PEAKS OF THE ROCKIES 129 The valley has a creditable system of roads. On nearly every section-line in the thickly settled parts a highway has been laid. Some of the unimproved road-beds become sticky in wet weather, but these are gradually being converted into highways. The dominant interest throughout is agricultural, with the crafts it supports. Grazing, lumbering, and mining are important on the adjacent hills. The climate of the region is one that gives the dis- tinctive four seasons that seem best adapted to civ- ilized man. The winter, however, is not at all severe. Spring may be said to open in late March or early April in the lower parts of the region, and about two weeks later in the higher. Many apricot, peach and plum trees bloom in April, and some vegetables are planted early in that month. The records show that there is an occasional killing frost that occurs as late as May 16th, and as early as October 2nd. The average growing season for plants sensitive to frost, therefore, is from four and a half to six months. The temperatures permit growing successfully nearly all crops common to the same latitude east- ward, including com, which is held back by the cool nights of the higher sections. There are none of the prolonged severe winds that are known on the plains further east, as the mountains rise several thousand feet in protection and shelter. Tornadoes are unknown. Eather brisk southwesterly winds, producing dust storms and often followed by showers, characterize the afternoons of late spring and early summer. Occa- sional hailstorms, usually following narrow paths, damage the fruit crop to some extent. 130 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST The precipitation within the area is rather equally distributed throughout the seasons and probably averages less than nine and a half inches. The areas above 6,000 feet elevation have, perhaps, slightly over ten inches of rain, and those under 5,300 feet less than eight inches. Staple crops, therefore, require irrigation. The surrounding plateaus and mountains which furnish the water for irrigation have a much greater rainfall. These rains come mainly in summer. The winter precipitation falls chiefly as snow, much of it remaining as late as midsummer. A striking feature of the region is its low humidity. This ac- counts for the wonderful clearness of the atmos- phere. Montrose averages from 240 to 280 clear days in the year, and naturally the whole district is peculiarly and happily healthful. After the removal of the Indians and the influx of the white settlers it was soon found necessary to re- sort to irrigation. When the Service began its work it found 110 canals and laterals, having an aggregate length of nearly 500 miles, constructed by private enterprise. Most of these have been acquired by the Government under a general comprehensive plan for the unification of the irrigation work of the val- ley. They have been standardized, their wooden headworks largely replaced with substantial concrete structures, wooden flumes replaced by steel flumes on concrete pedestals, etc. In one place, where a depression 3,800 feet wide and a maximum depth of about 200 feet had to be crossed with about 42 cubic feet of water per second, an iron pressure-pipe was installed, and, a distinctive feature of the East Canal, Q. :r- In the Heart of Gunnison Canyon, near the Tunnel Uncompahgre Project, Colorado THE SNOWY PEAKS OF THE BOOKIES 131 above Olathe, is the Garnet Mesa Siphon, which delivers 25 second-feet of water to about 1,825 acres through a wood-stave pressure-pipe 8,560 feet long, under a maximum head of ninety feet. Under the old private canal-systems shortage of water, with consequent loss, was frequent. This led not only to much irritation, but also to litigation which rendered habitation in the valley undesirable. To relieve this situation, and irrigate the lands that no private system had yet reached, became the task of the Eeclamation Service. To accomplish this it was necessary to secure far more water than had hitherto been available. As early as 1890 L. 0. Lauzon conceived the idea of bringing the waters of the Gunnison River into the Uncompahgre Valley, and private capital with state aid attempted the task ; in December, 1901, a tunnel was located north- east of Montrose, and about six miles northwest of the present Gunnison tunnel and work began upon it. But early in the fall of 1902, after having driven 900 feet of tunnel, the funds were exhausted and the work was suspended. When the Eeclamation Service undertook the work the State conveyed its rights to the Government, and on June 7, 1904, the Secretary of the Interior au- thorized the expenditure of $2,500,000 for the Un- compahgre Project. The most important feature of the work was the bringing of the Gunnison Eiver, which flows in a deep canyon to the eastward, roughly parallel to the Uncompahgre, into the valley. To explore the canyon of the Gunnison was an heroic task, and the story of this achievement gives one thrills of admiration for the bravery of those who 132 EBCLAIMING THE ARID WEST dared it. .Three or four boats that started down were wrecked in the rapids and one of the adven- turous party nearly lost his life, but the site of the tunnel was found. When built this was 30,645 feet in length, has a uniform grade of 2.02 feet per 1,000 feet, the bottom is flat, 10 feet in width. The sides are straight, 10 feet high with a batter outward of 6 inches, the roof is arched with a span of 11 feet and a rise of 2.5 feet within the concrete lining. The entire area of the cross-section inside the concrete lining is 122 square feet, the water carrying cross section is estimated at 100 square feet and the dis- charge is estimated at 1,300 second feet. The original contractors were unable, through want of capital, to carry on the work, and after four months their financial failure compelled the Service to undertake the work with its own force, the new bids submitted being deemed far beyond a reason- able cost. There were great difficulties experienced in accomplishing this task. Sometimes the pressure of inflowing water was so great as to eject the pow- der-charges from the drill-holes before they could be exploded. In December, 1906, a flow of water of more than a million gallons per hour was tapped. Accompanying this water was an enormous volume of carbon dioxide, which drove all the men from the tunnel and compelled the temporary abandonment of the work. After about three weeks entrance was again gained, but the flow of gas was so strong and shaft about 9,000 feet from the west portal of the tunnel 700 feet in depth as an aid to ventilation, the temperature so high that work was impossible. To overcome this difficulty, it was decided to sink a THE SNOWY PEAKS OF THE ROCKIES 133 The excessive humidity, the high temperature, and the swelling ground so rotted and weakened the tim- bers, with which the tunnel temporarily was lined, that it was found necessary to start lining the tunnel with concrete. These were but some of many difficulties encoun- tered and overcome, for the excavation work was completed July 6, 1909, and on September 23, of the same year, with great rejoicing, President Taft for- mally opened the tunnel. The actual completion of all the work has not yet been accomplished, as it is to be cement-lined throughout. The first water for irri- gation purposes was delivered through it on July 6, 1910. The flow of water has been gradually in- creased from year to year until 750 feet were carried for a considerable length of time in 1916, A diversion dam was also built in the Gunnison River to divert the water into the tunnel. This is a rock-filled crib structure, with a crest 240 feet long, 18 feet wide, and an apron 42 feet wide. In front of the intake gates a sluiceway has been provided to pre- vent the accumulation of gravel. This has two cast- iron gates, each six by eight feet, operated by hand. The South Canal is the chief work outside of the tunnel. It extends from the west portal of the Gun- nison Tunnel, eleven and a half miles, to the Uncom- pahgre River. It has a capacity of 1,300 second- feet, and irrigates 13,600 acres. As a larger acreage is brought under cultivation it will be essential to insure absolutely a sufficient sup- ply of water. The present reliance is upon the Un- compahgre and Gunnison rivers which are fed by melting snows. They begin to rise when the snow; 134 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST melts in the spring, reaching culmination sometime in June, and then declining irregularly until winter. The maximum demand for irrigation is usually later than the maximum flow of the streams, and does not decline so rapidly. The combined flow of both streams available for irrigation in the Uncompahgre Valley is usually sufScient for the requirements of the area to be included in the complete project, though sometimes there would be a slight shortage in August or September. In 1902, which was a phenom- enally dry year, there would have been a shortage of over forty per cent. To provide, therefore, against contingencies, the Service has in mind the possibility of erecting a ma- sonry dam on the Taylor Eiver, a tributary of the Gunnison, having a drainage area of 253 square miles. This would give additional storage of 106,- 000 acre-feet. With the abundance of water provided, the farmers of the Uncompahgre Valley are now able to work- most successfully. There has been considerable dis- satisfaction, however, at the cost of the project. The settlers have contended that they were to have water at a less charge per acre, than what the pro- ject has so far cost. To adjust this difficulty, how- ever, a conference was held in 1917 making clear, among other matters, that the originally assumed costs did not include the later consolidated and im- proved canal systems. As the times of beginning the payment have been extended five years a suitable and amicable adjustment was made, and the farmers have gone to work with zeal. While in the past they have confined themselves largely to alfalfa, potatoes, THE SNOWY PEAKS OF THE ROCKIES 135 wheat, oats, sugar-beets, and onions, they are now beginning to awaken to the desirability of more di- versified farming and a steady rotation of crops. A flouring-mill has recently been established ; in due time there will be a beet-sugar factory, and when in- coming settlers are willing and ready to listen to the advice of a practical farmer as to locations, methods of work, etc., it is possible an advisory farmer will be provided. The live-stock of the region is famous, the cattle being allowed free and open range in the mountains during the summer, being brought up and fed in winter when range-feed is scarce. Dairying, however, is rapidly on the increase, home demand for butter alone not yet being supplied, for com- mercial reports show that Montrose County alone consumes $900 worth of butter per week more than it produces. In fruits, apples, pears, plums, and cherries do well, and while frost occasionally pinches peaches and apricots, there are some regions in which they thrive and are profitable. Smudging for prevention of injury by spring frosts is systematically carried out as is done in the orange-groves of Southern California. This is a procedure of placing small sheet-iron buckets or stoves in the orchards in which coal or crude oil is burned. The heat thus generated by, say, about one hundred buckets or stoves to the acre, raises the tem- perature and thus obviates fruit destruction by the frosts. The estimated cost of the entire project when com- pleted, including Taylor Park Reservoir, the con- struction of which has not been decided upon, is in 136 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST the neighbourhood of nine or ten million doUars.. The charge to the settler, depending* on the nltimate acreage, will be payable in the twenty years now allowed by the Government. The public lands of the project will probably be opened in the fall of 1917. Announcement of this will be made in due time. The farm unit will be forty acres, though lands bought in private ownership may be irrigated to the extent of one hundred and sixty acres. The Project Manager is Fred D. Pyle, with office at Montrose, Colorado, CHAPTER XI ON THE WESTEBN TBAIL. THE BOISE PBOJECT, IDAHO The Snake Eiver Valley was one of the main trav- elled routes from the East to the Pacific Coast, in 1863. Fort Boise was established for the protection of the emigrants coming to southwestern Idaho, on account of the historic gold rush of 1862. In the same year Boise City was laid out on the plain be- tween the fort and the river. During the ages of the formation of the valley of the Snake Eiver and its tributaries, the Payette and Boise valleys, a series of volcanic craters located along its northern boundary, sent forth streams of lava, which flowed across it to the southwest. Suc- cessive eruptions followed, at periods of ages, and between each there was formed a layer of soil and disintegrated rock. Since the last overflow the gla- cier period has come and gone, and the upper and lower ends of the valley are seared with deep gashes cut by the glaciers, and great moraines of sand and gravel have been left on the surface of the plain. The soil of this section is volcanic ash mixed with dis- integrated lava, and the sand and gravel of the gla- cier moraines, a combination that insures one of the richest, most productive and lasting of soils. Careful reconnoissance showed that here were nearly 400,000 acres of land to be reclaimed and turned over to settlers whereupon to establish homes and thus enlarge their happiness and the growth of 137 138 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST the country. What wonder that it awakened a large vision in the minds of the engineers. On the western slope of the Sawtooth range of mountains, in Idaho, the Boise Eiver — a tributary of the Snake — ^heads in a watershed of 2,650 square miles. After it leaves the mountains it adds 1,000 square miles more of foothill and vaUey area to its watershed. Most of its water supply is derived from the melt- ing snow in the mountains, and therefore has the usual irregularity of flow characteristic of such streams, viz.: a low stage in the winter, while the mountain streams are frozen ; a rising stage with the progress of spring, reaching a culmination some- where in June, and declining during July and August as the snows disappear, reaching a minimum again in winter. The regularity of this ir-regularity is varied, at times, by rainfall and fluctuations of tem- perature, but such snow-fed streams are far more dependable for a constant water-supply than are those that rely upon rainfall. This project provides for the storage of these wa- ters at Arrowrock, about 20 miles above Boise, and at Deer Flat, and their use upon over 200,000 acres in the Boise Valley. (By the way let me suggest that the reader unfamiliar with the name do not pro- nounce this as a word of one syllable. It is properly and commonly made into two syllables and pro- nounced Botf — sy.) The water of the Boise Eiver is diverted by a dam about eight miles above Boise, whence it is distributed on the south side of the river by the Main South Side Canal leading from the dam to the Deer Flat Eeservoir ; through laterals heading ON THE WESTEEN TEAIL 139 in the Main Canal ; canals heading in the Deer Flat Eeservoir; distributing canals heading in the river below the Boise Eiver Dam ; then distributing water on the north side of the river to a small area of land east of Boise, through a canal system heading at the Boise Eiver Dam. Altogether the project will have over 980 miles of canals. The Deer Flat Eeservoir covers 9,835 acres and has an available capacity above outlets of 177,000 acre-feet. At the point where the canyon of the Boise Eiver spreads out fanlike and merges into the flat slopes of the arable lands of the lower valley is placed the Boise Project Diversion Dam, this being, as just stated, about eight miles upstream from Boise. It is 35 feet high and 400 feet long and is built of rubble concrete — large blocks of lava embedded in concrete of the usual consistency — and backfilled on the up- stream side with earth and gravel. It is provided with a logway, on account of the importance of the logging industry in this section. This logway is pro- vided with a movable crest which is raised when logs are passing or during periods of high water, and low- ered during the remainder of the season to increase the head on the power plant. At the east end of the dam is a small gate for diverting water to a canal leading to the farm of the State Penitentiary near Boise, and at the west end are the diversion works of the main canal of the Boise Project. A fish-ladder is also provided next to the logway. For the diversion of the river during construction, two parallel tunnels were provided in the left bank, each six by eight feet, closed by cast-iron gates. 140 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST These tunnels are 160 feet long and lined with con- crete, and recently a third parallel tunnel has been buUt, and all are used as tail-races in the develop- ment of power, and the power-house built over them. They are controlled by butterfly gates, each nine by twelve feet, protected by a grillage in front. This power plant at the diversion dam was built primarily for furnishing power during the construc- tion of Arrowrock Dam. Its capacity is 2,700 H. P. but this is decreased during low stages of the river. Since its completion, in 1912, it has not only furnished power for Arrowrock, but has run the Government electric dredges used in digging the ditches in the lands being drained near Caldwell in the Pioneer drainage district, and through arrangements with one of the private companies operating in Boise, has been used to run the street cars and light the homes in Boise. It operates under a head of approximately 30 feet and is equipped with three generators. The Main Canal heads on the east side of the diver- sion dam and follows the course of a small canal which was acquired in 1906 from the New York Canal Company and Idaho-Iowa Lateral and Eeservoir Company. Twenty-three miles below the heading the water discharges into Indian Creek and is again diverted to a canal eight miles long leading to Deer Flat Reservoir, an inland reservoir set in the midst of the project. About seven miles of the upper sec- tion of the main canal has been lined with concrete and has a bottom width of 40 feet. The unlined por- tion has a bottom width of 70 feet. From the Diver- sion Dam to Indian Creek the capacity is 2,500 sec- ON THE WESTEEN TEAIL 141 ond-feet and the lower portion discharges approxir mately 1,500 second-feet. Deer Flat Eeservoir forms a lake within the pro- ject. This was originally an expanse of level lying land called the Deer Flat, and partially irrigated from one of the old canal systems of the valley. A hill lying toward the northern end and rising from the flat made it possible to close the narrow spaces between this hill and the surrounding high land with earthen dikes. These are known as the Upper and Lower Embankments, The chief engineering feature of the project, how- ever, is the ArrowTock Dam. The canyon, the chosen site, has high bare granite cliffs on the north side, with a less precipitous slope on the south, the foot of the slope being capped with a wedge of basalt, nearly perpendicular at the river, forming a cliff 70 to 80 feet high, with a level bench intersecting the granite slope further back. This bench and the granite slope above it were covered with a layer of soil and some vegetation. The site of the dam was thoroughly explored with diamond drills, showing a foundation of good granite at a maximum of 90 feet below the bed of the river, and a depth of 60 to 70 feet over most of the foundation, the overlying material con- sisting of gravel, sand, and boulders suitable for use in concrete. Preliminary to the construction of the dam, a standard gauge railroad 17 miles long was built from Barberton, the end of a railroad spur out of Boise, to the dam site. Eegular train service over this line has been maintained since its completion in Novem- ber, 1911, and during the first four years it hauled 142 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST about 80,000 passengers and nearly 15,000,000 ton miles of freight. The maximum height of the dam is 348.6 ft., its length is 1,100 ft., it contains 585,200 cu. yds. of con- crete and it has a gravity section but is built on a curve of 660 ft. radius. There are 20 outlets through the dam, three of them 6 ft. and the rest 4 ft. 4 in. in diameter, each controlled by a 58-in. balanced needle valve set on the upstream face. These outlets are arranged in two sets of ten each, the upper set being about 110 ft. below the top of the dam and the other set about 90 ft. lower. There are also, just at the old river level, five sluicing outlets 5 ft. in diameter, each controlled by a sliding gate. All gates are operated from chambers within the dam. Inspection galler- ies, of which the control chambers form a part, give access to the interior of the dam at several different elevations. The spillway has a capacity of 40,000 seo.-ft. The weir is 400 ft. long and extends back upstream from one end of the dam at about a right angle to a tangent to the curve at that point. A discharge trench picks up the water along the toe of the weir and carries it past the end of the dam to the canyon of a creek that enters the river a few hundred feet below the dam. This spillway trench was excavated through solid rock, and is lined with concrete. The whole of this work was done by the forces of the Service. As already stated, the canals of the Boise Project serve lands lying above those previously irrigated by private enterprise. Most of them are rolling bench lands, and although some bottom-lands on the right bank of the Snake River are also included, these are ON THE WESTEEN TEAIL 143 generally sandy and rough. The system for distrib- uting irrigation water, therefore, is complicated and expensive, requiring tortuous canals, and a large number of drops, chutes, pressure-pipes, etc. These are generally of concrete for the sake of safety and permanency, though a few problems were success- fully solved by means of steel and wood. In lower- ing water from the bench to the Snake Eiver bottom several drops of great elevation were needed. The smaller were in the form of pipes and the larger were open chutes located where the necessary fall is com- pressed into the shortest practical distance. It was decided early in the construction of the pro- ject that to facilitate it a telephone system, controlled by the Service, would be needed. Consequently in March, 1910, work was begun and at the close of that year the main trunk lines of the system were completed. By the close of 1911 there had been completed about 158 miles of telephone line. This system has since been extended so that at present there are 167 miles of metallic circuit operated by the Service, which gives connection with the head- gates, waterways, watermasters, and ditch-riders. The central switchboard is located at Boise, Idaho, where day and night service is maintained. It is largely due to the telephone service that serious breaks in the canal system have been avoided. Beginning with the season of 1907, when the man- agement of the operation of the New York Canal was assumed by the Eeclamation Service, it has, each year, delivered water through this canal to the stock- holders of the New York Canal Company, in accord- ance with the contract with that company. During 144 EECLAIMING THE AKID WEST the year 1907 about 10,000 acres of New York Canal Company lands were irrigated and this amount has gradually been increased until at the present about 20,000 acres are being irrigated. During the year 1909 the Service furnished water to project lands for the first time, amounting to ap- proximately 4,000 acres. This has been increased at the present time to approximately 112,000 acres. This amount of land represents that in actual culti- vation and is scattered over 230,000 acres for which the Service is now prepared to deliver water. Practically all of the public land of the project has been entered, but there are approximately 3,400 acres of irrigable unsold State land under the project. The opportunities of new settlers lie in the sub- division and disposal of public lands by parties now holding them, through assignment, and by the purchase of private land or lands owned by the State. Besides the older towns of Nampa, Caldwell, and Meridian, there are the smaller towns of Kuna, Bow- mont, Melba, Greenleaf, Huston, and Wilder that have been located on the project and owe their growth entirely to its development. The best measure of an irrigation project's suc- cess is found ia the crops produced thereon. In 1916 over 2,300,000 dollars' worth of produce was har- vested. This was from the 72,500 acres then under cultivation upon which crop reports were taken, about one-half of the project. The average farm value of the crops per acre was $32.07. The value of livestock owned by the settlers at the close of 1916 was over seventeen hundred thou- sand dollars, and the development in dairying ON THE WESTERN TRAIL 145 and stock growing is proceeding at a rapid rate. The principal products are alfalfa, wheat, oats, potatoes, apples, prunes, and small fruits. The average elevation of the irrigable area is 2,500 feet above sea level, and the average rainfall for 35 years is 13.5 inches. The temperature ranges from 28° below zero, to 107° Fahr. Very little snow falls, and what does usually melts quickly. The ground is usually entirely free from snow for eleven months of the year. The atmosphere is clear and bracing, se- vere winds are unknown, and there is continuous sunshine, as a rule, throughout the growing season. With such favourable winter and summer weather therefore, combined with an abundance of rich pas- turage, and comparatively little disease, all condi- tions render this region eminently suitable to the profitable raising of stock, including cattle, hogs, sheep, and horses. A considerable amount of winter feeding of sheep from the open range is done. Portland, Ore., Omaha, Kansas City and Chicago fur- nish the principal markets. There are many dairies being conducted along scientific lines, and each year show^ a satisfactory growth in this direction. A few farmers' co-oper- ative creameries have been established on or in the vicinity of the project, and these are operating suc- cessfully. Dairying products are consumed partly by a generous local demand, and partly by the outside markets. The farm unit is 80 acres of irrigable land, and the constmction cost about $80.00 per acre, payable in twenty years without interest. The present Project Manager is D. W. Cole, with offices at Boise, Idaho. CHAPTEE XII BY THE BIVEB OF THE SNAKES. THE MINIDOKA PBOJECT, IDAHO Named after a branch of the great Shoshone fam- ily of North American Indians, the Snake Kiver, the name is a misnomer, for it has nothing whatever to do with snakes. Yet as it has been in use for over a century we may as well accept it, for anything a century old ia the United States already has the au- thority of antiquity. Hence we have the Minidoka Project, with its source of water-supply in this river of the Snakes. This is no mean river, as one may learn who reads Lewis and Clark's account of it as they journeyed westward on their tour of explora- tion. It heads — in one of its numerous branches — in or near the Yellowstone National Park, and occu- pies the same relative position to the southwest of that scenic wonderland, that the Shoshone Eiver does to the northeast. This project was one of the earliest undertaken by the Eeclamation Service and for that reason, as well as several others, its history is both inftfresting and important. At the time it was started it was expected that the Service would build the storage and diversion works and the main canals, while the settlers would be able to build and operate the laterals from the main canals to their own farms. It was soon found, however, that this method resulted in a great deal of friction in 146 BY THE EIVEK OF THE SNAKES 147 a new community, with unsatisfactory results to the project as a whole. The policy, therefore, was changed and most of the laterals built by the settlers have been purchased by the Service and made a part of the complete system, which delivers water directly to the farms. The project, at the time it was initiated, consisted of public land and unsold State school lands. There were only two or three pieces of homesteaded land, which had been patented within its boundaries. However, as soon as it was known that the Eeclama- tion Service contemplated the construction of the project, settlers rushed in and the land was soon all taken up. These settlers had to wait for several years before the canals were completed, and it was possible to deliver water to them. Many of them were not farmers and did not know what work of preparation it would be necessary to do before they could water their lands. Most of them found work of one kind or another upon the construction of the works, but for practically all of them the years were years of extreme hardship and discouragement. It was a recognition of this fact on this and one or two other projects that led to the withdrawal of all public lands from settlement upon even contemplated projects, or those upon which construction had be- gun, until the work was declared completed. The irrigation plan provides for the diversion of the waters of the Snake Eiver by a combined storage, diversion and power dam about six miles south of Minidoka, Idaho, into two canal systems, one on either side of the river, watering lands in the vicinity of Acequia, Rupert, Heybum, and Burley, Idaho. 148 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST Power developed at the dam is utilized primarily for pumping water from the canals to irrigate high lands, but also for pumping for drainage purposes and for furnishing heat, light, and current for commercial use to the towns on the project, and the farms adja- cent to them. Storage is provided mainly by a reservoir con- structed in the upper drainage basin of Snake River, at Jackson Lake, Wyoming. This is supplemented by the reservoir formed by the Minidoka Dam and known as Lake Walcott, in recognition of the work of Hon. Charles D. Walcott, formerly Director of the U. S. Geological Survey, now Secretary of the Smith- sonian Institution. Jackson Lake Dam, as originally planned, and Minidoka Dam are finished, though the former was raised seventeen feet higher after com- pletion of the first unit, giving the lake a capacity of 790,000 acre-feet. The irrigation system for the gravity unit and the southside pumping unit and the drainage system for the gravity canals are still under construction. The area of the drainage basin is 22,600 square miles above the diversion dam; the annual run-off in acre-feet, of Snake Eiver at Montgomery's and How- ell's Ferries and Neeley (16,000 square miles), from 1896 to 1914, was, maximum, 8,900,000; minimum, 3,830,000; mean, 6,971,000. The South Fork of Snake River at Moran, Wyo, (980 square miles), 1904 to 1914, maximum, 1,640,000; minimum, 920,- 000 ; mean, 1,310,000. The average rainfall on the irrigable area for nearly ten years is 12.62 inches, and the temperature ranges from fifteen degrees below zero to one hun- BY THE EIVEE OF THE SNAKES 149 dred degrees Fahr. The average elevation of the land is 4,225 feet above sea level, and the length of the irrigating season is from April 1 to October 31, 214 days. In one of his lectures on the Keclamation Service Mr. C. J. Blanchard, the Statistician who makes his figures both eloquent and poetic, said in regard to the project : In the Spring of 1904, I camped for the night on the banks of Snake River, Idaho. My companion, the engineer, D. W. Ross, confided to me two plans for a great work in this section, which was to create in the desert a garden cover- ing twenty-five square miles. He drew his plans roughly in the sand as we sat by the campfire. "Here," he said, "I shall build a dam to turn the waters into huge canals on either side." When I returned another year the dam was finished. Pointing to a landscape of desolation, whose outer ends touched the sky, and on which there was no sign of human habitation, he said: "This desert will one day become a show place — a garden rich and productive, and supporting in comfort a thousand families." Last year, standing where I did three years before, I realized that the engineer's dream had come true. Look where I would, ia any direction, I saw no desert. Culti- vated fields, with harvests ready for garnering; pleasant little homes on each forty and eighty acres ; children playing in the sunshine, sturdy and happy ; the garden crops being gathered for winter-storage, gave abundant evidence that the soil was productive, and, when watered, gave generous reward to the farmer. Twenty-two hundred families are living here today, when only a short time ago there was no sign of human life. Four prosperous towns, soon to become cities, have sprung up along the new railroads. This is a transformation to make you rub your eyes with wonder and amazement. 150 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST This was nearly ten years ago, and developments have continued rapidly during this period, hence the reader may well strive to imagine what the results are today. The delivery of water began on the gravity unit in 1907, and on the pumping unit in 1909. Gradually since that time the handicap of sandy lands has been overcome and today the Minidoka Project is one of the most prosperous, not only ia the Eeclamation Service, but in the West. The settlers are getting on their feet and have learned the necessity of diversi- fying their crops. With this have come better prices and better feeling. Practically all of the ne'er-do- wells have been eliminated and their places have been taken by new men who are able to take advan- tage of their opportunities and improve their own condition, as well as the project as a whole. Today out of 70,000 acres under the Gravity Canals 45,000 acres are in actual cultivation. Of 49,- 000 acres under the South Side Pumping canals 41,- 000 acres are in cultivation. Some 3,000 acres of State lands are as yet unsold and there are a few homesteads not yet entered, most of these latter, however, are poor and contain only a small area of irrigable land, most of which is sandy or has some other bad feature. Improved farms are selling at from $75 to $200 per acre, and near the towns prices of $300 per acre are frequently reached. On the Gravity Unit of the project the rise of un- derground water early became a serious problem. At one time nearly one-half of the gravity area was threatened with serious damage from seepage. Nu- merous deep drains have been dug to conduct this BY THE BIVER OF THE SNAKES 151 water off the project, and now the problem is satis- factorily solved. Much of the work was done at a very low cost with electricity developed at Minidoka dam. Of the whole area which at one time was en- dangered, less than 600 acres now are troubled by water and this is practically all in ponds which are too low to be successfully drained. Until July in ordinary years the project has an ample supply of water from the natural flow of the Snake River. After that time the needs of the project are supplied from the large storage reservoir above noted known as Jackson Lake in Wyoming, which is only some 15 miles south of the Yellowstone Park. The flow from this reser- voir is supplemented by a smaller quantity from Lake Walcott, which is formed by the back-water above the diversion dam for the project, near Minidoka. This latter reservoir is a great convenience and ad- vantage to the project, as its 50,000 acre-feet capa- city forms an equalizing basin, which can be drawn upon at any time by the canals. In getting water down from Jackson Lake through a stretch of the Snake Eiver, 250 miles long and out of which some 50 canals take water, there are necessarily some uncer- tainties and irregularities in the flow. This would be quite a handicap to the operation of the project, were it not for the reservoir capacity always avail- able in Lake Walcott. At the diversion dam and on the shores of the Lake the Reclamation Service maintains a beautiful little park which is taken advantage of by the settlers for recreation and amusement. Lake Walcott is from one to four miles wide and about 10 miles long. 152 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST Above this the diversion dam has backed the water into the narrow channel of the Snake Eiver for an additional twenty mUes. All of this water is navi- gable for comparatively large boats. The Minidoka Dam is a combination of rockfill backed with earth on the water side, built in a gorge of the river, and continued on the basalt mesa to the south, in the form of a concrete weir, which serves as a spillway. The weir is provided with a mov- able crest, consisting of a series of buttresses against which are placed flash-boards to store flood waters for irrigation. Before the height of the flood season in early June the flash-boards are removed to allow the floods to pass over the weir, and as the floods subside the boards are replaced in order to hold and store as much of the surplus waters as may be. The available storage capacity above the level necessary for diversion purposes is about 54,000 acre-feet, and the area of the lake at full capacity is 11,350 acres. The dam and headworks were built by contract in 1906 and 1907. The contract included a portion of the North Canal in rock section. As it was desirable to consolidate the rock of the dam two aerial cableways were provided, each having a span of 1,150 feet with a capacity of seven tons, and the rock was dropped from 20 to 60 feet, thus crushing it closely together. The earth fill was composed chiefly of sand and gravel, with selected material containing clay for the water slope, which was protected by rip-rap of basalt rock. A concrete core wall was built on bed-rock entirely across the river, and brought from 5 to 13 feet up BY THE EIVEE OF THE SNAKES 153 into the fill at the up-stream toe of the rockfiU, form- ing a water-tight junction between the earth and bed- rock. There are two projects in the vicinity of Twin Falls, Idaho, which have a prior right to the natural flow of the Snake Eiver and which divert their water about 35 miles further down the river. A large stream of water for these projects is therefore al- ways passing the Minidoka Diversion Dam. Advan- tage is taken of this to develop 10,000 electrical horse power. This power is used in the summer time to pump water to 49,000 acres of high land lying south of the Snake Eiver. The water is pumped to a maxi- mxun elevation of 90 feet in three large pumping plants. In fact these pumping plants hold the rec- ord and are the largest in the world. This, too, is the largest single body of land on which pumping has been attempted. On the north side of the river there are five small irrigation pumping plants, which supply water to areas varying in size from 100 acres to 2,200 acres. One other plant pumps water from a large drain ditch that flows into a swamp or pond, the surface of which is below the river level, and dis- charges it into one of the irrigation canals, from which it is used again for irrigation. One peculiarity of the Gravity Unit of the project is that the general surface of the land is almost flat, so that land 10 miles from the river is in many cases practically at the river level. This is one of the reasons why the seepage problem early became a very serious one for the project. The soils vary from a loose sand which moves readily in the wind to a comparatively heavy loam. 154 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST There are no adobes on the project, although some of the river bottoms approach this class of soil. In the earlier days before the farms had been success- fully put under cultivation, the crops were blovra out two or three times during a single season ; often when the young plants were making good progress, a wind would come up and the movement of the sharp sandy particles along the surface would cut the young plants off at the ground level. This is particularly the condition on the northeast section of the project. Most of these places have now been successfully put into alfalfa and in a few years this crop puts enough humus in the soil to act as a binder and the difficulty is overcome. The most interesting and extraordinary develop- ment on the Minidoka Project is the great use made of electricity in the towns and on the farms, which are so situated that they can secure electric power. Out- side of the irrigation season electricity is a by-pro- duct and as the population of the towns is not suffi- cient to anywhere near use the capacity of the power plant when electricity is consumed for ordinary pur- poses, it has been possible to make low rates and to encourage the use of electricity as a substitute for coal for such purposes as heating houses and large buildings. Hundreds of homes are thus heated and all classes of people are taking advantage of this opportunity to increase the comfort of life. The consumers ' installations run aU the way from small one and two room shacks, using perhaps two or three kilowatts, to a large school building in which a cen- tral heating plant consuming some 600 kilowatts is used to heat a building of 30 rooms. This electricity J g Inteeioe op Minidoka Htdbo-Electeio Powee-house Ejnidoka Project, Idaho '^"'^-'^'Citei&^r- ~^"^ Electeically Heated High School at Kupeet Minidoka Project, Idaho BY THE EIVEE OF THE SNAKES 155 is sold at a price of from $1 to $1.25 per kilowatt per month, which is equivalent to a small fraction of a cent per kilowatt-hour. The amount of heat re- quired for homes varies widely with the size and con- struction. Many of the ordinary five or six room houses are heated at a cost of from $12 to $15 per month. Electricity at a little higher rate is sold for cooking, washing, ironing, lights, pumping and many other domestic purposes, for which it is so useful in the home and on the farm. The Reclamation Service is in some cases also sell- ing power to the individual consumer. Where it is feasible, however, the farmers are encouraged to form mutual companies, which take the power at some central point and distribute it to the members. In this way some hundred or more farmers are now supplied. In the towns small distributing companies have been organized for retailing the power. Cheap power has been an attraction which is bringing in manufacturing industries of various sorts. One large sugar factory has been in operation for three years at Burley, Idaho, and another is being erected between the towns of Eupert and Paul. There are several small flour mills in operation and a 300 barrel mill is now being put in at Burley. Several alfalfa meal mills are in operation. There is a large brick yard in Heyburn, an ice-plant at Eupert and many other industries. Special effort has been made by the management of the project to bring in industries which help create markets for the agricultural prod- ucts. These efforts have been rewarded with suc- cess, and it is believed that the present prosperity of the country is largely due to the development of home 156 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST markets. At the present time there is an opening for many more industries. A movement is on foot which is expected to result in bringing in the organ- ization of a mutual creamery at Eupert. Two mu- tual cheese factories have been organized, one at Acequia and one at Paul. These are doing a very good business and are unable to supply the demand for their products. Alfalfa is still the staple crop and the crop bring- ing in the largest revenue. With this as a founda- tion it is possible to build up a large dairy industry and other industries which will result in the manu- facturing of the finished product in this section. A large amount of money is being expended at the present time for road improvements. Several hun- dred automobiles have been sold to the farmers dur- ing the last year. The combined result of this is to increase the facility with which the settlers get over the project and become familiar with each other and their problems. Farmers came in here a few years ago all entire strangers to each other ; they are now becoming well acquainted and are therefore able to work together for their conunon good. On August first the settlers will vote on taking over the operation and maintenance of the Gravity Unit of the project. There is little doubt but that they will carry the election, and if they do this will be the first of the Reclamation projects to be turned over to the farmers for operation. The Service is encouraging the farmers to take control of this part of the project, where the construction work is now practically aU completed and handle it themselves. The principal products are alfalfa, forage, grasses, BY THE EIVER OF THE SNAKES 157 rye, wheat, oats, sugar beets, potatoes, and fruits, and the principal markets are Pocatello, Idaho ; Salt Lake City, Utah ; Butte and Helena, Montana. The limit of the farm units on public lands is 80 acres, and the building charges vary, being $22, $30 $40, etc., according to locality, per acre of irrigable land, payable in twenty years, without interest. The towns and populations on the project are Eu- pert, 1,500; Heyburn, 300; Burley, 2,500; Ashton, 600 ; Paul and Marshfield, and they are reached by the Oregon Short Line and the Salt Lake and Idaho railways. The present Project Manager is Barry Dibble, with offices at Burley, Idaho. CHAPTEE Xm JACKSON LAKE BNLABGEMBNT PEOJECT IDAHO-WYOMING Since the passage of the Reclamation Act in 1902 several important changes have been made in it as imperative needs have arisen. No one assumed that its first provisions were perfect, or adequate to meet every contingency that might arise, hence wisdom has allowed it to be alive, elastic. The Service has had no desire to confine its energies to the building of its own bureau or department alone, merely seeking to increase its ot^ size and power. "When oppor- tunities arose for larger, wider, greater public serv- ice its officers gladly availed themselves of the open- ings and went out into fuUer usefulness. They are not only authorized but are required, upon the proper showing, to give assistance to outside irrigation sys- tems, provided, however, the storage dams and reser- voirs constructed and created are owned by the Gov- ernment, so that they ultimately come into the pos- session of the actueil farmers. In other words the Service will construct great irrigation systems for corporations or private capital, but these corpora- tions cannot own the works so constructed, the ulti- mate aim being their complete ownership by the farmers whose lands are being irrigated by them. The Jackson Lake Enlargement is a work of this character. Certain companies were irrigating large areas of land in Idaho. Their supply of water be- 1S8 JACKSON LAKE PROJECT 159 came insufficient. To remedy this need the compan- ies — the Knhn Irrigation & Canal Company and the Twin Falls Canal Company — entered into an agree- ment with the United States whereby more water could be secured. These companies advanced all the money required for the accomplishment of the work, and the title and control remain in the hands of the United States. Jackson Lake, Wyoming, was already being used for storage purposes, and careful study by the Serv- ice engineers revealed that the dam could be raised and the storage capacity correspondingly enlarged. This lake is located in the northwestern corner of Wyoming, 23 miles east of the Idaho- Wyoming line, 20 miles south of the south boundary of the Yellow- stone National Park, on the South Fork of the Snake River, and the dam is placed at Moran, at the outlet of Jackson Lake. It is about 69 miles from Ashton, and 48 miles from Victor, Idaho, both on the Oregon Short Line Railroad. The history of Jackson Lake as a reservoir dates back to 1902 and 1903, when the first surveys were made of it by the Service in connection with the Min- idoka Project and a gauging station at the outlet was' established on September 1, 1903. During 1905, 1906 and 1907, a temporary timber-framed dam was con- structed at the outlet to provide about 200,000 acre- feet of storage for the Minidoka Project until the duty of water could be determined, and the storage requirements ascertained. In 1909 further surveys' and investigations were made for a reservoir that would represent the ultimate development of local water resources, as several of the Carey Act com- 160 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST panics in southern Idaho had expressed a desire to obtain storage at this point. In due time proper leg- islation was enacted to permit the United States to enter into a contract with these companies for the construction of a high dam. Later, in July, 1913, the Kuhn Irrigation & Canal Company was found to be in financial trouble and could not keep its part of the contract. But the farmers were dependent upon the enlarged water supply, hence matters were so adjusted that work progressed. The enlargement is now completed. The original dam, constructed in 1911, is entirely en- veloped in a new dam, raising the maximum water surface seventeen feet, and increasing its storage capacity from 380,000 acre-feet to 789,000 acre-feet. The Engineer in charge of the work was F. A. Banks, with ofl&ce at Moran, Wyoming. CHAPTEE XIV ON THE LOWEB YELLOWSTONE. THE HUNTLEY PROJECT, MONTANA The sound of the name Yellowstone brings a thriU to the heart of every cultured traveller. Even if he has not seen the spouting geysers, the canyon of gor- geous colours and waterfalls, the richly coloured pools, the friendly bears and deer, the mud volcanoes, sulphur mountain, obsidian cliff, and the glorious ter- raced pools, he has read and dreamed of their at- tractions and allurements. But the Yellowstone Eiver lives in the hearts of men not only because its waters make the thunderous music of tuneful cataracts, and sing to scintillating glory of brilliant colour down the canyon of rapids and cascades. They also give life and nourishment to fertile fields, productive gardens, and fruitful or- chards and thus minister to the physical and financial well-being of man. The region chosen for the diver- sion of the waters of the Yellowstone is a historic one. It was trodden early by the band of brave explorers led by Lewis and Clark on their great Oregon Explor- ation, Captain Clark having returned home by the Yellowstone Eiver. Indeed his name is carved upon a noted landmark of the region — ^Pompey's Pillar —with the date July 25, 1806. Not far away to the southeast is Custer's mem- orable Battleground, where the flaxen-haired general 161 162 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST went down to brave death with his gallant soldiers and covered themselves with imperishable glory and a nation's tears. The old and original name of Huntley — ^which is now borne by the project — ^was Baker's Battle- ground. The whole region is one of romance. Fol- lowing the explorers came the Indian traders, trap- pers and pioneers from the Missouri River. In the early days it was a region of Indians, buffalo and fur- bearing animals. Crows, Sioux and other warlike tribes roamed the natural pastures, killed what buf- falo they needed, and fished in the well-stocked streams. Then came the fur-traders, later the min- ing prospectors, and, in the early 'sixties, a number of Southerners who refused to fight against the Union. Finding the country a well-watered, smooth and fertile one, many of these new-comers soon turned to agriculture and thus laid the foundation for the present modem development. The lands under the Huntley Project are situated in the Yellowstone Valley and extend in a compact body from Huntley to Bull Mountain Station on the Northern Pacific Eailway, 40 miles east of Billings, Montana. They lie south of the Yellowstone River at an altitude of about three thousand feet above sea level. The tract comprised about 33,000 acres of what was formerly part of the Crow Indian Reserva- tion and is included within the ceded strip which is open to settlement under the provisions of the act of Congress approved April 27, 1904. The irrigable lands slope gently toward the Yel- lowstone River. They are in general smooth, and there was little expense in putting them under irri- ON THE LOWER YELLOWSTONE 163 gation. Toward the lower end of the project, how- ever, five thousand acres are flat and alkali has accu- mulated. About one-half of these lands are under- lain with gravel at a depth of from three to six feet, and it Was thought that by using care no special trou- ble would be had. The remaining lands have a heavy clayey soil extending to a considerable depth, per- haps ten or fifteen feet, before gravel is encountered. The soil on the project in general varies from a heavy clay to a light sandy loam. In most places there is a good growth of grass, while occasionally there is a heavy growth of sage-brush. The alkali lands are distinguished by greasewood, salt grass and similar plants. Along the river there is in most places a heavy growth of Cottonwood trees. This growth furnishes considerable timber for fire-wood, fences and general purposes. South of the irrigable land the country rises gradually to the high divide be- tween the Yellowstone and the Big Horn Elvers. This country is covered with grass and suitable for the grazing of stock. Across the river from the Huntley Project, at the western end, is an irriga- ted bench which is being developed under the Carey Act. Lower down the river the country slopes back into a series of rough, broken hills, suitable for graz- ing and having more or less pine and cedar trees. Water for the irrigation of this tract is taken from the Yellowstone Eiver. Eising in the rugged, snow- capped peaks of the Yellowstone National Park, this river flows into the great natural reservoir, Yellow- stone Lake, which conserves the water and regulates its flow. In addition to this, large national forests through which the river passes hold back the melting 164 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST snows and maintain the discharge of water through- out the summer. The Yellowstone Eiver above Huntley has a drainage area of about 11,180 square miles. The approximate maximum discharge of the river at this point during the high water period, which is usually in June, is 30,000 cubic feet per second, and at the end of the irrigation season in October the discharge is approximately 5,000 cubic feet per second. Unimproved lands with water right under the Carey Act across the river from the Huntley Pro- ject sold in 1909 for $50 per acre. Improved lands in this immediate vicinity sold from $100 per acre up. A brief investigation and estimate was made of the Huntley Project and it was found that the cost of constructing the canal with complete distributing and drainage system would not exceed $30 per acre. There was a ready home market for all the farm products that could be raised, as there were from five million to six mUlion dollars' worth of farm products shipped into Montana every year. It has been dem- onstrated that all the crops which could be grown in the same latitude anywhere could be grown here. The climate of the Yellowstone Valley is especially favourable. During the growing season the days are long and there is a preponderance of sunshine. The highest temperature is about 100 degrees Fahr., and during the winter months the mercury seldom drops below zero and then only for a few days at a time. The dry season, coming as it does at harvest time, is also an aid to agriculture. Here, then, was found 33,000 acres of fine agricultural land capable of sup- porting six hundred families that really was not ON THE LOWEE YELLOWSTONE 165 supporting six. There was an abundance of water, a ready market and good climate. Two transcontinental railroads traversed the en- tire length of the tract, the Northern Pacific and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy. The land could be reclaimed at a cost not to exceed $34 per acre, in- cluding a payment of $4 per acre to the Crow In- dians who owned the land. Irrigated lands farther up the valley were selling for from $100 per acre up. If this tract had not been included in the Crow Eeser- vation, it would have been settled years previous to this. These facts had been carefully considered by the engineers of the Reclamation Service and within a few days after the passage of the act of April 27, 1904, providing for the investigation of feasible irri- gation projects on the ceded strip of the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana, an engineer was directed to make a reconnaissance, and on AprU 18, 1905, the construction of the Huntley Project was authorized. The Crow Indian Reservation was established by order of President Grant, January 31, 1894, and aU the lands of the project were embraced within its confines, hence were not subject to homestead entry and development. The act of April 29, 1904, pro- vided for the payment to the Crows of $1,150,000 for the lands. The Indians were to have a reasonable time within which to elect whether to remain there or to have their improvements appraised and sold and to remove to the diminished reservation. After the completion of allotments to the Indians, the residue of the ceded lands was to be subject to withdrawal and disposition under the Reclamation Act, pro- 166 EECLAIMINa THE AKID WEST vided, however, that if the lands withdrawn under the Reclamation Act were not disposed of within five years, all the lands were to be disposed of as other lands provided for in the act. The water supply is obtained from the Yellow- stone Eiver, which at Huntley, Montana, has a drain- age basia of 12,000 square miles. The run-off during the period 1908 to 1914, inclusive, varied from 1,700 second-feet to 47,900 second-feet, the minimum oc- curring during the winter months and the maximum during the summer months. The run-off for the summer 1914 was unusually low. During the five years (1908-1913) the run-off in acre-feet per annum has been: maximum, 7,391,600; minimum, 5,068,000; mean, 6,145,520. The supply of water for the project is diverted from the river about three miles west of Huntley. At that point the diversions are regnilated by sub- stantially built concrete headgates which remain wide open during the irrigation season. The water diversions to the project are regulated by a sluice- way about two miles below the headgates and from that point the entire flow in the main canal can be di- verted to the river at any time. The river flow dur- ing the season of 1914 was very low and at one time all the water that could be diverted was used for irrigation purposes. After careful study of the region by the engi- neers of the Eeclamation Service in 1904 the loca- tion of the intake and the course of the canal were decided upon. Three tunnels were found necessary in order not to interfere with the Northern Pacific Eailway line. These were to be 9.2 feet wide and Headgate, Showing Gate Stands, Yellowstone Rivee Huntley Project, Montana Direct Pumping Plant Huntley Project, Montana ON THE LOWEE YELLOWSTONE 167 9 feet high at the centre of the arch, and were to be lined with concrete from 6 to 12 inches thick. Immediately upon the completion of location and cross-sectioning of the main canal, the work of sub- dividing the irrigable land was commenced and all section lines were traced and 16th corners set. At the same time a careful study of the resources and conditions affecting the farmers of the Yellowstone Vallty was made before deciding upon the 40-acre farm unit policy. A house to house canvass of the irrigated lands near Billings showed that a good living was being made on 40 acres of land. The building of the beet sugar factory at Billings and the establishment of a creamery at that point, to- gether with the general development of this part of the State, were found reasons why a small farm unit should be adopted. In laying out the farm units on this project, the policy has been to give each set- tler about 40 acres of irrigable land and to include with the irrigable land such pasture land or wood- land as could be found adjacent. The farm units therefore contained from 40 to 160 acres of land, of which 40 or more acres are classed as irrigable. In many cases the units are made up of fractional lots, thus bringing the total of some farm units up to 60 or 70 acres, a large number of these units lying along the main canal and along the Yellowstone Eiver or where broken land occurred. Owing to the fact that the lands under the Hunt- ley Project are flat and in some cases impregnated with alkali and also owing to the small farm unit, it was decided best that the G-overnment construct 168 EECLAIMINa THE AEID WEST the lateral system so as to deliver water to the high point of each farm unit and to lay out a system of wastewater ditches to assist in keeping the alkaline lands from becoming water-logged and unfit for cul- tivation. One himdred and sixty miles of lateral ditches and 65 miles of waste water ditches were' required to develop about 29,000 acres of irrigahlei land. The intake is located in the Yellowstone Eiver about 2% miles west of Huntley. The headworks consist of a reinforced concrete structure provided with two steel gates, each 5 feet by 7 feet and ar- ranged to divert water without the necessity of a weir. The floor elevation of the headworks is 2,996.2 feet, while the surface elevation of the river at low water is 3,003.5 feet. From the headworks the water is carried through Tunnel No. 1, which is 724 feet long; thence through a rock cut to Tunnel No. 2, 1,545 feet long; thence through open cut and slough to Tunnel No. 3, 385 feet long. The three tunnels have a total length of 2,654 feet. About a mile east of BaUantine the main canal drops about 34 feet. It was decided to utilize the power obtained from this drop to pump water onto the adjacent bench and irrigate about three thou- sand acres of land. The power house is of rein- forced concrete. The interior is in one room which contains the two pumping units. The units are du- plicate, and each consists of a vertical turbine ac- tuating a 20 inch centrifugal pump. Both turbine and pump are mounted on the same shaft and en- closed in a steel cylinder casing. The weights of ON THE LOWER YELLOWSTONE 169 the moving parts are carried on a water bearing, under pressure from the force pipe. An automatic alarm gives warning of any failure of this system of water lubrication. These pumps have been in constant use without interruption and are practically automatic in their operation. No engineer or attendant is required except to inspect them occasionally and regulate the supply of water. This inspection and adjustment is made by the canal rider in charge of the district and does not interfere with his other duties, as it is required to be done only two or three times a day. A telephone system was installed in 1906 which has been a great convenience to the settlers. On May 21, 1907, the President issued a procla- mation declaring that the lands shown on the ap- proved farm unit plats of the Huntley Project would, on and after July 22, 1907, be open to settlement entry and disposition under the provisions of the Reclamation Act and the Act of April 27, 1904. In order that the settlement of these lands might be effected in an orderly manner, the intending set- tlers were required to register at the district land ofl5ce at Billings, Montana, before 4:30 P. M., on June 25, 1907. A total of 5,491 registrations was made for these lands. At 9 :00 A. M. the next day, in the presence of the Secretary of the Interior, the drawing was made from the registered applicants and a thousand numbers were drawn. Beginning July 22, the applicants corresponding to the first fifty numbers were allowed to file on the lands. Each day thereafter fifty persons were allowed to file until the names on the list were exhausted, and 170 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST on August 23 the project lands were thrown open to unrestricted entry under the terms of the Eeclama- tion Act. A charge of 25c was made upon regis- tering. There were hundreds of people in Billings and immediate vicinity that registered for these lands who had no intention of filing on them, but registered presumably to swell the number of registrations and see what number they would draw. Out of the first thousand names drawli there were 574 whose resi- dence was given as Billings. A great many people came from considerable distances to register for these lands with the intention of filing, and of course a great many of the names were not drawn out. among the first thousand drawn, and a great many others were so far down on the list that they re- turned home thinking the lands would be filed upon and they would have no chance of getting a farm. Out of the first thousand names drawn only 76 filed. At the opening of the project there were 28,921 acres of land, containing 585 farm units, open to set- tlement. On January 1, 1910, there had been 352 farm units entered upon, containing 20,905 acres. Settlers largely from the middle and western states have settled on the lands and are improving them as rapidly as possible. Some very good houses and improvements are being put up on the farms. Dur- ing the season of 1908 about 4,100 acres were culti- vated and during the season of 1909 about 8,500 acres were under cultivation, which is about one-half the irrigable acreage which had been filed upon to ON THE LOWER YELLOWSTONE 171 that time. In 1916 the acreage cropped was 18,581 and the value of crops was $489,071 or $26.32 per acre. On July 27, 1909, a severe hailstorm visited the project which damaged the crops to an amount esti- mated at $50,000. A good showing was made by most of the settlers the first season on their land, with much better results the second season. One hundred and fifty miles of county roads have been laid out and the county has spent hundreds of dollars for grading and improving them where nec- essary. Nine school houses were built during the season of 1908 and schools held in all of them. In 1916 there were eight school houses, several districts having been consolidated and graded. A farmers' club has been organized to look after the general interests of the farmers and the market- ing of the products. Several church organizations have been started and services are held at regular intervals at six points. Before laying out the farm units on the Huntley Project it was decided to have a town site every five or six miles on the two transcontinental railroad systems. The land having been withdrawn in proper form, it was easy to arrange this in the best manner. The two railroads involved gave their hearty co-operation and have put in switches and passing tracks at the townsites selected. In planning for townsites in a thickly settled irri- gated district, it was considered good policy to have 172 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST the towns close together to insure shipping facil- ities and to give a chance for schools and supply points close to the farms. In connection with sev- eral of the townsites, 1, 2, and 3 acre tracts have been laid off, which are suitable for a home with gar- den, orchard and cow lot, but which are close to the business of the town. In accordance with this pol- icy the townsites of Huntley, Worden, Osborn, Bal- lantine, Newton, Anita, Pompey's Pillar and Bull Mountain were laid out. Huntley and Osborn are on both railroads ; Ballantine and Anita on the Chi- cago, Burlington and Quincy Eailway, and the re- maining townsites on the Northern Pacific Railway. All the townsites are in Yellowstone County, Mon- tana. The townsites were surveyed during the spring of 1907, and stone monuments were set at the inter- section of the principal streets. It was decided to appraise only a portion of each site because there would be at first only a limited demand for lots, for whenever at any particular townsite the growth was such that there was a de- mand for more lots, another appraisement could be made in accordance with the demonstrated and pros- pective value of the remaining lots at that time. Huntley, Ballantine, Worden and Pompey's Pillar have been the most progressive towns on the project. Their citizens are investing their money in building permanent homes. There is a private irrigation project owned by T. P. Walters, on the Huntley Project. It irrigates the farms of T. P. Walters (330 acres), E. H. Gagnon (70 acres) and F. L. Skilhnan (170 acres). It is ON THE LOWER YELLOWSTONE 173 designed to divert about 15 second-feet of water from the Yellowstone River. Taken as a whole the Huntley Project may be re- garded as a most successful one. The crops have been good. The principal crops raised in 1915 were sugar beets, alfalfa, wheat and oats, in the order named. The four crops represent about 89 per cent, of the total cropped area for the year, and they re- turned 90 per cent, of the total estimated crop value. There were 5,402 acres of land seeded to sugar beets which yielded a total of 53,911 tons, valued at $319,- 153 ; 6,038 acres of alfalfa yielded 15,010 tons, valued at $86,458; 2,869 acres of wheat yielded 56,863 bush- els, valued at $49,471; 2,514 acres of oats yielded 75,319 bushels, valued at $36,906. The remainder of the cropped area was made up of barley, bluestem, beans, corn, cucumbers, hay and vegetables, all of which produced well and good returns were received. The beet crop was the largest shipment, all the beets being shipped to the Billings Sugar Factory. The contracts which the Sugar Company entered into with the growers in 1915 returned the farmers about $5.92 per ton. The increase in stock values for the year 1914 amounted to $83,907. This increase was principally in horses, cattle and hogs. There was an increase of 342 horses, 1,077 head of cattle, and 2,589 hogs. There were two or three thousand head of sheep fed during the winter months. The value of these sheep, however, is not included in the above increase as most of the sheep were fed under contract and at the close of the feeding season were turned back to the owners. The sheep that were fed during the 174 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST •winter 1912-1913 in most instances brought good re- turns to the feeders in cash, besides increasing the fertility of the soU. The principal increase in cattle was in dairy stock. Three carloads of Holstein cat- tle were shipped onto the project early in the spring, and other cattle were bought locally. The farmers are gradually going more and more into the dairying and stock business. The principal markets for stock are Chicago, St. Paul, Omaha and Seattle. At the beginning of 1914 forty-three farm units, comprising 1,700 acres of irrigable land, were open to entry. After the Second Unit of the project was thrown open this number was increased by the addi- tion of twenty-four public farm units, comprising 981 acres of irrigable land, and of approximately nine private farms, embracing 833 acres. Thus the total number of farm units open to entry during the year amounted to sixty-seven involving 3,515 acres of irrigable land. At the close of the year fifty-two farm units were open to homestead entry, fifteen units having been filed upon. The unentered public lands on the first unit of the project lie chiefly in the vicinity of Newton, Mon- tana. The progress of settlement on these lands is not rapid for the reason that the soil in most in- stances is clay containing an abundance of alkali salts, which makes the units undesirable, and it is believed that a number of years will pass before the units are all filed upon. It has been demonstrated on similar lands that from five to six years of inten- sive cultivation are required to bring the land into a profitable productive state. The greater portion of this class of land has been settled upon by foreigners, ON THE LOWEE YELLOWSTONE 175 who, in addition to farming their own units, contract as beet help on the better class of land, and in this way are able to make a living and finally bring their units into a productive state. The present Project Manager is R. H. Fifield, with offices at Huntley, Montana. CHAPTEE XV AN INTEENATIONAL PEOBLEM. THE MILK EIVBE PEOJECT, MONTANA There are some rather curious things to be noted on the map of the northern boundary of the United States, especially the way in which the rivers flow with reference to this boundary. In older countries, the limits of the nations were established largely by natural features, by mountain ranges or rivers ; but with us the division between two great bodies of English-speaking people is a straight line arbitrar- ily located, extending directly west, crossing plains and mountains. This typifies the arbitrary charac- ter of our political division. The plains on each side of the line are identical ; Nature offers no more dif- ferences than do the ideals of the citizens thus sepa- rated from each other. Looking closely we see that some of the rivers arising in the United States flow for a time in Canada and then return. In the same way the people of one country sojourn for a time in the other and may come back or possibly remain. There is one river, the Milk, which is particularly notable, not because of its size but rather because of its insignificance as regards volume. Its tributaries flow easterly along or near the border, crossing and recrossing, being partly in northern Montana or in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatche- wan. It occupies in places a broad valley; for much 176 AN INTEENATIONAL PROBLEM 177 of the year it is nearly dry but occasionally there are destructive floods. Following up along the bound- ary to the headwaters, we are surprised to find that these stop short just before the high mountains are reached. Unlike most streams of that part of the world, it has no connection with the waters from the snowy peaks which dominate the western horizon. Here is a very curious phenomenon — a long river occupying a broad valley and shut off from its nat- ural source of supply. The valley with its fertile lands early attracted settlement, and the pioneers soon built little irri- gating canals, increasing these until the capacities have exceeded the low water flow of Milk Eiver. The man higher up the stream, although second in right, had the first opportunity of getting the cov- eted water. Controversies arose and the further development was retarded, more money being spent itt litigation than in actual irrigation. All of the time the people interested had their thoughts fixed on these high mountains to the west with their abundant supply, and they began to ask why they could not get their portion of the abundance from the snowy fields to the west. How did it happen that their river did not obtain its proper share? The reason for the scanty supply in Milk River is quite evident to the geologist. In comparatively recent times, as the age of the earth goes, a great ice sheet or series of ice sheets covered this land, pushed southward the rocks, gravel, sands and clays; on retreating it left behind a great unassorted mass of dirt which encumbered the surface of the ground and obliterated the former water courses. One of these 178 RECLAIMING THE ARID WEST great masses of materials which had come from the north was left lodged as a series of hills or a ridge directly east of and in front of the main Rocky Mountain range, so that the streams flowing easterly from the mountains instead of continuing down the gentle slope of the great plains were diverted and turned abruptly towards the north, flowing finally into Hudson Bay instead of into the Mississippi River drainage. Seeing the conditions resulting from this glacial action, the geologist and the engineer were asked whether man could repair the damages done by the ice sheet and cut through this range of hills, restor- ing to the plains' streams the headwaters which in past geologic ages probably belonged to them. From the engineering standpoint this was compara- tively easy though expensive. A greater obstacle was found in the artificial or political conditions, because the boundary was drawn in such a way as to make it impossible for either Canada or the United States to utilize the natural advantages without the consent of the other. It was physically possible to take the streams which flow easterly from the Rocky Mountains and form the St. Mary and divert them easterly through a canal which, heading in the United States, would swing around into Canada. It was also possible at somewhat greater expense to build such a canal in the United States and drop the wa- ters taken from the St. Mary River into the head of Milk River, but this water would then flow into Can- ada before coming back into the United States. It was also possible at still greater expense to continue the canal wholly in the United States and drop the AN INTERNATIONAL PEOBLEM 179 water in the streams wliich would keep south of the boundary. All of these conditions formed the subject of much discussion. It was assumed that if the United States built a canal from St. Mary to Milk Eiver, the Canadians must permit the water to come down the natural channel and that they could not prevent it from coming back into the United States for use in the Lower Milk River Valley. Their reply to this was the actual construction of a canal from Milk River in Canada which could take and keep in Can- ada any waters which might be diverted by the United States into the head of Milk River. Through many years surveys, conferences, and discussions were had. In these the engineers of the Reclama- tion Service called upon by the settlers along the Milk River were active, not only in making surveys and estimates of various alternative projects, but in preparing drafts of agreement with the Cana- dians. Finally, it was agreed that the United States would take its chances and begin construc- tion of distributing works in the Lower Milk River Valley to handle the water which was available, in the hopes that a satisfactory solution might be had of the international problem. The Ambassador from Great Britain, the Hon. James Bryce, took a large interest in this matter, and partly through his efforts to promote amicable relations, a treaty was negotiated "to prevent dis- putes regarding the use of boundary waters and to settle all questions which are now pending between the United States and the Dominion of Canada." This was signed on January 11, 1909, and marked the 180 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST culmination of many years of discussion and nego- tiations. Meantime, as before stated, construction on various features of the project had been begun so that these had fairly well progressed before the treaty was signed. The second difficulty to be overcome was the mat- ter of sufficient funds for prosecution of the work. The estimated cost of the work was about seven mil- lion dollars and the million dollars set aside in 1905 was for preliminaries. In 1910, Congress set aside the money necessary to carry on a portion of the work. The last obstacles were the adjustment of water appropriations in the river so as to settle the ownership of the waters and as fully fifty per cent, of the lands were privately owned, it was nec- essary to bind them to stand security for the expend- itures the Government contemplated making. It was necessary to make sure that the water of Milk Eiver, including natural runoff and that diverted from St. Mary Lakes, should be sufficient to supply those who had heretofore appropriated water, as well as for the goverimient canals. Private rights were definitely stated in a vested water-right con- tract, which fixed the amount of appropriations and the lands to which they attached, and the United States was assured of a sufficient supply for its work. Then it was necessary for the lands in private own- ership in the Valley to be bound to take water and return payments for construction, operation and maintenance. These matters were finally adjusted and the Secretary of the Interior approved the con- struction of the project in 1912. It must be said that a certain amount of impa- AN INTEENATIONAL PEOBLEM 181 tience was naturally exhibited by inhabitants of the Valley because of the length of time, 1902 to 1912, which elapsed before the larger work of the project began. But in view of the difficulties involved, it can be seen that the work could not have proceeded more rapidly. While the difficulties were being adjusted, some work on the project proceeded, notably the con- struction of a dam in the Milk Eiver near Dodson, Montana, and the completion of the first unit of the project, with canals for watering 7,800 acres of land. The greater activity on the project began in 1912. At the present time the system has been carried to a point where one-fourth of the 220,000 acres of land in the project is under completed canals. A second large concrete dam is completed, near Vandalia, Montana. Until 1916 the system was dependent upon the flood waters of Milk Eiver, but work on the St. Mary Canal is completed, and these mountain waters, travelling 500 miles through natural and artificial channels, will bring a perpetual stream of water and a continuous lease of prosperity to the Valley. The Dodson Diversion Dam is located 46 miles below the proposed Chinook diversion and 3 miles west of Dodson. The dam is a rock-filled timber- crib, 19 feet high and 319 feet long, the downstream face of which is composed of 10-inch timbers pro- tected by railroad rails. The north abutment is of similar structure, while that of the south side is of reinforced concrete. On top of the dam concrete piers are built for a movable crest which will add six feet to the height of the dam when completed. 182 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST In connection with the construction of this dam it was necessary to raise the tracks of the Great North- em Railway for a distance of 4 miles and to protect, by riprapping, the embankment from erosion. In addition, 2,425 acres of private and Indian lands were purchased for flowage rights. The Dodson South Canal heads here with a ca- pacity of 900 second-feet. It ends at Nelson Eeser- voir, 44 miles away, with a capacity of 500 second- feet, furnishing on the way water for the irrigation of 42,500 acres, of which 26,000 are under its branch canals, the Ashfield and Bowdoin. The headworks consist of a concrete structure with 15 openings 4 feet by 5 feet. The principal features of this sys- tem which have been completed are the Peoples Creek dikes and channels for the diversion of that creek, so as to discharge above Dodson Dam, and also to protect private irrigation plants on the Fort Belknap Indian Eeservation; the Point of Eocks equalizing reservoir, of 830 acre-feet capacity; the wasteway at, and siphon across, Alkali Creek, which consists of three lines of reinforced concrete pipe 7.5 feet in diameter; the headworks of Bowdoin Canal; the spillway into Lake Bowdoin; and the canal-, lateral-, and waste-water systems for the irrigation of 15,000 acres. A portion of the Main Canal was excavated in 1908 and 1909 under the co-operative plan of con- tract between the Service and the Water Users' As- sociation. The remainder of the excavation for the first nine miles was done by small contracts and a portion by the Service. The latter also built the structures and laterals for the irrigation of 7,800 AN INTERNATIONAL PEOBLEM 183 acres. The balance of the work on this canal system was built by private contracts. The Dodson North Canal heads at Dodson Dam with a capacity of 200 second-feet, and in a length of 29 miles irrigates 12,000 acres on the south side of the Milk Eiver between Dodson and a point five miles below Malta. Th'fe principal features of this canal-system which have been built are the concrete headworks, which include four steel gates 4 by 4 feet in size; the siphon across Exeter Creek, which is a reinforced concrete pipe 5 feet 4 inches in diameter ; and the canal-, lateral-, and waste-water systems for the irrigation of the laud. Nelson Reservoir, located about 15 miles north- east from Malta, is a natural basin, the storage capacity of which is increased by building dams across depressions in the rim. At present these dams secure a capacity of 27,000 acre-feet, but as required they will be enlarged and raised by suc- cessive stages to give an ultimate capacity of 132,000 acre-feet. The reservoir is fed by Dodson South Canal, and the stored water will be used for the ir- rigation of about 50,000 acres under the Nelson Res- ervoir North and South Canals, and, if required, for lands under the Vandalia South Canal, the stored water to be discharged into Milk River down a con- crete pipe-drop and again diverted at Vandalia Dam. Nelson Reservoir South Canal, with a capacity of 260 second-feet, heads in Nelson Reservoir and will irrigate 22,000 acres of land in Beaver Creek Valley, near Ashfield, Saco, Beaverton and Hinsdale. The Vandalia Diversion Dam is 66 miles below the Dodson diversion. It consists of a reinforced con- 184 RECLAIMING THE AEID WEST Crete main overflow dam, with fixed crest, and an au- tomatic movable crest, by which the water can be raised an additional 6 feet. Two bridge piers, which support steel bridges for the movable crest, divide the overflow of this dam into three 110-foot lengths. The abutments are reinforced retaining walls having a maximum height of 51 feet. The entire structure is supported on piles and protected at the lower and upper edges by rows of sheet-piling. Flanking the dam to the north there is an auxiliary spillway 4 feet high and 1,200 feet long. This spillway is also built of reinforced concrete. The Vandalia South Canal heads at Vandalia di- version with a capacity of 300 second-feet, and irri- gates 22,540 acres of land on the south side of Milk Eiver between Vandalia and a point opposite Nashua. The headgates are in the south abutment. The principal features which have been built are the metal flumes, railway culverts, concrete-lined sec- tions at Vandalia Point, the reinforced concrete si- phons across Antelope, Brazil, and Willow Creeks, and the canal-, lateral-, and waste-water systems for irrigation. St. Mary's Lake is to be enlarged and improved to an area of 6,910 acres and a capacity of 124,000 acre-feet. The dam is an earth fill, with a maximum height of 30 feet, and a length of crest of 2,000 feet. The length of the spillway is 500 feet, and its eleva- tion 20 feet above the stream bed. The canal is 29 miles long, with an ultimate capacity of 850 second- feet, and is to carry the water of St. Mary River across the divide to the headwaters of Milk River. The Sherburne Lakes Dam is an earthen em- AN INTERNATIONAL PEOBLEM 185 bankment, 83 feet high and 925 feet long. A con- crete-lined spillway channel located at the north end of the dam has a capacity of 8,000 second-feet, with a free-board of 9 feet on the dam. Reclamation makes possible a great future for the valley of the Milk River. Realization will de- pend upon the use the people make of the possibil- ities. Formerly the region was thought forever doomed to mediocre production because of dearth of water. Settlements were scattering and small, as they always are in a range country. The towns were about as wild and woolly as the country. Most of their trade depended on the cattle ranches and their times of principal life and activity were the cattle shipping days, when cowboys owned the streets and raised mighty disturbances. But a change has gradually come about, and the opening of reclamation work altered things still more remark- ably. Ditch contractors have imported hundreds of labourers and the results of the activity are shared by merchants, hotel-men and business of every sort. However, the present impetus given to trade is of small importance beside the permanent pros- perity this reclamation may bring to the Valley. "Where formerly production was uncertain, in the future few failures on the Valley's irrigated lands need occur. Business and industry that have been established can depend on a steady growth, while in the past they were subject to disappointing fluctua- tions due to uncertainty of returns and markets. Such uncertainty stunted industrial growth and kept it confined to a few lines. It retarded the increase 186 RECLAIMING THE AEID WEST in population, in prosperity and in the necessaries and luxuries that rightfully belong to people of the present day. But the future should hold greater possibilities. The population will increase and the new-comers will be of the best class. Agricultural production wiU expand steadily, money will come into the valley in an increasing amount and the facil- ities for enlarging the sphere of life and enhancing the pleasure of existence will multiply in number. In the past the principal agricultural products of the Milk River Valley have been wild hay and some alfalfa, grain and vegetables. These were produced mostly for the local markets. With the advent of the government canals, and because of their cost and the increasing value of land, it is hardly probable that the raising of wild hay and grains will be eco- nomically feasible after a few years, for the returns from alfalfa, vegetables and sugar beets, and the raising of cattle and hogs will yield the best returns. The production of sugar beets and the manufacture of sugar will become a lucrative industry in the Val- ley. Some very good crops of this plant have already been had and the yield has been good, with a high percentage of sugar. The Milk River Valley offers excellent opportu- nity for persons of industry, determination and some capital. Lands are cheap and can be obtained on advantageous terms. It must not be thought, how- ever, that wealth awaits the settler with no finan- cial backing and without hard labour. Irrigation farming involves a greater outlay of money and effort than other agriculture, but on the average the returns should be commensurately greater. The AN INTEENATIONAL PEOBLEM 187 land must be worked and levelled, farm laterals must be dug, and in the application of water to the soil care, vigilance and labour are necessary. All this involves expense. The settler coming into the Valley should be able to erect necessary buildings, plough and level the land and prepare it for irrigation. He will have to be able to meet any payments necessary on the pur- chase price of the land. If his land is under con- structed canal and water is available, he may obtain water until the project is declared open, on a rental basis of $1 per acre-foot. For this latter reason the present is a very advantageous time to obtain land under canals, because the settler can get irrigation water in quantity desired and it will be some time before payments on the building charges begin. He may therefore have time to get his farm and finan- ces established before the greater expense begins. The building charge will be divided into twenty an- nual instalments, payable without interest, so for the ordinarily prosperous farmer, these payments, to- gether with the annual operation and maintenance charges, will not be a great burden. The present Project Manager for the St. Mary's Storage unit is R. M. Snell, with office at Browning, Montana, while the Project Manager of the Milk Eiver Project as a whole is Geo. E. Stratton, with office at Malta, Montana. CHAPTEE XVI IN THE LAND OP THE BTVEE OP THE StJN. THE STJN BIVEE PEOJECT, MONTANA Ever since Lewis and Clark made their memorable trip across the continent to spy out the land as far as the then unknown Oregon, the great prairies have exercised a fascination over the minds of men equalled only* by the lure of the trackless and sun- scorched deserts. At the extreme northwestern boundary of this rolling prairie country, in Montana, long, gently sloping plateaus, traversed by streams that have relatively wide valleys, rise by successive benches until they terminate in rolling glacial hills and hollows at the foot of the Continental Divide. A distinctive feature of these plateaus is that their summits appear as isolated buttes or long irregular ridges, which are eroded remnants of other and higher benches which now have entirely disappeared. Located between the summit of the Lewis Range of the Eocky Mountains on the west, the Dearborn and Missouri rivers on the south and Teton Eiver on the north, extending easterly as far as Fort Ben- ton, in the northern portion, and Uhn Station on the Montana Central Eailway in the southern portion, is the Sun River Project. It covers, approximately, 1,500,000 acres, excluding the mountainous portion, the greater part comprising rolling prairie country and benches of uniform slope. One of these, Green- 188 . THE EIVEB OF THE SUN 189 fields bench, is a practically unbroken stretcli of 70,- 000 acres. The river bottom lands are mostly farmed under small irrigation systems constructed by the ranch- ers. A few larger systems, covering from 3,000 to 25,000 acres, have been ia operation for some time. Eising on the Continental Divide the Sun Eiver gathers water almost sufficient for the irrigation of this entire area, a princely domain vast enough to quicken the pulses of hundreds of men to the possi- bilities of the independent life of the farmer or rancher. The Sun Eiver flows southeasterly to its confluence with the South Fork, thence due east, emp- tying into Missouri Eiver at Great Falls. Deep Creek, the south fork of the Teton, is also utilized. The watershed of Sun Eiver and Deep Creek com- prises 1,140 square miles of mountainous country, the altitude varying from 4,500 to 9,000. This is covered, to greater or less extent, by coniferous for- ests which serve as natural reservoirs, regulating the run-off of the district. The numerous streams of this drainage gather a large amount of water from the melting snow, which will be stored in large reser- voirs. The average annual run-off of the watershed area is estimated at 700,000 acre-feet. The rainfall of the irrigable area averages twelve inches, the greater part of which falls during May and June. The present approved plan of construction of the project contemplates the irrigation of about 16,000 acres of land largely in the abandoned Fort Shaw Military Eeservation in Sun Eiver Valley by direct 190 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST diversion from Sun River into the Fort Shaw Canal, and the irrigation of about 100,000 acres of bench land on the north side of Sun River by the diversion of the waters of the North Fork of Sun River through the Pishkun Supply and Sun River Slope Canals. The Fort Shaw Canal was completed in 1908 and the system has been operated each year since 1909. Works are at present under construction for the ir- rigation of 25,000 acres on the Greenfields Bench north of Sun River. The main features of the works required for the irrigation of the above-men- tioned 25,000 acres are the Sun River Diversion Dam, 132 ft. in height, the Pishkun Supply Canal, 12 miles long, with three concrete lined tunnels 700 to 2,300 ft. long, a wood stave pipe crossing of Sun River, and concrete pipe drops into Arnold Coulee and Pishkun Reservoir; the Sun River Slope Canal 34 miles long with 9,000 ft. of concrete lined canal, and the two high concrete pipe drops into Big Cou- lee; and the Distribution System delivering water direct to the farms. The Sun River Diversion Dam, the main canals with their tunnels and other struc- tures and the pipe crossing of Sun River are prac- tically completed. Further development of the 100,000 acres on the north side of Sun River contemplates the storage of waters of the North Fork of Sun River by a ma- sonry dam on the stream itself. Several sites are available and investigations are now being conducted to determine the most feasible location for the dam. The surplus waters of Willow Creek are now stored by an earth-fill dam on the creek forming a reservoir Site op Diversion Dam, Sun Eiveb Canyon, August, 1907 Sun River Project, Montana THE EIVER OF THE STJN 191 of 16,700 acre-feet capacity, which is available for supplying water to either the Fort Shaw Unit or prior rights on Sun Eiver. The project is traversed by three lines of the Great Northern Railway, already in operation, and by one line of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, now under construction. One line of the Great Northern runs northerly and southerly through the eastern end of the project and will be a part of a main through line from Texas to Spokane and Pa- cific Coast points. A second line of the Great Northern runs through the Sun River Valley from Great Falls to the western end of the project. The third Great Northern line branches from the first in the east central part of the project and runs north- westerly to Choteau on the northern boundary. The line of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway runs from Great Falls northwesterly. The elevation of the lands embraced within the project is from 3,500 to 4,000 feet above sea level, with an average elevation of about 3,700 feet. The temperature varies from 40° below zero to 100° Fahr. above. The extreme low temperatures are un- usual and when they do occur ordinarily continue for a short time only. The dry atmosphere renders ex- tremes in temperature much less disagreeable than less extreme temperatures in the humid regions. The prevailing winds are from the southwest, which tend to modify the severity of the winters. The average rainfall is about 11 inches, a large portion of which occurs usually during the months of April, May and June. The climate of Montana, contrary to popular east- 192 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST em impression, is imlder than portrayed. The prevalence of the chinook wind makes the winter months compare favourably with states further south. In past years, before the encroachment of the farmer, stock ranged in the open the entire sea- son without care or feed other than the natural buf- falo-grass which cures on the stem. Of course, this method of caring for stock is to be condemned but shows the exceedingly favourable climatic conditions that make such a method possible. The snowfall is light and does not lie on the ground any length of time, being taken off by the chinook winds. A natural growth of short buffalo- and gramma- grass and a wheat-grass locally called "blue- joint" covers the entire range. This furnished, in the past, practically the only feed that made Montana range steers the most desirable on the eastern market. A fair showing, during the last few years, has been made on this soil without irrigation, some farmers getting twenty-eight bushels of wheat and fifty bush- els of oats, by careful conservation of the precipita- tion, but owing to the very light rainfall during long periods, this method meets with only indifferent suc- cess. Farmers coming from the eastern states, where twenty bushels of wheat per acre is a good yield, are incredulous when told of a yield more than double that quantity. The commercially profitable products that can be grown on the project comprise practically all of the northern grown grains, grasses, fruits and vege- tables. A few of the less hardy fruits and vegetables require special care, which necessarily excludes them from the profitable list, but as better methods Simm's Creek Pressure Pipe, Fort Shaw Unit Sun River Project, Montana t,i^ %%■' jjif/ Method op Reinforcement of Simm's Creek Pipe Sun River Project, Montana THE EIVEE OF THE SUN 193 of cultivation are discovered, these wUl also be prof- itably added to the list. Alfalfa is highly successful, as are also the grains, — ^wheat, oats, barley, rye, etc. Fattening of cattle, sheep and hogs on alfalfa with grain is becoming a large factor in the development of this region, as good prices prevail in the local market for meat- stuffs. Sugar beets produce an average of twenty tone per acre. Samples were taken from ten patches of beets which were sent to the Billings Sugar Com- pany, Billings, Montana, for analysis. The tests showed an average of 17.7 per cent, of sugar and 86.2 per cent, of purity. The Amalgamated Sugar Company of Ogden, Utah, made a careful inspection of the lands of the project, soon after work began and gave assurance that it would ultimately support seven sugar factories. The small fruits, such as strawberries, currants, gooseberries, and raspberries, are now successfully grown in this immediate vicinity, and these grow wild in the valley as well as huckleberries, sarvioe- berries, and wild cherries. Tame cherries and crab- apples do well, and enough is known of growing standard varieties of apples to warrant the asser- tion that they will be a success. The largest market, close to the project, is Great Falls, a city of probably 15,000 people. The big smelters of the Boston & Montana Company are located here, — this with the immense water-power available, much of which is now under process of development by the construction of two large dams in the vicinity of Great FaUs, gives this city a bright 194 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST future and will provide a market at good prices for products grown on this project. Helena (20,000) and Butte (40,000) also provide high-priced mar- kets contiguous to this region. Great Falls is quoted by an eastern magazine as being the highest- priced produce-market iu the country, Helena is a residence city and the State capital, and Butte a money-making town, the big mines of the Amalga- mated Copper Company being located there. There are excellent railway facilities for transportation to these market-centres from all parts of the project. Owing to the dry climate, the wagon roads are hard and dry ten to eleven months in the year and the light snowfall in the winter months enables the farmer to make use of his idle period in hauling produce and supplies. The only lands of the project open to entry at the present time are in the Fort Shaw Unit. This com- prises 16,325 acres of irrigable land lying mainly in the abandoned Fort Shaw Military Eeservation in the valley of Sun Eiver. On June 9, 1917, there were 27 farm units still open to entry. These units contain from 40 to 80 acres of irrigable land, which in some cases is combined with non-irrigable land to provide pasturage for stock. The building charge on this land is $36 per acre of irrigable land. The present Project Manager is Chas. P. Wil- liams, with offices at Fort Shaw, Montana. CHAPTER XVII THE LOWER YELLOWSTONE PBOJECT MONTANA-NOETH DAKOTA It will be recalled by those who have read the Rec- lamation Act as originally passed that the moneys re- ceived from the sale of public lands in the respective states were to be expended in the states from which they were received. This section of the act was later repealed, but as both Montana and North Dakota had large areas of government land which were sold after the passage of the act, the latter, indeed, lead- ing the list for several years, it was decided to in- augurate work upon a project which should be lo- cated in these states. After extended investigations it was found to be possible to divert the waters of the Yellowstone River near the town of Glendive, Mon- tana, into a canal on the north side of the river, and irrigate in the neighbourhood of 60,000 acres lying partly in Montana, and partly in North Dakota. The point selected for the diversion of the river is about eighteen miles below Glendive. The diversion dam is a rock-filled pile weir decked with timber, 700 feet long and 50 feet 4 inches wide, with an average height above river-bed of about nine feet. It raises the water about four feet above natural low water into the canal. The cold climate and the flood conditions that occur ren- dered great care necessary in fixing upon the time 195 196 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST when the work of building this dam should be done. A contract was let in 1906, and work began in 1907, but the difficulty of securing the proper round piles deferred the work until 1908. In April of that year 480 of the piles were driven, when high water ar- rested the work on May 20, and it could not- be re- sumed until August 3. When the summer flood had subsided it was found impossible to drive the re- quired sheet-piling, even when four-ply sheets, driven with both steam- and drop-hammer, were substituted. This necessitated a change in the plans. Careful examination revealed that the high veloc- ity of the flood waters of Yellowstone Eiver, aggra- vated by the accumulation of drift against the piles, had caused great erosion of the river bed, and had taken out a number of the piles, leaving others barely standing upright. Upon this discovery the contrac- tor became discouraged and refused to proceed fur- ther with the work. The Service thereupon under- took to complete it. Most of the piles driven were taken out, and, as much low-water time — highly favourable to work — ^had been lost, it was decided to build 62 linear feet of the dam adjacent to the south abutment, and then await the next low-water season. This was done, and while the next flood time was on, materials were assembled for the rapid prosecution of the work when the waters subsided. As soon as the subsidence occurred it was found that the river bed had again been filled with gravel. Work began again in August, 1909, and was pushed without a moment's cessation, day or night. As fast as one shift retired another took its place. LOWER YELLOWSTONE PROJECT 197 The sheet-piling originally planned was abandoned and solid timbers of Douglas fir 10 by 10 inches, sharpened and shod, and with strips of 3 by 4 inches spiked on so as to serve for tongue and groove, were substituted. , They were found to possess far greater rigidity and endurance than the piling. Wherever the ground was too hard for satisfactory penetra- tion, a steel shape, built of riveted steel about the size of the pile, was first driven and afterwards with- drawn, and the pile driven in its place. Li a few cases the ground was even too hard to allow of this being done, whereupon plain steel sheet-piling was driven. The work was completed March 4, 1910, and soon thereafter the ice broke up and dashed down the river with its customary violence, but soundings made at low water revealed no damage to the dam. The following year, however, the ice-pounding on the apron of the dam was very severe. There were several ice-jams which broke up suddenly, thus pre- cipitating vast quantities of ice at tremendous veloc- ity upon the dam. Investigation showed that much of the loose stone below the dam had been moved down-stream, and that the lower row of sheet-piling, for a distance of about 500 feet, had been either cut off by the ice or seriously damaged, and that a por- tion of the timber deck was gone. Considerable ero- sion had also taken place at several points in the body of the dam, and a large amount of rock removed from the section where the deck was gone. As it was found the steel-piling had successfully resisted the fierce pounding of the ice it was decided to replace the lost piling with steel. When this was 198 EECLAIMING THE AKID WEST done a full quota of rock was put into place, the deck restored and the results of another season's ice-jams awaited with confidence. The dam withstood all shocks and has ever since given satisfactory service without material damage. The headgates for the Main Canal, eleven in num- ber, are set in a high, massive, reinf orced-concrete structure, built to an elevation above high-water mark. At Linden Creek, Bums Creek, and Fox Creek, provision had to be made for carrying the irrigation canal across these lateral streams. At Linden the creek is taken across above the canal, in a reinf orced-concrete flume twelve feet wide, eight and a half feet deep, and one hundred and fifty-two feet long. At Burns, 8 miles below the heading, the creek is carried in a superstructure 100 feet wide, under which the canal water flows in two con- duits, each 9 by 10% feet Fox Creek, 36 miles be- low the headworks, is the largest of the streams crossed. Here the canal is carried under the creek in a reinforced concrete inverted siphon, 225 feet long, with two barrels, or tubes, each seven feet in diameter. Low-water period on the Yellowstone Eiver is from August 15 to May 1 of the next year, inter- rupted for a short period, usually in March, when the ice breaks up and is generally accompanied by violent freshets. The regular high-water period occurs between May 15 and August 15, due to melt- ing snow in the mountains. Ordinary low water is about 6,000 cubic feet per second, and extremely high water about 160,000, which carries large quantities of drift, mostly submerged. ai- ' S ■ :*.. T % ;- , -S- '*- 1 ' ' '^mk t\ '' *i 'V;i'^ff>v:; : , -' ■' . I^'- 1',. 1 . ;: ■Ss' ■■ 1 "1S«: 1 • ^^^ l,- 11 %> ' n H - ' i ■ 1 !| p^^^ i , ; ■ '-: ■ 1 1^ ^1^ .f"^ ''%^^: i 1..J '^\A-\,:', :■ p ll'>^' # o Eh Big S3 - w o O a w ^ LOWEE YELLOWSTONE PEOJECT 199 The climate of the region is healthful and invigour- ating with good sharp winters, and warm summers, though the extremes of heat and cold are not se- verely felt. The air is dry and pure and there is but little humidity. Tornadoes are unknown. The annual rainfall is about 15 inches, a greater part of which occurs in May and June. The average eleva- tion of the farming lands is 1,900 feet above sea- level. Transportation is afforded by the Missouri Eiver and two railways, the Northern Pacific, and Great Northern, with seven railway stations on the project, the chief of which, with their populations, are as follows: Savage, 300; Sydney, 1,300; Fair- view, 800, all in Montana. In the irrigable area there is considerable variety in the soils, but deep sandy loam predominates and the main crops hitherto have been grain, forage crops and vegetables, all of which find a ready mar- ket in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Duluth. The pres- ent status of the irrigable area open is as follows 9,536 acres entered subject to the Eeclamation Act 445 acres open to entry; 1,514 acres of state land 33,273 acres of private land. The limit of area of the farm unit on the government land is 80 acres. The building charges per acre is $42.50 and $45, payable in twenty years. The rental charge for 1915 was 50 cents per acre for one and a half acre- feet, with additional water at the rate of 50 cents per acre-foot. The annual operation and mainte- nance charge is 75 cents per acre for one acre-foot, with additional water at the rate of 50 cents per acre-foot. The first irrigation by the Service was in the sea- 200 BECLAIMING THE ARID WEST son of 1909, and in 1915 the project was reported 96 per cent, completed. Yet, strange to say, while the water supply pro- vided is unfailing, the works for its diversion and delivery are effective and satisfactory, the soil is productive, and the climate favourable, the agricul- tural results have been disappointing to the Govern- ment. This is due to the failure, or refusal, of the majority of the land owners to use the water for irri- gation. The chief reason for this refusal undoubt- edly is the fact that the region being only semi-arid, sufficient rain falls during some seasons to mature the crops, and in nearly half the years enough rains fall to secure fair crops of some kind. Many of the farmers, fully 50 per cent, are Scandinavians ; they are poor and do not see the advantage irrigation would be to them. They hope for favourable rains and prefer to take the chance rather than undertake to obligate themselves to pay for the water right and the annual charge for operation and maintenance of the plant. Undoubtedly as their financial condition improves they will see that it is to their advantage to undertake the larger expenditure, as thereby their returns will not only be assured, but will be corre- spondingly increased. The canal system consists of 66.3 miles of main canal, and 146.6 miles of laterals, and the lands reached stretch along the Yellowstone Eiver from Intake, Montana, to the Missouri Eiver. They vary in width from half a mile or less at the upper end to five miles in the Fairview district. The Project Manager is L. H. Mitchell, with office at Savage, Montana. CHAPTER XVm IN- THE EOMANCE LAND OF THE PATHFINDEB THE NOBTH PLATTE PEOJECT, NEBEASKA-WTOMING The country embraced within this region was prob- ably well known earlier than almost any other por- tion of the West. The returning Astorians, in 1812, passed down the North Platte Eiver, making their first winter camp of that year at the town of Besse- mer, fifteen miles above Casper, and later in the vicinity of the state line between Nebraska and Wyo- ming — in all probability very close to the present town of Mitchell, the headquarters of the Reclama- tion Service. First, the intrepid hunter and trapper blazed the way, and later the fur-trading companies pushed into the North Platte Valley, and, in 1834, established a trading post on the site of the present town of old Fort Laramie, which was maintained by them until taken over by the Government in 1849, when it became one of the most prominent posts on the transcontinental route. This route was followed by the California gold seekers and by the Mormons in their migration westward. To read The Adven- tures of Captain Bonneville and Astoria, by Wash- ington Irving, the discoveries of John C. Fremont, histories of Mormon emigration and the "Forty- niners," and later, of "Wild Bill" and "Buffalo Bill," reveals this valley as rich in historical inter- est. The discoveries of Professor Marsh, and other paleontologists, of the pre-historic horse and the 201 202 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST great saurians make the region one of unusual inter- est to the student of the earth's history. On the other hand, the settler and the homebuilder passed it by and settled to the north or south, or pushed on to Utah and California. The great original Califor- nia-Oregon trail, a highway 200 feet ta width, now overgrown and only distinguished from the gen- eral surroundings by the difference in vegetation, stretches on mile after mile. It is marked here and there by a grave, the occupant snatched from the eager horde pressing ever west ; name, age, date for- gotten ; whether the victim of disease or savage, un- known. But occasionally we may read something like this on a rare headstone: "Amanda, beloved consort of William Smith, born May 5, 1831, died of cholera, July 10, 1850." It requires little imagina- tion to weave a romance around such an epitaph in such a place. Again, Irving relates, in his Adven- tures of Captain Bonneville, how a party ' ' encamped amid high and beetling cliffs of indurated clay and sandstone, bearing the semblance of towers, churches, and fortified cities. " He then recalled the melancholy circumstance from which the fantastic bluffs received their name, the story of one of an unfortunate party, a man by the name of Scott, who, after abandonment by his companions because of illness, crawled a distance of sixty miles before death put an end to his miseries, "and the wild and pic- turesque bluffs in the neighbourhood of his lonely grave have ever since borne his name." The very name bestowed upon the dam — "The Pathfinder" — conjures up memories of a brave and stirring epoch in our national expansion. A fitting ROMANCE LAND OF PATHFINDER 203 monument to the sturdy explorer, John Charles Fre- mont, a mighty figure of the romantic pioneer days, this giant structure of modern masonry rears its lofty crest on the site where the explorer was wrecked in his attempt to reach the Missouri River by water, and a wondrous valley made fertile by the magic touch of water now greets the eye where once the Indian and buffalo reigned supreme. We thus see a revival in the locality where more than heilf a century ago was the best-known and most-travelled route across the continent, and after being all but forgotten is now receiving the attention which it should have received in the sixties. The South Platte Valley, 150 miles south of the great western pioneer highway, was developed through sheer force and energy of its people, while that of the North Platte has remained in an undeveloped state, though in all respects equal to the South Platte Valley. The climate, soil and flora in both valleys are almost identical. The North Platte Project provides for the stor- age and diversion of the waters of the North Platte River for the irrigation of lands lying in the North Platte Valley in eastern Wyoming and western Ne- braska. It comprises all of the work on the North Platte River, extending from the town of North Platte on the east, near the 101st meridian, to the point where the North Platte enters the State of Wyoming from Colorado, at about the 107th merid- ian, a distance — ^measured by the winding river — of about 500 miles. The project lies about 100 miles northeast of Cheyenne, Wyoming. In the east- erly portion the rainfall is at times sufficient to 204 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST grow crops, while in the western portion arid condi- tions are found. According to the last census, within the drainage basin of the Platte Eiver is found the largest area of land irrigable by one stream in the United States and the value of the im- proved agricultural land is probably as high as that of any other section, with the possible exception of the fruit belt of California. The building of the Interstate Unit of this project is already completed, as is also the Pathfinder Dam and storage works. The building of the Fort Lara- mie Unit, on the south side of the river, was author- ized during the summer of 1915, and active opera- tions are now under way on the construction of the main canal and the surveys of its distributing sys- tem. No land wiU be available for homestead entry under this unit until water is available therefor. The North Platte Eiver carries the run-off from a large and mountainous territory. Its catchment basin contains the mountains of North Park in Colo- rado and the Ferris, Green, Seminole, Laramie and inferior ranges in mountainous Wyoming. Through its tributary, the Sweetwater Eiver, it also carries the run-off from a considerable portion of the Con- tinental Divide. Eising in the mountains of north- em Colorado, the river flows in a northerly direction into Wyoming, where after traversing half the State, it turns to the southeast and continues in a southeasterly direction to its junction with the South Platte in central Nebraska. These geo- graphical features determine largely the principal characteristics of the stream. During the spring and early summer the melting snows of the moun- EOMANCE LAND OF PATHFINDEE 205 tains swell its volume to large proportions, while in the late summer the long continued droughts shrink its volume to that of a small stream distributed over a wide stretch of shifting sands. On account of this irregularity of flow of the North Platte Biver it was found necessary to provide means for the storage of the flood waters of the spring and early summer, in order that they might be delivered to the thirsty lands under the various canals evenly throughout the season. To meet this necessity the Pathfinder Eeservoir was built. This reservoir receives the drainage from about 12,000 square miles, and the river has an average run-off of 1,400,000 acre-feet, at Pathfinder Dam. The area of the reservoir at the level of the spillway is 22,600 acres and the capacity is 1,100,000 acre-feet. The dam is one of the largest masonry dams in the world, rising 218 feet above the rock founda- tion. It is 432 feet long and 10 feet wide on the top and is 80 feet long and 90 feet wide on the bottom. It is located about 3 miles below the junc- tion of the North Platte and Sweetwater rivers, where the canyon is about 90 feet wide at the bottom and 200 feet wide at the top, the sides for the upper 75 feet being nearly vertical. The depth from the top of the canyon to bedrock in the foundation is about 200 feet. To divert the flow of the river during the con- struction of the dam, and to serve as an outlet for the reservoir, after its completion, a tunnel was driven through the northerly abutment of the dam, and was provided with gates of large capacity to regulate the outflow. On the north side of the river 206 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST a spillway 600 feet long was cut in solid rock adja- cent to the dam to allow the discharge of surplus water after the reservoir is filled. Near the south end of the dam an earthen dike was built to close a gap in the wall of the reservoir, which was lower than the spillway. This is needed because of the fact that a few hundred feet south of the Pathfinder Dam occurs a low saddle in the margin of the reser- voir about 30 feet below the level of the spillway. Naturally this must be filled to retain water to the full height of the rest of the dam. An earthen dike, 1600 feet long and 40 feet in maximum height, with a core wall of reinforced concrete, was built, with the water slope paved with rock to resist wave action. The water stored in the Pathfinder reservoir is diverted by a concrete dam, near Whalen, Wyoming, about 150 miles from the Pathfinder. The canal into which it flows is known as the Interstate Canal, as it supplies land both in Wyoming and Nebraska. Pro- vision is also made at this dam for the later con- struction of a canal on the south side to be called the Fort Laramie Canal. The Whalen Dam is a con- crete, overflow, ogee weir, founded on rock. Pro- vision is made for taking water from both ends of the dam, and two sluice-gates are provided at each end for clearing the entrance to the canals. The headgates of the Interstate Canal are placed at right angles to the dam, and are of cast iron, 9 in number, working in a structure of concrete. In order to provide additional water-storage near at hand to the lands to be irrigated, and at the same time lessen the risk of water shortage were a break to occur in the main canal — a liability which in- EOMANCE LAND OF PATHFINDEE 207 creases with its length — ^two reservoirs, Lakes Alice and Minitare, have been formed, the former nearly 100 miles from the head of the canal, and the latter 12 miles still further east. Lake Alice has a ca- pacity of 11,400 acre-feet, and Lake Minitare of 67,000 acre-feet, and these two reservoirs are used to supply a large area that, were they to depend upon the main canal, would he liable to shortage during the period of greatest irrigation need. Lake Alice Dam is an earthen structure about 30 feet in maximum height, and 3,100 feet long. It has a top width of 20 feet, the water slope is 3 to 1, and the down-stream slope 2% to 1. The outlet consists of a reinforced concrete cul- vert containing three conduits 4 feet high, and 3 feet wide. There are three gates of cast iron controlled by hand power, and a groove for flashboards to per- mit shutting off the water in case repairs to the gates become necessary. The Minitare Dam is an earthen embankment with a down-stream toe of gravel. Its maximum height is about 65 feet above the valley, and its length is about 3,700 feet. A short distance above the centre line it has a cut-off trench and a core-wall of rein- forced concrete reaching deep below the surface, varying from 6 to 34 feet. Its top width is 20 feet. The water slope is paved with concrete blocks 8 inches thick, 10 feet wide, and 20 feet long, under- laid with 12 inches of unscreened gravel. The North Platte Project has an average altitude of 4,100 feet above sea-level, and its soil varies from sand to sandy loam. It is rather rolling, being in places quite rough and difficult to irrigate. This is 208 EECLAIMINQ THE ARID WEST indicated by the fact that 6,445 canal structures are provided for the irrigation of 129,684 acres of land on 806 miles of canals. Seepage from the canals and excessive irrigation by ignorant or careless farmers have caused the rise of ground-water in some localities, but this has been counteracted as far as possible by drainage, 13 miles of open and 9 miles of closed drains having been constructed. In 1915 there were 1,050 farms re- ceiving water, covering 73,881 acres, though the pro- ject was prepared to supply over 129,000 acres, 83,000 acres of which are in public, 29,000 acres in private ownership and 17,000 acres under the Carey Act project of the North Platte Canal and Coloniza- tion Company, in Wyoming. These lands are mesa or table lands lying from 50 to 200 feet above the river. Between this table land and the river there is bottom land about one mile in width which has been irrigated for a number of years, the principal crops being alfalfa and native hay, sugar beets and small grains. The lands under this project are practically all prairie sod and therefore need no clearing. For the most part the surface is so even that it may be suc- cessfully irrigated without levelling or preparation other than such tilling of the soil as is necessary to plant crops. There are numerous pieces of ground, however, on which irrigation can be greatly facili- tated by proper preparation or where the levelling of the ground is a necessity. Farmers who are unac- quainted with the necessities of irrigation and the methods pertaining thereto, will do well to inspect carefully the land they propose to buy and ask the ROMANCE LAND OF PATHFINDEE 209 advice and opinion of the successful irrigators in regard to the work of preparation required for such lands as they propose to purchase. Of course ex- perienced irrigators who understand the necessary preparation of the ground do not need this advice. As a fair estimate it may be stated that in but rare cases the cost of preparing land for irrigation would amount to more than $15 per acre, and at least 80 per cent, of the land of this project needs no irriga- tion preparation whatever, other than the ploughing of the necessary distributing laterals. One of the most attractive features of this much- favoured valley is its sunny, invigourating and health-giving climate. The summers are always comfortable and the winters relatively mild, with little rain or snow. Extremes of heat and cold are seldom known. The heat during the day in summer is tempered by breezes and the extreme dryness of the atmosphere, and the nights are always cool and comfortable. The maximum temperature in summer reaches 104° and the lowest recorded temperature in winter is 30° below zero. It is seldom that the thermometer reaches zero every night for ten con- secutive nights, the cold periods generally lasting about three days. The annual precipitation varies from 10 to 24 inches, with a general average of 15 inches. Contrary to expectations of the newcomer, there is little snow in winter. So rare, in fact, is snow- fall, and it disappears so rapidly, that a sleigh or sled is rarely seen. On the other hand, we find that the greatest rainfall is in the months of April, May, June and July, the period when moisture is most 210 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST needed for the growing crops ; while for September, October and November, the months of harvest, the rainfall is the minimum, thus insuring the saving of crops without damage from rain. The number of days in the year in which rain falls averages about 50; clear days, 250; partly cloudy, 95; and cloudy, 20. Storms occur at intervals between November 1st and April 1st. Experience has shown, however, that severe storms do not occur every winter. By reference to the climate and crop-service reports of the weather bureau, we find that the last frost usually occurs the early part of May and the first about the middle of September. This record refers to a mini- mum temperature of 32° and does not always mean that these were killing frosts. The native in the valley believes that no damage will come to his most tender crops after May 12th, nor before September 20 th. Taken as a whole, the climate is superior ; the large number of days when the sun shines, the dry atmosphere and the certainty of beautiful weather, render the valley a desirable residence portion of the United States. While the temperatures appear to be low in winter, the extreme dryness of the at- mosphere makes it less severe on man and beast than an equal temperature in the humid region. The soil is a sandy loam of excellent quality, free from alkali and, other injurious substances. It is easily worked and particularly well adapted to the raising of first-class potatoes and sugar beets. The native vegetation consists of buffalo grass, grama grass, what is locally known as wheat grass, other- wise bluestem, and blackroot. All of these afford excellent range where not over- Whalen Diversion Dam and Headworks North Platte Project, Nebraska-Wyoming Spring Canyon Plume North Platte Project, Nebraska-Wyoming EOMANCE LAND OF PATHFINDER 211 grazed. Wheat grass in part cular, which soon ap- pears wherever the ground is irrigated, makes good hay and brings on the market at Omaha, Kansas City and Denver, a higher price than timothy. The cactus, or prickly pear, is much in evidence, indicat- ing the richness of the soil. The plant is entirely destroyed by the first ploughing and wherever it grows the land is considered desirable. The culti- vation is easy, as there is no heavy adobe soil to contend with. The soU is readily subdued, and like the soils of the entire plains region, it is fertile, con- taining a large amount of mineral plant food. On the benches, which are quite smooth and gently slope to the south and east, the sandy loam extends to a considerable depth, except at the points where the hills project out into the valley. The prevailing winds are from the west. In this respect, as also in temperature, the climate is similar to that of Colorado. There is a period of blustery and disagreeable spring weather in evidence during the months of March and April, extending some- times into May, during which period most of the wind movement occurs. From June 1st to the end of the year, the winds are moderate and pleasant, tempering the heat of the warmest days in summer. The principal crops of the project are alfalfa, grains, potatoes and sugar beets. While fruit is not grown to any great extent for shipment, many far- mers produce an abundant supply for their own use and the local market. Much of the alfalfa grown is fed to cattle and sheep from the stock range on both sides of the valley, and from Wyoming and Montana. Some 212 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST farmers buy stock in the fall, fatten them during the winter and market them in the spring, while others sell their alfalfa in the stack to stock men to be fed on the premises. Several thousand tons are also shipped, baled, every year to Missouri River points. Alfalfa meal mills at Mitchell and Gering also take 500 tons or over a month. Truck farming, ere long, doubtless will become one of the most profitable of occupationsin the North Platte Valley. Beans, peas, tomatoes, squash and pumpkins thrive abundantly, and they are of the fine flavour and quality that satisfy the most exacting demands of the canners. There are several small canneries indicated in the no distant future. There are also a few farmers who are already making a specialty of growing cabbage, watermelons, cante- loupes and onions. Bees also thrive well and make an abundance of pure, white, deliciously flavoured honey, combining the product from the wild plants and the alfalfa and clover. Cattle raising on the open range is now almost a thing of the past here, but the country is rapidly be- coming one of the great dairying regions of the West. There is a growing demand for every pound of butter-fat that can be produced, and at a good price. While the open range has gone, many farmers are making a profitable business of breeding fine cattle and sheep for market, and thoroughbred dairy stock. There is also a great demand for horses and mules, which some farmers are supplying to a greater or lesser extent. EOMANCE LAND OF PATHFINDER 213 Hogs do well, in the neighbourliood of 300 carloads having been shipped the past year. While flies and mosquitoes are frequent in certain seasons of the year, other pests are unknown, and as people understand better the scientific control of flies and mosquitoes they will speedily disappear. The principal markets for all the products which may be raised in the North Platte Valley are Den- ver, Wyoming, Nebraska and Missouri River points. Dairy products, eggs, poultry and garden truck all bring high prices and there is a constant and grow- ing demand for these farm products. The great markets of the Middle West — Omaha, Kansas City, Chicago and other large cities — ^take all surplus products, sending in return machinery, household supplies and other manufactured articles not yet produced in the valley. Thus, in a few years, the marvellous change has taken place. There is no longer any expansive, de- serted, uncultivated valley of the Platte. The great and expansive plain from which the old deserted highway is fast disappearing, leaving only thrilling memories of "The Pathfinder," the "For- ty-niner," the dashing soldier of fortune and the patient pioneer, is rapidly becoming the home of the prosperous small farmer and is undergoing a trans- formation never dreamed of twenty years ago. The days of the cattle baron in this valley are past and he is being driven farther and farther into the hills each year by the rapid approach of the incom- ing settlers. The great range is being divided into small farms of 40, 80 and 160 acres. Where, but a short time ago, the coyote and prairie dog were the 214 RECLAIMING THE ARID WEST only inhabitants, irrigation has built up large com- munities; large fields of alfalfa, sugar beets and other crops are taking the place of the native grass. Although still in its infancy, this valley is keeping step with the development of community life in other parts of the country, taking great pride in its schools, churches, and other social and intellectual organiza- tions. The principal towns embraced in the North Platte Project are on the north side : Guernsey, Lingle and Torrington in Wyoming, and Henry, Morrill, Mitchell, Scotts Bluff, Minitare, Bayard and Bridge- port, in Nebraska. Guernsey is located 8 miles above the headworks of the Interstate and Fort Laramie Canal, and although not in the irrigated section is a thriving town of about 400 people.. Torrington is the county seat of Goshen County and has a population of about 700. Henry, a town of about 100 people, on the State line, attracts many visitors in the summer on account of the good fishing nearby. Morrill is a thriving town of about 500 people, and is the railroad point for Dutch Flats. Mitchell is a prosperous town with 1,000 inhabi- tants, containing the headquarters of the Reclama- tion Service for the North Platte Project. Scotts Bluff is the largest town in the North Platte Valley, with a population of 3,500. The second largest sugar factory in the West is located here. Minitare and Bayard are thriving towns lying within the irrigated district with populations respectively of about 500 and 400. Bridgeport, the junction of the Bridgeport-Guernsey line with the Denver-Alliance branch of the Burlington Railroad, is the county seat EOMANCE LAND OF PATHFINDER 215 of Morrill County. It has a population of about 700. The towns named are from 8 to 15 miles apart ; the distance between Bridgeport and Guernsey is 98 miles. On the south side of the river, the Union Pacific is building a line from North Platte, Nebraska, west- ward through the valley, its terminus on January 1, 1916, being about 10 miles west of Gering. This is the oldest town in the valley, having now a popula- tion of about 1,000 inhabitants, and is the county seat of Scotts Bluff County. With the advance of the North Platte branch of the Union Pacific Eailroad, the new towns of Haig, Melbeta and McGrew are starting on the south side of the river, none of which has a population exceeding 100 inhabitants. With the development of the public and private irrigation systems in the valley, these towns have grown steadily, substantial buildings have been erected and light, water and sewer systems have been built in nearly all the larger towns. An abundant supply of well water of excellent quality may be obtained at nearly all points on the North Platte Project at depths of from 20 to 200 feet and usually within 100 feet. On account of the depth there is little danger of contamination. Most wells will supply sufficient water for all the stock the farm will support. Reference has been made to a contemplated canal — the Fort Laramie — ^which is to flow from the Whalen Dam on the south side of the river. Con- struction already has begun on this. It will have about 25 miles of heavy construction, including three tunnels aggregating 8,550 feet in length. It 216 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST will cross the Goshen Park and irrigate about 55,000 acres in Wyoming, mostly State and public land, and about 45,000 acres in Nebraska, mostly private land. Later it can be extended to cover more land in Nebraska should the water supply prove sufficient. This canal system is already known as the Fort Laramie Unit and will be ready to supply water in 1918. The size of farm units on this project for public lands is 80 acres, and the construction charge is $55 per acre, payable in 20 years without interest. The Pathfinder Unit is already completed, and the Interstate Unit almost so, while work on the Fort Laramie Unit is now fairly well under way. The present Project Manager is Andrew Weiss, with offices at Mitchell, Nebraska. CHAPTER XIX THE TETJCKEE-CABSON PROJECT One of the beauty spots of the world is Lake Tahoe — the Lake of the Sky, located on the eastern edge of the High Sierras, partially in California and par- tially in Nevada, surrounded by snow-crowned peaks that companion the stars and set forth the pure blue of one of the bluest skies ever seen by man. This jewel of a lake — though the word jewel may suggest that it is small, in reality it is with but one ex- ception the largest lake at its altitude — 6,225 feet — in the world — is so pure blue, and its waters so clear that Mark Twain said of it: "So singularly clear was the water, that where it was only twenty or thirty feet deep the bottom was so perfectly distinct that the boat seemed floating in the airl Yes, where it was even eighty feet deep. Every little pebble was distinct, every speckled trout, every hand's-breadth of sand. . . . Down through the transparency of these great depths, the water was not merely trans- parent, but dazzlingly, brilliantly so." This lake has fully a hundred sources in the springs that bubble up on the mountain sides, and streams that come dashing down, yet, strange to say, it has but one outlet — ^the Truckee River. Following a winding and meandering course on the California side of the Lake, it soon flows north, then twists around to the east, cutting its way through the an- 217 218 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST cient lava flows of the Sierras, and then aims for one of the "sinks" of the Nevada sage-brush plains, "where it forms another lake, named by Fremont, Pyramid Lake, from the peculiar pyramid-like rock that stands within its waters. Another river, originating in the snow-fields of the eastern slopes of the Sierras, is the Carson, named by Fremont after his able scout and lieutenant, the Indian-fighter, Kit Carson. For centuries these two rivers have flowed on in their respective channels, of little use to man, except the few Paiuti and Washoe Indians that occasionally camped by and fished in them. During later his- toric times the Carson has had two outlets, one emp- tying into Carson Lake, the other into a great flat dried-out lake bed, or playa, commonly spoken of as the Carson Sink. This latter-named end of the Car- son River has always appeared pathetically useless to me. Beginning in the snowy fountains in the sweetest purity, and evidently with the finest prom- ise, the river flowed its course and then emptied its water out upon the desert area, known as the Carson Sink, where it was evaporated by the sun. The Truckee River made a beautiful lake, but the Carson succeeded in making only a mud puddle, where a few lost ducks now and again wandered, and where some unfortunate traveller cursed his luck at having to pass over such a barren, desolate, and — ^to him it seemed — God-forsaken spot. The geologists, however, tell us that this Carson Sink was once a part of a great interior lake, which extended almost entirely across Nevada, and which they named Lake Lahontan, after the French ex- THE TEUCKEE-CAESON PEOJECT 219 plorer. When tlie gold hunters crossed the plains in 1849 and came by the central route, one of their dreads was this Carson Sink. In the summer months it became so baked and hardened as scarcely to receive an impression from a horse's hoof, and so sun-cracked as to resemble tessellated pavements of cream-coloured marble. But when the rains fell and the snow of the mountains began to melt rapidly, the water would spread out over it sometimes form- ing a lake in a single night, only to evaporate in the sun of the next succeeding two or three days. IWhen the weather was unsettled one traveller would pass over the playa — as this evaporated lake bed was called — and he would complain of its dryness and the intense heat which beat up into his face with distressing force from the bare surface, while an- other traveller, coming, perhaps, a week later, would curse the intelligence of men who knew so little as to make a road through the bed of a muddy lake. But here, as elsewhere, man did not judge the lar- ger plan of the forces that control our mundane sphere. The river was constantly bringing down valuable soil deposits from the mountain slopes, and here was being prepared a valley which, when its appointed time arrived, could become one of the fertile garden spots of the world. The passing of the Irrigation Act was that appointed time. As Senator Newlands, of Nevada, was the statesman to whom the American commonwealth is indebted for the formulation of the plans that ultimated in the organization of the United States Eeclamation Ser- vice, it was nothing but fair (although it was also a pleasing piece of poetic justice) that his state should 220 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST be one of the earKest beneficiaries of its helpful op- erations. Here, then, were the conditions : on the one hand, a large area of desert waste, but rich land, utterly useless to the world, and, at times, a curse to the weary traveller; and, on the other, two rivers ex- travagantly and wastefuUy pouring out their water, which might have been life-giving, to be lost in the heart of the desert. To bring them together, and then scientifically apply the water to the land, was the test set before the engineers of the Reclamation Service. Hence the name given to the work, combin- ing the names of both the rivers, the Truckee-Carson Project. While the major part of the Carson Sink is of the character described, some portions of it are sandy, and the outskirts of the playa are covered with greasewood and sagebrush and other desert vegeta- tion. To irrigate this, and other feasible lands, a steady supply of water must be assured, and, as there were many private locators on and near the Truckee River in the vicinity of Reno, and also on the Carson River, their interests must be conserved as well as those of the later settlers who might come and locate upon the Government's vacant and arid lands. Lake Tahoe was thereupon decided to be an ideal storage reservoir. With its area of 193 square miles, a slight rise or fall would mean thousands of acre-feet of water more, or less, for the users in the far-away valleys. Yet it must be remembered that Lake Tahoe is one of the noted scenic resorts of America. Thousands of visitors flock to it annually THE TEUCKEE-CAESON PEOJECT 221 from California and Nevada and the rest of the world, and there are in the neighbourhood of twenty to thirty hotels, taverns, resorts, and camps perma- nently located on its shores, together with scores of summer-homes, representing the investment of many millions of dollars. To play fast and loose, there- fore, with the water-supply of Lake Tahoe would be impossible. Too great a rise in the water-content of the lake would jeopardize the interests of those residing there, and too great a fall would destroy — in some measure — its scenic beauty and therefore its desirable quality to the summer resident, camper, and tourist. Eecognizing these facts the Eeclamation Service made a thorough study of the situation, discovered the reasonable fluctuations between normal high, and normal low, water, and then agreed to observe a mean — provided Nature concurred — above which no water should be stored, and below which the water should not be allowed to fall. Another important fact could not be overlooked. That was that certain power-plants relied upon the steady and continuous flow of the Truckee Eiver to operate, and as Fall and Winter constitute the low- water season, the draft on the storage in Lake Tahoe is greatest at that time, and not being then needed for the irrigation of the desert lands, would be en- tirely lost for such a purpose, unless it could be stored elsewhere. The area that it was designed to irrigate — some 200,000 acres — ^was mainly in the basin of the Carson Eiver, yet the surplus of water was found to be in the Truckee Eiver. There was no natural reservoir 222 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST provided for the storage of the water of the Carson Eiver, so one must be built, and some means must also be devised of conveying the surplus water of the Truckee so that it could be united with that of the Carson and thus stored untU it was needed. To do this the Lahontan Reservoir was erected on the Car- son River, where the drainage area is in the proxim- ity of 1,000 square miles. This has a capacity of 290,000 acre-feet and covers an area of 12,000 acres. The storable run-off often falls below 100,000 acre- feet in a year, and at such times this reservoir and the lands it irrigates must depend upon the Truckee River and its headwaters in Lake Tahoe. Lahontan Dam is one of the most unique and in- teresting structures built by the Reclamation Serv- ice. It is an earthen dam, and yet was built in a river channel with a recorded flood of 20,000 cubic feet per second, and a possible flood of twice that amount. The site is at a point where the Carson cuts through a gorge about eight miles south of Hazen, Nevada, on the main-line of the Ogden route of the Southern Pacific Railway. The right bank rises abruptly about 125 feet, as a bluff of broken and seamy rock, inclined in all directions, and badly faulted. The left bank rises rather abruptly for fifty feet, where a gently sloping bench occurs, 350 feet wide, above which another steep rise of 75 feet occurs. Both sides slope gently from the bluffs to the foothills, which are about a mile from the river on the north, and two mUes on the south. Borings made by the engineers showed the foundation to be similar to the abutments and also revealed movement of underground waters and some artesian flow. THE TEUCKEE-CAESON PEOJECT 223 To provide a solid dam of earth under the above described conditions, capable of withstanding the pressure of the continued storage, and of the fierce floods of springtime, that would also prevent un- reasonable seepage, required many days of serious thought, of testing and experimentation. But in due time the work was done. The dam has a top width of twenty feet, a water slope of three to one protected by twelve inches of gravel and two feet of hand-placed rock. The down-stream slope is two to one, and is covered by fifteen inches of dumped rock from a nearby quarry. Its maximum height is 124 feet, maximum base thickness 660 feet, and it has a crest length of 900 feet, or 1,400 feet, including the spillways. These are 250 feet long — one at each end of the dam. They converge by means of guide walls, and descend on concrete steps to a central pool in the river-bed below the dam. As an illustration of inventive genius applied to problems as they arise these spUlways are interest- ing. Had they discharged into the bed of the river, washing and cutting back would have been inevitable, to the great detriment of the dam. But by making twin spillways, one on each side of the dam, the over- flows are perfectly adjusted as to bulk and force, and the streams impinge on each other above the pool, thus destroying each the energy of the other and whirling about harmlessly in the pool from which the water flows gently down the river. The highest flood in a record of twelve years is about 20,000 cubic feet per second. This quantity of water would flow over the weir at a depth of five and a half feet. The top of the embankment is twelve 224 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST feet above the crest of the weir, and the area of the reservoir of 12,000 acres would have a large regulat- ing effect on any flood, so that the engineers believe that one might occur of three times the above re- corded power without damage to the main portion of the dam. To convey water from the Truckee Eiver to this dam, it was essential to construct a diversion dam in the Truckee Eiver, and then build thirty-one miles of canal. As the water from this canal was required to irrigate certain bench lands, near Fern- ley, on the Truckee Eiver, and also for the delivery of 200 second-feet of water to a fertile area in the vicinity of Pyramid Lake, and further, it was needed to generate power at Lahontan for the construction of the great dam, this portion of the work was done first. Construction was begun in 1903. The dam was located about ten miles above Wadsworth, on the Ogden route of the Southern Pacific Railway. At this point the river crowds the mountainside on its right bank, and leaves a small, gradually sloping valley on the left. The diversion is made by a long, earthen dike across the valley, and a concrete struc- ture in the river-bed, consisting of a series of six- teen gates of 5-foot horizontal opening, with 5-foot piers between, making the distance between abut- ments 155 feet. This is the structure that may be seen by east-bound passengers travelling on the Southern Pacific soon after crossing the California line into Nevada. The headgates of the canal are eight in number, and placed at right angles to those of the river, the THE TEUCKEE-CAESON PEOJECT 225 two sets of gates and their foundations forming one structure and using one abutment in common. After this dam was placed in operation, a great flood occurred in 1907, far beyond previous records, which carried a large amount of drift-wood. As a result of this experience, it was deemed advisable to remove the top of one pier in order to provide automatic passage for drift. To prevent the entry of water beneath the gates a curtain-wall of concrete was carried three feet be- low the foundation on the river-side of the head- gate structure. For over ten miles the canal is in a canyon, with steep side-hill construction, largely in rock, so that for economy in building it was made narrow and deep, the water depth for full canal being twelve feet. There are three tunnels, respectively 901, 309, and 1,515 feet long. These are twelve feet wide and have a water-depth of thirteen feet. Canal and tun- nels are both lined with concrete. At a point in the canyon, about four and a half miles below the heading, a waste-way is provided by means of which the canal may be emptied quickly in case of a threatened break or any emergency requir- ing such action. On its arrival at Lahontan the carrying capacity of the canal has been reduced to about 800 cubic-feet per second, and discharges at about 125 feet above the river-bed. Advantage was taken of this fact to locate a power-plant by dropping a portion of the water through turbines below the dam-site. These turbines are 24-inches of 830 horse-power each, oper- 226 KECLAIMING THE ARID WEST ating under 110-foot head, and the current is gener- ated at a pressure of 2,300 volts. It was used for operating the drag-scrapers, loading sand and gravel, etc., during the construction of the dam, and is now increased in size and power and the electricity leased to the cities of FaUon, Hazen, Eochester, Lovelocks, and Battle Mountain. Fallon, sixteen miles away, is thus supplied with ample electric cur- rent for all purposes. This is available for manu- facturing, and already the city is well lighted and watered through the use of this electric power. The city water-supply pumps are motor-driven from this source. The electric current is also used to operate the mills at the famous Eochester mines, as well as for pumps for irrigation, and power-plants for indus- tries within reach of its transmission line, which is more than one hundred and fifty miles in length. To divert the water of the Carson Eiver a dam was built about five miles below the Lahontan Dam closely resembling that on the Truckee. It is 225 feet long between abutments, and has 23 openings of five feet each, closed by cast-iron gates of designs similar to those on the Truckee. Two canals head here, the larger being on the right bank, and having a capacity of 1,500 second-feet. Nearly six miles below the headgates the main canal has a drop of twenty-six feet in its water surface, in passing from the bench to the bottom-lands. The excess fall was concentrated at this point so that eventually it may be utilized for power purposes, and the structure provided was designed with such use in view. THE TRUCKEE-CAESON PROJECT 227 Up to January 1, 1915, the costs of construction, on this project were nearly six millions of dollars. This included 104 miles of main canals, 420 miles of laterals, 178 miles of surface drains, 4 miles of tile drains, and many concrete and wooden structures, as well as the hydro-electric plant before referred to. It should also have been stated that concrete headworks were erected at Lake Tahoe to regulate the outflow of water into the Truckee River. In 1913 about 43,000 acres on the project were un- der irrigation. About half of these were home- steads, the others being in private ownership. Ad- ditional public- and privately-owned lands will be opened as settlement demands, until the whole 206,- 000 acres will be under irrigation and cultivation. As there are several very different kinds of location on the project, the soils have a great range in variety. A fine sandy soil resembling volcanic ash is the char- acteristic of the Fernley district. In the "Island" and "Stillwater" districts where the land is very smooth and level the soil is of a sandy loam, merg- ing into heavy clay formation with certain areas of a peaty nature, while in the "Fallon" and surround- ing districts the soil varies all the way from light sand to heavy adobe ground. Practically all of these soils yield abundantly when properly prepared and there does not appear to be much choice so far as productiveness is concerned, although there is quite a difference in the mode of preparing, cultivating and irrigating for the best results. There is an experimental farm maintained by the Department of Agriculture, where much instructive information is to be obtained regarding the charac- 228 EECLAIMING THE AKID WEST ter of crops and methods of cultivation which are best adapted to this locality. Settlers may also ob- tain here limited numbers of trees and shrubs which are adapted to the locality. The work required for levelling and preparing for irrigation varies greatly in the different sections; the cost in some iastances being only that of remov- ing the brush and furrowing, while in the sand-dune country the expense of grading to a satisfactory sur- face may run as high as $50, or even more, per acre. There are many expert land levellers on the project who contract for outside work in addition to their own. There are fine bench lands already under cultiva- tion at the present time at Hazen and Femley. The latter is one of the new towns that has sprung up since the project began, and is on the main line of the Southern Pacific, about 35 miles east of Eeno. These benches slope towards the north to the foot- hills of the Sierra Nevada range. While these lands are part of the Truckee-Carson project, geographi- cally they form a unit in themselves. The soil is of a different character from that in the neighbourhood of FaUon, beiug of a gravelly sandy-loam, in some parts rather rocky, and, evi- dently, at one time, near the shore-line of the ancient Lake Lahontan. Its gradual slope to the north, with a fall approxi- mating 100 feet to the mile, necessitates a furrow system of irrigation, but with this fall, any surplus of alkali is quickly washed out. Seepage from the canal along these uplands is practically unknown, The City of Fallon on what was once the Carson Desert Truckee-Carson Project, Nevada A Part op the Nevada Desert before Reclamation Truckee-Carson Project, Nevada THE TRUCKEB-CAESON PROJECT 229 and the question of high water-table is entirely ab- sent over most of this section. Up to the end of 1914, the district has been en- tirely devoted to alfalfa, but in 1915 the older and more settled ranches began to grow with great suc- cess and profit, potatoes, sugar-beets, onions, etc. Five tons to the acre per season of alfalfa is no un- usual yield and three first-class cuttings are har- vested. Some wonderful truck gardens have been developed, and small fruits do well. The success of fruit trees is rather uncertain, and no orchards have been planted on a large scale. This location is ideal for dairy farms and the feeding of cattle. There are additional bench lands to be developed in the future between Lahontan and Hazen, across the Carson River and south-east of the Lahontan Dam, and an excellent tract in the vicinity of Pyra- mid Lake. The general description given of the Fernley bench lands equally applies to these other sections, hence as soon as they are opened to the public they wUl doubtless be eagerly taken up. The general elevation of the project lands is 4,000 feet above sea level. Temperature ranges from 0° to 100° Fahr. Precipitation averages four inches annually. Snow rarely falls and usually does not lie on the ground more than a day or two. The air is extremely dry. Humidity is seldom felt and the cli- mate generally is temperate and delightful. Due to the altitude, late and early frosts are to be expected, but these ordinarily do not interfere with the great variety of crops which are successfully grown. The single drawback to the climate is the occasional wind 230 EECLAIMINa THE AEID WEST and dust storm, the worst of wliicli are disagreeable but never destructive. The ruling farm unit is the 80-acre subdivision containing usually not less than 40 irrigable acres. It is possible for lands in private ownership to ac- quire water rights up to 160 acres, but with further extensions of the project and improved methods of cultivation the tendency will be toward the adoption of the 40-acre farm unit which is found to be ample when intensively cultivated for the support of a f am- iiy. Owing to the great variety of soils an equal va- riety of products can be successfully and profitably grown upon them. While alfalfa is still the stable crop, it is being supplemented by many others. It yields on good soil from five to seven tons of hay per acre. Wheat yields 35 bushels, barley 50 bushels, and oats 75 bushels per acre. Com has not been grown except in an experimental way, but prom- ises to become an important crop ; it will yield from 30 to 60 bushels per acre. Kaffir corn, milo maize, millet and many other forage crops of this kind have been tried, and promise to become useful to the farm- ers. Every kind of garden vegetable has proven suc- cessful. Melons of excellent quality have been raised, and bring high prices in the mining camps close by, while aU kinds of green stuff which can stand one or two days' shipment to the mines, have been a most important source of revenue. It is claimed that apples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots and cherries all do well, but one should be sure of his ground, and the climatic conditions, be- fore planting these fruits too extensively. THE TRUCKEE-CAESON PROJECT 231 The Carson Sink Valley is perhaps one of the best potaJ;o-growing regions in the West. It is produc- ing potatoes of the best quality, and where they have been handled intelligently the yields have been as great as they generally are in the Greeley country of Colorado, or in California. The mining-camps of Nevada pay high prices for potatoes, and outside districts cannot compete in shipping to these mines. Furthermore, the Nevada potatoes on the San Fran- cisco market sell at a premium, for California people appreciate good potatoes, and realize that Nevada can produce them better than can their own farms. Sugar beets have been experimented with and have proven first-class in every particular. They carry the highest per cent, of sugar and purity of any lo- cality in the United States, and the yield is enormous. As a result of careful experiments a factory of 500 tons' capacity, and costing $600,000 has been erected and is now in active operation. Onions also are grown on a large scale. The yield is far more than the average, the demand greater than the supply, and the prices large. While cattle and sheep in large numbers are raised here, and many more are brought in from the open ranges to be fattened, hog-raising seems to promise large returns. Fine hogs do remarkably well, and seem free from the diseases that hamper breeders elsewhere. George Wingfleld, the Nevada million- aire, has established a large creamery at Fallon, and has adopted a fine plan for securing the best of cream for his butter. He purchased several carloads of thoroughbred dairy cows which he sold to the farm- ers, agreeing to take his pay either at so much per 232 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST month, or by holding back one-half of the monthly pay-check for the cream sent in by the rancher. The result is one can ride over the farms of this project and see some of the best dairy stock in the West. The poultry industry here is very profitable, the mild dry climate being especially favourable for raising turkeys, which command premium prices on San Francisco markets. Although the engineering work is not yet entirely completed, some three millions more having been set aside for this purpose, the development that has so far occurred is remarkable and wonderful. Fifteen years ago there was no such town as Fal- lon, Now it is the principal city not only on the project but in the county, — indeed it is the County Seat, has a population of between 1,500 and 2,000, and it is a thoroughly progressive and up-to-date western city. It owns its electric-lighting and power-, water,- and sewer-system, and is the headquarters for the only county in the United States — so I am informed — ^that owns and operates its telephone sys- tem. Many of its homes and business houses are built of stone and concrete, and it is a thriving, self- respecting, and progressive community. The schools, — ^graded and high school, — are well supported, and the district schools are sufficient for local needs. Union district schools are now being promoted. It also has two good weekly newspapers. All the principal churches and fraternal orders are represented. A theatre, skating-rink, dancing-pa- vilion, and such social accessories are also well pat- ronized. Fernley is also growing into importance. It is THE TRUCKEE-CAESON PROJECT 233 the tuming-off point for the Fernley Branch of the Southern Pacific. The present Project-Manager is Mr. John T. ^Whistler, with office at Fallon, Nevada. CHAPTER XX IN THE LAND OP THE DELIGHT-MAKEES. THE CARLSBAD PKOJECT, NEW MEXICO The Pueblo Indians of New Mexico have been irri- gationists for thousands of years. On the upper Eio Grande, and at Laguna, Acoma, Zuni and their de- pendant villages they have been accustomed from time immemorial to construct their rude and simple diversion dams, convey the water to their fields and irrigate corn, and other seed crops, and, after the advent of the Spaniards, peas, beans, chili, squash and a few fruits. Hence it is appropriate that this land should have appealed to the Mexican and White Settler and led them into the same method of soil and crop cultivation. As we have seen in other chapters the Mexican utilized what lands he could ir- rigate easily on the lower Eio Grande, and other streams, but neither he nor the Indian before him grasped the significance and importance of the stor- age of the destructive and wasteful spring floods. When the white man appeared this was what he sought to do, and the era of modern irrigation was at least fore-shadowed, if not actually ushered in. One of the rivers of New Mexico that speedily ap- pealed to the vision of the irrigation farmer — for without irrigation farming in New Mexico is prac- tically impossible, as it is a genuinely arid or semi- arid land — ^was the Pecos. It rises about 40 miles north-west of Las Vegas in the wooded and moun- 234 LAND OF THE DELIGHT-MAKEES 235 tainous area included in the Pecos Forest Eeserve, and flows in a general south-easterly course through the counties of Mora, San Miguel, Leonard Wood, Chaves and Eddy into Texas and thence to the Eio Grande. It drains a region above the Carlsbad Proj- ect of 22,000 square miles. Like all the streams of this region, it is almost dry at times, and at others is subject to violent floods. In 1915 one flood was estimated to flow at 80,000 cubic feet per second. These floods are heavUy laden with sediment, and this is a serious problem to deal with, as naturally it has a tendency to fiU any reservoir that may be pro- vided. The annual run-off in acre-feet from 1899 to 1915 was maximum, 912,000; minimum 148,000; mean, 319,000. The average rainfall on the irriga- ble area, which has an elevation of 3,100 feet is 14.9 inches. In the year 1915 rain to the depth of 18.63 inches fell. The temperature ranges from -5° to 110° Fahr., and the length of the irrigating season is from March to November, and two weeks in winter, 260 days. Where the Pecos River crosses Eddy County it flows through a valley from six to twenty miles wide, the soil of which is a sandy loam with considerable lime peculiar to this region, and which bears the name of the river. The success of the Indians and Mexicans in growing a variety of crops led to en- thusiastic and eager settlement of this valley and the appropriation of all available water for irrigation. To overcome the difficulties and water shortages that arose, owing to the erratic flow of the river, the Pecos Irrigation Company was formed in 1890. It constructed two dams which created two large res- 236 BECLAIMING THE AEID WEST ervoirs, Lakes Avalon and McMillan, both on the Pecos River, with a system of canals which reached both sides of the Pecos. This system is said to have originally cost fully two millions of dollars. For awhile all seemed to go fairly well, though considerable leakages or seepages — ^far above the average — ^were encountered in both canals and reser- voirs, until October, 1904, when a serious flood oc- curred which carried away the Avalon Dam and greatly damaged the embankments of Lake McMil- lan and the distribution system. Owing to lack of finances the company was unable to rebuild the dam, and temporary expedients were resorted to for the conservation of such water as could be saved, but additional floods carried these away, and the 13,000 acres of land that were being irrigated were in dan- ger of reverting to their original desert condition. In this desperate strait the Pecos Company united with the settlers in a petition to the Reclamation Service to acquire the rights of the Irrigation Com- pany and establish a permanent and secure system that should remove the dread that had begun seri- ously to disturb the serenity of the farmers. In due time this was done, not because the Serv- ice deemed this one of the most desirable of proj- ects to undertake, but purely to save a large and fairly thriving farming community from the certain ruin that threatened it. This fact should not be overlooked in estimating the value this great Service has been to the country at large. After careful consideration by the engineers of the needs of the existing system to enlarge it and make it secure the Carlsbad Project may be said to include LAND OF THE DELIGHT-MAKEES 237 the following features : Storage in Lake McMillan, of the flood waters of the Pecos Eiver, near Lake- wood, N. M., and further storage, with distribution, in Avalon Eeservoir, near Carlsbad, N. M., from which water is diverted into canal systems on both sides of the Pecos River. As reconstructed the system is as follows : Ava- lon Dam was rebuilt with a reinforced concrete core- wall, with earth embankment on the water side and rock-fill on the down-stream side. This provision of a core- wall was an innovation upon the usual western practice, and especially that of the Reclamation Service. Its necessity arises from the presence of a large percentage of soluble salts in the earth avail- able. In use, the slow percolation of water through such a bank gradually leaches out the soluble matter, leaving the bank more and more porous, and it soon becomes unreliable as a barrier against water. The core-wall thus serves as a strengthener and sup- porter, and also prevents destruction of the embank- ment by the ravages of burrowing animals. The dam is combination earth and rock fill, 50 feet high and 1,380 feet in length. It serves primarily as a diversion dam, but has a storage capacity of about 5,000 acre-feet above the canal outlet, which is excavated in rock on the left bank of the river. The right side of the canal for a distance of 200 feet was closed by wooden gates to be opened in times of flood, and serve as a spillway. Two other spillways have been provided by the Service on the right or west side of the reservoir. The large concrete flume, which carries the main canal across the Pecos River five miles below Avalon 238 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST Dam, was repaired and where necessary rebuilt. Its service now is perfect, as compared with that given prior to its reconstruction. At Dark Canyon, where the original crossing had proven wasteful and inefficient, and had finally failed entirely, a substitute was adopted in a 6-foot rein- forced concrete pressure pipe, 400 feet long, cross- ing the canyon under a head of about 20 feet. Black Eiver is a small stream that flows into the Pecos from the west, at the lower end of the project. Its waters are diverted by a canal on the right bank, to water about 1,000 acres of land. At times the Black River is inadequate for this purpose, and water is then furnished from the main canal through a branch reaching Black River above the diversion point. The old canal from Black River was so leaky that it delivered only a small percentage of the water turned into it. A new canal, lined with concrete, which is practically water-tight, was put in its place. The Main Canal has been almost entirely rebuilt. In some places, where it passed through formations of gjTJSum that were so porous as to leak constantly, a new and lower line was found, and the whole made water-tight. Two new spillways were buUt, at Ava- lon, which include two tunnels which were excavated in the solid limestone, these two tunnels discharging into the river below. Each of these tunnel spillways is controlled by a cylindrical steel gate of similar de- sign to the one controlling the inlet to the pressure tunnel on the Yuma Project, over which the water flows into the wells and out through the tunnel. In case of heavy floods the gates are raised 10 feet, allowing the water to flow under them, thus increas- LAND OF THE DELIGHT-MAKEBS 239 ing the discharge head. The capacity of Spillway No. 1 is about 14,000 cubic feet per second. There are two other spillways with relative capacities of 32,000 and 22,000 cubic feet per second. Besides these tunnel spillways a reinforced con- crete overflow spillway, 397 feet long, was con- structed at the west end of the Avalon Dam. This spillway is of circular shape, with a radius of 250 feet. It has a capacity about equal to that of the tunnel spillways. Lake McMillan, the main reservoir of the system, is formed by a combination earth and rock-fill dam across the Pecos Eiver, 1,686 feet long and 52 feet high, with an embankment 5,200 feet long and 19 feet high, to close the gap in the hills west of the river. The main spillway is cut through rock about a mile west of the dam and discharges into a ravine j oining the river two miles below. The reservoir ad- joins on the east a bluff of gypsum, very soft and full of seams, and is partially underlaid with gyp- sum. It. developed serious leaks, which gradually increased in magnitude by solution and erosion, until caves and underground conduits were formed of such magnitude as to receive the full ordinary flow of the Pecos River. The capacity below the larger leaks was small, and it became impossible to fill the reser- voir except in great floods, and the stored water, even then, speedily escaped. In order to overcome this difficulty the Reclamation Service built a dike to cut off that part of the reservoir in which the main leaks occurred. It is 4,000 feet long and most of it is 19 feet high, and the water-slope is a retaining wall of hand-laid rock on a slope of 1% to 1, backed with 240 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST earth. The outer earth slope is 2 to 1, and the earth toe is protected with rock riprap. In 1914 the dam was visited by a great flood. When the flood was at its maximum the patrol dis- covered a large leak near the west end. By prompt and energetic action with rocks and earth the dam was saved, and afterwards thoroughly repaired. Careful surveys have been made to measure the amount of sediment accumulated in the reservoir. It shows an average of about 4,000 acre-feet, so that it is evident in time the reservoir will fill up and new storage capacity must be provided. The irrigable lands now opened amount to 24,796 acres, of which 166 acres only are public, 923 acres state, and 23,707 acres private land. The building or construction charge per irrigable acre has been fixed for various portions of the project at $31, $45, $55 and $60. The principal products are alfalfa, cotton, grain- crops, melons, peaches, pears, and miscellaneous fruits, and about 16,000 acres are being actually cul- tivated. It can scarcely be expected that, under the condi- tions here related, the development of this project should have been spectacular or rapid. The aim has been to preserve what had been secured, and to pre- vent a number of hard working people from losing their hard-earned homes. There has been a marked improvement, however, on nearly all lines, especially on the farms operated by their owners. Cotton has been coming into favour as a paying crop, though al- falfa is the main stand-by. Thousands of tons are fed to live-stock, many cattle and sheep being fat- AvALON Dam and Spillway Carlsbad Project, New Mexico Cement Lined Section Main Canal Carlsbad Project, New Mexico LAND OF THE DELIGHT-MAKEES 241 tened here, though there is a good dairy industry being developed. There is a co-operative creamery at Otis, which is doing a fairly prosperous business, and the quality of its butter is excellent. Owing to the occasional occurrence of frosts the peach and other less hardy crops are somewhat un- certain, but the quality of the fruit is far above the average and were packing or canning facilities af- forded, would yield good returns to the growers. The present Project Manager is L. E. Foster, with office at Carlsbad, New Mexico. CHAPTER XXI DISAPPOINTMENT AND ABANDONMENT. HONDO PBOJECT, NEW MEXICO Not all battles are won ! Sometimes the engineer, even though exercising all of the wisdom acquired by experience, is defeated by the superior forces of na- ture, especially where he is taken by surprise. There are many cleverly arranged ambuscades which even the best warriors do not detect and na- ture often cleverly hides for a time some unprec- edented conditions. Such has been the case on the Hondo project in New Mexico, where for the present at least the engineers have been foiled in their ef- forts to store the irregular floods by conditions not revealed by preliminary investigations. The principal features of this project are the er- ratic water supply coming from the moimtains, a natural basin offering opportunities for storage of the floods and a topography such that when these flood waters come they are held for a time in the basin, from which they can be taken by a deep cut- ting and carried to lands partly irrigated and which are highly productive when fully supplied with water. The key to the situation is the reservoir situ- ated above the upper edge of the irrigable lands, amid rolling foot hills and, in a state of nature, with a little lake or pond in the bottom which quickly dried during the heat of summer. It was obvious to every one that if the muddy waters of the Hondo could be 242 HONDO PEOJECT 243 turned into this basin and then taken out when needed for the irrigation of the dry lands, great prosperity would f oUow. The fact that the basin, when filled, would not hold water for any consid- erable length of time was not discovered until after the reservoir had been constructed, even though pre- liminary investigation had been made and the ex- perts available at that time had given a favourable verdict on the questions at issue. Whether or not the preliminary work was suffi- ciently thorough may be a debatable question but, as a matter of fact, the investment made in this project has not been remunerative and, although the total sum involved is relatively small compared with that invested in other works, yet the inability of this reservoir to hold water has been more widely heralded than the notable successes made with greater and more difficult undertakings ! The Eio Hondo, from which the project receives its name, is formed by the junction of the Rio Bonito and the Rio Ruidoso in Lincoln County, New Mexico, west of the famous "Stake Plains" of Texas. These two streams rise in the Sierra Blanca or White Mountains, about 20 miles apart, and drain the eastern slope of the range, their head waters be- ing protected by the Lincoln Forest Reserve. The White Mountains are situated about 120 miles west of the project, and have an extreme altitude of 12,000 feet, the highest point in the state, and are well covered with timber. All along the lower reaches of the streams are fertile valleys, and the climatic conditions being favourable, the Mexicans established irrigation farms here many years ago. 244 EECLAIMTNG THE AEID WEST Previous to the year 1869 the Bio Hondo had a perennial flow through its entire course, and at that time the land lying to the southwest and almost ad- jacent to the present town of Eoswell, was culti- vated by irrigation from this stream. In 1869 there was a great influx of population into this region, and as Fort Stanton was a military post of some size, affording a ready market for large quantities of forage, grains, vegetables, and fruit, and offering protection from the depredations of the Mescalero Apaches, the available lands along the sources of the Hondo and for fifteen miles along its own course were soon occupied, and the normal flow of the streams fully appropriated. This flow was fairly to be relied upon in the upper reaches of the two tributary streams during the summer season, but the lower reaches of the Hondo invariably became dry during the late spriag and the summer months, except during the periods of flood. The main rains are in the summer and as the coxm- try drained by these streams is rough and the can- yons exceedingly steep and precipitous the percent- age of run-off is very high. Both the Benito and Ruidoso flow through narrow and deep valleys, and the irrigation of their lands, and those of the upper portion of the Hondo, is carried on by ditches taken directly from the rivers, the water being taken by low diversion dams, usually made of brush and loose stones, the flow into the ditches being controlled by wooden headgates. During the non-irrigating season and the flood periods water flows through the entire course of the Hondo, and, as no more settlers came into the coun- HONDO PROJECT 245 try after about the year 1884, it seemed reasonable to construct ditches along its course for about ten miles west of Eoswell, with the idea of appropriat- ing these flood waters so that settlers could "prove up" on their lands. Alfalfa and orchards were planted under these ditches with some success, yet, owing to the intermittent and therefore unreliable flow, the owners were constantly on the lookout for and desirous of securing some means of impounding the water supply. Out of these desires the New Mexico Reservoir and Irrigation Company was bom, in 1888, to give way in 1892 to the Pecos Irrigation and Improve- ment Company. In that and the succeeding year this company started work on a reservoir, situated at the site of that occupied by the present Hondo Project, but heavy floods in August brought the work to a standstill. These floods carried away the dam of the company at Lake Avalon, on the Pecos River six miles north of Carlsbad, and as it will be recalled that 1893 was the year of a financial panic, no more funds were available and aU work ceased. Yet the site for the reservoir seemed so perfect, being located in a basin — ^with a small intermittent lake in the bottom — surrounded by hills, which only needed a few embankments to increase its capacity, and the necessities of the farmers were so acute and urgent, that the company succeeded in raising enough money to keep alive its rights, until in 1898, it sold all its rights in Chaves County, New Mexico, which included the Hondo Reservoir site to J. J. Hagerman. Mr. Hagerman was never able to complete the 246 EECLAIMING THE AKID WEST needful work to give the farmers the relief they re- quired, and yet they "hung on" to their farms and irrigated with the intermittent flow whenever they could, hoping almost against hope that relief would surely come to them in due time. It was then that the U. S. Reclamation Act was passed. Here seemed a new way of escape. The service was appealed to. In due time preliminary surveys and estimates were made. Various boards of engineers presented favourable reports on the project. It was imperative, owing to the unreliabil- ity of the water supply, that the reservoirs have a capacity sufficient to carry water for two or three dry years, and this iu turn rendered the question of seepage a most important once. The investigations already made indicated the existence of extensive deposits of seamy limestone and gypsum in the neighbourhood, and these were not considered over- favourable to the location of a large reservoir. The U. S. Geological Survey, therefore, was called upon to send a trained geologist to make a study of the basin as to its power to resist leakage. This was done and the result of the examination (which in- cluded diamond driU borings of the site) was that no serious danger of important leakage might be apprehended. On the strength of this report, con- struction was duly authorized. The reservoir was increased to a capacity of 40,000 acre-feet by the building of six embankments at various points on the perimeter of the basin, these being riprapped on the water side. A dam was built of earth, 20 feet high and 100 feet HONDO PEOJECT 247 long, to divert the water of the Hondo into a canal, 8,275 feet long, and 70 feet in width at grade, which conveyed it to the reservoir. This canal was de- signed also as a settling basin for the silt with which the flood waters of the Hondo are heavily laden, and with this in view, the section of the canal is trian- gular, the side next to the embankment being ex- cavated to a sub-grade four feet below grade. The lower bank is provided with two spill-gates and five sluice-gates, through which it was designed to scour out the accumulated silt as need required, the silt-laden waters returning thus to the Hondo. A weir was placed at the point of the canal's dis- charge into the reservoir to encourage the accumu- lation of silt by permitting only the upper third of the water to discharge. From the centre of the reservoir the water was led to the Hondo again, through a canal of 10 feet bottom width, 5,300 feet in length. Here it flowed down the river channel, a distance of about a mile, to the edge of the irrigated district. Owing to the river banks having been built up by the deposits of silt higher than the surrounding country, it was possible to cut ditches at right angles to the course of the stream. Accordingly three low concrete diversion dams, each containing a flash- board frame so arranged that it might be dropped to leave the river channel practically unobstructed, served to throw the water into the four lateral canals. The slope of the surface is so great as to have required the construction of frequent drops in these canals to hold them down to a grade low 248 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST enough to prevent a cutting velocity. These drops and all similar structures, headworks and the like, are of concrete. All this work was completed in May, 1907. One can well understand the feelings of joy of the set- tlers when this announcement of the completion of the project was made. The hopes and fears of the years were at an end. An era of prosperity was now sure, for was not their reservoir ready to re- ceive flood waters, and keep them stored until they were needed? So it seemed. But fate at times plays scurvy tricks upon the sons and daughters of men, and such a trick was now in the cards ready to be dealt. As soon as the flood-waters began to pour into the reservoir considerable leakage occurred and the quantity of this rapidly increased by the enlarge- ment of holes in the bottom of the basin. Puddling was resorted to and for a short time seemed to be successful. Blasting of the rock by dynamite was also tried, followed by back-filling with carefully selected rock and clay, but the leakages increased instead of diminishing. The more water flowed in the greater became the losses, and fears were gen- dered that the embankments might be imperilled. When the outflow increased to 200 cubic feet a second all efforts at prevention and consequent storage were abandoned. The canal system is still used for irrigating such land as can be served by the unregulated flow of the river, but this is so meagre and uncertain that results are very small. Mr. A, P. Davis thus states his conclusions as to the Hondo Reservoir and its lessons : HONDO PEOJECT 249 The Pecos "Valley and vicinity for long distances above and below this point is largely of gypsum formation, and extensive leaks have developed in the reservoir built near Carlsbad in gypsum formation by the Pecos Irrigation Com- pany. It is the author's opinion, not as a geologist but as an engineer, that the depression which constitutes the reser- voir site of the Hondo project was formed by the percolation of underground waters through great deposits of gypsum and the gradual solution and erosion of those deposits until extensive caves were formed, which finally collapsed under the weight of the overlying earth and caused a depression or dry lake which formed the site for the reservoir adopted. The lesson is that natural depressions, situated at a distance from natural drainage lines, should be regarded with sus- picion, especially when occurring in rock in which caverns may be expected to occur. Similar experiences, confirming the opinions ex- pressed above, have been had in the case of other similar enterprises within this region of gypsum im- pregnated rocks. Various cattle companies have endeavoured to build reservoirs and the railroad corporations have constructed large earthen tanks, practically all of which have faUed because of the fact that after water has been accumulated in the basins to a certain depth, it has gradually percolated down into the underlying rocks and has broken through the relatively impervious soil or sub-soil. Under a moderate head, several of these reservoirs have been successful for a time, but later have failed either by the "bottom dropping out" and the water escaping through cavities or by the dissolving away of the rock under the dams, permitting these to settle and finally to be destroyed by the rapidly in- creasing stream. CHAPTER XXII TAMING THE BIO GRANDE THE BIO GRANDE PROJECT TEXAS El Rio Grande, El Paso del Norte — ^what pictures of Spanish conquistador es do not these names bring to mind? Coronado and his swashbuckling band of cavaliers and attendant commoners and Indians; Espejo, Onate and all the incomers who expected to find wealth untold in the new land to the north, prac- tically all came from New Spain, Mexico, by way of El Paso and the Rio Grande. Then that swift pouring down the river, of out goers, led by the gov- ernor of New Mexico, Otermin, after the uprising of the Pueblo Indians in 1680. There were 1,000 of them, men, women, and children, governor, garrison, and three friars who had escaped the slaughter, and they finally camped at what is now El Paso, where for twenty years or more the Franciscans had wor- shipped at the Mission of Guadalupe. To this up- rising and consequent flight of Spaniards we owe the founding of El Paso. The Mission had made of it a placid refuge, now it was established as a presidio for the reconquest and protection of New Mexico. Long prior to the time of the Spaniards, however, the valley of the Rio Grande had been occupied by the Indians, and the various Pueblo peoples, — those irrigationists of prehistoric times, whose ancestors left long miles of canals also in the Salt River Val- ley, — ^had diverted the water into their canals and 250 TAMING THE RIO GRANDE 251 ditches all along its course, cultivating therewith, in primitive fashion, the grains and vegetables upon which they largely subsisted. Thus the conquistador es found this valley, and it looked good to them after their wearisome miles of desert through which they had travelled from Sonora to reach it. Then, when they themselves took pos- session of the land, they continued the work and ex- panded it, until the Anglo-Saxon settler came into Colorado and northern New Mexico. These vigor- ous and aggressive people, knowing nothing — and possibly caring less — about the fields below that had been cultivated for centuries, and the needs of the Mexican followers of the Spaniard, began to divert the waters for their own use. The more this was done the less water there was for the fields lower down, until it became no uncommon thing for the river to go dry before it reached El Paso, and hun- dreds of acres that had been cultivated for centuries reverted to their original desert condition. Hence when the Anglo-Saxon began to elbow the Mexican of the lower Rio Grande he found here scores of miles of old ditches which suggested use for his own benefit. But, though he might start to water the land he lived upon, and succeed in growing crops during the flood season, the flow too often ceased when it was imperative that he have it. And the Mexicans, below the boundary line between the two countries, also suffering in like manner, suits were instituted by the Mexican government against the United States government to prevent the settlers on the American side from using up the whole of the flow. 252 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST For the Rio Grande, sometimes, is torrential in its wild floods, and again, it ceases entirely, not a single trickle of water being found in its sandy bed. It rises in Colorado and flows southward the entire length of New Mexico ; for a distance of four miles above El Paso, forming the boundary between Texas and New Mexico, then for 1,300 miles it winds its tortuous way, forming the boundary between Texas and Mexico, finally emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. Above El Paso it has a length of about 900 miles, and a drainage area of 38,000 square miles. Its head- waters in the basin of Colorado and New Mexico are found in snow-clad mountain peaks. When the melting time occurs, spring and early summer, the river rises higher and higher, and in the autumn and winter it flows but slightly. The major portion of the New Mexico drainage area is arid and desert in character, and the meagre precipitation is erratic in consequence. The permanent summer flow of water is entirely appropriated in the upper reaches of the river, leav- ing for the southern portion of New Mexico little more than the floods which occur at irregular inter- vals. These used to wash out the temporary dams of brush and rock that were employed, and which could not be rebuilt until the water subsided. This was the state of affairs when the Reclama- tion Service was called upon for aid. It was soon evident that permanent dams were required at the head of each of the small valleys that line the river. Indeed it has not inaptly been said that a map of this river appears like a link of irregular-sized sausages, reaching from San Marcial, N. M,, to El Paso, Texas. TAMING THE EIO GRANDE 253 The International Boundary Commission was also called upon to help solve the problem. It worked out a plan whereby water would be stored in the Rio Grande, by building a dam just above El Paso, which would serve the needs of 50,000 acres of land, more than half of which were on the Mexican side. This plan, however, did not utUize the entire flow of the river, and not only this but it lacked both storage capacity and irrigable land. It furnished no water for irrigating land in New Mexico — ^where it was largely needed — and at the same time would sub- merge a large acreage in that State. It was not to be wondered at, therefore, that the project was un- hesitatingly condemned by all New Mexicans. Chief Engineer Davis of the Service had made himself personally familiar with the peculiar hydro- graphic and other conditions of the Rio Grande River. He knew that the enormous floods which occur do not come with any regularity, and the total flow in some years is less than one-twelfth that of others. The amount of silt carried is excessive, and this would be caught and held by any reservoir, ir- respective of its size. With a small reservoir this would soon become a serious problem. He saw, therefore, that it was imperative that the reservoir be as large and deep as possible, so as to minimize evaporation, to have ample capacity for carrying surplus waters from "fat" years to "lean" and a surplus capacity for silt accumulations, so that the sediment would not materially encroach upon the necessary water-storage capacity for many years. Such a site he had found in 1902 in the canyon below Elephant Butte, where a dam could be erected that 254 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST would back up the water for about forty miles, with- out submerging any large body of good land or washing out any railroad, and that would give stor- age capacity for over two million acre-feet of water, capable of irrigating 180,000 acres of land. Later studies revealed that the reservoir could be buUt so as to hold upward of two and a half million acre- feet of water. After scientific tests had reasonably demonstrated that this could be accomplished an agreement was made with the Eepublic of Mexico to deliver it at the Acequia Madre, — the Mexican Canal at the head of the El Paso Valley, — 60,000 acre-feet of water an- nually, Mexico on her part waiving all claims for indemnity for the adverse diversion of the Eio Grande waters. Subsequently the State of Texas became a beneficiary through an enlargement of the Eeclamation Law, and an appropriation of a million dollars was especially made by Congress to cover the cost of the Mexican share of building the dam. It was then decided to build diversion dams at the head of each principal canal along the river, below the large dam, which latter should provide for all their necessities. The demand was found to total 620,000 acre-feet annually, sufficient to irrigate about 155,000 acres and provide for all losses by seepage and evaporation. The Mexican treaty obli- gations required another 60,000 acre-feet, and allow- ing a loss of, possibly, 20,000 acre-feet for all water turned out for this purpose, that would make the total annual draft on the Elephant Butte dam amount to 700,000 acre-feet. The records of the past twenty years show an an- Elephant Butte Dam Eio Grande Project, New Mexico-Texas Country Home in the Mesilla Valley, near Las Ceuces, New Mexico Rio Grande Project, New Mexico-Texas TAMING THE EIO GEANDE 255 nual flow at the reservoir site varying from as low as 200,729 acre-feet in 1902, to 2,422,008 acre-feet in 1905, with four years in succession when the in- flow would have been below the needed 700,000 acre- feet, viz., 1899, 239,434; 1900, 467,703; 1901, 656,252; 1902, 200,729 acre-feet. Only in one year, however, would the stored water have fallen perilously low and that would have been in the year 1902 when the inflow was so very low. Accordingly the Elephant Butte Dam was built. It is a straight gravity structure of cyclopean con- crete, with a length of about 1,200 feet. Its height from the lowest foundation to the roadway over the top is about 300 feet, over 90 feet of which is below the river bed. The top width is 20 feet. A spill- way lip is provided at the west end, seven feet below the roadway. In addition to this lip spillway, there is also a movable spillway, consisting of four large wells, ten feet in diameter, in the rock bench just up stream from the spillway lip. Each well is closed by a steel cylinder gate which can be raised or lowered at will. Each weU merges into a tunnel which passes under the spillway lip and discharges into the channel below. The movable spillways thus provide an additional regulation in time of flood, whether above or below the dam, for, in the latter case, the flow from the dam can be entirely closed until the flood has subsided. There are twelve regular outlets provided. Those nearest the left bank are ultimately to be used in connection with penstocks for the development of electric-power. There are also sluicing gates, as well as the main service gates. All these gates 256 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST are provided with steel shutters operated by hydraulic power, water beiug furnished from the large supply tank on the hill which was used during construction. Large rocks were embedded in the structure to the extent of from 20 to 25 per cent, and its solid contents are in excess of 600,000 cubic yards. For the transportation of men and materials a raUroad line, eleven miles long, was constructed to connect at Engel with the Albuquerque and El Paso branch of the Santa Fe. While the dam was building the river was di- verted through a flume built on a bench excavated on the right bank. Where the flume crossed the dam site it was built of concrete and finally incor- porated into the dam. The actual cost of the dam was approximately five millions of dollars. It was designed imder the direction of Louis C. Hill, and will ever remain as a tribute to his engineering genius and practical skill. The general plan of the project as a whole was due to Director Davis. The irrigable lands to be served by this dam lie along the Eio Grande ia five separate valleys. The first vaUey, is the Palomas, and it heads about six miles below the dam, with the Eiucon VaUey about twenty-four miles, the upper Mesilla Valley about sixty-nine miles, the lower Mesilla Valley eighty miles and the El Paso Valley one hundred and twenty miles below the dam. Between these valleys the river flows through comparatively narrow gorges and as a consequence separate diversions and canal systems are necessary for the proper irrigation of each valley. TAMING THE EIO GRANDE 257 The first of these dams was built in 1907, at Pen- asco Eock, and is named the Leasburg Dam, from the old town near by. It supplies the uppermost canal operated at the present time by the Service. The dam is a concrete overflow weir, of ogee section, about nine feet high and 600 feet long, with an ex- tension of 1,500 feet at the west end ia the form of an earthen dike. The concrete weir is founded on piling driven into the silt of the river-bed to a depth of 20 to 25 feet. A reinforced concrete apron, 23 feet wide and two feet thick receives the overflow and conducts it harmlessly away from the dam. The west abutment of the dam is founded on pUirig where it joins the earthen dike. The east or left abutment is founded on rock, the base of "Penasco Eock," a small peninsula jutting out into the river channel. About 80 feet inland from the end of the dam three sluice-gates are placed, each eight feet high with five feet clear openings. Fifteen feet in- land from these gates are the gates to the canal, of which there are five, each seven feet high, with five feet width of opening. From this dam the Leasburg Canal receives the water for three of the community ditches of the Mesilla Valley below. One of the most interesting points about this canal (which is itself a small river) is that it is to be run over a twelve-foot drop, where a turbine will develop electric power equivalent to that of six hundred horses. This will furnish light and power for the Valley towns below, and for the economical irrigation, by electrically driven pumps, of mesa lands in the vicinity of Selden. These lands, like those of the lower Valleys, are wonder- 258 EECLAIMINa THE ARID WEST fully adapted to the growing of fruits, berries and melons of the finest quality, size and colouring. The Leasburg Canal, too, is vital to the success of a large proportion of the farmers under the project ; for it supplies water for 36,772 acres of irrigable land. Of this, 10,528 acres are under the Dona Ana Community ditch; 7,620 are under the Las Graces Community ditch, and 14,070 are under the MesiUa Community ditch. In addition to this, it will carry water for the Picacho feed canal to the Picacho flume over the Rio Grande, thus supplying 4,554 acres more. For another portion of the MesUla Valley, an- other dam has been erected southwest of Las Cruces. It is a low diversion weir, 303 feet between abut- ments, built of concrete with an ogee movable crest, standing two feet above a reinforced concrete apron which covers the river-bed for a distance of eighteen and a half feet up stream from the weir. There is also a concrete apron below the dam to receive the falling water. A movable crest, four and a half feet high, surmounts the weir, in the form of a series of nine radial or "Tainter" gates, to be raised in time of flood to prevent inundation of adjacent lands. A steel bridge surmoimts the en- tire structure and from this the radial gates are operated by means of wire ropes upon drums oper- ated by hand, or by power furnished by an 8-H. P. gasoline engine, carried from one gate to another on a car. The canals head on each side of the river at this dam, the one on the right having a capacity of 430 cubic feet per second, and that on the left 300 cubic feet per second. The canal gates are at TAMING THE EIO GRANDE 259 right angles to the dam. A sluiceway, 45 feet wide, to clear the gate entrances of mud, is provided at each end of the dam, each controlled by two "Tainter" gates, five and a half feet high, with sills a foot below the crest of the main weir. The direct highway from the north down to El Paso passes down the east side, crossing the river on this dam. This road connects the towns and sup- ply points of Mesquite, around which are 4,230 acres of irrigable land; Vado, iu the neighbourhood of which are 4,016 acres of irrigable land ; Berino, with 7,910 acres irrigable, and Anthony, with 920 acres. In this section, too, are located two of the largest tracts of land under individual ownership that are to be found under the Elephant Butte Project. These are the Brazito and the Santo Tomas Grants. In the Brazito are included about 5,000 acres of land irrigable under the project, with about 2,000 acres of bench lands that may be brought into culti- vation by pumping ; while the Santo Tomas tract ag- gregates some 3,500 acres of irrigable area. At the upper edge of the city of El Paso a diver- sion dam of masonry was built many years ago. One end of this dam is within the city limits and the other on Mexican soil. This dam has been repaired, and the canal it supplies — called the Franklin — ^pur- chased by the Reclamation Service in 1912, for $125,- 000. In 1914-1915 it was enlarged from a capacity of 150 cubic feet per second to a capacity approxi- mately 400 feet. Through the city of El Paso the greater part of this canal is lined with concrete and protected by an ornamental iron fence. Of the water users at the present time on the 260 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST project, approximately 60 per cent are Mexicans and 40 per cent Americans. American ideals of effi- ciency are gradually supplanting the older indiffer- ent ways and more scientific methods are being adopted for the irrigation and development of the project. A large variety of crops can be grown and with the excellent markets available can be made to re- turn good profits. The growing season lasts for nine months and irrigation is practised for eleven months of the year. At the present time alfalfa, as is general throughout the West, is the leading crop, approximately 60 per cent of the irrigated acreage being planted to this forage crop. Grains of all kinds, beans, corn, sorghum, canteloupes, deciduous fruits, small fruits, grapes, sweet potatoes, peas, garden truck, in fact nearly all the products of the temperate zone can be grown successfully. Experi- ments are now being conducted in the growing of cotton and sugar beets, and it is expected that ere long these two products will become leading crops. The Eio Grande Project is especially adapted to the raising of livestock and this industry has in- creased rapidly since the water supply has been as- sured. The mild wiuters with green feed available a great portion of the year, and summer weather in which there are no periods of excessive heat, com- bine to make the raising of livestock a most profit- able undertaking. During the season of 1915 sev- eral hundred head of dairy stock were shipped to the project from the dairy section of Iowa, Wiscon- sin and Michigan, and nearly every progressive farmer is laying the foundation of a first-class dairy La Mesa Schoolhouse Rio Grande Project, New Mexico-Texas ;^-* i^ "^ .-' ■•ail Cutting Alfalfa Rio Grande Project, New Mexico-Texas TAMING THE EIO GEANDE 261 herd. Already dairying has taken a leading place. Poultry farming is also profitable and good markets are available close at hand for all poultry products. At present the system is capable of irrigating 47,160 acres, and every acre of this is actually signed up. The irrigating season lasts 274 days, from Feb- ruary 15 to November 15. The average elevation of the irrigable lands is 3,700 feet above sea level. The average annual rainfall, computed from the records of thirty years, 10.07 inches. In 1914 it was 17.02 inches. The temperature ranges from zero to 100 degrees Fahr. The area of the drainage basin is 37,000 square miles. At San Marcial, N. M., the annual run-off in acre-feet, from 1895 to 1914 inclusive, was, maxi- mum, 2,422,000; minimum, 200,700; mean, 1,129,400. At El Paso, Texas, 1889 to 1914 inclusive, maximimi, 2,010,000; minimum, 50,700; mean, 925,000. New canals, etc., are in contemplation for Las Palomas and Rincon Valleys, and the works in the El Paso Valley will be supplemented and enlarged. The estimated total cost of the project is $10,- 000,000. It is contemplated that in due time electric power will be generated at Elephant Butte Dam, which will be used for the pumping of water up to the bench or "mesa" lands lying along the rim of the Valleys, but being too high for irrigation from the gravity canals. In the neighbourhood of Anthony, several owners of small orchards have demonstrated the wonderful value of these mesa lands for fruit-rais- ing, these men having produced peaches, plums, 262 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST apples, melons, canteloupes, berries, and other fruits and vine-stuff of size, quality, flavour and colouring that cannot be surpassed. In the neighbourhood of Selden, too, sixteen miles above Las Cruces, and near the Leasburg power drop, is a beautiful acreage of bench land that will be irrigated from electrically-driven pumps, and which will no doubt be found to produce as wonder- fully as do those at Anthony. In time, too, this cheap power will be transmitted to the lower Mesilla Valley, in which event, the Anthony lands wUl be even more valuable than they now are. In 1905 two Water Users' Associations were formed on the project : The Elephant Butte Water Users' Association of New Mexico, with headquar- ters at Las Cruces, for lands under the project in New Mexico, and the El Paso Valley Water Users' Association of Texas for lands under the project in Texas. El Paso, Texas, is the largest city on the project, and it is one of the most rapidly growing cities on the continent. In New Mexico the towns and cities are Elephant Butte, Hot Springs, Las Palomas, Arrey, Derry, Garfield, Salem, Santa Teresa, Hatch, Eincon, Sel- den, Leasburg, Donna Ana, Las Cruces, Old MesUla, Mesilla, Mesilla Park, Mesquite, San Miguel, La Mesa, Chamberino and La Union. The Project Manager is L. M. Lawson, with office at El Paso, Texas. CHAPTEE XXin PUMPING FEOM THE MISSOTJBI BIVER. THE WnXISTON PEOJECT, NOETH DAKOTA The Williston Project is composed of two units, both of which were designed originally to be sepa- rate projects. It was found best, however, to com- bine them. They are known as the Buf ord-Trenton and the Williston units. The former is located in "Williams County, North Dakota, bordering the north bank of the Missouri River, and includes practically all the land lying between the Great Northern Rail- way and the Missouri River, for a distance of about 17 miles east of the Montana-North Dakota State line. This entire area was at one time a portion of the Military Reservation of Fort Buf ord, which post played an important part in the development of the great North-west. The advancement of settlers and the segregation of the Indians made it unnecessary to maintain this post, and it was abandoned in 1895. The reservation was subdivided ia 1901, and in 1903 it was opened to entry. There were some settlers within its limits prior to this latter date, and at the close of 1904 approximately 85 per cent of the area embraced within the limits of what is now the Bu- ford-Trenton unit had been entered. Buford is close to the junction of the Yellowstone River with the Missouri. The WiUiston unit is a few miles away to the north-east, where the Little Muddy flows into the 263 264 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST Missouri, and the irrigable area comprises the bench and bottom lands that are located in the Little Muddy Valley for about twenty miles north of Williston, and the river bottoms along the Missouri River for a distance of about five miles east and west of the city. There is considerable difference in the character- istics of the lands of both units. The bottom lands of the Little Muddy are very flat, oftentimes being higher next to the creek and for this reason are not as well adapted to irrigation as bench lands, which have some slope. In som» locations there is alkali. The bench lands are rather rolling, with frequent knolls and depressions, so that it is not possible to bring the entire acreage under irrigation, and some of the depressions cannot be readily drained. The entire valley is free from brush and supports a growth of bluejoint and other native grasses and in past years has been used for grazing. Beyond the bench lands the land rises rather abruptly for 100 feet or more to the plateau of the Missouri, which extends for many miles on either side of the valley and is cut at frequent intervals by small creeks. The Missouri Eiver bottoms are quite different in their characteristics. There is an upper and lower terrace, the former devoid of vegetation except a thick growth of grass and the latter covered with brush and scattering timbers. The upper terrace is a heavy loam or clay soil and in places some gumbo. Alkali is not found in a dangerous amount except in a limited area, near Sand Creek, north of the rail- road track. The surface is level and smooth and well adapted to irrigation. Pumping Barge at Low Water on the Missouri Eiver at WiLLlSTON WiLLisTON Project, North Dakota Pumping Barge at High Water, with single lengths of Discharge Pipes between the ball-joints on the Barge and Bank of the Missouri River Williston Project, North Dakota PUMPING FROM MISSOUEI RIVER 265 This portion of North Dakota, in the early geo- logical periods, was included in a great inland sea, in which the successive layers of rock were deposited as sediment, the highest and most recent being gen- erally termed the "Fort Union" beds of sandstone and shale. In time certain portions of this inland lake became silted up and converted into great marshes, which supported a luxuriant growth of vegetation. The trees and plants, as they died year after year and accumulated under water, where they were protected from decay, were, in the course of time, converted into beds of lignite coal, which exist in the vicinity of the Williston Project. One of the most common trees of this period was the poplar, and the sequoia, or redwood, related to the giant trees of the Pacific Coast, was also a native of North Dakota. These deposits of decaying vegetable mat- ter were subsequently covered by later deposits of shale and sandstone, which subjected them to great pressure and resulted in the formation of the coal veins. There is an entire absence of any volcanic or heat action connected with the formation, and this accounts, to a large part, for the low grade of coal to which lignite belongs. The glacial period covered this portion of the continent with a vast sheet of ice, which started in the vicinity of Hudson Bay and moved in a south- westerly direction up to the present location of the Missouri River. The gradual melting of this vast sheet of ice freed large streams of water, which eroded channels and made decided changes iu the earth's surface. One of the larger creeks formed by the melting of this vast ice-sheet is the Little 266 RECLAIMING THE AEID WES% Muddy Creek, through the Williston unit, and the valley as we see it today is the result of these flood waters, discharging in a southerly direction into the Missouri River. While there is a uniform slope to- wards the south, there are frequent kaoUs and de- pressions, the underlying material being in many places sand and gravel, and it is not until the higher lands are reached that the unmodified glacial drift is encountered. The bottom lands adjacent to the creek are of comparatively more recent forma- tion, caused by silt being deposited during the fre- quent overflows of the flood discharge of Little Muddy creek. The bottom lands of the Missouri River are aU of recent formation. The river is continually cutting away on the concave curve of the banks and deposit- ing sand and silt on the opposite side. In the grad- ual change that takes place year after year, the sand- bars are left high and dry after the June rise and then the wLad begins its action, sweeping along the sand until it is caught among a growth of willows and then we have the beginning of another river bottom, which gradually accumulates a growth, and eventually a soil is formed which is of sufficient depth to class it as agricultural land. The water for the Williston Project is supplied by the Missouri River which has a drainage basin of 155,000 square miles. The mean run-off at Willis- ton from May to October, 1905 to 1907 was 15,000,000 acre-feet. While there are small creeks that flow into the Little Muddy and the Missouri where the flood waters might be conserved for irrigation, it was impractical anywhere near the location of the lands PUMPING FEOM MISSOURI RIVER 267 of this project to divert and utilize them. Accord- ingly surveys and estimates were made which con- templated the irrigation of the lands by pumping from the Missouri River. This river, however, is an uncertain quantity in more ways than one. Not only does its flow vary, making extraordinary rises and falls in record time, but it often brings down on its flood waters vast quantities of trees and other drift, and, furthermore, the swift floods possess a cutting power, which sometimes eat into the banks as if they were made of soft sugar. These factors of uncer- tainty, therefore, prohibited the building of any per- manent structure for pumping purposes, and the problem was finally solved by the construction of a -floating pumping-barge carrying the necessary pumping units, with flexible jointed pipes, which would discharge the water into the settling basin on shore. In this way the average fluctuation of from ten to fifteen feet was provided for, and by increas- ing the length of the discharge pipes the barge could be moored close to the bank or well out in the chan- nel, as occasion required, and could be disconnected at the close of the pumping-season and hauled out on the bank. It was a new idea, in so far as I know, as were many of the features on the pumping proj- ects, and considerable diflSculty was experienced in obtaining qualified men to superintend, first, the de- sign, and then the construction of these floating pumping stations. It was found that lifts were necessary of from 30 to about 100 feet, and the question of cheap fuel for the generation of power then arose. As before ex- plained this whole region is underlaid with lignite. 268 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST After many borings and testings, a deposit was dis- covered near to Williston, which, on thorough test- ing, proved to be satisfactory as fuel for the genera- tion of power, though conditions were such as to demand the location of the power-plant quite close to the coal deposit. In due time, therefore, the coal mine was opened, the power-generating plant established, and elec- trical power then transmitted over wires to pmnp- ing-stations, with plans for irrigation as follows: On the Buf ord-Trenton unit water is pumped from a barge into a settling-basin 30 feet above the river, and is then lifted by a permanent pumping-station into a canal, 50 feet above the settling-basin, for the irrigation of bench lands near Buford. A trans- mission line 28.3 miles in length delivers power for the operation of the pumps. The plan of the Williston unit provides for a series of motor-driven centrifugal pumps on a barge in the Missouri Eiver, a settling basin receiving the water from the barge, and a main canal of 90 second-feet capacity extending along the Little Muddy to the power-plant, where two sets of steam-driven tur- bines operate centrifugal pumps to lift water 51 feet into E canal. From the main canal, about midway between the river and the power-plant, electrically driven pumps raise 35 second-feet 28 feet into B canal, and from this canal 20 second-feet are raised an additional 28 feet into C canal. The main power- station is located close to a 9-foot vein of lignite coal, which supplies the fuel. In 1916 the Service was prepared to irrigate on the Buf ord-Trenton unit 4,049 acres, and on the Wil- U. S. Eeclamation Service Coal Mine and Miners "WiLLisTON Pr6ject, North Dakota Largest Drop in South Canal Uncompahgre Project, Colorado PUMPING FEOM MISSOUBI RIVER 269 liston unit, 8,189 acres. The irrigation season be- gins from June 1 to June 15 and lasts about 80 days. The average elevation of the lands of the project is about 1,900 feet above sea level, and the average rainfall about 13 to 14 inches. The range of tem- perature is from 49° Fahr, below zero to 107° Fahr. The Williston Project is located on the Great Northern line of railroad, and there are several small villages on the lands besides Buf ord, Trenton, and Williston, the latter being an incorporated city with about 4,500 population. The principal products are alfalfa, grains, and vegetables. The production of corn for silage is in- creasing as well as the output of hogs. Dairying has become well established as the local markets con- sume all the butter product. Outside markets are St. Paul, Minneapolis, Duluth and Chicago. As the operation of pumping-plants of this char- acter is an entirely new feature in irrigation it may be interesting to recount a few experiences. The season of 1908 was accompanied by an exceptionally high June rise, with a large amount of drift coming down the river. Trees 4 feet in diameter and 40 feet long smashed into the bow of the barge, giving it severe jolts, and one night caused the mooring lines to part and the barge to be held by the dis- charge pipes. On the crest of the June rise the cable ferry boat at Mondak came down, struck the bow of the barge and was carried under, without doing any damage except to the ferry boat. Besides floating drift there was a large amount of smaller, subiherged drift which would collect in the im- screened suction pipes and clog the pump runners, 270 EECLAIMING THE AKID WEST necessitating removing the upper case of the cen- trifugal pumps to clean out the drift and other debris. On account of the extremely high water and possible damage to the barge, it was discoimected June 16 to 19 and moored close to the bank. As many of the lower lands are owned by non- residents, who do not cultivate or lease their lands and who are waiting for the "unearned increment" before they sell, the project has not made as good a showing as it would have done were aU the lands put to actual use. There has been considerable dis- satisfaction, also, at the construction charge being placed at $38.00 per acre, when the land owners ex- pected it at the original assumption of $25 per acre. Owing to these conditions the plant was operated for three years at considerable loss to the Service. To provide against such contingencies in future Con- gress passed an act forbidding the operation of plants that were not reasonably sure of meeting not only maintenance charges but some of the original construction cost, and as the "Water Users' Associa- tion could not meet the demand of the law for 1916 the project was not operated in 1917. The city of WUliston, however, has been purchas- ing electric power for lighting and other purposes, so the power plant has been kept in continuous oper- ation. Conditions seem now to be decidedly improving so that in a short time it is hoped the farmers will be reaping to the full the benefit of the plant installed. The present Project Manager is W. S. Arthur, with ofiSce at WiUiston, North Dakota. CHAPTER XXrV THE LAWTON PBOJBCT, OKLAHOMA Seeing the great advantages that had accrued to other localities by the activities of the Reclamation Service certain of the active citizens of Lawton, Okla- homa, conceived the idea of calling upon it to plan for the irrigation of some 2,500 acres of land in the near vicinity of that city. Accordingly, an engineer was sent to study the conditions and report what could be accomplished. He found an adequate water supply in Medicine Bluff and Little Medicine Bluff Creeks, with an area of drainage basin of 110 square miles. The annual run-off at the site of a proposed diversion dam in 1914 was 17,835 acre-feet. The city of Law- ton had already created a storage reservoir. Lake Lawtonka, for its own domestic supply of water. It offered the water in the top twenty feet of this res- ervoir to the Service, provided it would use it for the purpose designated. The lake has an area of 1082 acres, and a capacity of 14,000 acre-feet. The dam is of solid masonry, 50 feet high, and it is esti- mated that the top 20 feet will give not less than 12,000 acre-feet for irrigation. The average elevation of the irrigable area is 1,100 feet above sea level, and the length of irrigation sea- son would be from April 1 to October 31 — 214 days. The average rainfall in thirty years has been 31 inches; at Lake Lawtonka, in 1914, 28 inches. The 271 272 BECTIATMING THE AEID WEST temperature ranges from 10 degrees to 110 degrees Fahr., and the climate is similar to that found in the less arid portions of the south-west. The relatively heavy rainfall would be ample for the production of crops were it well distributed through the crop season. The need of irrigation arises from the fact that severe droughts occur fre- quently during the early summer. Occasionally, there is a year or several years in succession when there is an ample supply of rain throughout the growing season and then irrigation is unnecessary and the farmers get out of the habit of applying water, ditches are not kept cleaned and the struc- tures fall into decay. Then comes an exceedingly dry year and, before the farmers can rally to get the irrigation system into working order, the plants have wilted and the water when applied is of little use. Because of this irregularity in the seasons and be- cause the farmers are not compelled — as in the arid region — to practise irrigation systematically, prac- tically all of the irrigation ditches formerly utilized in Oklahoma and adjacent semi-arid areas, have been abandoned. The knowledge of this fact and the further doubt as to whether the relatively heavy soil can be suc- cessfully irrigated, has caused the land owners in- terested to be somewhat slow in mortgaging their lands to build a water supply system which may not be utilized. In other words, while they are enthusi- astic about irrigation in general and the increase in prosperity which would ensue, yet when the proposi- tion is definitely presented to each man of his in- dividually guaranteeing its success, each man holds THE LAWTON PROJECT, OKLAHOMA 273 back from signing up in compliance with the require- ments of law and of the executive department. A distinctive feature of the project is that all the lands are privately owned, hence it was made clear to those interested that the work could be under- taken only upon the conditions laid down by the Secretary when he appropriated $100,000 for the project. These included the formation of some kind of Water Users' Association, or Irrigation District, the members of which should pledge themselves to purchase and use the water for 1,900 acres, which they would divide into small farms, of size approved by the Service, preferably, 40 acres, and dispose of all holdings above that amount at reasonable prices to farmers who would undertake to settle upon the lands and work them, and also that some public land was to be included. The preliminary surveys revealed a suitable site for the diversion dam on Medicine Bluff Creek, about four and a half miles below Lake Lawtonka, and the final canal location decided upon was surveyed from this point across the Fort Sill Military Reservation. This reservation comprises a large body of land stretching east and west and with its southern boundary about two miles north of Lawton. The proposed plan of reaching the irrigable lands in the vicinity of the city contemplated the diversion at some point in Medicine Bluff Creek below Lake Law- tonka of the released storage supply and whatever unregulated run-off there might be. This diverted water was then to be carried across the artillery range of the reservation in an open canal, for about six miles, reaching the irrigable land at the southern 274 EECLAIMINa THE AEID WEST boundary of the reserve. None of the land in the reserve is available for irrigation. North-west of Lawton all of the public land was taken up long ago. Immediately to the north and east, however, the farm and pasture lands of the Fort Sill Indian School are situated, and in order to meet the Secretary's re- quirement for the inclusion of public land, arrange- ments were duly made with the Indian Department to add these 600 acres to the private lands available. It being essential to economic construction and operation that the entire body of irrigable land be located compactly, a tract was chosen next to the Indian lands, but, unfortunately, the Water Users' Association has been able to secure subscriptions to cover only 1,800 acres, and the tracts subscribed were not in a compact body. Accordingly it was de- termined to form an Irrigation District under the laws of the State of Oklahoma, and enter into a con- tract for the construction of irrigation works to serve approximately 2,500 acres of private lands. The land to be irrigated is somewhat rolling and the soil is a clay loam. Products already growiag on private lands are garden-truck, melons, tomatoes, cabbages, onions, sweet-potatoes, berries, various fruits, forage crops and cotton. There are ready markets at fair prices locally and at Oklahoma City, Okla.; Kansas City and St. Louis, Mo.; Galveston, Texas; and New Orleans, La. The population of Lawton in January, 1915, was estimated at 8,000. It is located on both the St. Louis and San Francisco and the Chicago, Kock Island and Pacific Eailways. The present Project Manager is H. M. Schilling, with office at Lawton, Oklahoma. CHAPTER XXV THE UMATILLA. PROJECT, OREGON As early as 1896, Mr. A. P. Davis (now Director of the United States Reclamation Service), established a gauging station on the Umatilla River, at Gibbon, Oregon. Data were being accumulated for the use of the new Service — ^that designed for reclaiming, by irrigation, the lands of the arid or semi-arid West. In 1905 the Oregon legislature, awake to the great advantages of practical irrigation, passed an irriga- tion act, which provided, among other good things, for the appointment of a State Engineer, and for co- operation with the United States in hydrographio and topographic surveys and the construction of works for the development and use of the waters of the State. During the summer of 1905 investigations dis- closed the likelihood of a successful project being established east of the Umatilla River. A basin of- fering fair storage possibilities was found in Cold Springs Canyon, and below this site there were some 20,000 acres of irrigable land at an elevation of from 350 to 550 feet above sea level. The Umatilla River is a tributary of the Columbia and drains an area of about 2,000 square miles. It has a mean annual run-off of over 500,000 acre-feet, a large part of which is diverted by numerous canals and ditches and used for irrigation by private en- 275 276 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST terprise. The main run-off is in the winter and spring and no efforts had been made to provide storage to supply the deficiency of flow invariably experienced in the growing season of summer. There was no suitable site found on the river it- self for a storage dam, and the site in Cold Springs Canyon was the only feasible one that was discov- ered, hence plans were prepared, and in 1906 the work of actual construction commenced. They pro- vided for a feed canal, which necessitated a diver- sion dam on the Umatilla River, two miles above Echo. The canal, 24% miles in length, is to convey the water to the reservoir made by the storage dam at Cold Springs Canyon, from whence it is conveyed by the distributing system to the lands to be irri- gated, in all about 25,000 acres, half of which were privately owned. The diversion dam in the Umatilla Eiver is pro- vided with a concrete overflow weir 400 feet long and three feet high, founded on a timber crib three feet deep and twenty-three feet wide, filled with rock, forming an apron upon which the overflow falls. Sheet piling is driven at the lower and upper edges of the crib. There are eight cast-iron headgates, with sills two feet below the crest of the weir. They are separated by reinforced concrete piers, and these piers are connected by curtain walls above the gates, so that no water can flow over the gates. An in- genious method of sluicing the canal near the head- gates is also provided. The feed canal leading from the diversion dam to the reservoir has a maximum capacity of 350 sec- ond-feet. Much of it is lined with concrete for "WHEEE ROLLS THE OREGON" 277 safety and for economy of water. This lining is mainly four inches thick, a small part, however, be- ing only two inches. About half a mile before the feed canal reaches the reservoir, a by-pass chute is provided, by which water can be dropped down the hill into the distribu- tion canal system about 60 feet lower. This is a concrete chute of trapezoidal section with a stilling basin at the bottom. At the discharge of the canal into the reservoir a large concrete drop is built to prevent back-cutting along the canal. A short distance above its outlet, the canal is provided with a set of gates in the form of flap valves which remain open as long as the water is flowing towards the reservoir, but close when a current starts in the opposite direction. This pre- vents back-flow when the reservoir is fuU, and the feed canal supply is stopped. The Cold Springs Dam is located about six miles east of Hermiston. It is essentially an earth and gravel embankment, having an extreme length of over 3,800 feet, and a maximum height of 98 feet. The greatest depth of water is about 88 feet, and the depth over the outlet-coliduit when water starts to flow over the spillway crest is 61% feet. The dam is composed of a mixture of loam and coarse sand and gravel, mixed in the proportion of about one- third loam to two-thirds sand and gravel. Great care was taken to obtain a thorough and compact mixture. The outlet conduit is located on bedrock a little south of the centre of the canyon, about seventeen feet above its bottom. The outflow is controlled 278 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST from a tower built in the reservoir upon bed-rock at the upper end of the conduit, and reached from a bridge extending from the top of the dam. In this tower are installed two cast-iron sluice-gates, each four feet square, placed in series, one at the outside of the gate-tower and the other at the inside, the former beiag an emergency gate, and the latter used in ordinary service. The outlet conduit is built of reinforced concrete and is of horseshoe cross-section, six feet wide and five feet high, with cut-off collars at intervals of thirty feet. It discharges into a rook-cut canal which has a capacity of 225 cubic feet per second. A spillway is provided on the right bank just above the dam. Its concrete overflow lip is 330 feet in length and is eight feet lower than the crest of the dam. After spilling over the crest the water glides down a concrete slope into a concrete-lined channel at right angles to the dam, becoming larger and deeper until it discharges into the canyon below the dam. With a head of three feet, this spillway will discharge about 5,900 second-feet, leaving five feet freeboard on the dam; this with the storage of three feet on the surface of the reservoir wUl take care of the largest flood known with a good margin to spare. The water-distribution system of the Umatilla Project is extremely complicated on account of the character of the topography and sandy soil. Many pressure-pipes were necessary to reach isolated tracts or to cross depressions, and the open sandy soil required the lining of many canals and laterals to avoid excessive seepage losses. At first some "WHEEE EOLLS THE OEEGON" 279 doubt existed as to the kind of pipe to be used. Wood pipe was admitted to be the cheapest in. first cost, but since it would be in use only about seven months and dry for the remaining five months of each year, its life would be short. Steel pipe was expensive in first cost, and there was also some doubt as to its length of life in the peculiar soil of these lands. Hence it was decided to experiment with concrete pipe, which after many tests and sev- eral years of active use has proven very successful. The methods of manufacture and construction fol- lowed are of value wherever such work is required. Many drops and chutes were also necessary to de- liver water safely from higher to lower levels. The losses of water from canals and laterals and the large quantity escaping into the subsoil on the farms brought up the ground water-table on the lower lands ; soon bogs and ponds began to appear and gradually to enlarge. This condition was ag- gravated by the absence of natural drainage lines and the existence of isolated depressions which are so characteristic of a topography formed by wind. In fact, but little of the lost water was able to reach the river except through the subsoil. To correct the seepage and prevent its spread, about ten miles of open drainage channels were excavated. The drain- age thus secured into the Umatilla River exceeds 60 cubic feet per second in the summer, and forms the major portion of the water-supply available for di- version to irrigate the west extension of the project, which will later be discussed and described. The area reached by the main canals consists of about 25,000 acres, lying in a compact body, which 280 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST may be stated as the entire irrigable area south of the Columbia and east of the Umatilla rivers lying north of the feed canal and west of Cold Springs Reservoir, with the exception of about 1,200 acres near Umatilla. About half of this land was pat- ented to private owners before the work of the Serv- ice began; the other half was either public or en- tered under the Desert Land Act. The distribution system consists of a main dis- tributing canal from the reservoir from which mi- nor distributaries draw; also a main canal which diverts from the UmatUla River near the mouth of Butter Creek, reaches the irrigable lands in a dis- tance of two and a half miles, and eight miles further completely merges into the system from the reser- voir. The last named canal was formerly owned by the Maxwell Land and Irrigation Company and was acquired by the United States by purchase. The first water for irrigation was turned on the land March 25, 1908, for the first unit of 6,975 acres. The second unit, of 4,392 acres, was opened the lat- ter part of March, 1909. The third unit, of 3,952 acres, was opened on March 15, 1910. On May 1, 1911, the reservoir was filled for the first time, water passing over the spillway. In 1911 the fourth unit, of 1,976 acres, was opened March 21. When the project was begun the country was prac- tically a complete desert. Where Hermiston is now located there were then only three or four buildings. Perhaps half a dozen residences were seen over the irrigable area. During the year 1908 development of the First Unit was slow. The season was un- favourable on account of severe and persistent si •-J 7! O ■A r "WHEEE EOLLS THE OEEGON" 281 winds, which, lasted from early spring until well into June and made it difficult to start growth. Again, the large area held by desert land entrymen and the Maxwell Land & Irrigation Company retarded de- velopment. Little improvement was done on desert land entries, and only a small portion of Maxwell land was sold. During the year 1909 additional efforts were made to improve desert land entries. Sale of Maxwell lands were, however, sluggish. There were a num- ber of homesteads in the Second Unit, but a consid- erable portion of those who filed sold their relin- quishments without attempting to improve. No great effort was made to improve the entries until fall. Since then fair progress has been made. Prior to the passage of the Eeclamation Act the land now embraced in the Umatilla Project had little value. As soon as surveys were made by the Eecla- mation Service, or by private parties, and it became evident that there was a prospect that the land might be irrigated, land prices increased. About 1904 the Maxwell Land & Irrigation Company bought several hundred acres from the Northern Pacific Eailway Company for approximately $4.50 per acre. In 1904 the County Assessor appraised raw land in the project at $3.00 per acre. In 1906 certain school land changed hands for about $14.00 per acre. Af- ter water was available some of this land sold, unim- proved, for about $85 per acre. Before water was available for the First Unit the Northern Pacific Eailway Company sold about 150 acres of raw land, located one mile from the railroad station at Hermiston, for $90 per acre. This land 282 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST was subsequently" resold for $125 per acre. About the same time the Maxwell Land & Irrigation Com- pany sold raw land at from $75 to $80 per acre. Later they sold raw land one mile from the raUroad station at $175 per acre. During 1910 and 1911 raw land four or five miles from the railroad station was sold at $200 per acre. In the Third Unit the North- ern Pacific Company sold fully 700 acres of unim- proved land at about $100 per acre. The foregoing figures do not include the cost of a - water-right. During the latter part of 1911, and during 1912 few sales were made and prices dropped. While the plans of the main project were thus be- ing successfully carried out, surveys were also being made looking towards the supplying of water to some 40,000 acres of land west of the Umatilla Eiver. Various plans were proposed, but the one most fea- sible appeared to be that now to be described, capa- ble of watering 30,000 acres, at an estimated cost of about $100 per acre. The plan was approved in March, 1912, contingent on satisfactory arrangements being made with not less than 95 per cent of the private lands involved. When these arrangements were perfected construc- tion began, and the work is now largely completed. This west extension takes water from the Uma- tilla River, on the left bank, below all other import- ant diversions, and is designed to irrigate lands in the Columbia Eiver near Irrigon and westward. The water-supply consists mainly of the return flow from the main project and adjacent irrigated lands and is deemed ample for about 10,000 acres of land. This area could be enlarged by several thousand "WHEEE EOLLS THE OREGON" 283 acres by the conversion of a nearby valley into an- other reservoir. The diversion dam is known as the Three-Mile Falls Diversion Dam, and it receives its name from the low water-fall there existing which is distant about three miles from the Columbia Biver. It is located about half-way between Hermiston and Umatilla on the Umatilla River. It is the only dam of its kind in the whole of the works of the Reclamation Service, in that it is of multiple arch design, the axis being curved to a radius of 1,200 feet. There are forty arches resting against buttresses which are twenty feet centre to centre. The arches are one foot thick at the crest, and increase in thick- ness downward at the rate of one-half inch for every foot vertical. The outer face of each arch is curved to a radius of eighteen feet, and the inner face to a radius varying from sixteen to seventeen feet, ac- cording to thickness. The maximum height of the dam above the river-bed is twenty-four feet. A back wall traverses the entire length of the dam ex- cept a distance of one hundred and eighty feet in the river section. The total length of the dam is nine hundred and twenty feet, width of maximum section thirty-four feet. The buttresses are of concrete, eighteen inches thick and are reinforced with two parallel vertical tiers of half inch steel spaced two feet apart. The crest of the dam is four feet wide and spans the space between buttresses as an arch of sixteen foot radius, heavily reinforced by half inch rods spaced six inches apart each way. An inspection gallery runs the length of the higher part of the dam and greatly stiffens it. 284 EECLAIMING THE AEID AVEST The headworks of the canal are located on the left bank of the river at the west abutment of the dam and are at right angles to the axis of the dam. There are three gate openings, each five feet wide and six feet high, operated in a 12 foot by 20 foot concrete gatehouse. Here a concrete highway bridge spans the canal. Just below the bridge are ten revolving fish screens, installed between piers. The sandy soil and coarse subsoil of the lands of the west extension, together with the experience with similar conditions on the east side led to the decision that the entire canal and distribution system, from the very outset, should consist of concrete channels. The lining of canal and the manufacture and instal- lation of concrete pipes therefore became even more important than on the eastern division. The main supply of the water, as I have shown, comes from the UmatiUa Eiver, whose headwaters are in the Blue Mountains, which extend north and south, to the eastward, and stretch into southern Washington. When the snowfall here is heavy the water flow is correspondingly increased, though other conditions also have to be considered. When the snowfall is not well packed, or there is an early spring the run-off is exceedingly rapid, and where, combined with these two factors, there is a limited fall a short water flow may be anticipated. The average elevation of the irrigable lands on the project is four hundred feet above sea level. The average annual rainfall is 8.3 inches, though in 1914 only 6.6 inches fell. The range of temperature is great, extending from 28 degrees Fahr. below zero, "WHEEE EOLLS THE OEEGON" 285 to 115 degrees Fahr. ; though it is seldom the ther- mometer goes below zero. While to those who do not like the strongly marked differences of temperature between the four seasons this climate will not be attractive, there are those to whom it is stimulating, invigorating and almost perpetually pleasing. Now and again there are severe winds, which generally blow during the months of March and April. The sharp tang of win- ter is free from the penetrating cold of a more himaid atmosphere, as there is rarely any wind in winter and no place can be more healthful and life-giving. The principal crop is alfalfa, the maximum yield reported being about eight tons to the acre. Much of this is baled and shipped, and some is fed. There is an increasing number of dairy stock on the proj- ect and the creamery at Hermiston is ready to pur- chase at fair prices all the butter-fat it can obtain. Hogs and poultry do well, as many as three thou- sand of the former being marketed in one year. Most of the vegetables and fruits are successfully grown, and apples, peaches and apricots of delicious flavour thrive abimdantly, although now and again the frosts injure the early peaches. Strawberries and all bush berries flourish. Grains for forage and milling and especially ac- climatized com have made a most gratifying show- ing. Four first prizes were won one year at the State Com Show. "Watermelons and canteloupes were recently introduced and they are proving to be one of the most profitable of crops, the latter vying with the famous Eocky Fords, of Colorado, in juici- 286 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST ness and flavour. Bees also do well and produce a very fine grade of honey in fairly large quanti- ties. The Umatilla Project has passed through nine years of experience that have given it a firm footing, have removed obstacles, and corrected legal impedi- ments that contributed to its adversities. Its settle- ment began duriag the Bacchanalian orgies of high prices for land and great profits from fruit that swept the great Northwest several years ago. The first people caught by the alluring offers came largely from the cities, without farming experience and with little means. They were doctors, lawyers, clerks, mechanics, brokers, and the ne'er-do-weUs. They knew styles, had soft hands and flabby muscles, were fuU of hope, knew nothing much of physical hardships, and were ambitious without real power. Most of them, however, as times have tried them, have proven themselves honest and courageous. But the game was hard for them. They bought land at fabulous prices, paid an instalment and started the battle against interest and reduction of principal. They agreed to pay off the government water-right, too, in ten years. They bargained to improve the land, to make a living, to pay off the water-charges and to pay for the land while they grew an orchard on ten acres that requires seven to ten years to bring to a profit-producing stage. This condenses into a short paragraph the stem, hard, and losing battle many of the settlers fought for four or five years. At the end of this period there were no soft hands or flabby muscles. Some of the peo- ple left financially broke and mentally defeated. "WHEEE EOLLS THE OREGON" 287 Others capitalized their experiences and tackled the game again with renewed energy and new determi- nation. They planted alfalfa and borrowed money to buy cows and hogs. They planted gardens, raised poul- try, and honey, and did other things that brought quick returns. One doctor, an excellent citizen, worked on the roads for money to buy groceries, like many others. But it turned the tide. The Gov- ernment extended the water payments to twenty years and gave other relief. In the meantime the price of raw land tumbled and new people began to buy and develop places that supplied work for many deserving settlers. For the last four years alfalfa areas have increased, more and better cattle have added fertility and dollars, and the various features of diversified and intensified farming have been added, to the great benefit of the farmers. The project now has several hundred experienced farmers, the values of unimproved lands are low, water payments easy, there is no long wait for a fruit crop, but quick returns and a living after one year. Had these conditions prevailed nine years ago the UmatUla Project today would have been a garden from corner to corner. This it is sure to become ere long as hope has given way to assurance and practically every farmer now knows that his certain prosperity is close at hand. Another step forward was taken when, in response to earnest solicitations from the settlers, the State established the Umatilla Experiment Station. A practical, as well as scientifically educated, farmer is in charge, and he is ready at aU times to aid settlers. 288 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST The Service also has sent some of its expert field men to help them solve their problems. A fine illustration of the broadly helpful princi- ples that control the direction of the work of the Eec- lamation Service is found in the supplying of water, for power purposes, to Joseph Cunha, of Echo. The main canal ran near enough to suggest to him the possibility of securing a more steady and contiau- ous flow of water, and permit the abandonment of his individual parallel ditch. Negotiations were en- tered into, offers and plans made, which were finally accepted by Mr. Cunha, and now the Echo Flour Mill is operated by this water, and the project is so much to the good through a beneficial arrangement with one of Oregon's citizens. The leading town on the project is Hermiston, with a population of 650. It is a growing and fairly prosperous frontier town, with aU that goes to make life in a farming community comfortable and pleas- ing. The outside population on the project is about 1000. The farm unit of the public lands is twenty to forty acres, but there are only twenty units not filed upon. The remainder of the lands are in pri- vate ownership. The construction charge is $70 an acre, on the older portion of the project and $92 an acre for the west extension, payable in twenty years without interest. The annual maintenance and op- eration charges are small, but varying in accordance with amount of water used. The Project Manager is Herbert D. Newell, with ofi&ce at Hermiston, Oregon. CHAPTER XXVI AMONG TULE MABSHES AND LAKES. THE KLAMATH PBOJECT, OBEGON-CALIFOBNIA On the boundary line between Oregon and Cali- fornia are vast tule marshes thousands of acres in extent, in which several open lakes of large area are found. These are connected with each other by a network of creeks and rivers. Surrounding and ad- jacent to these tule lands, which are merely shallow lakes, are other thousands of acres of slightly higher land above the water level and which, from their fer- tile character, attracted the attention of the early set- tlers who came to this portion of Oregon in the early 'fifties. The region is now known as the Klamath country. The abundant water supply coming from the high mountains, the level character of much of the land, the fertile soil resulting from the decay of the vol- canic rocks, all attracted the attention of the engi- neers. The tule marshes especially aroused interest because of the fact that swampy lands similar in appearance' had been successfully reclaimed in the Sacramento Valley; it was early assumed that these tule covered swamps, if drained, must necessarily be extremely fertile. Here, however, has been involved one of those popular fallacies which, though often exposed, is hard to destroy : because certain marshes have been reclaimed and have produced wonderful crops, therefore, all other marshes should be re- 289 290 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST claimed ! As a matter of fact, it is now known that not all of the swampy and overflowed lands possess a soil such that when drained, it can be economically subdued. Such has proved to be the case with some of the Klamath lands, especially those of the lower lake. On the other hand, the soil under the Tule Lake, in many ways similar in appearance, is cap- able of producing large crops. The area embraced in the Klamath Project is a large and somewhat varied tract of country located about midway between San Francisco, Calif., and Portland, Oregon, and 150 mUes east from the Pa- cific Ocean. It is generally known as the Klamath Basin, receiving its name from a tribe of Indians that still inhabit some portions of it. It is on the eastern side of the Cascade Range, and has an ele- vation of from 4,000 to 4,200 feet above the sea. Two large valleys, the Klamath and Lost River, con- stitute the greater part of its area, amounting in the aggregate to approximately one-third of a million acres, not aU of which, however, is reclaimable. The portion to which the Service directed its atten- tion is a square, the sides of which are about 50 miles long, and located approximately at the corner com- mon to Modoc and Siskiyou Coimties, California, and the northerly boundary of Klamath County, Oregon. At the outset it was decided to employ Upper Kla- math and Clear Lakes as the two reservoirs of the project, with Horse Fly Lake as an auxiliary in case it should be needed. Upper Klamath Lake is a nat- ural reservoir with an area of 60,000 acres and a storage capacity of 140,000 acre-feet, without the AMONG TULE MAESHES AND LAKES 291 construction of regulating works. It receives the drainage from a watershed area of 100 square miles and its principal tributaries are the Sprague, Will- iamson and Wood Rivers, these rivers draining the regions easterly and northerly from the lake. Will- iamson and Wood Rivers are fed by some very large springs, the water supply probably coming in large part from the Crater Lake region. The Upper Kla- math Lake acts as an immense regulating basin and discharges into Link or Klamath River over a rim- rock, serving as a natural weir, the discharge vary- ing between 1,000 and 10,000 second-feet, the mean discharge being 3,400 second-feet. Clear Lake receives the drainage from a water- shed area of approximately 600 square miles, the principal feeder being Willow Creek, which drains a considerable area of mountainous country west of Goose Lake. The area of the lake originally was about 10,000 acres with approximately 5,000 addi- tional acres of marginal swamp lands. A dam 33 feet high makes possible a storage of 462,000 acre- feet, the reservoir thus formed covering an area of approximately 25,000 acres. The discharge of Wil- low Creek varies from 2 seoond-f eet to 6,000 second- feet, the heaviest run-off occurring in the months of March and April. Horse Fly Reservoir is located on Miller Creek, a tributary of Lost River at an elevation of approxi- mately 4,800 feet and has a drainage area above it roughly estimated at 200 square miles. The reser- voir basin is flat and swampy with an estimated val- ley area of 3,500 acres, a large proportion of the land being public. The creek, with a discharge varying 292 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST from 2 second-feet to 6,000 second-feet, flows through a narrow canyon of basaltic rock at the dam site; and a dam 50 feet high would impound approxi- mately 123,000 acre-feet. This site is of substantial importance. In addition to the lake areas mentioned above as serving for storage reservoirs there are two others, Lower Klamath, and Tule, within the project limits, for which reclamation by drainage was planned. Of this, more will be said later. Lower Klamath cov- ers an area of 29,400 acres, or including the marginal swamps, an area of 88,300 acres; while Tule Lake covers 96,000 acres of which it was hoped ultimately to reclaim 35,000 acres. The climate in the Klamath Basin is mUd, with the summers warm and dry, but not excessively hot. Snow falls during the winter, but extreme low tem- peratures are rare. The rainfall is light averaging from 10 to 12 inches ; the land therefore requires ir- rigation, and without it, few crops can be raised with certainty. The cool climate permits the growth of grain, alfalfa and the hardier vegetables, but limits the cultivating of the more delicate fruits and vegetables. The preliminary reconnaissances of the en^neers seemed to confirm the optimistic prognostications of the settlers. Here were thousands of acres of good land, millions of gallons of unused water, thou- sands of acres of swampy land covered with tules. Elsewhere tule-marsh land had been drained and re- claimed and found to be fabulously rich for agricul- tural purposes ; why should it not be so here ? True, there was considerable alkali, both black and white, AMONG TULE MAESHES AND LAKES 293 which had come to the surface where careless or over-irrigation had been practised, but alkali else- where had been leached out, hence why not here? There were already four or five private canal sys- tems, irrigating in the aggregate a considerable area, and capable of covering much more land, prop- erly handled, and the soil experts sent out by the government wrote favourably of the possibilities of the soil, hence it was an enthusiastic and optimistic audience of farmers that met the officials of the Eec- lamation Service in Klamath Falls in November, 1904. One result of this meeting was that numerous peti- tions from farmers and others (one with nearly 300 signatures of ranchers, merchants, professional men, county officials, etc., of Klamath Falls, Merrill, Bonanza, and the adjacent valleys), were received by the Secretary of the Interior, urging that the Service undertake the work. There were several seemingly unsurmountable difficulties to be overcome ere this could be done. These were the vested and conflicting water rights that had already been obtained under state laws to be adjudicated. Many settlers owned riparian rights on Lower Klamath and Tule Lakes; these must be surrendered or future trouble was sure to arise. The states of Oregon and California must cede the OAvnership of Lower Klamath and Tule Lakes to the United States Government and enact laws which would permit the lowering or raising of their waters, and, finally, the United States Con- gress must give to the Secretary of the Interior power to destroy the navigability of these waters. 294 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST Snch was the enthusiasm brought to hear upon the work by newspapers, and state and federal officials that in a few months all these difficulties were, in the main, overcome. Now everything seemed clear for going ahead. The estimated extent of the project, roughly classi- fied into Upper Valleys with 48,356 acres, Klamath Basin, 140,797 acres, Tule Lake Bed, 47,248 acres, was a total of 236,401 acres. Here was where a serious mistake was made. Too many acres were included in the possible reclaimable area, and this naturally lowered the estimate of the average cost of construction per acre. The farmers, however, did not understand, or if they did, they wilfully ignored any possibility of future revision of these figures. Everything appearing to be favourable, the project was duly recommended, and on May 15, 1905, the Secretary approved of it, allotting $4,400,000 for its completion, one million dollars of which was immedi- ately available. One of the earliest tasks that met the Service was the purchase of existing works and canals, and the reconcihng of conflicting interests. To merely re- count the efforts expended in these matters would occupy many pages. Suffice it to say that through litigations, compromise, conferences, and purchase the main rights ultimately became vested in the Government. In 1906 various surveys were made, one of which was for the purpose of determining the amount of fall available for power purposes on the Klamath River below Keno, and ultimately a canal was built on the west bank of the Klamath River, diverting AMONG TULE MARSHES AND LAKES 295 water from the river 1,200 feet from its outlet from Upper Klamath Lake, with the intention of using it for power purposes. As yet, however, no plant has been installed, as aU irrigation at present is by grav- ity flow. A power plant wiU be put in later, without question. It is well, before the irrigation plan is presented, to secure a fairly clear idea of the complicated sys- tem of lakes and rivers of this region and their curious relations to each other. Upper Klamath Lake is a large body of fresh water, fed by mountain streams, and is approximately forty mUes long and six nules wide. At the southerly end of this lake is a rock barrier, over which the water discharges in a series of rapids, falling about 56 feet, thence ,through the marsh of the lower edge of Lower Kla- math Lake, thence over another barrier of rock, and then by rapid descent to the ocean. The connection between the Lower and Upper Klamath Lakes is very small, and the Lower Lake has a limited drainage directly tributary to it but is connected naturally with the Klamath Eiver by a narrow slough. During the season of high water this slough carries water from Klamath River to the lake, and when the freshets have passed and the level of the river declines, the current of the slough is re- versed and it carries water from the lake to the river. Thus the stage of the lake follows tardily that of the river. Clear Lake bears a similar relation to Lost River and its upper feeder. Willow Creek. When the lat- ter was iu freshet it overflowed into Clear Lake, which discharged its surplus water through Lost 296 RECLAIMING THE ARID WEST River. Lost River follows a circuitous course and discharges into Tule Lake, which has no visible out- let, but disposes of its water by evaporation and seepage. It normally covers an area of about 90,000 acres, which fluctuates with the varying discharges of different years and cycles of years. The area of the drainage basin comprises 37,000 square miles, with an average annual rainfall on the irrigable area of 14.2 inches. The average eleva- tion is 4,100 feet above sea level, and the tempera- ture ranges from -10° to 100° Fahr. The annual run-off in acre-feet, from 1904 to 1913, at the River at Klamath Falls was, maximum, 2,530,000; minimum, 1,450,000; mean, 1,770,000. Lost River and Willow Creek at Clear Lake, maximum, 255,000 ; minimum, 35,000; mean, 125,000. Lost River at Olene and Merrill, maximxmi, 475,000; minimum, 15,000; mean, 265,000. In 1916 the area for which the Service was prepared to supply water was 47,- 600 acres, of which applications were signed for 27,254 acres. The irrigation season extends from May 1 to September 30 — 153 days. The systems of irrigation in existence when the Reclamation Act was signed included the so-called Ankeny Ditch — ^the Klamath Falls Irrigating Co., which had diverted water from Upper Klamath Lake for over twenty years. It occupied a strategic position at the outlet of the lake and had water rights covering 1799 acres of land. In 1902 a filing was made on the Upper Klamath Lake, at the head of Link River, for 30,000 miners' inches of water. This was subsequently enlarged to 150,000 miners' inches, which included the whole AMONG TULE MARSHES AND LAKES 297 flow of the Link River, and a company known as the Klamath Canal Company organized. Its object was to irrigate on a large scale the land of the Klamath and adjoining valleys. This company also filed on the waters of Miller Creek and Lost River, and also secured an option on the property of the Summit Lake Irrigation Company. For over 20 years the so-called Adams Canal had been supplying water from the Lower Klamath Lake to the pioneers who had settled in the vicinity of Merrill, Oregon, to the extent of about 8,000 acres. This was the Little Klamath Water Ditch Co., and it consisted of 22 miles of main canal. Near to Clear Lake the Jesse D. Carr Land and Livestock Company owned 15,000 acres of swamp and meadow land, and this was needed for the Reservoir site. It also controlled riparian land around the lake amounting to approximately 10,000 acres more, and owned 7,000 acres of irrigable land along the north shore of Tule Lake. On the west side of Link River, Moore Bros, owned two small canals starting near the head of the rapids. These canals were ru the way of the Keno Canal, which was contemplated for power and irrigation purposes, so an amicable arrangement was entered into whereby the Moores exchanged their property and rights for 205 second-feet of water delivered from the Keno Canal. All the above rights, canals and lands were pur- chased and thus the Service had a clear field. Its completed plan provides for the use of the Upper Klamath and Clear Lakes for storage purposes. The natural outlet of the Upper Klamath is the 298 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST Link River, and water for irrigation is diverted from its east side, 700 feet from the lake, into the main canal, which extends 9 miles in a southeasterly di- rection. From Lost River water is diverted to the Griffith Canal at the Lost River Dam, 10 miles south- east from Klamath Falls, Oregon. This supplies the Adams Canal. Clear Lake Dam and dikes were buUt mainly to withhold the waters of Lost River from Tule Lake into which that river empties. The water thus stored is released into Lost River whenever needed for irrigation. It is proposed to reclaim about 30,- 000 acres of the bed of Tule Lake by evaporation. To assist in this, the Lost River Diversion Dam and Canal — 8 miles long — ^were built to divert the flood waters of Lost River into Klamath River. The present irrigation system consists of 210 miles of canals and laterals and 53 miles of open drains. These works cover the total irrigable area of 47,660 acres. As the reclamation of the bed of Tule Lake progresses, a second diversion dam will be built in Lost River about 15 miles nearly south from the first dam. This will divert water east and west on the reclaimed area of the lake bed. The principal features of the project are the Clear Lake Reservoir, Lost River Diversion Works, the Keno Power Canal, the Main Canal Tunnel, 3,300 feet in length, and the main canals of the dis- tributing system. The Main Canal heads in Upper Klamath Lake. The head-works consist of 6 steel gates set in con- crete, each 5 feet wide and 8 feet high, separated by AMONG TULE MAKSHES AND LAKES 299 piers 2 feet thick, with grooves for flash boards so that the gates can be unwatered for examination or repair. The capacity at low water is about 1,000 cubic feet per second. The canal for about 2,700 feet is in a deep cut, ISVz feet in bottom width, lined with concrete 6 inches thick. It then enters the concrete lined tun- nel, which is of the same width, and rectangular ex- cept for an arched top. About 9 mUes below the head-works is a large lateral known as the South Branch Canal. To exclude the waters of Lost River from Tule Lake — ^the marshes of which it is proposed to re- claim — ^the regulating reservoir of Clear Lake was built, and the regulated waters are diverted by a dam near Wilson's Bridge into a channel with a capacity of 350 cubic feet per second, and carried thereby to Klamath Eiver. In this way only the flood waters of Lost River exceeding the above capacity are allowed to reach Tule Lake. The stor- age dam at Clear Lake is a combination of earth and rock-fill. It is 33 feet high. It has a core-wall only at the base. The area of the reservoir formed is about 25,000 actes, and has so far disposed of all surplus water by evaporation and seepage, and this supply is thereby eliminated from Tule Lake. The Lost River Diversion Dam near Wilson's Bridge is of unique design. It was necessary to raise the water nearly to the elevation of the flood plain in order to make the diversion channel feasible. On the other hand, the water must not be permitted to much exceed the same level in flood times lest it overflow valuable lands in the valley above, which 300 RECLAIMING THE ARID WEST has a very flat gradient. It thus became necessary to provide a long overflow weir with movable crest, to afford the necessary discharge at the permissible head. To secure this, the dam was designed in plan to be of the shape of an elongated horseshoe with the toe up-stream. This causes the overflow to fall in the interior of the horseshoe, and thus to dissi- pate its surplus energy in opposing currents and whirlpools before leaving the solid concrete struc- ture, which it leaves very placidly. A similar length of weir across the valley would have involved a large amount of excavation to carry the structure down to suitable foundation, besides requiring ex- pensive provisions for conducting the overflow harmlessly to the natural channel below. The Keno Power Canal was constructed to supply a prior power right, to give additional power and supply water for irrigation. The water is taken from the Upper Klamath Lake to a point 6,200 feet below, just opposite the town of Klamath Falls, where a drop of 50 feet is obtained. A discharge of 200 cubic feet per second here disposed of the prior right, but as the canal has a capacity of 600 cubic feet there are great future power possibilities as yet unused. The power canal has an overflow weir to dispose of surplus waters incident to the fluctuating demands of the power-plant. The necessary length of over- fall was obtained by building the weir in a series of rectangles. When it came to the work of reclaiming the marshes — ^which seemed such a comparatively simple matter at the beginning of the project, — several .1 ^i^^iS^i&^ w mt m R B ■ H • - •■5^"^ Intake Gates of Main Canal Klamath Project, Oregon-California Lost River Dam Klamath Project, Oregon-California AMONG TULE MAESHES AND LAKES 301 serious obstacles presented themselves. To keep water from flowing into Lower Klamath Lake, the embankment of the railway that has been buUt from the main line of the Southern Pacific at Weed, Cali- fornia, through Klamath Falls, to Kirk, Oregon, was used as a levee. A culvert was provided through this levee, with provision for controlling the flow in either direction. The river and lake were closed to navigation, and a small part of the northwest area of Lower Klamath Lake was diked off and un- watered by pumping. Drain ditches were provided to control the ground water and crops were planted. Now arose the unforeseen. The soil, that was ex- pected to be rich and f ertUe, was found to be intract- able. An agreement had been entered into with the Bureau of Plant Industry of the Department of Agriculture to establish an experimental farm for ascertaining the best method of draining and subdu- ing the marsh lands, and determining the crops best suited for their cultivation. It was found that the raw tule mat was very tough, and hard to reduce quickly into good tUth. In order to have at least a small piece of land in good condition for cultivation, the furrow slice was removed from about one acre. After this was done, it was found possible to work up the next layer iuto a very good tilth for a seed bed. In the spring of 1910, after arrangements had been made to bring to the land a supply of fresh irrigation water, a number of grain and grass crops together with a series of vegetable crops, were planted. The major portion of all the crops planted came 302 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST up, and commenced growth in a fairly satisfactory manner, although the seedling growth was slow. Irrigation water was used freely in an effort to re- duce the salt content by leaching. After passing the seedling stage, most of the plants began to show symptoms of distress, manifested by arrested growth and yellowing. In general it seemed that the tender crops came up promptly, but after having exhausted the food supply stored in the seed, they began to suffer and die, although temperature and moisture conditions were favourable to growth. The wheat, oats, barley, alsike, clover, alfalfa and redtop remained alive throughout the season on the diked land, but none of these crops made anything like a normal growth. None of the crops in the foregoing list gave any indication of ability to thrive under the conditions of the experiment; and it became apparent that thorough leaching of the land would be a necessary preliminary to the production of any of the ordinary crop plants. When the drainage of the experimental tract was first* undertaken, a large number of curbed open wells were dug for the purpose of observing the rate of recession of the ground water. With the begin- ning of the crop season of 1910, observations were begun as to the depth of the water in these open wells, and samples of the water were tested from time to time with the electrolytic bridge to deter- mine the salt content. The necessary instruments were also installed to observe the air temperature, wind velocity, and the temperature of the seed bed. Chemical analyses showed the presence in the soil AMONG TULE MAESHES AND LAKES 303 and water of large quantities of soluble salts, chiefly carbonates of sodium, calcium, and magnesium, in other words, lime and black alkali. Repeated and various experiments were made in an effort to leach out these salts. All went to show that the down- ward and lateral movement of the water into the land was so slow as to make very doubtful the pos- sibility of reclaiming the land by leaching out the excess of alkaline salts. Further investigation revealed that there was far less deposition of rock sediment or silt to mix with the aquatic vegetation than had been supposed, hence the marsh lands were lacking in essential ele- ments of fertility. Furthermore, the decomposition of the aquatic vegetation furthered the development of black alkali. The study of the problem of evapo- ration of this vast body of water showed also that the conditions are such that low temperatures and kUling frosts were likely to occur during every month of the year, thus limiting the possible crops to the hardier species. And thus the matter practically stands today. The farmers of the region cannot believe that these marsh lands are fundamentally different from other marsh lands, and yet no way has yet been found to make them profitable under cultivation. Hence fur- ther reclamation must be undertaken with caution to prevent unproductive expenditures. On the remainder of the lands of the project, however, conditions are generally favourable. Al- falfa, timothy, alsike, red and white clover, redtop, and orchard grass are the principal hay crops. Some sweet clover is grown on lands not well suited 304 EECLAIMING THE AKID WEST. to the other grasses and experimental plots of Sudan grass have yielded well. Alfalfa does well on all lands where there is sufficient depth of soil. Alsike clover and redtop grow better on the shal- lower soils and on those partially seeded. Consid- erable areas were sown in grains in 1915 and in 1916 owing to high prices prevailing; the yield for 1915 was generally good for wheat, oats, barley, and rye. The season of 1916 was late with heavy frosts late in June, which lowered the yield for that season. Butabagas, sugar beets, and pota- toes yield well, though late frosts sometimes injure the potatoes. Fruits and berries do well and each farm can raise sufficient for home use without trouble. In some favoured localities apples do well, and peaches, plums, prunes, and cherries are grown to a small extent. Pears do well and yield heavily. Owing to the elevation and consequent late frosts it can not be considered a fruit country. The average return per acre on the 27,254 acres irrigated in 1915 was $13.85, and while some indi- vidual farmers have had a rather hard time, the gen- eral air of the region is one of fairly contented pros- perity. The growth of the city of EZlamath Falls may be regarded as an index to the development of the country. In 1904 it had a population of less than 500, now it numbers over 6,000. When the Service entered the district there was a small area of land under irrigation from privately owned canals, on which alfalfa lands were held at a value of from $20 to $30 per acre. Choice dry land in the surrounding country sold for $5 or $6 per acre. At the present time lands under Govern- AMONG TULE MARSHES AND LAKES 305 ment Canals sell for from $50 to $100 per acre, de- pending upon location; and dry lands adjacent are being sold at from $10 to $20 per acre. The gen- eral increase in land values since the first operations of the Reclamation Service has been from 100 per cent to 300 per cent. In conclusion it will readily be recognized that this project has demonstrated the fact that it was one that only the Government could have experi- mented with and developed as far as has been done. Mere interest charges would have swamped private capital. It has presented, and still presents, com- plex problems. It has not only irrigation and drainage problems, but an evaporation and run-off problem, any one of which is difficult in itself, but all of which taken together form a most perplexing whole. In nearly all Reclamation projects, whether of the Government or private owners, water has to be conserved. Here, however, there is more than enough, and one of the great questions is how to get rid of it. The cost charges per acre on the different units are as follows: First unit, $30 per acre; Second unit, $30 per acre ; Third unit, $39 and $45 per acre. The present Project Manager is J. B. Bond, with office at Klamath Falls, Oregon. CHAPTEE XXVII HELPING PREVENT MISSISSIPPI VALLEY FLOODS. THE BELLE FOURCHE PBOJBCT, SOUTH DAKOTA As early as 1903 The Northwest Post, published in South Dakota, called attention to the wisdom of the citizens of Butte County selecting several reser- voir sites for the consideration of the engineers of the Eeclamation Service. Among other things the editor said: Going north we find Owl, Indian, Antelope, Battle, Four Mile, Moreau, Sand, and North Moreau Creeks, where floods regularly occur. The little Missouri and Grand rivers are available for irrigating large areas of the north part of the county ; and last, but not least, if the vast volume of water carried off by the Belle Fourche River was stored until needed for irrigation, it would supply a large area along both sides of its valley. The Redwater River being already appropriated to its full capacity, it is not available, unless the Government should take over the rights of the present appropriators. In looking over the hydrographic situation in this county, we find that if the water supply of the county could be con- served, it would be ample for our needs, while as it now is it does us no good, and causes no end of trouble and expense to our neighbours along the lower Mississippi. Already private enterprise was in the field. Fully $100,000 had been expended in constructing earthwork dams for the storage of water, but the greater possibilities of the flood-waters of the Belle Fourche River were too great to undertake. Ac- 306 PEEVENTING MISSISSIPPI FLOODS 307 cordingly in April, 1903, the citizens of Butte County forwarded a petition to the Secretary of the Interior setting forth the following facts, viz. : that Butte County, South Dakota, comprises 7,689 square miles (larger than the whole state of New Jersey) ; that the flood-waters of the Belle Fourche Eiver if conserved would reclaim large tracts of arid lands at small expense; that suitable reservoir sites ex- isted, and that the major portion of the irrigable lands were public. As the result of this petition careful reconnais- sances were made of the region, and although exact data upon the water run-off of the country were not available, it seemed reasonable to plan for the di- version of the Belle Fourche River a short distance below the mouth of the Eedwater into a large con- duit which should convey it to a reservoir to be con- structed on Owl Creek at its junction with Dry Creek, about eight miles in an air-line from the di- version point, from whence it could be canaled to irrigate large tracts of land on both sides of the river as far east as "Willow Creek on the north and Butte Creek on the south. The Belle Fourche Eiver drains an area of about 4,300 square miles in western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming, including the northern slope of the Black Hills. The discharge of the river occurs mostly in the spring and early summer months, it being relatively low in the late summer and fall. Hence irrigation on a large scale could be based only upon the storage of a full season's supply. Photo- graphs taken locally prior to the advent of the Serv- ice showed the BeEe Fourche at flood evidently 308 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST pouring forth considerable waste water. This it was determined to arrest and store until needed. Measurements made from 1903 to 1915 have since given the following facts: The annual run-off, in acre-feet, maximum, 554,608; minimum, 119,860; mean, 315,359. The lands to be irrigated looked first-class, and the engineer of soils recommended that the farm unit be limited to 40 acres. This was afterwards raised to 80 acres. The area in 1916 for which the Service was prepared to supply water was 78,591 acres, and there were applications signed for 61,313 acres. The length of the irrigation season is from May 1 to October 1 — 152 days, and the average rain- fall 14.5 inches. In 1915 it reached 21.44 inches. The average elevation of the irrigable area is 2,800 feet above the sea, and its temperature varies from -30° to 103° Fahr. The diversion dam on the Belle Eourche River is about 1% miles below the town of Belle Fourche. It is a concrete weir 23 feet in height and 400 feet long between abutments, with 900 feet of earth em- bankments. Beyond the north abutment are located the sluiceway and the intake for the inlet canal. This canal is 6% miles long and has a capacity of 1,600 second-feet. It is located on the north bank of the river and extends from the intake in an east- erly direction through the divide to Dry Creek, where the water passes by a 10-foot drop into the reservoir. The terminus of the canal is protected by a semicircular concrete weir, 180 feet long, founded on shale, with a maximum depth of 2 feet of water over its crest at full canal discharge. PEEVENTING MISSISSIPPI FLOODS 309 About half a mile below the intake the canal crosses Crow Creek, a stream which is dry during the larger portion of the year, but which has a drainage area of about 130 square miles, and car- ries, during the flood season, a large amount of un- appropriated water which is available for storage. It was decided to take this water into the canal, and to guard against damage from excessive floods, a concrete overflow weir 180 feet long was designed. In this weir are three sluice-gates, 5 x 10 feet each, with sills below the grade of the canal, to sluice out the mud washed in by Crow Creek. The main storage reservoir is formed by an earthen dam 6,493 feet long, with a maximum height of about 115 feet. It is one of the largest earthen dams in the United States. The reservoir covers over 8,000 acres at high water, and has a capacity of about 200,000 acre-feet, or 65 billion gallons. With such an enormous storage, and the attendant possi- bility of an appalling disaster should a break occur in the embankment, it was essential that the most thorough and careful consideration be given to in- sure its perfect safety. The material below the damsite was thoroughly prospected and found to be highly desirable. A cut-off trench was excavated the entire length of the dam to a depth of from five to twenty feet, ten feet wide on the bottom. This was refilled with selected material in 4-inch layers, wetted and rolled. Additional trenches were pro- vided in the wider portions of the base. The clay for the embankment was carefully chosen so that it did not include soluble salts, which would destroy its impervious qualities. As fast as it was put into 310 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST place it was "vsretted and then rolled with 21-ton trac- tion engines. The water-slope of the dam for a short distance above the toe is 5 to 1, this flat slope being near the bottom and unprotected against wave action. Higher up, however, it was necessary to secure the dam against the effect of waves. At times this is a stormy region, the wind attaining a high velocity, and waves under such conditions are created that can wreak considerable havoc. When it is also re- called that in winter-time the ice-sheet is several feet in thickness and consequently possess great thrusting force, it was decided to pave the dam with concrete blocks, each about a ton and a half in weight, bedded in gravel to prevent slipping. These blocks were 6% feet long, 5 feet wide, and 8 inches thick, and they were laid with exceeding care, so as to form a smooth and perfect surface. Six- teen thousand of them were put into place before the dam was completed. The need for these was soon to be apparent. On the night of April 13, 1912, when there were about 100,000 acre-feet in the reservoir, a high wind from the west arose, estimated at 70 miles an hour, which caused waves in the reservoir 8 to 10 feet in height to beat against the concreted slope of the dam. During the fiercest attacks the dam seemed to bear all onslaughts without injury until, at the final cul- mination of the storm, between midnight and 4 a. m. of April 14, the receding waves periodically relieved the weight of the face of the concrete blocks, so that the bach-pressure of the water behind the blocks dis- placed several of them on the seventeenth course. PEEVENTING MISSISSIPPI FLOODS 311 This permitted the waves to act upon their gravel foundation and gradually undermined the blocks above as far up the slopes as the waves could act, and also laterally to a great extent, allowing the blocks to slide down, thus forming an irregular pave- ment. About 250 blocks were thus removed as well as the gravel behind them. None, however, were broken. A careful study of these results of the storm led the engineers to believe that had the blocks been twice as wide — ^up and down — as they were, or had they been fastened to the courses above and below, the accident could not have happened. All the blocks had been laid with vertical joints broken, so that each corner of a block was at a three-way joint. Therefore, to prevent a similar injury, at each of these joints a IV^-inch hole was drilled, and this hole filled with grout to act as a bond, or tie, holding the blocks together. But another, and severer, storm in May, 1916, when the wind blew at approximately 65 miles an hour, demonstrated that the precautions thus taken were inadequate. There was much more water in the reservoir, and the twenty-second course of blocks was the one attacked. To prevent future dis- aster, the blocks in the danger zone have been re- moved and replaced, the length extending up and down the slope instead of horizontally, and cement- mortared at aU points. A slight seepage was discovered down stream after the reservoir was placed in service, but a small drain was provided which has proven effective. The North Canal is about 45 miles long and heads at the north outlet conduit. Its capacity is 1,600 312 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST cubic-feet per second to the wasteway channel which it crosses half a mile from the dam, and here are located spUlway gates. Below this point the capac- ity is 650 cubic-feet per second, the bottom width is 28 feet, and the water depth 7 feet. About 8 mUes from the head of the North Canal, just before crossing Indian Creek, it is provided with a sluiceway, and a drop of 36 feet into Indian Creek, by which the water can be quickly turned out of the canal in case of a break. The water is dis- charged by the sluice into Indian Creek at about 200 feet above the flume crossing. This flume across Indian Creek is 43 feet above the creek-bed, and 1,300 feet long. It is built of galvanized steel and supported on wooden bents, anchored to concrete bases. In order to avoid building a lateral parallel to the main canal, the farm units along the canal are mostly provided with a separate turii-out, consist- ing of a 12-iiich vitrified clay-pipe with concrete inlet and outlet, controlled by a steel gate working in a steel frame, and moved by means of a screw stem inclined 20 degrees from the vertical. Most of these outlets are 12 inches in diameter. The South Canal heads at the south outlet of the Belle Fourche Reservoir, and runs in a southerly and easterly direction, a total length of about 45 miles. It furnishes water to 4,000 acres west of Owl Creek, and to 28,000 acres south of the BeUe Fourche River. The canal crosses the river by means of a pressure pipe or inverted siphon, 3,565 feet in length, working imder a maximum head of 65 feet, and an average head of 50 feet. It is built PEEVENTING MISSISSIPPI FLOODS 313 of reinforced concrete and has an internal diameter of five feet. The shell is 8 inches thick, and is re- inforced with 305,000 pounds of 34-inch and %-inch steel bars. The inlet and outlet structures are both of reinforced concrete, the former being protected by a steel grizzly to prevent the entrance of drift. About two miles east of the river-crossing the canal passes through a high bluff, through a tunnel, 1,306 feet in length. It is horseshoe in shape, and has a maximum width of 9^2 feet, and a centre width of 10^/4 feet. It is timbered throughout. The South Canal is carried across Anderson Draw by means of a reinforced concrete pressure pipe 425 feet long, under a head of about 45 feet, and under Whitewood Creek by means of another concrete pipe 350 feet long, under a head of 15 feet. The distribution system includes 400 miles of lat- eral canals, and over 1,000 small structures. It is designed to deliver water to each unit of 80 acres or larger, and to carry a cubic foot per second to each 30 acres, with a minimum canal capacity of 4 cubic feet per second, so that by rotation every irrigator can use that head of water if he chooses. In the earlier years of work on the project there was the usual rush of settlers to gain possession of land, but from 1912 to 1916 there seemed to be a lull. The first six months of 1916, however, showed fresh interest, until now there are but 56 unentered farm units on the project. Steadily the settlers have advanced towards greater prosperity and comfort. The conditions of life on the project are reasonably favourable and are constantly improving. 314 RECLAIMING THE ARID WEST The town of Belle Fourche, the highest point in the district, has an altitude of 3,000 feet, and in plain sight above the city are the Black Hills, shouldering their way thousands of feet into the air. Harney's Peak, rising 7,216 feet, is part of the range, and is the highest peak in the state. A delightful climate, with an abundance of sun- shine is found in the Belle Fourche Valley. The air is clear and pure, and attracts attention by its ex- hilarating effect. The rainfall occurs largely in May and June, after which a long season of fair weather may be depended upon. The nights are always cool. Pleasant weather lasts until late in the fall, the earliest frosts occur usually about October 1. During the winter there is little snow and no great amount of cold weather, and more or less work is done in the fields all through the season. The minimum temperature is 38° below zero. The sudden breaking up of winter is a noticeable feature of the climate. In the early part of 1910 the Chicago & North Western Railway Co. constructed a line from Belle Fourche to Newell, S. D., a distance of 23 miles. Three new towns were started along this line as fol- lows: Fruitdale, S. D., a village with a present population of about 150, located a distance of 8.5 miles east of Belle Fourche. Nisland, S. D., located between Fruitdale and Newell, along the Belle Fourche River, is a growing little town and prac- tically all lines of business are represented there. The population at present is around 250. The town being situated in the heart of the older settled por- tion of the project is rapidly becoming one of the Placing the Concrete Blocks on upstream face op Belle FouRCHE Dam Belle Fourche Project, Sottth Dakota Spillway at Head of Waste Channel, north end op Belle Fourche Dam - :: - ;rRCHE Project, South Dakota PREVENTING MISSISSIPPI FLOODS 315 most important shipping points of the project for grain and livestock, also alfalfa hay. Dairying is being undertaken by a large number of farmers and shipments of butter fat are increasing at a good rate. Newell, S. D., the government town, is the present terminus of the Chicago & North Western Eailway, and is located in the centre of the irrigation project. The town is now a little over six years old, and has a population of about 400. It is surrounded by 40 acre farm units. Shipments of hogs, cattle, sheep, forage, grain and butter show a steady in- crease. In addition to the growth and development of the irrigated area, the increase m shipments is due to the location of the town. It being the eastern terminus of the railroad naturally draws to it all shipments from the open range to the north and east. It has been demonstrated that sugar beets can be successfully grown in this vicinity and tests made show that the beets are of superior quality for the manufacture of sugar. Throughout the valley timber is found along the borders of the streams, and hardy trees and shrubs grow luxuriantly wherever water is supplied. Orchards of hardy fruits, such as apples, plums, and cherries, do fairly well with proper care. There is an abundant underground water supply in the Belle Fourche district. Borings of from 500 to 3,000 feet reach flowing water and the supply is apparently unlimited throughout the upper part of the valley. Belle Fourche is furnished with excel- lent water from three artesian wells flowing into a 50,000 gallon tank. There are also a number of pri- vate artesian wells within the city limits. The 316 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST higher lying lands in the lower part of the valley at present depend on cistern and canal water for domestic use. The wide valleys and rolling hills of the Belle Fourche district offer two distinct kinds of soil; that on the south side of the river is a sandy loam, that on the north a heavy clay. Throughout the region there is a large amount of rough land. This land, too high for irrigation, has been divided as nearly equal as possible among the different farm units. It is suitable chiefly for grazing purposes, with here and there areas on which dry crops may be produced. AU the soil is extremely fertile, culti- vation is easy and no hard pan is found. In years when the rainfall is sufficient, fine crops can be raised in the valley, but a crop cannot be depended upon without irrigation. In the low-lying lands of creek and river bottoms, tall wheat grass and native hay grow abundantly, and these crops sell at high prices. The level up- land stretches outside the project are dotted with cattle and sheep grazing on the nutritious wild grasses that cover the prairies. Thousands of acres of alfalfa, of which three crops may be cut in a season, furnish one of the principal products. All the cereals, including com, are grown, the fields yielding from 20 to 75 bushels per acre. "While the quality of the potatoes grown bespeaks for them a place on every farm, the sandy soil south of the river is especially well adapted to the growth of this crop. Sugar beets raised here contain a large con- tent (18.5 per cent) of sugar. Agreements to plant PREVENTING MISSISSIPPI FLOODS 317 out 2,300 acres have been signed for 1917, and a sugar factory is promised for 1918. The vast open country surrounding the valley to the north, east and west, affords pasturage for large herds, making this one of the best cattle ranges in the United States. As many as 5,000 carloads of cattle have been shipped from Belle Fourehe, S. D., in a year. Large flocks of sheep also feed on the ranges, and immense quantities of wool are shipped annually from this region. The raising of hogs is rapidly becoming one of the principal industries. Large quantities of al- falfa, barley, and feed com are produced in the val- ley, and owing to the dry atmosphere, diseases peculiar to the hog are uncommon. Poultry raising is profitable as there is a constant demand for eggs as well as chickens. The climate, the richly nutritious native grasses, and the easily grown alfalfa, make ideal conditions for dairying. With the convenient market for dairy products offered in the mining towns of the Black Hills, dairying is rapidly becoming one of the lead- ing industries. A well equipped creamery at Belle Fourehe, S. D., is doing a good, substantial business. Fruits and vegetables raised in the valley can be sold in the mining camps of the Black Hills, where employment is given to thousands of men. Dead- wood, Lead, and other of these busy mining towns are only about 40 miles distant from the centre of the project. Milk, eggs, butter, poultry and gar- den-truck all bring good returns, and there is a con- stant and growing demand for these farm products. 318 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST Sturgis, Whitewood, Belle Fourche, and other towns have direct railroad connection over the Chicago & North Western Ey. with Omaha, Sioux City, St. Paul, Minneapolis, Chicago and other large cities. The present population on the project is about 4,200. About 15,000 acres remain to be furnished with distributing laterals. The construction cost has been fixed at $30, $40, and $45 per acre, payable in twenty years without interest. The present Project Manager is B, E. Hayden with office at Newell, South Dakota. CHAPTER XXVin IN MORMON LAND. THE STBA.WBEEBY VALLEY PBOJECT, UTAH The Strawberry "Valley Project is located in the counties of Utah and Wasatch, Utah, and it receives its name from the location of its reservoir. Its source of water supply is the Strawberry and Spanish Fork rivers, and a number of small streams and springs not on the watersheds of these two. Strawberry River has a drainage area, in- cluding Indian and Trail Hollow creeks, of 175 square miles, whUe Spanish Fork River's area is 670 square miles. With an average elevation of the irrigable area at about 4,600 feet above sea level, and a tempera- ture that ranges from 10° to 95° Fahr. it can well be seen that its agricultural and horticultural products are somewhat limited, being in the main alfalfa, hay, cereals, sugar beets, and the hardier fruits and vege- tables. The soil is excellent, as a rule, being sandy loam, heavy clay, and a varying mixture of both; black alluvium ; loam and gravel. Much of it is underlaid by a coarse gravel, and the natural drainage is ex- cellent. The irrigation plan of the Strawberry Valley Project provides for the storage of water in the reservoir on Strawberry River ; the discharge of the stored water through the Strawberry Tunnel driven 319 320 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST through the Wasatch Mountains, approximately three and three-quarters miles long, into Diamond Fork, a tributary of Spanish Fork Eiver; and the diversion of water from Spanish Fork Eiver into canal systems, watering lands east and south of Utah Lake. A hydro-electric plant on the south side of the river three and one-quarter miles below the diversion dam supplies power for construction and commercial purposes. Part of the power de- veloped will ultimately be used for pumping water for irrigation of high lands and drainage of low lands. The United States claims all waste, seep- age, unappropriated spring and percolating water arising within the project, and proposes to use such water in connection therewith, as it does on all of its projects. The Strawberry Valley Project wUl furnish a full or partial water right to a total area of about 70,000 acres located in Utah County. Part of this area has a flood water right from Spanish Fork Eiver, but on account of the supply being low after July 1st, only certain early crops could be raised. A part of this area will need one-fourth of a water right, a part one-half of a water right, and about 30,000 acres a full water right from the project. All but about 4,000 acres of the land is in private owner- ship. This section of Utah was settled first about 1850 and was developed as far as practicable with the water supply. A generation has been born and raised on this land, but the young folks have had to go elsewhere for land as there was no water to irri- gate more land here. With the advent of the Straw- IN MORMON LAND 321 berry water there will be an abundant supply for a large acreage and while the average holding at pres- ent is less than 40 acres, the present indications are that divisions of the land will bring the individual holdings to less than 20 acres within a short time. Many new settlers have come in during the past year and the benefit from the project may be considered general. The Grovemment land located in the Goshen Valley that is to be irrigated will be opened for entry dur- ing the latter part of 1917, and with the opening up of this area, and the area of private land that has already been cultivated as dry farms on the west end of the project, a sufficient new population will be brought in to support a town located about 8 miles west of Payson. As yet no lands have been opened for irrigation by public notice, the major part of the most avail- able having been occupied in private ownership long before the project was contemplated. The project includes the following units : Span- ish Fork, Lake Shore, Mapleton and High Line units ; Clinton, Soldier Fork and Diamond Fork districts; the difference between a unit and a district being as follows : A unit is a section of the project on which water is sold to private individuals under the same terms and conditions to all, each individual executing a water right application mortgaging the land for the water, the water being supplied to the unit from the project water supply. A district designates an area on the upper branches of the Spanish Fork River to which water is sold under the Warren Act, all the 322 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST water users signing one contract, the Government agreeing to turn certain water into the river for this district and the district in turn trading this water to the owners of old rights on the lower part of the river for the privilege of diverting water from the upper branches of the river that was originally used on the lower land, as for instance, — the Spanish Fork and High Line units are irrigated from water di- rectly from the water supply available for the proj- ect. The Clinton District is located on the upper branches of the Spanish Fork Biver above the source of supply, and while they cannot get any project water, they can buy it and trade it for some of the old water rights in the Spanish Fork River and divert it onto their lands. This scheme was devised for the purpose of assisting in the further development of a number of old settled districts on the upper part of the Spanish Fork River that did not have a suf- ficient water right of their own, having settled on the land after the water was filed on by canals lower down. By arranging thus to sell them water, and allowing them to exchange it, they were enabled to divert the water that they had always had to allow to flow by, for the use of lower lands. The Spanish Fork Unit. This unit is made up of about 31,000 acres of land located on both sides of the Spanish Fork River in the vicinity of the town of Spanish Fork. The greater part of this area has a flood-water right from the Spanish Fork River and is irrigated by four existing canals, and during March and April contracts were entered into with them as follows : Spanish Fork East Bench Irrigation & Manufac- POWEE-HOUSE AND WaSTEWAY ChUTE Strawberry Valley Project, Utah Bridge across Wasteway at north end op Strawberry Dam Strawberry Valley Project, Utah IN MOEMON LAND 323 turing Company, March 25, 1915; Spanish Fork South Field Irrigation Company, March 25, 1915; Spanish Fork Southeast Irrigation Company, April 25, 1915; Spanish Fork West Field Irrigation Com- pany, March 25, 1915. In these contracts these companies agreed to de- liver through their canal systems any water that might be sold from the Strawberry Valley Project to lands that could be irrigated from their canals, a reasonable charge to be made for such carriage and such extension of the system as might be necessary, due to the delivery of this water. On June 30, water-right applications, numbering 266, had been executed on this unit, coveriag an area of approximately 5,600 acres, and on June 27 the delivery of stored water was commenced to the land that had signed water-right applications under the Spanish Fork East Bench Irrigation & Manufactur- ing Co., under this unit. Lake Shore Unit. The Lake Shore unit covers an area of about 6,000 acres of low land located on the west side of the Spanish Fork River on the shore of Utah Lake. It is irrigated from the Lake Shore Canal, which has a fair flood-water right in the Spanish Fork River. After considerable negotia- tions a contract, dated October 12, 1914, was entered into with the Lake Shore Co., in which they agreed to deliver through their canal system any water that might be sold from the Strawberry Valley Project to lands that are irrigated under the Lake Shore Canal, a reasonable charge to be made for such car- riage. The price per acre-foot on this unit is $45, the same as on the Spanish Fork unit, with the scbed- 324 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST ule of delivery and other conditions practically the same. On June 30, an adequate number of water- right applications had been received on this unit, covering an area of approximately 1,500 acres, and the delivery of a flow of 8 second-feet of storage water was commenced on June 27, 1915. Mapleton Unit. This unit covers an area of about 4,500 acres located on the east side of the project on the Mapleton Bench, a large part of the area having a partial water right from Hobble Creek. The land- owners submitted a petition stating that they de- sired to purchase water for between 3,000 and 4,000 acres of land, and after considerable negotiating a form of water-right application was approved sim- ilar to the one approved for the Lake Shore unit, but on presenting the water-right application to the landowners only a small part of the acreage repre- sented by the petition executed a water-right appli- cation. On March 19 the committee submitted a pe- tition asking that the construction of the Mapleton lateral be commenced, but, after considering all phases of the matter, decision was reached that it was not advisable to undertake the construction of the lateral until additional land had been signed up and the conditions imposed by the Secretary had been fulfilled. The lateral necessary to supply this land with water is rather costly, due to the several expensive structures necessary to bring it across the Spanish Fork Canyon and the double-track main line of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. High Line Unit. This has an area of 25,000 acres, the greater part of which at present has no water right This will be irrigated, a complete canal sys- -Si Z ■A o fe o o B a 'z El o y O a a " ^> a: a: t: e E- a; IN MORMON LAND 325 tern will be constructed by the Reclamation Service, and on the Spanish Fork and Lake Shore units, where a supplemental supply will be furnished for a large acreage, the present canal system will be used, with such enlargements and additions as may be nec- essary to be made by the canal companies, to supply additional land under these systems with water. Clinton District, This district is located on a branch of the Spanish Fork River, known as Thistle Creek, about two miles above the U. S. Reclamation Service diversion dam on Spanish Fork River. Soldier Fork District. This district is located along Soldier Fork, a tributary of Spainsh Fork River, about fifteen miles from the U. S. Reclamation Service diversion dam on Spanish Fork River. Diamond Fork District. This district is located along Diamond Fork, a tributary of Spanish Fork River, about seven miles from the U. S. Reclamation Service diversion dam. The Project Manager is J. L. Lytel, with office at Provo, Utah. CHAPTER "^XTY IN SIGHT OF THE SNOW-CAPPED "CASCADES." THE OKANOGAN PBOJEOT, WASHINGTON Okanogan County was at one time a part of the Colville Indian Reservation, in the north central part of the state of Washington, and it was established as a county ia 1887. In 1886, that portion of the reservation lying west of the Okanogan and Columbia rivers had been thrown open to settlement. Flowing through the lands was Salmon Creek and from it the early set- tlers took water for purposes of irrigation. The first ditches were small, irrigating only a few acres for the raising of com, potatoes, grain, hay and truck-gardens, but they demonstrated the value of irrigation, and in 1888, the ditches were enlarged and others constructed. Owing to remoteness from markets, and because of the excellent range afforded, stock raising was very generally followed. The providing of winter forage made hay one of the principal crops to be grown on the irrigated tracts. The soil was found to be very fertile, and would produce from four to five tons of alfalfa, per acre. Several small orchards were planted about this time, and these, with a few others planted later, have demonstrated the quantity and quality of apples and other fruit that can be grown in the Okanogan coun- try, and have had much to do with the almost univer- 326 THE SNOW-CAPPED "CASCADES" 327 sal giving over of the project to the raising of fruit at the present time. As the demand for hay increased, the irrigated tracts became larger, requiring more water. As a result, in the succeeding few years the normal flow of Salmon Creek was over-appropriated and during the last of each season a shortage occurred. Foreseeing the litigation which was sure to follow this over-appropriation, and to provide storage for use during the low water period, a corporation, known as the ConconuUy Lake Eeservoir Company, composed of many of the first appropriators from Salmon Creek, was organized on November 3, 1897, under the State laws. This company purchased or obtained easement for the necessary rights of way for canals and reservoirs, and by the construction of a small dam at the outlet of Salmon Lake (then known as ConconuUy Lake) were able to store 1,500 acre-feet of water to provide against the annual shortage during the low water period. The source of water is Salmon Creek, heading in the Cascade Mountains, which has a drainage area of about 140 square miles. The annual run-off in acre- feet, from 1903 to 1915 was maximum, 56,500 ; mini- mum, 17,350; mean, 29,118. The rainfall on the ir- rigable area, a six-year average, was 12.28 inches, though in 1915 15.98 inches fell. The average eleva- tion is 1,000 feet above sea level, and the temperature ranges from 10° to 105° Fahr. The length of the irrigating season is from May 1 to September 1, 123 days. When the Eeclamation Act was passed the Okan- ogan County Improvement Club petitioned the Sec- 328 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST retary of the Interior to make this region one of the projects of the Service. After investigation this was done and a plan of irrigation laid out which pro- vides for the storage of water in Salmon Lake and in ConconuUy Eeservoir, controlled by ConconuUy Dam on Salmon Creek, about 2 miles below ConconuUy, Washington, the control of Salmon Lake Eeservoir by a short inlet canal from Salmon Creek and con- crete outlet works ; the control of ConconuUy Eeser- voir by means of an outlet timnel discharging into Salmon Creek below the storage dam ; the diversion of water from Salmon Creek by a dam about 12 mUes below the reservoir into a canal system watering lands in the valley of Okanogan Eiver between Eiver- side and Okanogan, Washington. A pumping plant is also operated by power generated on the project when the gravity supply of water is not sufficient. Salmon Lake is a narrow body of water 334 miles long located on a tributary of the north fork of Sal- mon Creek. It is utUized to store water between ele- vations 2,282 and 2,298 feet above sea level. An inlet canal has been constructed from the North Fork of the Creek to the lake. The release of water from the reservoir is controlled by a simple concrete outlet structure, discharging into an outlet channel, which delivers the water into ConconuUy Eeservoir, a short distance below. The area of Salmon Lake Eeservoir is approximately 200 acres, and the capacity 3,200 acre-feet. ConconuUy, the larger of the reservoirs, is located at the confluence of the North and West Forks of Salmon Creek, just below the town of ConconuUy, and was created by buUding an earth dam across the THE SNOW-CAPPED "CASCADES" 329 creek bed. The area is approximately 460 acres and the capacity 13,000 acre-feet. The release of water is through a concrete lined tunnel, discharging into Salmon Creek, and is controlled by two 36-iach water works gate valves. The height of the dam above the bed of Salmon Creek is 64 feet. Its top length is 1,010 feet, and bottom 815 feet. The dam was built of mountain- side talus, varying from fine silt and sand through all sizes of angular stones to a cubic foot. This was moved and put into place by the hydraulic process, some of the water from the creek being used to carry the material into the flumes and pipes, and other water to wash it into place. It is regarded as an ideal dan'.. The coarse rock of both slopes is proof against attacks of wind, rain, or waves, and has no tendency to slough or slide, and furnishes free and safe outlet for any leakage or seepage through the dam. The core of fine material furnishes the neces- sary water tightness, having been thoroughly con- solidated or packed by the treatment received. The spillway has an overflow of 180 feet long, and is cut through the rock forming the right abutment of the dam. The irrigable lands are part of a series of wide benches, which extend from the foot of the mountains to the river in the Okanogan Valley, from 30 to 40 miles above the junction with the Columbia River. Practically all the soil is light and porous, capable of producing the best of crops. Excellent range is afforded cattle by the lands bordering the irrigable area, but as the winters are severe it is necessary to feed the cattle during the time that wild forage is 330 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST unobtainable. All the lands are in private owner- ship and the limit of land irrigated for one owner is 40 acres. For drawing water from the reservoir a tunnel 6x6 feet, partly lined, is provided in the granite abutments at the east end of the dam. The normal discharge capacity is 500 cubic feet per second. The water when drawn out flows down Salmon Creek about 12 mUes to the diversion weir, which is an ogee concrete structure with 50-foot length of over- flow, which raises the water 434 feet into a canal with a capacity of 110 cubic-feet per second. Two miles below the head of the canal about 50 second-feet of water is dropped 110 feet to a lower bench, and two miles further down the upper canal another drop of 58 feet occurs. These drops are used for developing power used for pumping on about 1,070 acres of the lower lands. The water thus pumped is lifted from the Okanogan River and supplements the supply available from Salmon Creek. Each of these power-plants develops 187 kil- owatts or 250 horse power on the switchboard, which is transmitted about five miles to the pumping plant near Omak. The pumping-plant and both power- plants occupy reinforced concrete buildings. While these plants undoubtedly will remain idle more sea- sons than they will be used, they will be indispensable in low-water years. A part of the main canal through rock is lined with concrete for the purpose of economizing in excava- tion and for preventing percolation. A large part of the distribution system also is lined, in the portions selected for this being those parts located in sandy THE SNOW-CAPPED "CASCADES" 331 reaches where the seepage loss would be great with- out the lining. The rotation method of delivery of water is fol- lowed, the user being allowed for seven days double the amount of water which would be required for constant flow, and then no water for the following seven days. This schedule is made reasonably elas- tic to meet special needs, but is adhered to as nearly as practicable and works out satisfactorily to all con- cerned. When work on the project was first begun the near- est railway town was Wenatchee, 100 miles away. Water transportation, however, could be had 45 miles away, but to reach it settlers had to travel over poor mountain roads. In 1913 the Great Northern Rail- way constructed a branch line which reaches all the towns of the project, and thus affords an opportunity to reach outside markets. July 30 of that year saw great rejoicing when the first carload of apricots was shipped by the local branch of the Fruit Growers' Association. Later in the season eight carloads of apples were shipped together with six cars of the softer fruits, as peaches, apricots, etc. The great de- velopment that the railway's coming has furthered will be seen from the fact that in 1915 three hundred cars of apples, and ten of smaller fruits were shipped. Most of these shipments go to the Eastern States where the fine quality of the fruits bring prices large enough to justify the heavy freight charges. It is possible that before long the short railway gap that exists will be closed so that there will be a direct line from OrovUle through the project to Van- couver, B. C. 332 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST Alfalfa is second only to fruit in its productive- ness on this project. It is of excellent quality and brings good prices when sold, though the major por- tion of the crop is fed, mainly, to range cattle. The total area of the project including all old water-right land and the 151 acres in the Town of Okanogan, is 10,099 acres. Of this total amount there is approximately 8,400 acres under the Govern- ment canal. The rest of the acreage falls under sev- eral small canals or ditches which divert from Sal- mon Creek, either above or below the Government di- version. The headworks of all of these private ditches were controlled by the Service during the year. The number of farms irrigated on the project for the year was 458, with an area of 7,850 acres. The irrigable acreage of these farms is 8,450. The three towns contiguous to the project have grown, and the town of Okanogan, situated at the project's south- ern extremity, now has a population of about 1,000 ; the town of Omak situated near the centre of the project on the east side, has made some growth and has about 400 inhabitants. The town of Riverside, located near the northern extremity of the project, has a population of 200. This growth of the towns has been aided very materially by the Colville In- dian Reservation being thrown open for settlement during the year 1916. This brought many new peo- ple into the country and resulted in considerable ad- vertising of the project. The towns of Omak and Okanogan have several women's organizations which are striving toward the betterment of social and moral conditions for the Vista pkom Round Top Hill back op White Ranch Okanogan Project, Washington Cold Springs Dam, Reservoir, and Outlet Tower Umatilla Project, Oregon THE SNOW-CAPPED "CASCADES" 333 towns. The principal club, however, for the women of the project is known as the Country Club, to which a large majority of the farmers' wives belong. In 1916 it erected a temporary club-house, which will soon give way to a fine and permanent structure, which will be devoted to the general welfare of the women and children, as well as the men, of the surrounding country. The orchards of the project ia 1916 had a selling price of from $400 to $500 per acre, and unimproved irrigable land has been bought within the last two years for $75 per acre. The settlers have had some difficulties of their own to contend with. Occasionally a haU storm or frost damages the young fruit, and grasshoppers are not unknown. In 1915 fire-blight made its appear- ance in the orchards, but a thorough and systematic pruning out of all the diseased wood has practically obliterated the infection. To those who enjoy the marked variation of sea- sons the climate of this project is ideal. There is as distinct variation between spring and autumn as there is between winter and summer. The average elevation is high enough for health and comfort, the air is pure and clear, partaking of the vivifying and stimulating qualities of both ocean and moun- tain, and the blue sky of Washington is ever a de- light to those used to the grey skies of the East. The construction cost for the project has been fixed at $95.00 per acre, payable iu 20 years without interest. The present Project Manager is Calvin Casteel, with office at Okanogan, Oregon. CHAPTER XXX THE AKID BELT OF EASTEEN WASHINGTON. YAKIMA PROJECT, WASHINGTON The State of Washington, though of compara- tively recent admittance to the Union, hids fair to be one of the foremost in its wealth producing possi- bilities, and not the least of these is the development of its arid lands by irrigation. The climate is usu- ally mild, though in the arid districts the tempera- ture during the summer is generally high, a condition desirable for the growing of crops on irrigated land. The Cascade Mountains, extending from north to south across the state, divide it into what are known as the East and West sides. The territory west of the Cascades, and extending well down on the east slope, is heavily timbered, with the exception of those portions which have been logged off. Over this ter- ritory the rainfall is abundant, the vegetation rank, and the forests of giant fir, cedar, spruce and hem- lock unsurpassed. It is the natural moisture of this region which makes possible the irrigation of the lands in the dryer portions of the state mentioned below. East of this timber belt and in the foothills of the less elevated portions of the eastern slope, is a strip of rough, rugged land, fairly well watered from win- ter snows and by mountain rains, which affords good grazing for cattle and sheep. The arid belt extends from the eastern foothills of 334 EASTERN WASHINGTON AEID BELT 335 the Cascade Mountains to some distance east of the Columbia and Okanogan rivers, where the great wheat-producing belt commences, and extends to the Idaho line. This wheat land was originally covered with bunch grass, and, in its native condition, af- forded most excellent range for cattle and horses. Today it presents a far different appearance, with its growing towns, fine country homes, splendid schools, highly improved roads, car lines, in fact, ev- erything indicative of prosperity and progress. The pioneers of twenty or more years ago, who took up homesteads and endured the hardships and de- privations of the first lean years, are today wealthy ranchers with large land holdings, of which the orig- inal homestead is but a part. The area included in what is known as the arid re- gion has much the same soil as that which has proven so productive in the wheat belt, but owing to its loca- tion with reference to the Cascade Mountains, re- ceives but little rainfall during the growing season, and unless artificially watered is practically value- less except for sheep range. It is, therefore, not surprising that with the many lakes and streams to supply water, the irrigation possibilities in Central and Eastern "Washington have been especially con- vincing. Irrigation by private enterprise has been limited to comparatively small tracts, yet the total area thus irrigated is not inconsiderable, amounting, even as early as 1899, to approximately 135,000 acres, a large portion of which was located in Yakima and Kittitas counties. The Yakima River is the largest of the streams taking source in the Cascade Mountains and flowing 336 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST eastward to the Columbia through the arid section. The project for irrigation of the valley of the Ya- kima Eiver, considered in its entirety, dwarfs every other national reclamation project. This valley is so vast in area, so varied in agricultural products, so diversified in its industries, so wonderful in its possi- bilities, that a complete presentation would require more space than the limits of this chapter allow. The more important features of the project for the watering of the dry lands in the valley will be con- sidered as fully as space will permit. The total length of the valley is nearly 200 mUes, its width in places 15 miles, and of the land within its confines at least half a million acres are irrigable. For a great part of its length, the valley is narrow, almost to be called a canyon, but in places it broad- ens, forming broad, sheltered basins. It is the land in these fertile basins and on the benches above that affords such an opportunity for successful irrigation. The Yakima Basia is separated from the water- shed of the Columbia Eiver on the north-east by the Yakima Eidge and the Eattlesnake Hills, barren and more or less rugged, with an altitude of 1,000 to 1,600 feet. On the south, it is shut in by the Horse Heaven Hills, in Benton County; while to the west it extends back from the river, with a gradual rise to merge, at varying distances, with the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. The main tributary streams come from the west, being fed by melting snows in the mountains. They flow through minor valleys or follow courses parallel to the numerous ridges which intercept, roughly at right angles, the general trend of the main valley. EASTERN WASHINGTON AEID BELT 337 The water for the irrigation of the Yakima Project is secured from the Yakima Eiver and its tributaries, which have a drainage basin of 3,550 square miles. It is estimated that with storage this water supply is sufficient for about 576,500 acres of land. The irri- gation plan of the Eeclamation Service provides for the storage of the flood waters of these streams in a series of five huge reservoirs near their headwaters, releasing therefrom into the stream beds when the natural flow becomes inadequate to the needs of the lands to be watered. The water is diverted by dams at various places down the stream, which turn the required quantities into the canals of the different distributing systems for delivery to the land. Be- sides these five storage dams, the project contem- plates government construction of five great distri- bution units, in addition to which there are about 25 large systems owned by private stock-corporations and probably as many small ditches operated by in- dividuals or communities. The soil, generally speaking, is a volcanic ash or sandy loam with deep sub-soil, this being especially true of the bench lands ; the lower lands, close to the rivers, to a large extent, are composed of gravelly sub-soil covered to depths varying from a few inches to several feet of sandy soil. These soils are all very fertile, and with water and cultivation their growing qualities are unsurpassed. The elevation above sea level of the irrigable lands ranges from 400 feet at the lower end of the valley to 1,600 feet in the vicinity of Ellensburg. The temperature throughout the summer is usu- ally high, especially during July and August, but 338 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST owing to the dryness of the atmosphere, the heat is seldom oppressive and the nights, even in midsum- mer, as a rule, are agreeably cool. The winters are mild, the temperature seldom reaching zero. The average rainfall is considerably less than ten inches, ranging from six inches at Kennewick, in the lower valley, to eleven inches at Ellensburg, near the foot- hills. The valley is traversed throughout its length by the main line of the Northern Pacific Eailway, and for a portion of its upper length by the Chicago, Mil- waukee and Saint Paul Kailway. The lower part of the valley, including the North Yakima district, is also tributary to a branch of the Oregon- Washington Eailroad and Navigation Company's lines. There are several small branches, including the North Ya- kima and Valley, (a subsidiary of the Northern Pa- cific), from North Yakima to Naches, Selah and Moxee; the Yakima Valley Transportation Com- pany's street car system and interurban lines; and the Sunnyside Branch of the Northern Pacific Eail- way. It will not be needful to present more than the briefest outline of the history of the valley. The first treaty with the Yakima Indians — then in undis- turbed possession — ^was made in 1855. The first settler entered the valley in 1861. In 1865 Yakima County was created, portions of which have since been taken away to make Kittitas and part of Ben- ton counties. The beginnings of irrigation date back to as early as 1867, at which time the "Nelson Ditch" was con- structed. This ditch, which is still in existence, was EASTERN WASHINGTON ARID BELT 339 very small, carrying about seven cubic feet per sec- ond. Even with this small beginning, however, the advantages of irrigation were at once apparent, and water was appropriated and canals built from time to time until at the time of the passage of the Rec- lamation Act about 121,000 acres had been irri- gated. In 1884, after seemingly interminable de- lays, the Northern Pacific Railway was built through the valley, and in 1890 commenced construction on the first great canal system in the state. The total length of the main canal was sixty miles, with 550 miles of branches and laterals, and the area irrigated was about forty thousand acres. This canal was later enlarged and rebuilt by the Reclamation Serv- ice, and is now known as "Sunnyside Unit." From the coming of the railroad to the passage of the Reclamation Act, in 1902, a large number of canals were constructed with private capital, some of considerable size, but all under great financial difficulties, fierce litigation as to water rights, and numerous other vicissitudes. Several valuable proj- ects were commenced by over-sanguine owners and some even reached advanced stages of construction, only to prove the financial ruin of their backers be- fore they could be completed and successfully oper- ated. Many miles of expensive canal were con- structed, that have never carried a drop of water; acres of maps, plans and specifications were pre- pared to no purpose ; and scarce an old settler in the valley but has his package of stock certificates in some abandoned irrigation scheme. Therefore the passage of the Reclamation Act was hailed as a great boon by the people of this country, 340 EECLAIMING THE AKID WEST as it was hoped that through its agency the govern- ment would take over many of their burdens. Con- sequently, petitions were presented by land owners asking that various projects throughout the state be investigated with a view to their construction by the Government. These schemes were presented in their most favourable aspects, and urged with every method known to the resourceful promoter, so that the selection of the most favourable projects was made more difficult by the pressure brought to bear upon every official interested. The landowners in each locality advanced the merits of their particular scheme and cited disadvantages of every other; and the matter was only settled by making a thorough enough field-investigation of every project advanced to enable the engineers of the Service to determine the comparative merits of each scheme. In the State of Washington five districts, ranging in size from 150,000 to a million or more acres, in addition to a considerable number of smaller areas, were brought forward for consideration, and, under instructions from the Secretary of the Interior, were carefully investigated to determine their feasibility and probable cost. It was found that while each presented some favourable aspects, there were in most cases engineering difficulties that would raise the cost to prohibitive figures, the final choice set- tling on the Yakima Valley as offering the greatest opportunity at the lowest construction cost. The first steps toward actual construction of the Yakima Project were taken in 1905, when the engi- neers in local charge of the work commenced on the Tieton Unit. At the same time the purchase of the EASTEEN WASHINGTON AEID BELT 341 Northern Pacific's rights on the Sunnyside Unit was decided on. From that time the activities of the Service in the valley have been continuous, and the results obtained have been such as to justify the most sanguine predictions. In the early days every encouragement was given to the Service, to secure desired construction, but as the work advanced many critics arose. Disap- pointed contractors, engineers who had advocated rival schemes, disgruntled employes, and others continually sought for engineering errors or ques- tions of judgment that might be criticized. Before construction, owners eagerly agreed to pay any cost that might be necessary, but later sales of land were made without this point being made clear to the pur- chaser, who, when the final costs were assessed, felt that he had a grievance against the Government be- cause the costs were higher than some real estate dealer persuaded him to expect ! While it cannot be stated that the work of the Service was perfect, without error, or that money was never spent in an injudicious manner, in all re- spects, yet most of the criticism was without founda- tion, and a careful examination of the facts shows an enviable record of efficiency and economy. The larger features of the Yakima Project have been constructed by Government forces. This has been due to two causes — ^first, failure on the part of contractors on the principal features let by contract to make satisfactory progress, necessitating the sus- pension of contracts and completion of work by the Government; second, various uncertainties in con- nection with the work, on account of the necessity of 342 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST maintaining service through the canals during the time of construction. It is interesting to note the economy resulting in a larger way from the permanent type of construction, which has characterized the activities of the G'ovem- ment. The Sunnyside Unit has now been operated by the Reclamation Sei^ice for ten years, and the Tieton Unit for over five years, and it appears that the annual charge necessary to maintain these two systems in a condition equal to that when new wiU be about $1 per acre and $1.35 per acre, respec- tively. At these rates it is believed that the systems can be maintained indefinitely without special levies for reconstruction of any portion of the system main- tained by the Government. Under private canals in the Yakima Valley, where all conditions are fully as favourable as for the gov- ernment project, the original construction cost of which varied from $40 to $75 per acre, it has been found necessary within the past two years to recon- struct to a very large extent the main features of the canal systems, and two or three of the larger pri- vate canal companies in the valley have made ex- penditures for reconstruction which, including inter- est, will cost the landowners from $50 to nearly $100 per acre. In other words, the cheaply con- structed private projects are now paying out for re- construction more than the entire first cost per acre of the Tieton and Sunnyside units of the Yakima Project. As to operation and maintenance costs, no private project in the valley is giving service value for the charge imposed equal to that under the Government Diversion dam in Yakimi River, Headoates, and Gate Tender's house on the Sunntside Canal Yakima Project, Washington Main Tieton Canal, Tieton Canyon, 600 feet above the stream Yakima Project, Washington EASTEEN WASHINGTON AEID BELT 343 project. Under private projects the almost univer- sal practice is to deliver water at the bank of the main canal, at which point all obligations of the management cease. Under the Government project, distributaries have been built to each farm unit, and the water is actually delivered by Government em- ployes to every landowner. The flow of water in the mountain streams is greatest at the time of melting snow in the spring, during the months of February to June, but by the latter month the snow has practically disappeared from all but the most lofty peaks, and there being no rainfall in this region during the summer, the amount of water flowing in the streams decreases, until many of the smaller water-courses dry up entirely, and even the largest of the rivers are greatly re- duced. Most of the crops grown in this region require little or no water during the spring months. In many cases snow and rain fall on the lands during the winter, and by careful cultivation enough mois- ture can be conserved to start the crop and carry it for several weeks, but after that time, to secure proper growth, water must be applied every two to four weeks throughout the entire growing season. The frequency of irrigation depends upon circum- stances of crop, soil, location, and many other con- ditions. But it may safely be stated that water must be applied at least once in June, twice in July, twice in August, and probably once in September. Thus we have high water in the streams during the spring when there is little need, and great need of irriga- tion in the summer when the water supply is low. 344 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST When the Service entered the valley this con- dition was already very bad for not only was the entire available summer flow used, but claims for many times this amount were being contested, and it was apparent that in order to irrigate additional lands, some of the early spring run-off must be held for use during the summer months. This idea, then, was the forerunner of the series of storage dams above mentioned, the building of which would alone have proved the great value of the Eeclamation Act to the country. Investigation of storage possibilities in the Yakima Valley revealed the presence of three large lakes at the head of the main river, and two other good sites on main branches, so the project includes the build- ing of five dams to increase the holding capacity of these lakes and insure the valley against a summer water shortage. Three of these dams have now been completed and a fourth is under construction, securing the irrigator against water famine in the dryest season. The water supply is now, in fact, considerably in advance of present distribution development, but future plans for the Indian Eeservation contemplate immediate use of this extra water. The land-seeker has a wide choice of climates within the Yakima Valley, for different conditions prevail in each district. The Kittitas Basin, nearest the headwaters of the river and highest in altitude, has a temperature ten to fifteen degrees cooler than in the vicinity of North Yakima. This district raises large crops of hay and potatoes for the Alaska mar- kets ; it is the home of the alfalfa grower, the general EASTERN WASHINGTON AEID BELT 345 farmer, the dairyman; and while fine apples are grown here, fruit is not the main crop. The princi- pal town of this district is EUensburg, county seat, site of the State Normal School, and centre for two railroads. The markets of Alaska and the Orient are within easy reach through the cities of Puget Sound, and opportunities for the future of this sec- tion are very bright. Irrigation is secured by a number of small canals, although plans have been made for a large system, to be built under either the Reclamation Service or the District system to irrigate nearly 100,000 acres and furnish a more de- pendable water supply. This new system will un- doubtedly be built in the near future, and will add greatly to the value of the lands thereabout. The centre of interest in the Yakima Valley is the rich district surrounding the city of North Yakima. This belt, with its warm summers, mild winters, and fertile soil, is known throughout the world for the perfection of its fruit, of which the apple is the most important. The lands in the main valley are all fully developed, mostly in small tracts of less than twenty acres, and can be secured by the newcomer only at very high figures. The fruit business is, however, a precarious one, not to be followed by an inexperienced man with much hope of immediate success. It also requires considerable capital, but when intelligently handled the returns are often marvellous. This district was quite well developed before the advent of the Service in the valley. It is served by a number of large irrigation systems, mostly owned by mutual stock companies. The common practice 346 RECLAIMING THE ARID WEST is that the ownership of the land and of the stock in the irrigation company shall be inseparable, each share of stock entitling the holder to a certain amount of water for his land. Since the building of the government storage dams, these private systems are assured of plenty of water. There are several outlying districts, tributary to the main valley, such as Wide Hollow, Selah and Moxee Valleys. Originally planted to general crops, hay, grain, potatoes and pasturage, many of these lands have lately been set to orchards. Success does not always follow these ventures, as some variation in soil, temperature, or air drainage may make the location unsuitable for fruit growing, but in most cases good results follow. These lands, however, and the dry lands beyond them, are still the home of the "Big Yakima Potato," always a profitable crop. The Tieton Unit of the Yakima Project occupies bench lands to the west of the main Yakima Basin, and about two hundred feet higher in elevation, and previous to the advent of the Service, the accessibil- ity of this district, its rich soil, pleasant location and apparent ease of irrigation made it the coveted spot of the entire valley. Lower ditches, irrigating ad- jacent lands, had been in successful operation for many years, and the results stimulated speculators to try to reclaim the higher lands. Many canals were projected, some few located on the ground, and construction actually commenced on at least one, but so many diflSculties arose in securing a sufficient sup- ply of water and getting it on the ground, as well as in financing the project, that these attempts all failed. EASTEEN WASHINGTON ARID BELT 347 The Tieton Unit as finally decided upon by the Reclamation Service engineers irrigates about 34,000 acres of these bench lands, using the waters of the Tieton River, which has a splendid all-the-year flow, in conjunction with those of Cowiche Creek, smaller and less dependable. To bring water to the land at a sufficient elevation, it was necessary to divert the waters of the Tieton River, several miles above its mouth, carry them in a flume high on one bank of the river, and, crossing the divide by tunnel, pour them into Cowiche Creek. The combined waters follow the natural bed of this stream until diverted at dif- ferent levels into the several branch canals for dis- tribution to the land. The building of the main flume and tunnels was difficult, both because of the natural obstacles of the country and the inaccessibility of the location. For these reasons, and because of the comparatively small acreage watered, the construction cost per acre was high, but the natural advantages of the land are so great that the cost of water is fully justified. Many hardships were caused among the purchasers of land on the project however, by the exorbitant prices at which private lands were sold, for the ex- cessive demands for principal and interest payments soon became irksome to the settler who had not yet brought his land to full production. This condition is rapidly passing now, and the settler, aided by the passage of the act which gives him twenty years without interest in which to pay for the water, and by the increasing value of his crops, has now reached a much better financial condition. The elevation of the lands on this part of the 348 RECLAIMING THE ARID WEST project varies from 1300 to 2100 feet above sea level ; winters are mild, with a few inches of snowfall, the temperature seldom dropping as low as 15° above zero. The growing season is long and warm, assuring abundant growth, but though the day tem- perature will often range in the nineties, the nights are pleasant with cooling breezes from the nearby mountains. The soil is volcanic ash, exceedingly fertile and particularly adapted to fruit growing. More than 8,000 acres have been planted to fruit trees, and as the project is new and the orchards not yet in full bearing, the custom of raising crops of grain, hay or vegetables between the tree rows is gen- erally practised. There is a growing interest in di- versified farming, shown by such activities as dairy- ing, hog raising, and careful crop rotation. Hops are a valuable crop, and potatoes and onions grow to perfection. The project is now well settled, no desirable homestead lands now remaintag, but there are still good opportunities for purchase or lease, from pri- vate owners who are unable to develop their lands or cannot give them proper attention. The Sunnyside Unit, in the next basin down the valley, has a still warmer climate. The lands under this unit consist of 102,824 acres lying in Benton and Yakima counties. The irrigation system, originally constructed by a private organization and developed by the Northern Pacific Railroad, was purchased by the Government and has been completely rebuilt and greatly enlarged. The average elevation of the lands is 800 feet above sea level, and the temperature ranges from 20° to 110° above zero. The soil is EASTEEN WASHINGTON AEID BELT 349 deep volcanic ash and gravel, easily tilled and re- sponding readily to irrigation. The principal prod- ucts are forage, fruits and vegetables, dairy and poultry products. Growers of peaches and similar soft fruits meet with phenomenal success in this part of the valley, the climate being ideal for this crop. The markets are Washington cities, Alaska, and in the case of fruits the entire country and foreign markets. Within the project limits are the following towns, situated along the two lines of railroad : Grandview, Sunnyside, Outlook, Granger, Zillah, Mabton, Byron and Prosser. The cost of water right is $52 per acre. In 1916, 59,449 acres were cropped, the total crop yield amounting to $4,341,940, an average return of $73 per acre. It is an iateresting fact that the gross returns for the project for the year of 1916 and for seven years previous annually exceeded the whole cost of construction of the project. The total acreage re- ceiving water in 1916 was 73,000, more than 13,000 acres being in young orchards, young alfalfa, etc. Excellent raw land is to be had at $50 to $100 per acre, water right unpaid, and some rougher lands with paid-up water rights may be had at from $60 to $100 per acre. Improved land adapted to general farming brings from $150 to $200 per acre, and choice bearing orchards may be had at $300 to $500 per acre. There are splendid openings for by-product plants of various types, evaporators, canneries, creameries, cider, vinegar, alcohol and starch fac- tories. Livestock and commission brokers are needed to ship in and distribute among the farmers 350 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST in the fall cattle and sheep to be fattened for mar- ket, and to purchase and ship out in car lots the stock thus fattened ; also to handle the increasing number of hogs and other animals. Little can be said at this time in regard to oppor- tunities on the Yakima Indian Keservation, across the river from the Sunnyside Unit. There is a large area of very fruitful land in this reservation and arrangements for its more profitable use will no doubt be made in the near future. It is planned eventually to irrigate 120,000 acres of land by ditches to be constructed in conjunction with the Indian Service, and much of this land will be sold off by the Indians for general settlement. Water for this irri- gation is now available in storage dams already con- structed. Farther down the river, the irrigated lands con- tinue to the junction with the Columbia, in the vicin- ity of the towns of Kennewick, Pasco and Eichland. The greater warmth of this locality make it a marvel- lous producer of canteloupes, peaches, strawberries, and early fruits and vegetables of all sorts. Much of the surrounding lands are included in the contem- plated Benton High Line Project, considered for later development. No work has yet been done in this district by the Eeolamation Service, although many private canals are in use, taking water from both the Yakima and Columbia rivers. The present Project Manager is E. K. Tiffany, Avith office at North Yakima, Washington. CHAPTEE XXXI IN THE BIG HOEN BASIN. THE SHOSHONE PROJECT, WYOMING The world is familiar with the charms, fascina- tions, allurements, and unique wonders of the Yel- lowstone National Park. Its bubbling mud geysers, hot water geysers, gorgeously coloured terraces and rainbow hued pools and lakes are world-renowned, while "Old Faithful" is almost as well known as Niagara or the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. Eoaming in this region for countless centuries have been various tribes of Indians. One of these was known as the Shoshone — ^pronounced in three sylla- bles, sho-sho-nee, with emphasis on the second syl- lable — ^but many who know the name and are fa- miliar with the Indians, do not know the peculiar significance of the term. I do not give this as as- certained fact, for Dr. F. W. Hodge, in his compre- hensive Handbook of American Indians makes no reference to it, but it is stated that the name orig- inated as follows : One band of this tribe resided in a beautiful and secluded valley, some 75 miles to the east of the Yellowstone National Park, through which ran a charmingly pure and attractive river. Near its headwaters several hot springs and geysers were located. Some of these were sulphur and other supposedly healthful waters, which, however, "smelled to high heaven." But they were in great repute among the tribes of the region, who came and 351 352 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST drank of their waters, and bathed in them, when sick, and went away full of gratitude to the "Powers Above" as well as the "Powers Below" who thus gave them such tokens of their goodness. On ac- count of their strong odours these springs and gey- sers were called the * ' Shoshone, ' ' the stinking waters — and the river soon gained the same name, and when other and far away tribes spoke of the resi- dent Indians, they called them also, the Shoshone. When, therefore, the pioneers of the West came into the land and asked the name of the river and were told, together with its significance, they with that direct and vigorous speech for which they will never be forgotten, openly designated the stream as the Stinking Eiver, by which name it is still known on some of the United States maps. The Indians were proud of their health-giving springs and geysers, and of their river, and gladly accepted the name for themselves, by which they are known to this day. But the Wyoming legislature, by statute, changed the name to Shoshone River, although the sulphu- retted hydrogen gases in the "stinking river" still rise to vex the nostrUs. And the same name has been applied to one of the important projects of the Reclamation Service. This project contains a total of about 147,516 acres divided into four divisions as follows: Garland, 43,616 acres; Frannie, 41,000 acres; Willwood, 19,600 acres; Highline, 43,300 acres. Of these, the Garland Division is the only one at present open to homestead entry. This divi- sion contains a total of 650 farm units, ranging in size from 40 to about 80 acres, and of this number only 10 now remain unentered. IN THE Bia HOEN BASIN 353 The major portion of the lands are light sandy and clay loams, and the principal products are al- falfa, grain, sugar beets, vegetables, and small ber- ries. Cattle and hogs also thrive well. These are the lands that the Shoshone Project is designed to serve. The source of water-supply is the Shoshone Eiver, which has a drainage area of 1,380 square miles. The annual run-off between 1903 and 1914 in acre-feet was, maximum, 1,420,000 ; minimimi, 913,150 ; mean, 1,151,292. In 1916 the acreage the Service was prepared to serve was 42,665 acres. The length of the irrigat- ing season is from April 20 to October 20, 180 days. The average elevation of the irrigable area is 4,500 feet above sea level, and the average annual rainfall, for the years 1907-1914, 5.58 inches. The tempera- ture ranges from 31° Fahr. below zero, to 101° Fahr., though it is only rarely and for a short time it reaches these extremes. Every one familiar with the climate, winter or summer, knows that it is healthful and enjoyable, though it certainly grows cold in winter and warm in summer. The high ele- vation, however, destroys humidity, and sunstroke and heat prostrations are unknown. The valley, being completely surrounded by mountain ranges seldom experiences what might be called a severe storm, and the days during the summer, no matter how high the thermometer ranges, are never op- pressive or sultry, and the nights are of that clear, cool character, that soothes and yet vivifies. When one recalls that he is within a day's horse- back ride, or buggy drive, of some of the finest big game hunting yet' to be had on the American Conti- 354 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST nent, and that he is within an easy day's automo- bile ride of the wonders of the Yellowstone he feels that he has a playground close at hand in which he may find relief from the most arduous of labours. A week's camping-out trip is an ideal vacation any- where in tree-clad mountains, but to be able to take one 's family and enter the incomparable park of the geysers and paint-pots, obsidian cliff and glorious terraces found in the Yellowstone, is to be favoured above ordinary mortals. Good roads are found on every hand on the project, and in the Yellowstone National Park the roads are kept in perfect condi- tion by the Interior Department. The water used for irrigating this project is di- verted from the Shoshone Eiver, which is fed by streams having their headwaters in the Yellowstone National Park at altitudes between 7,000 and 10,000 feet. This river rises in the interior of Wyoming and runs northeasterly into the Big Horn. About 60 miles from its head it emerges from the moun- tains into a small valley, where it is joined by its principal tributary, the South Fork, and then cuts through an abrupt granite spur, beyond which the country opens out into the form of a terraced plain, through which a canyon conducts the river on its way. The geological indications are clear that many centuries of centuries ago, a few miles above this plain, there existed a vast and beautiful lake, fed by springs from the snow and glacial fountains of the mountains that surrounded it. Between it and the valley a range of lofty mountains inter- vened. When the lake overtopped its banks the overflow, passing through some cleft or crevice in Shoshone Dam Shoshone Project, Wyoming IN THE BIG HOEN BASIN 355 the mountain range, during centuries of time slowly chiseled and carved out a canyon eight miles long and himdreds of feet deep. Little by little the vol- ume of water in the lake was lowered and the canyon became deeper and wider. When civUized man came upon the scene science and skill were called upon by imagination which said: "Build a gigantic dam in that gorge, and restore to the face of nature the exquisite lake that, centuries ago, she lost." This was part of the work the engineers of the Reclama- tion Service set themselves. In addition, they con- templated the diversion of water from the Shoshone Eiver by a dam at Corbett, about 16 miles below the reservoir, building a tunnel which should convey the water into a canal system supplying the lands on the north side of the river in the vicinity of Rals- ton, Powell, Garland, Mantua, and Frannie. They also planned to divert water into the WiUwood Canal for the irrigation of lands on the south side of the Shoshone River; and the diversion into the north side High Line from the Shoshone Dam for the irri- gation of lands lying on the north side of the Sho- shone River above the Garland Canal system and extending from the lower end of the Shoshone Can- yon, near Cody, to the divide between the Shoshone River and Clarks Fork drainage. While in the pioneer days successful irrigation was carried on from the river, the natural flow was insufficient for the vast area stUl untouched. Any considerable enlargement of the irrigable area was possible, or at least practicable, only when adequate storage facilities had been provided. It was this that led to the erection of the dam in Shoshone Can- 356 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST yon. The work was difficult and dangerous. Men were lowered into the gorge, and with ropes around their bodies did the necessary drilling and blasting on the walls, which are hundreds of feet high. Before work could be begun on the structure it- self it was necessary for the Service to build a rough trail, 8 miles long, which it afterwards devel- oped into a fine wagon-road, for the conveyance of drills, hammers, shovels, powder, and all the needful supplies for an active, busy, bustling camp. Two tunnels were built for the road between Cody and the dam-site, and the site itself was passed by a tunnel above the left abutment. This road was con- tinued westward up the North Fork of the Shoshone River to serve as a road to Yellowstone Park and to replace the road formerly used and submerged by the reservoir. The precipitous location necessitated several tunnels on this road extension. The design of the Shoshone Dam is closely related to that of the Pathfinder Dam on the North Platte Project, both being high structures in narrow gran- ite gorges. It is the result of studies made by John H. Quinton and George T. Wisner, and is a com- promise of different plans, finally formulated by a board of engineers appointed for the purpose. It has a top thickness of 10 feet, with a batter to stream-bed of 15 per cent on the reservoir face, and of 25 per cent on the down-stream face. Both faces are made vertical below stream-bed. The axis is curved to a radius of 150 feet, forming an arch upon which the dam depends for stability. It is of con- crete, made of sand and gravel of good, sound granite. Rocks weighing from 25 to 200 pounds IN THE BIG HOEN BASIN 357 are embedded to at least 25 per cent of the total volume. A tunnel, 500 feet in length, 10 feet square in sec- tion, was provided through the right abutment for the primary purpose of diverting the river during construction, and afterward employed for drawing water from the reservoir. Another tunnel, 20 feet square, on a ten per cent grade, entered by a con- crete lip west of the dam, was designed to serve as a spillway. Work was begun by contract in October, 1905. The diversion tunnel was excavated, and prepara- tions were made for diverting the river into it by building a temporary diversion dam and a wooden flume to connect this dam with the tunnel. In May, 1906, work was stopped by high water, and on June 13 the largest flood of the season brought down a vast number of heavy saw-logs which greatly in- jured the temporary dam and destroyed the flume. This practically ruined the contractor, and the work was completed the following year by a new company. But again, this time in July, came a flood which reached a discharge of 14,000 cubic feet per second, and, breaking a saw-log boom some miles above, re- leased a number of logs which came down like bat- tering rams and wrecked the temporary dam a sec- ond time. At the subsidence of the flood the temporary dam was rebuilt and concreting in the base of the per- manent dam was beg^un March 30, 1908, but on April 11 the pit was flooded by a freshet and work again stopped. Again in May the flood-period began in good earnest and work ceased entirely until August, 358 KECLAIMING THE ARID WEST when it was found that the foundation pit had been filled with river gravel, sand, and mud. Again it was excavated, a month being required to accomplish the task, and concreting was begun again and car- ried on so vigorously that by the end of November the entire base of the dam was well above the river- bed. The winter caused another delay. March, 1909, saw work resumed, and when the usual sum- mer floods came they poured to a maximum depth of seventeen feet over the dam without causing any injury. Concreting was resumed Sept. 1, 1909, and con- tinued with various delays until January 16, 1910, which saw its completion. This winter was of such unusual severity that it was necessary to protect the concrete from frost by covering it with a huge tent which was heated with a system of steam pipes. These were indispensable, but greatly hampered the work and materially added to the expense. All of these difficulties, together with the ex- tremely contracted room for operations in the nar- row gorge, the great depth to foundation, and the large and fluctuating volume of water to be handled, combined to make the construction of the Shoshone Dam hazardous and expensive. The lowest outlet from the Shoshone Reservoir consists of two cast-iron pipes, each 42 inches in diameter, laid radially through the dam, imbedded in the concrete about the low water elevation of the river. Each project of the Service presented to the engi- neers its own problems for solution. We have al- ready seen some of those met and overcome in the IN THE BIG HOEN BASIN 359 building of the Shoshone Dam. In the planning of the necessary distribution works the problem to be met was caused by the peculiar "lay of the land" to be irrigated. The Shoshone Valley consists of a series of terraces rising higher and higher above the bed of the river, which flows in a canyon, cut in the gravels which form the terraces. Any diversion from the river, therefore, must be either by means of a high dam or a long tunnel built on a gradient less than the general slope of the benches. There being no suitable site for a high dam at the proper location, the tunnel method was the one adopted. Water released from the Shoshone Reservoir flows down the rivM: sixteen mUes to the Corbett Di- version Dam, where it is taken into a tunnel about three miles in length, which emerges into the Gar- land Canal. This dam is of hollow reinforced con- crete, consisting of an inclined deck resting on but- tresses. Its total height, including a two-feet con- crete platform, is eighteen feet, and its length be- tween abutments 400 feet. The right abutment joins an embankment 450 feet in length, reaching to the bluff and standing eight feet above the masonry of the dam. At the left abutment are located a sluiceway and the head-works controlling the en- trance to the Corbett Tunnel. About twelve miles below this tunnel the main canal crosses a drainage line near Ealstbn, and here is found a reservoir of 2,100 acre-feet capacity to regulate the flow in the main canal. It also fur- nishes a domestic water-supply to the towns of Rals- ton and Powell. The Shoshone Project was built under the general 360 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST direction of H, N. Savage as Supervising Engineer. The construction of Shoshone Dam was under the inmiediate direction of D. W. Cole. Up to the present time it has not been necessary to make any large use of stored water for irrigation purposes, the normal flow of the river being suffi- cient for all requirements. However, when the en- tire project is under constructed works, and the lands cultivated and irrigated, stored water will be necessary, and for this reason the Shoshone Dam was constructed. Future work on the Shoshone project contem- plates the construction of the Highline Canal, the Willwood Canal, and the extension of the Frannie Canal to cover lands in the vicinity of the town of that name, in Wyoming, now practically completed. The Willwood Division, lying on the south side of Shoshone Eiver, wUl be irrigated by a main canal twenty-one miles in length, taking water from the Shoshone Kiver about seven miles below Corbett Dam. Water will be diverted directly into the canal without the aid of a dam. There are several points where it will be necessary to drop the water in the canal distances of from 25 to 40 feet, and it is pro- posed to take advantage of these drops and develop the electrical energy which wUl be used in pumping water to adjacent lands, which can not be reached from the gravity canal. The Highline Division will probably be the last to be constructed. The present plans contemplate a canal through Shoshone Canyon for a distance of three miles, about two miles of which will be located in tunnel. The line then turns in a northerly di- IN THE BIG HORN BASIN 361 rection along the f ootliills of Hart Mountain and ex- tends to Alkali Creek. The lands under the High- line Canal are of excellent quality and should be very productive. As this division of the project will be the highest cost, it may be some years before land values will be sufficiently increased to repay the cost of bringing the water to them. The settlement of the project in the early days was attended with many difficulties. The building charge was 50 per cent higher than on the Huntley Project, which is located about one hundred miles distant in the State of Montana. The conditions surrounding the settlement and development of the two projects varied greatly. The soil was of a dif- ferent texture and while that on the Shoshone proj- ect was rich in potash and phosphoric acid, it was lacking in humus, and this made it necessary to be- gin with grain crops and work into the raising of alfalfa before such crops as potatoes and sugar beets could be successfully grown. On the Huntley Proj- ect the soil contained the plant food necessary for the growing of sugar beets, and as a factory was established at Billings, thirteen miles distant, it was possible for the settlers almost immediately to raise a profitable and substantial crop. On the Shoshone Project it took considerable time to bring this about, and in the meantime the farmers had to resort to stock raising and dairying in order to secure the best possible returns from their products. This was one of the main difficulties that confronted the early settlers. They had many others to overcome, but the results today demonstrate that all of the problems have been successfully handled. Any en- 362 EECLAIMING THE AKID WEST ergetic farmer can handle a farm unit on the Sho- shone Project with profit. The average use of water on the project has been very close to two acre-feet per acre, and in cases where it was distributed with care, even this quan- tity was more than was actually required. A con- siderable portion of the Garland Flat is underlain with gravel, and it is practically impossible to apply to the land only that quantity of water required for the growth of profitable crops. There is certain to be some water which sinks into the sub-soil and which must be disposed of either through natural underground drainage channels, or by artificial chan- nels. There is a common saying that drainage fol- lows irrigation, and the Shoshone Project was no exception to the rule. To provide funds for carrying on drainage work the Secretary of the Interior made provision for an increase of $5 per acre in the building charge on the project. Since the passage of the Eeclamation Extension Act the settlers have voted an increase of $7 per acre to carry on the necessary drainage work. Before all the drainage work is completed there will be at least $600,000 and possibly much more expended on this feature of the project alone. Alfalfa is still the leading crop, and during the 1916 season 31,000 tons were harvested. There are two alfalfa meal mills on the project, one located at Powell and the other at Garland. The mills always aiford the farmers a cash market for their hay and the farmer who does not have sufficient capital to acquire and raise the necessary stock to feed his IN THE BIG HOEN BASIN 363 alfalfa can always find a ready sale for it. The average yield per acre has been in the neighbour- hood of three tons, and it is possible to harvest three crops per year. From tests made in feeding hogs and dairy cows, it is possible to obtain from two to three times as much for the alfalfa hay as if it were sold at the mills. One of the most important industries on the project is that of dairying. The farmers are con- ducting a co-operative creamery which makes an excellent quality of butter, the demand for which is far in excess of the supply. The creamery makes on an average about 6,500 pounds of butter per month, and recently has been paying 41 cents per pound for butter fat. In 1916 the total value of crops amounted to $600,- 903.08, and each year sees a marked increase. On old alfalfa ground oats have produced as high as 100 bushels per acre. In one instance oats on land farmed for the first time produced 90 bushels per acre. Sugar beets are paying well. In 1916 the farmers received an average price of $75 per acre, the maximum being $120. When consideration is given to the fact that of the 575 unit holders, only about 50 per cent had experience in farming before coming to these lands, and only about 15 per cent of the remaining 50 per cent had ever farmed by irri- gation, the progress made and the farm returns are remarkable. The settlers on the Shoshone Project are an ex- ceptionally fine, progressive class of people, and have established nimierous churches, schools and 364 EECLAIMINa THE AEID WEST clubs necessary for the spiritual, mental and social welfare of the community. There are no saloons. There is a central school at Powell where most of the children receive their education. Land has been reserved for a high school which will be built iu the near future. Powell is the principal town, where good banks, mercantile stores, and other business houses have been established. The Cody branch of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad trav- erses the project and good connection is maintained with the main line to Denver and Billings. No one can set a limit as to future development. It rests on the most substantial foundations that exist — agriculture, where every man has a perpetual gold mine in his backyard. Ten miles east of Pow- ell are the Byron oil fields, and in this district is located one of the heaviest flowing gas wells that has been encountered in the United States. Eighteen miles to the north is the Elk Basin country, where there is great activity connected with recent oil de- velopments. The air is full of possibilities, and ex- perts are prospecting other oil fields located con- siderably nearer the project lands. The work now under way in the near-by oil fields has had a decided influence in prices paid for forage and other farm produce, as well as wages for men and teams, and has had considerable to do with the general air of good feeling and prosperity that exists, and the bright prospects for the future. The total cost, so far, of the Shoshone Project has been about $4,875,000. The construction charge per acre of public lands has been placed at $59 payable in twenty years without interest. There are still IN THE BIG HOEN BASIN 365 public lands available for entry, and others will be announced as the extensions are made. The Project Manager is George 0. Sanford with office at Powell, Wyoming. CHAPTER XXXn IMPBOVINQ CONDITIONS FOE THE FIEST FAMILIES OF AMERICA. PEOJECTS FOE THE INDIANS Long prior to the work of the Reclamation Serv- ice the Government of the United States through its Indian Department, was seeking to do at least one admirable and worthy work to help retrieve its black record of treatment accorded to the Indians. It was doing what it could to provide water for the lands of the aborigines. Most of these lands were located in the arid section of the country, and the few far- seeing men in the Indian Service had long been seek- ing to secure, more or less successfully, authorization for the establishment of irrigation works on Indian lands in order that they could encourage active and practical agriculture among their wards. These works, however, were generally on a small scale and built under the supervision of the Indian agents and superintendents, with only occasional assistance from trained engineers. For their construction Congress provided the Indian Office with funds in the Indian Appropriation BiU. As the work grew in importance it was designated as a separate part of the Indian Service and a Chief Engineer was appointed to supervise the technical work. In 1907, however, the Secretary of the Inte- rior called upon the Indian Department and the Reclamation Service to work in co-operation. A 366 PEOJECTS FOE THE INDIANS 367 working agreement was soon made and now in the smaller plans carried out by the Indian Department it has the benefit of the help of the Eeclamation Serv- ice, and in four larger and more comprehensive plans the actual work has been turned over to the Service to complete. One of these four has already been finished and given over to the control of the Indian Department for the benefit of the Pima Indians. It was the con- struction of a flood-water canal on the Gila Eiver, with adequate distributaries, and an electric power transmission-line, run from the Eoosevelt Dam of the Salt Eiver Project, for pumping irrigation-water from wells put down on the reservation. At first the Indians were much opposed to the use of well-water, but as several years have passed by and they have found no evil result from its use, and their lands have much improved in productiveness and value since irrigation has been provided, they are losing their discontent. BIACKFEET INDIAIT PROJECT, MONTANA This project is located in Teton County, in the northwestern portion of the State of Montana, on the Blackfeet Indian Eeservation, which occupies an area somewhat larger than the state of Ehode Island, ex- tending from the Eocky Mountains east about 50 miles, and from the Canadian line 50 miles or more south. From that portion of the Eocky Mountains form- ing the western boundary of the reservation six 368 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST. sizeable streams derive their source, being fed from perpetual snows and glaciers, insuring a fairly uni- form and reliable flow. These streams are the St. Mary's River, flowing northward into the Saskatche- wan and finally lost in Hudson Bay; Milk Eiver, one of the principal branches of the Missouri Eiver ; Cut Bank Creek, the Two Medicine Eiver, Badger Creek and Birch Creek — the last four forming the Marias Eiver, a principal tributary of the Missouri. The lands to be irrigated are located in general in the southeastern portion of the reservation and are tributary to Cut Bank Creek, Birch Creek, the Two Medicine Eiver, and Badger Creek. In eleva- tion the irrigable land varies from 4,000 feet on the benches and upper reaches of the creek to about 3,560 feet in the southeastern part of the area, having in general a good slope to the south and the east. The main line of the Great Northern Eailway bisects the northern part of the irrigable area. The project is being developed primarily for the Blackfeet Indian tribe to supply the needs of these Indians for irrigated lands upon which they can raise forage and grain crops to supplement their grazing lands ; also root crops and general farm and garden produce. Some work had been done by the Indian Depart- ment prior to the year 1904, but nothing commensu- rate with the needs of the Indians or the possibilities of the streams that were being tapped. After careful studies of the whole region the fol- lowing plan was duly authorized. It provides for five irrigation systems on the Blackfeet Indian Ees- ervation, as follows: (1) The Cutbank North Canal PROJECTS FOE THE INDIANS 369 system heading on the left bank of Cutbank Creek and supplying water for 20,000 acres of land north and east of the creek, 11,000 acres of which are out- side of the reservation; (2) the Cutbank South Ca- nal system heading on the right bank of Cutbank Creek and supplying water for 18,000 acres of land near Carlow and Seville stations on the Great North- ern Railway; (3) the Two Medicine Canal systems, diverting from the left bank of the Two Medicine River and supplying water through the North Branch Canal, the Spring Lake Reservoir, and the South Branch Canal to 48,000 acres of land; (4) the Badger-Fisher Canal system diverting water from the right bank of Badger Creek, supplying water direct through a feeder canal to 3,000 acres of land on the Piegan Flats and through the Four Horns Supply Canal and Reservoir and the Fisher Canal to 30,000 acres of land between Badger and Birch Creeks; and (5) the Bird Creek Canal system, di- verting from the left bank of Birch Creek, and sup- plying water to 3,500 acres of land between Birch and Blacktail Creeks. The irrigable lands of the project are located in general in the southeastern portion of the Blackf eet Indian Reservation, adjacent to the north bank of Cutbank Creek and between Cutbank Creek and Birch Creek, Of the above irrigation plan the first development of the Two Medicine Canal system is completed, including 36 miles of main canals, with headworks and other structures, and a complete dis- tributing system, with structures to deliver water to approximately 24,000 acres of land. A storage reservoir has been completed at Lower Two Medicine 370 EECLAIMING THE ABE) WEST Lake to furnish a maximtim storage of 16,000 acre- feet of water for this unit. On the Badger-Fisher unit a small canal diverts water from Badger Creek direct to approximately 3,000 acres of the Piegan Flats. A supply canal 12 miles long, delivering water to Four Horns Reservoir, has been completed. Tem- porary controlling works to Four Horns Lake have been completed, making available a reservoir of 4,000 acre-feet capacity. Water from this storage follows the natural channel to Blacktail Creek, from which it is diverted into the Fisher Canal, designed to irrigate about 30,000 acres of the Fisher Flats. The Fisher Canal is completed both as to excavation and structures to the end. Excavation of the lateral sys- tem is also completed to cover about 20,000 acres of allotted land. The larger structures on the canal system are completed, and the smaller structures will be built as needed. The Birch Creek canal is completed to the end of mile 6. Work of the imme- diate future includes the construction of a few small structures on the Fisher distribution system, the construction of the Birch Creek distribution system, and the enlargement of a portion of the Two Medi- cine Canal. No work has been done on the Cutbank Unit. In doing the work on this project the engineers utilized the labour of the Indians as far as possible. It is interesting to know what one of them said of these Blackfeet and Piegans when they first began to work. He said : Although most of the Indians are fairly willing to work for a short time each year they are not economical help, as Two Medicine Canal Headworks and River, from north SIDE OF Canal Blackfeet Project, Montana Flume on Fisher Canal Blackfeet Project, Montana PEOJECTS FOR THE INDIANS 371 they cannot be used on general work and are unwilling to undertake new work or any laborious work that may require severe physical exertion; as teamsters driving their own teams they appear at their best, but the general average efficiency of the Indian as a lot, on this class of work, is not over 75 per cent of the ordinary gang of white labourers. One of the greatest drawbacks in working them is that they are so unstable and are willing to work only at certain periods or intervals. For instance, they nearly all want to work during June so as to secure money for their annual Fourth of July Celebration, and are willing to work a week or two thereafter to provide a grub-stake for the summer months, but do not appear to be willing to work between the latter part of July and some time in September, from which time they are only willing to work until about the first or middle of November. This results in an unbalanced working force for a good part of the time, as the auxiliary Indian force varies from 140 teams and 200 men one month to no teams whatever and only one or two Indian labourers the next month; it may be said, however, that they have gained experience by the work they have done thus far, and are becoming more efficient workmen, and better satisfied with the working conditions. It was soon found that to procure effective work from the Indians' horses they must be better fed, hence it was made compulsory that all work animals should be fed a ration of ten pounds of oats per work- ing day. It took the Indians some time to learn the good of this, but ultimately they saw the improve- ment in their horses and gave in the main, their un- stinted approval of the requirement. It is interesting to note a later report as to the working quality of the Indians, which says : The efficiency of the Indian has improved greatly during the period of years in which he has worked for the Eeclama- tion Service. He now understands how to use his teams 372 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST either as a freighter or on ploughs, fresno, wheelers, or slips. With this acquired knowledge for work he is in much better condition to carry on his own farm and ranch operations in which he must acquire efficiency in order to be self-support- iug. The Indian is much more efficient under a foreman on government work than when working for himself. In order to make good farmers they must have care, supervision, and assistance from their department. The earning of money by honest labour has given the In- dian confidence in his ability to make a living by himself. Could he be given the opportunity he would earn not only his rations but also the horses, cattle, and farm machinery that he needs for his farming and ranch operations. The irrigable area of the project is 122,500 acres ; 111,500 acres lie within the Blackfeet Indian Eeser- vation, and 11,000 acres outside and adjacent to the Eeservation on the east. The land outside of the Reseirvation is entirely settled by homesteaders, but the irrigation system for this tract has not been de- veloped. Of the lands within the Reservation, about 57,000 acres are unallotted, and 54,500 acres allotted to members of the Blackfeet Tribe. Of the allotted lands, a very small percentage is occupied by the allotees or is adjacent to lands on which they live. The unallotted lands have not as yet been opened for settlement. Irrigation systems have been con- structed only for Indian lands; 46,640 acres of which could have been irrigated in 1916. The principal need of the project is farmers on the land. Very few of the members of the Blackfeet In- dian Tribe live on their irrigable land or even near it. The majority of them live on their grazing al- lotments near the mountains or on the streams. PROJECTS FOR THE INDIANS 373 The excellent range on the Reservation is bringing in many cattle from the outside to be pastured. The Tribal Herd and the herds of the thriftier class are increasing rapidly. This has created a demand for forage that cannot be supplied locally. The farming in the past has demonstrated that excellent crops of alfalfa, native hay, timothy, small grain, potatoes, and the hardier vegetables can be raised with irriga- tion. The railway facilities for the irrigable lands are good, and all the produce raised finds a ready market. In due time when the Indians are fully settled on their irrigated lands, the unused lands are opened up to settlement, and water is supplied to the home- steaders outside of the reservation, this will become a far more active and profitable project. It is contemplated that the Indians shall pay back their proportion of the construction cost of the proj- ect out of the leases of their land, sale of produce, and profits from the Tribal Herd within the next thirty years. The present Project-Manager is R. M. Snell, with oflSces at Browning, Montana. THE FLATHEAD INDIAN PKOJECT, MONTANA The Flathead Project comprises the lands of the Flathead Indian Reservation lying in Missoula, Flathead and Sanders Counties, Montana. This is between latitudes 47 and 48 north and longitudes 113-40' and 115 west. The boundaries of the reservation on east, south and west are mountain ranges. The central body of the tract is a valley or series of connected valleys 374 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST. protected by mountain ranges and watered by streams flowing inward from all sides. These streams all join their waters with those of the Flat- head Eiver which rises to the north and east of the reservation, partly in Canada, and flows south and west throughout its whole length. Flathead Lake, thirty-five miles from north to south and about ten miles wide, lies half within the northern part of the reservation. The lake is fed by the Flathead and Swan rivers and numerous smaller streams and the river issuing from the south end of the lake keeps the name Flathead. The average surface elevation of the lake is about 2885 above sea level. Leaving the lake the river has cut its way through a clay forma- tion and occasional ledges of quartzite rock making a canyon reaching in places a depth of 500 feet and falling in the first six miles about 240 feet. The river leaves the reservation at elevation about 2470. There is thus about 400 feet of fall much of which is utilized for power. The greater part of the valleys were once the bed of an ancient lake known to geologists as Lake Mis- soula. The soil of the valleys is everywhere under- laid with clay, bearing fragments of rock, evidently ice-carried. The mountain sides up to an elevation of about 4000 feet, at least, show well marked beach lines at many elevations and no one much more ac- cented than the others. Ice has played quite a part in forming the surface as is witnessed in the ridges south and west of the Flathead Lake and by the pot- hole formation met with near Crow Creek. Near the mountains, too, there are many morainal ridges and the creeks leaving the mountains often do so along PKOJECTS FOR THE INDIANS 375 lines that are parallel with the main range for miles. The valley is dotted with small lakes where the clay soil holds water in the pot-holes all the year and in the mountain valleys are many small lakes, some scooped out of solid rock and others formed by dams of loose material, evidently glacial moraines. The Jocko lakes, at the head of one of the forks of the Jocko Eiver, are held by such porous dams that they discharge only below ground and the annual range of water-level in them is ordiuarily ten or more feet. These lakes are swarming with trout. Portions of the valley and nearly all the mountain slopes are covered with timber, of which it is esti- mated there is over a billion and a half feet B. M. of merchantable timber. This is mainly pine, fir and larch with a little cedar. The eastern mountains, known as the Mission Eange, rise to almost 10,000 feet elevation and retain a large amount of precipitation in the form of gla- ciers until late in the spring, so that high water comes in June and the supply lasts well into the summer. The principal streams rising in these mountains are, starting in the south, Finley Creek, Jocko Eiver, Mission Creek, Post Creek, Crow Creek and Mud Creek. Coming from the west and north, the Little Bitter Root is the main stream, having small tributaries en- tering from the west. These rise at lower altitudes than the stream in the Mission Mountains and the flow is less in amount and duration. The average rainfall, from 1909 to 1915 at St. Ignatius, of 17.37 inches shows that this part of Montana is to be classed as semi-arid. 376 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST The temperature at St. Ignatius ranges from 30° below zero, Fahr. in January, 1909, to 96° Fahr. for midsummer. Some winters the thermometer does not go to zero. On the immediate shores of Flathead Lake the temperature seems to be from 10 to 15 de- grees higher during coldest periods and this renders the lakeside safe for growing some kinds of fruitr, that are seldom successful ia this latitude. Violent winds are rare and the winter storms are, as a rule, not accompanied by high winds. Snow falls to a depth of 24 inches or more occasionally, but is fre- quently removed a few days after falling by chinook winds so that sleighing is the exception. Written records of the reservation begin about the time the Society of Jesus founded the Mission here in 1854. A travelling Iroquois Indian had told the Flat- heads about the "black robes" and they became so interested that they sent messengers in four differ- ent expeditions to St. Louis to ask the Jesuit mis- sionaries to come to the Flathead country. The first expedition went in 1831. It was not until 1840 that their wishes were gratified, when Father De Smet set out and reached the tribe the same year. After remaining with them a few weeks he went back, promising to return. The following year a number of priests made the trip and arrived in the Bitter Root Valley in the fall and there established St. Mary's Mission, the first among the Flatheads, in 1841. The St. Ignatius Mission was established in 1854 at the present location. Here a community grew up containing three schools which are now maintained, o M o H OS o > Ph o D (32 PEOJECTS FOR THE INDIANS 377 one by the Society of Jesus, one by the Sisters of Charity of Providence and the last by the Ursuluie Nuns. By means of employing irrigation and mod- ern agricultural methods these schools, each having a farm, are practically self-supporting and furnish board, clothing and school training to over 200 chil- dren at the present time. Irrigation has been prac- tised for many years, fruit trees grown and in gen- eral the Mission has been a centre of moral and agricultural education as well as religious. In the legislation relating to opening the reservation, it was provided that 1,280 acres of land be set aside for the above named societies, all except forty acres to be held conditional on the use of same for church, school and hospital purposes. Soon after the Mission was built here, water was taken from Mission or Siniclemen Creek for irriga- tion and for power to operate a saw mill and a grist mill. This was probably the first time such use was made of water on the reservation. Orchard trees were planted and today show proof that the region will produce excellent fruit, especially apples. The mills have been remodelled more than once and now contain a modern patent roller flour plant and there is now an electric plant for lighting the church and school buildings. These may be considered the pioneer developments in water works on the project. In 1855 a treaty was signed by Governor Stevens by which the Indians ceded to the whites much of western Montana formerly claimed by them. This treaty provided that the President should survey and determine whether Bitter Root Valley was best suited to the Ir.dia"ps' use. The Indians, later. 378 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST claimed that no surveys were made and that the Government failed for many years to provide school- masters, blacksmiths, etc., as promised in the treaty. November 14, 1871, the President issued an order to remove the Indians to Jocko Valley, and June 5, 1872, Congress voted $50,000 to pay the Indians for the improvements made by them in the Bitter Root Valley. In 1872, James A. Garfield visited them and made a treaty which, in some measure, remedied the fail- ures to carry out the agreement made in 1855, and arranged also for the removal of the Indians to the Jocko Agency. To assist the Indians in their new home the .Gov- ernment constructed canals from the Jocko River and Finley Creek in Jocko Valley and these have for many years insured crops on a considerable acreage of fertUe soU. Excellent timothy hay has been a staple product and has been shipped out of the reservation in large quantities. To some extent fruits have been planted under these canals. Enough was done to prove the quality of the soU to be excellent and the possibility of paying crops under irrigation. Individual Indians or breeds built a number of small ditches from various streams in different parts of the reservation, applying the water to hay, vegetables and fruit growing purposes. No large works were undertaken by them and there was only a very small part of the natural water supply used, while the opportunities to extend irrigation by stor- ing water permitted a great expansion of the irri- gable area. PEOJECTS FOR THE INDIANS 379 In 1904, Congress passed an act allotting lands to the Indians in severalty, and providing for the sale and disposal of all surplus lands upon their reserva- tion. Soon after the allotments were made some of the Indians began to lease their lands to the whites who raise wheat and oats. Considerable grazing also has gone on, the cattle largely owned by the whites, who pay a grazing fee to the Indians. June 6, 1909, an act was approved providing for the laying out of townsites and the offering for sale of the lots therein at Arlee, Dayton, EavaUi, Dixon, Bonan, St. Ignatius and Poison. Accordingly these sites were surveyed and during 1909 offered for sale. Bidding was brisk and prices ruled high for the towns on the lake while the inland towns were less in demand, but all lots offered were sold. Since the sale, which ended in November, 1909, building has progressed in Poison, Eonan and Dayton with fair rapidity. Other townsites have been selected since and given mainly historical names of local significance as follows: Moise, D'Aste, Chariot, Revais, Flat- head, Pablo, Allard, Blue Bay and Yellow Bay along a railway survey, and Big Arm and Camas west of the lake. Congress has also appropriated money for the purchase from the Flathead tribe of lands suitable for a bison range and under this act about 18,000 acres have been secured and fenced in for this pur- pose. This land lies between the Flathead and Jocko rivers and Mission Creek and was stocked in 1909 with 37 bison secured from the Conrad herd at Kalispell. The bison numbered about 160 in June, 380 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST 1916. There are also some 20 antelope, 50 elk and a few deer. In 1907 an arrangement was perfected between the United States Reclamation Service and the United States Indian Service whereby the engineer- ing organization of the former could be available for investigations, surveys, plans and construction of works on certain Indian reservations. This ar- rangement is under a plan of co-operation between the Office of Indian Affairs in control of the appro- priations and the Reclamation Service in direct charge of the work. Acting under this arrangement surveys were made in the Flathead region and it was determined from hasty surveys that gravity water supply could be obtained for 78,000 acres and that 57,000 acres could be well supplied by pumping water from the Flathead River by water power. It was further estimated that possibly 280,000 horsepower could be developed for pumping irriga- tion water and other purposes, on the Flathead River and the mountain streams heading in the Mission range. In April, 1908, an appropriation of $50,000 was made and work begun on surveys and construction. Sixteen reservoir sites were planned, varying in size from Flathead Lake, with a capacity of 1,800,000 acre-feet, to the smaller of the Twin Reservoirs, which contains but 419 acre-feet. Pablo Lake was estimated to have a capacity of 34,500, Hubbart of 76,000, St. Mary of 16,750, Ninepipe of 15,150 and McDonald of 10,850 acre-feet. Many of these fig- ures are to be revised from later and fuller surveys. post creek headworks and mission range Flathead Project, Montana PROJECTS FOB THE INDIANS 381 As one reads the tentative plans of the engineers, and sees from their reports and the project history, the years of care, thought, study and thorough ex- amination of the questions of development of reser- voir sites, the conservation of water, its distrihution, the utilization of all available power, and the cover- ing of as many acres as was justified by the records of lowest rainfall, he begins to have a new esteem, respect, and reverence for the creative and directive genius thus employed. Surely these men who have worked so well and faithfully through the years de- serve well at our hands. The first construction work was on the Jocko Unit, which implied the taking of water from the Jocko River to irrigate the lands north of the stream. Many years ago the Indian Service had con- structed here a canal for about six miles. This was done for the benefit of the Flatheads moved over from the Bitter Root Valley. The wooden struc- tures had fallen into decay and the canal had been of little use for several years. About six thousand acres can be irrigated from this canal and the old canal had not been large enough to cover all this land. Its location was good so far as it went, and in laying out a larger canal the original canal was followed so far as possible with the main line, and where it was decided to build the new canal on the higher ground, parts of the old canal were used as laterals. The whole project contemplates the final irriga- tion of about 152,000 acres of land. When com- pleted there will be sixteen reservoirs, with an ag- gregate area of 117,556 acres, and a capacity of 382 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST 1,949,970 acre-feet (including Flathead Lake). When the canal system is completed there will be fourteen miles with a capacity greater than 300 second-feet; eighty-two miles with capacities from 50 to 300 second-feet ; and eight hundred miles with capacities less than 50 second-feet. Tunnels have been found necessary of an aggregate length of 3,868 feet. In order to accomplish this work wagon roads, trails, camps, telephone lines, corduroy roads were constructed, and in due time dams, canals, tunnels and laterals came into existence. There are no startling engineering feats on this project, but exceeding care has been exercised to make all the dams secure, to gain the fullest efficiency of the water, both for power and irrigation purposes, to reclaim all the land available, and further the gen- eral interests of the settlers. Already work completed has made possible the irrigation of about half the estimated area. This provides storage amounting to about 10,000 acre- feet. The providing of more storage, and the ex- tension of the canals to the additional 75,000 acres, are the work upon which the engineers are now di- recting their energies. The Indians occupy 97,000 acres of the land, and white settlers, up to the middle of the year 1916, have located on approximately 50,000 acres. About 5,000 acres are state land, but practically all avail- able land has been filed upon. In 1914 and 1915 the question arose as to the right of the state and counties to tax homesteads taken up on this project, and the United States Attorney felt that this was contrary to the spirit, if not the actual PROJECTS FOR THE INDIANS 383 law, of the Homestead and Reclamation Acts. The matter is now in process of friendly adjudication. Upon completion of allotting land to Indians of the Flathead and affiliated trihes, there remained un- used about 3,500 acres immediately bordering Flat- head Lake. This land was, by Act of Congress, set aside for the creation of vUla sites, and its subdi- vision into tracts of from two to five acres was au- thorized. It was put on the market in July, 1915, and all of the 905 lots were sold for an aggregate price of about $131,000. The land embraced in the villa sites varies greatly, some being excellent farm- ing land formerly included in farm imits. Other portions are rocky and precipitous. The chief crops of the farms are alfalfa, barley, beans, sl:^gar beets, corn, flax, clover, timothy and other grass for hay, oats, onions, potatoes, peas, rape, and wheat, with good returns from truck gar- dens. The lands as yet unirrigated are unpro- ductive, and those who settled upon them now real- ize that they were unwise. Hence many farms have been abandoned. The settlers on the irrigated lands are fairly prosperous and contented, as a rule. The towns are slowly growing. Organizations known as the Farmers' Society of Equity and the Farmers' Co-operative Union have local groups. They are buying goods co-opera- tively and beginning to take up the marketing of local products. There has been concerted effort to obtain good dairy stock and co-operative purchases have been made. Women's clubs in Poison and Ronan have taken up civic questions and have established libraries in 384 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST both places. They also devoted effort to the better- ment of the towns in the line of "municipal house- keeping." The principal manufacturing plants on the proj- ect are a 200 barrel per day flour mill, located at Pol- son, whose product in 1914 was about two million pounds of flour and one million pounds of feed; a creamery, also located at Poison, and several small saw and planing mills which supply the local needs at several points. In 1915 a new three-room store building was built in Eonan, two grain elevators built by co-operative farmers at Eavilli and Dixon, and local branches of the Society of Equity built two large club-houses, to be used also as central school buildings, at Leon and Eound Butte. The present Project Manager is F. T. Crowe, with office at St. Ignatius, Montana. FOET PECK PROJECT, MONTANA At the extreme northeast of Montana is located the Fort Peck Indian Eeservation, For years the greater number of the Indians have had their homes along the Missouri Eiver, where they have farmed the dry land, or cut the hay-crops that grew with- out irrigation. While the yields were reasonably good, under the conditions, the irrigation experts and farmers of the Indian Department soon saw that, with irrigation, the condition of the Indians could be materially improved, and, at the same time, a large amount of land could be set aside for entry by the whites. Accordingly a thorough survey was ordered which led to the formulation of a plan, to be PEOJECTS FOR THE INDIANS 385 be carried out jointly by the Eeclamation Service and the Indian Department, the former to have full charge of all construction work, as follows. Four thousand acres of land on the reservation in the vicinity of Wiota Station are to be irrigated with flood waters from Big Porcupine Creek; 2,000 acres in the vicinity of Frazer, with water supply from Little Porcupine Creek conserved by storage; 28,000 acres in the vicinity of Poplar and extending along Poplar Eiver a distance of 35 miles, with water from Poplar Eiver, conserved by storage be- low the forks of Poplar and West Branch; 16,000 acres lying along the west side of Big Muddy Creek, with water supply from this same creek, conserved by storage on Smoke and WoK Creeks ; 50,000 acres of clear bench lands and approximately 34,000 acres of brush and timber land extending along the Missouri Eiver, with water supply from the Mis- souri River by a gravity canal heading near the site of old Fort Peek ; 10,000 acres, known as the Galpin Bottom, lying above the Missouri Eiver canal west of Milk Eiver and Fort Peck Indian Eeservation, with water supply by pumping from the Missouri Eiver Canal, with a lift of about 20 feet ; 8,000 acres lying above the Missouri Eiver Canal, east of Milk Eiver, in the Eeservation, with water supply pumped from the same canal. The Little Porcupine Unit, with storage reservoir of 3,900 acre-feet, has been completed to irrigate 2,330 acres. Poplar Eiver west canal B, and east canal C, are practically completed, with irrigable areas of 2,560 and 5,330 acres. The Big Porcupine Creek Canal, to irrigate 4,000 acres of land already 386 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST allotted on the west boundary of the reservation, is also practically completed. The principal crops raised are oats, wheat, flax, vegetables, and a large tonnage of blue-joint hay. By an act of May 31, 1908, the lands of this reser- vation were classified as irrigable, timber, grazing, agricultural, or mineral, and the Indians were each allotted 320 acres of agricultural or grazing land, 40 acres of irrigable land, and 20 acres of timber land, and later, children bom after that date were to receive 320 acres of grazing land so long as any remained. The unallotted grazing and agricultural land was opened to public entry in June, 1914, and by Decem- ber, 1916, there was very little of it, that was at all desirable, that was not taken up. The land was ap- praised at from $2.50 to $7 per acre. In addition, the Indians have been allowed to sell some of their allotments, and about two hundred have already passed into the possession of white men, at prices ranging from $1,900 to $4,050 for a 320 acre tract. Much of the less desirable land is now being taken up under the 640 acre homestead law. The white purchasers of irrigable land, in the main, are eager to take advantage of the water provided for irriga- tion. There is little question but that the next few years will see great changes upon these lands. As both Indians and whites enlarge their irrigable tracts crops of every kind will increase and there will be marked development. The present Project Manager is R. M. Connor, with office at Poplar, Montana. h^\ -ye?^^ Desert Lands before Reclamation Yakima Project, Washington Dam on Poplar River Fort Peck Project, Montana CHAPTER XXXni A VISION" OF THB FUTXJBE Great as have been, and are, the achievements of the Eeclamation Service, I am satisfied that the lar- ger and more important irrigation problems of the country have not yet been attacked. These past years have been the "trying out" years. It is in no sense of belittling the results achieved as those de- scribed that I purpose pointing out how little has been accomplished, compared with what may, should, and ultimately will be done. It is gratifying to our pride to know that the Service has contributed to the country some of the most notable engineering structures, these being built, however, not with a view to their becoming monuments but rather to their use for the public welfare. It has built the highest dam in the world — ^the Arrowrock, for the storage of the water of Boise River in Southern Idaho. It has built the Elephant Butte dam on the Rio Grande in New Mexico, whose reservoir, when full, will store the greatest quantity of irrigation water. Up to the end of December, 1916, it has dug 9,805 miles of canals and 1,139 miles of ditches and drains, and ex- cavated 91 tunnels with an aggregate length of nearly 26 miles. Dams of masonry, earth, crib, and rock fill have been erected with a total volume of 13,038,109 cubic yards. The available reservoir capacity at this time is approximately 9,007,160 acre feet, or suf- ficient to cover the states of New Jersey and Dela- 387 388 BECLAIMING THE AEID WEST ware with water to a depth of 16 inclies. The Serv- ice has built 5,594 bridges with a total length of over 23 miles. Its culverts number 6,624, and are 43 miles long. There are now in operation 385 miles of pipe line and 95 miles of flumes. The Service has built 879 miles of wagon road, much of it in what was before inaccessible mountain regions, 83 miles of railroad, 2,804 miles of telephone lines, 438 miles of power-transmission lines, and 1,156 buildings, such as power-houses, pumping-stations, ofl&ces, resi- dences, barns, and storehouses. The projects now under way or completed embrace approximately 3,140,976 acres of irrigable land, di- vided in about 61,310 farms of from 10 to 160 acres each. During the year 1916 water was available from government ditches for 1,734,482 acres on 36,- 255 farms, and the government was under contract to supply water to 1,313,191 acres. The excavations of rock and earth amount to 146,034,177 cubic yards. The Service has used 2,786,619 barrels of cement, of which it has itself manufactured 1,575,757 barrels of cement and sand cement. The power developed amounts to approximately 47,311 horse-power. The net investment of the Service to date is ap- proximately $116,000,000. In 1916 crops valued at $38,000,000 were harvested, the gross average yield per acre being $38.25. Let every patriotic citizen herald these actual ac- complishments far and wide; the more they are broadly known the better. Then let us, as intelligent members of a great and growing republic, a leader in democracy, make these results the starting point for the larger achievements of the future. In the at- A VISION OF THE FUTURE 389 taining of these results a wonderful experience has been gained, a competent army of experts developed, whose abilities have been enlarged to the nth power, and whose vision has been expanded to a remarkable degree as to the possibilities that still await realiza- tion. This might have been anticipated. Yet few there are that see this fact in all its vast and preg- nant significance. Instead of resting in proud boast- fulness upon what has already been accomplished, these results should be accounted as the mere step- ping-stones to the infinitely larger developments of the future which await realization. The onlooker, with vision, clearly realizes that only the lesser and more simple projects have been attempted. Not a single complete drainage basin has been completely exploited. Our work, viewed in the larger sense, has been piecemeal and fragmentary. Secretary Lane clearly sees this. In his last annual report he said : "No one can contemplate the yearly toll of lives and property destroyed by the furious and unre- strained sweep of our rivers without realizing that the people of this country cannot regard themselves as owning this land, really possessing it, until they have brought these waters under subjugation. And in so doing, thus they will literally create new land by the millions of acres, lands that will support mil- lions of people as against the thousands which live upon it today." Who that is familiar with the destructive floods of, say, three western rivers alone, the Columbia, Colo- rado and Sacramento, does not understand that the real conquest of these rivers has not yet even begun. For want of reservoirs at the headwaters of these 390 EECLAIMING THE AEID WEST rivers the country annually is paying a heavy toll in destructive floods, washing away of levees and can- als, and in the loss sustained from crops which might have been put in, irrigated, and successfully reaped. So long as these rivers are our masters — and there are many others — ^let us refrain from boasting. Bather let us recall that Argentina is constructing a single irrigation system which will cost $60,000,000 ; that English canals water 15,000,000 acres in Egypt and 35,000,999 acres in India, and a revenue of 3 to 4 per cent, is collected each year on the investment. "When we discover from our nation's statistics that in the United States alone there are 80,000,000 acres of swamp-lands and 400,000,000 acres of deserts, mostly public domains, the mere figures are stagger- ing. Our swamp and overflow lands embrace an area greater than the whole superficial area of the Philippines. These lands for the most part are ad- jacent to large centres of population, with excellent transportation facilities by rail and water. Their reclamation would give employment for years to hun- dreds of thousands of labourers, and later would af- ford opportunities for the establishment of approxi- mately two and a half million families in homes of their own. Two or three harvests from these lands would suffice to pay the entire cost of reclamation. Then when we contemplate our arid and semi-arid regions the possibilities are infinitely more stagger- ing in their magnitude. These regions, roughly esti- mated, include two-fifths of our continental area, ex- clusive of Alaska. Here is a vast empire of unparal- lelled resource of soil, diversity of topography, and favourable climate. It is the most truly American A VISION OF THE FUTUEE 391 part of America, the most enterprising, and the most unsettled. It is peopled with a larger percentage of our native bom than New England. It is here that the remaining public lands are largely located, and their acquirement by homemakers cannot proceed until they have been made cultivable. Eeconnais- sance surveys and stream-gauging made by the Gov- ernment during the past twenty years have given us fairly accurate knowledge of the conditions, and we are able to predicate reasonably the limits of future development. It is well known that our desert areas are far in excess of the natural water supply. While the for- mer include several hundred millions of acres, the latter will not suffice for the needs of more than 40,000,000 acres. In the preparation of this irriga- ble area of homemakers the construction of enor- mous engineering works for storage of floods will be required. Thousands of miles of main canals and ditches must be laid across the desert, and elaborate systems of distribution must be planned. Here is a territory won to us by war, treaty, dis- covery, and purchase. Flying at one time the flags of four nations, its history is rich in thrilling incident and adventure. Its milestones are the bones of trap- pers, explorers, and pioneers. Its people are strong and courageous. To battle with the elemental forces of Nature has become a passion. They are capti- vated by the immensity of the field in which they operate and the majestic scale on which things are done. It is a race of unequalled energy and opti- mism. While the glamor of romance which en- wrapped this region in years agone is dispelled, it is 392 BECTiATMING THE ARID WEST still romance-land but with a new background. The romance of creation now pervades the once silent desert, and the dominating thought and impulse of the new land is to establish here the well ordered life of the larger West, already developed in the set- tled portions of California, Oregon, Arizona, etc., with all the highly organized facilities for making ex- istence in the country attractive, comfortable, and sufficient. There are many communities dwelling to- day in the valleys of the Snake and Yellowstone rivers and at the feet of the snow-capped Eockies and Sierras, to whom this vision and hope are ever pres- ent. Yet these are not the only people whose future needs must be considered. Many economists are agreed that when the Dove of Peace builds its nest once more in war-stricken Europe we may look for a return wave of aliens, probably the heaviest known for many years. In addition to this the natural in- crease in the number of our citizens who attain ma- jority makes more complex the problem of wise dis- tribution in order that congestion in our great cities may be prevented. It is an economic axiom that the stability of a na- tion is assured only when the bulk of its citizens reside in their own homes. The ideals and princi- ples for which our forefathers fought cannot be pre- served and maintained by a citizenship whose inter- est in our Nation's integrity does not extend beyond mere wage earning. As Secretary Lane aptly put it — ^"The highest sense of nationality comes from a sense of purpose — a sense of common purpose — for the United States is not yet ours in the proudest A VISION OF THE FUTUEE 393 sense, and cannot be until we are doing all that can be done to give all its people and to the world the full expression of its highest intelligence applied alike to its resources and to the life of the people." A nation of tenement-dwellers possesses neither in- clination nor ability to defend itself. Making provi- sion now for the millions of aliens who will flock to our shores and for millions of our sons and daugh- ters who will want homes of their own is at least as necessary as the fortification of our coasts and the enlargement of our army and navy. Nations like Germany, France, and England, con- fronted with the same problem, find its solution only in the acquirement of new and distant territory. Thank God we have yet within our own imperial do- main vast areas scarcely touched which can be pre- pared for our homemakers. The Man of Destiny for this herculean task is the hydraulic engineer. Though colossal in its magnitude, the work never- theless is so practicable and feasible that no doubt of its ultimate accomplishment clouds the mind of any- one. It is here, with this latter assurance perfectly in mind, that I feel impelled to utter a note of serious and earnest warning. I am as confident of the ability of our engineers to solve the great problems involved, given proper time, as I was of their ability to build the Panama Canal or construct the Brooklyn bridge. But a mighty force that is now arising to give tre- mendous anxiety to those who love their country is that of human selfishness. Nothing can cripple, de- feat, and completely nullify the largest efforts of the most competent and unselfish men more than the in- 394 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST sidious poison of selfishness and dishonesty. Let me be clear and explicit. One of the fundamentals upon which the work of the Reclamation Service is based is that of a revolv- ing fund held as a trust for the benefit of present and future generations and to be used over and over again. To do this it is necessary, of course, that the first beneficiaries repay as rapidly as possible the amounts expended on their behalf. The whole scheme fails if these men, having profited by the in- vestment, are unable or neglectful in paying back the moneys to be used for the benefit of others. At the time of the passage of the Reclamation Act predictions were made that after the fund was once expended, the persons who enjoyed the use of the works thus built would repudiate their obligations. This charge was repelled with indignation and the members of Congress from the West pledged for themselves and the West generally that there would be no such action ever taken. Now while it is true that outward efforts at repu- diation have been promptly denounced, recent action on several of the projects has led me to fear that real repudiation is being sought by subterfuge, unjust at- tacks, and underhand methods. To comprehend these clearly perhaps the best procedure is for me to condense the statements of those who have been ac- tive in the campaign which has been carried on with a view to ultimately reaching a condition where the Reclamation Fund will not be returned to the Treas- ury or at least for so many years that it becomes un- available for further work. "Knock and hold back" is the favourite phrase of A VISION OF THE FUTUEE 395 one of the largest land owners and banker on a suc- cessful Reclamation Project. "If we continue to complain and keep up an incessant bombardment of our senators, representatives and the higher officials in Washington, we will never be compelled to return a doUar to the Reclamation Fund." "And why- should we?" "It is true that land values have greatly increased and the country has been lifted from the ruin of the desert to highly productive fields, but the money expended for the purpose was our money, taken from the proceeds of lands dis- posed of in the West. The government has not re- quired people on the Eastern seaboard to pay for the harbours around which the large cities have de- veloped, nor has it asked the farmers on the great rivers to pay for the levees built by the government to protect their lands from overflow. We have done enough when we subdued and planted the lands with- out paying for the water furnished by the govern- ment. ' ' "Moreover, the government has been extravagant and has built more and larger works than needed and, at any rate, we should not pay for many items. All of these works, even though built by engineers of high repute and, according to their standards, with economy and efiSciency, are subject to criticism, as are all human undertakings, and */ we keep up this criticism right and left and do not admit that any- thing is good, we will ultimately gain. In any event, we have nothing to lose." "Moreover, attacks on popular officials are always popular. A candidate running for office, local, state or national, can always arouse interest by attacking 396 BECLAIMING THE AEID WEST the public servants, especially those under Civil Ser- vice, as they cannot strike back. The better the en- gineer and the higher grade the man, the less likely he is to enter into controversies and the easier it is to disgust him to the point where he will outwardly confess failure by leaving the locality." "Even though it is urged that these Reclamation Service men have done all or more than any other men might have done under the circumstances, yet this does not prevent our freely criticizing them for not having been better prophets and for not antici- pating conditions which have developed." "Agitation, irritation, investigation; this is the program which will ultimately lead to cutting down the amount which we must pay. This is not a ques- tion of fair play or personal feeling. It is business, and it is our business to see to it that any man who opposes our plan of indefinitely deferring payment is continually attacked." "It is an old saying that: 'Where there is much smoke, there must be some fire.' If we keep up the smoke, there is no question but that doubt and sus- picion will begin to attach and whether we achieve all of our objects or not, we can at least get some con- cession." The above are, in brief, some of the ideas expressed by men who, in their ordinary commercial dealings pride themselves on following the rules of the game, but who under existing circumstances find it safe, popular and profitable to attack the public servants of the Service who have devoted their lives to the upbuilding of the country. How is this to be avoided? The situation is one A VISION OF THE FUTURE 397 which cannot be continued as it is destroying all hopes of continued development of the resources of the country. It is obvious that the money prize for attacking and discrediting the public service must be removed. As long as a community believes that it can gain several million dollars by knocking, or as long as a community of landowners sees that the annual payments can be greatly reduced and specu- lative values of lands increased, they will find plenty of excuse to attack the men who stand in the way of such reduction. Day after day the criticism and attack will continue, both as to the original outlay and as to the daily maintenance of the works. Some radical change must be made which will counteract this manifestation of greed and selfish- ness. One method is that of securing in advance certain assurances as regards amount and methods of payment, putting this in such fashion that it will not be to the interest of speculators or politicians running for office to find an advantage to keep up the attack. It will always be the claim of the man seeking office that if he is elected he will reduce taxes. As long, therefore, as politicians have it in their power to extend or reduce the amount to be repaid to the Government, they will vie with each other in vilification of the officials of the Reclama- tion Service and in promises of future benefits. Arrangements must be made so that it wiU not be within the province of the politician to make changes in the agreements entered into or to interfere with the management of an irrigation system built by public funds. This can be accomplished by build- ing the new projects under some form of district or- 398 EECLAIMING THE ARID WEST ganization whose securities will be held in such way as not to permit of the manipulation of the general control by ambitious politicians. That is to say, if an agreement or contract is entered into and con- firmed by the courts, it is conceivable that the se- curities can be disposed of in such manner as to make it beyond the power of the politician or specu- lator to manipulate the proceeds. In this, or some similar fashion, the funds of the Service must be guarded that its beneficent work may continue indefinitely until all the waste land of our vast domain is reclaimed. What true lover of his kind can contemplate this glorious consumma- tion without emotion, without that deep thrill of satisfaction that can be given to man in no other way than by seeing the millions of his fellowmen happy, prosperous, and contented. INDEX Adams Canal, 297 Acequia, Idaho, 147, 156 Alkali's effect on concrete pipes, 46, 47 Anita, Mont., 172 Ankeny Ditch, 296 Anthony, Tex., 259 Apache Trail, 65 building of, 72 Apaches, Tonto, as workmen, 75, 76 Area of Salt Biver drainage basin, 70 Verde River drainage basin, 70 Argentina irrigation system, 390 Arizona Canal, Arizona, 67 prehistoric irrigation canals of, 66 - Arrey, N. M., 262 Arrowrock Dam, design and con- struction of, 142-143 Arthur, W. S., manager Willis- ton Project, 270 Ashfield Canal, 182 Ashton, Idaho, 157 Austin, Colo., 128 Avalon Dam, design and con- struction of, 237, 238 Badger Creek, Mont., 368 Baker's Battleground, 162 Ballantine, Mont., 172 Banks, F. A., manager Jackson Lake Project, 160 Bard, Aiiz., 97 Battle Mountain, Calif., 226 Bayard, Neb., 214 Beaver Creek Valley, Mont., 183 Belle Fourehe, S. D., 308, 314, 315, 316 Canals, North and South, 312-314 Dam, design and construc- tion of, 309-311 distribution system, 313 Diversion Dam, 308 irrigation system, 306-313 Project, irrigation costs, 318 399 Belle Fourehe Project, continued location and area, 307, 308 River, drainage area, 307 Valley, crops and markets, 315-318 climate and soil, 314- 317 Benton High Line Project, 350 Berino, Tex., 259 Big Muddy Creek, Mont., 385 Porcupine Creek, Mont., 385 Stony Creek feed canal, 110 Billings, Mont., 169 Birch Creek, Mont., 368 Black River, N. M., 238 Blackfeet Indian Project, 367 area and crops, 372, 373 irrigation plan, 368-371 Blanchard, C. J., 149 Boise Project, area and physical features, 144 climatic and agricultural features, 145 farm units, 145 telephone system of, 143 River, 138 Dam, location and construc- tion of, 139, 140 Bond, J. B., manager Klamath Project, 305 Bouse, Ariz., 97 Bowdoin Canal, 182 Bowmont, Idaho, 144 Brazito grant, Tex., 259 Bridge and fence building by the Service, 48, 49 Bridgeport, Neb., 214 Bridges and roads built, 388 Browning, Mont., 187, 373 Bryce, Hon. James, 179 Buildings erected, total, 388 Buford, N. D., 269 Buford-Trenton unit, 268 Bull Mountain, Mont., 172 Station, Mont., 162 Burch, A. N., manager Orland Project, 115 400 INDEX Burley, Idaho, 147, 155, 157 sugar factory, 165 Butte, Mont., 194 Creek, S. D., 307 Byron, Wash., 349 Caldwell, Idaho, 144 California fniit culture, 103-105 California-Oregon Trail, 202 Canal, Adams, 297 Arizona, 67 Ashfield, 182 Bowdoin, 182 Consolidated, Ariz., 67 Cro8S-Cut, 67 Dodson South, 182 East Uncompahgre, 130 Fort Laramie, 206, 216 Fort Shaw, 190 Franklin, 259 Frannie, Wyo., 360 Grand, Ariz., 67 Grand Valley, 118 Griffith, 298 Highline, Ariz., 67 Highline, Wyo., 360 Interstate, 206 Keno, 297 Keno Power, 300 Lake Shore, 323 Leasburg, 257 Main Klamath, 298 Maricopa, 67 Mesa, 67 North Belle Fourche, 312 Picacho, 258 Pishkun, 190 St. Mary's, 43 Salt River Vall^, 67 San Francisco, 67 South Belle Fourche, 312 South Branch, Klamath, 299 South Main Or land, 110 South Uncompahgre, 133 Sun River Slope, 190 Temple, 67 Utah, 67 Willwood, Wyo., 360 Wormser, 67 systems at Milk River Project, 181-183 Canals, prehistoric irrigation, of Arizona, 66 Carlsbad Project, area and crops, 240 plan of, 236 Carr, Jesse D., Land and Live- stock Co., 297 Carson Lake, 218 River, 218 Diversion Dam, 226 Sink, 218 Casteel, Calvin, manager Okano- gan Project, 333 Cedar Ridge, Colo., 128 Cement, barrels used, 388 mill at Roosevelt Dam, 73 Cemetery reservations set apart, 49 Chamberino, N. M., 262 Chandler, Ariz., 82 Cities and towns of Salt River Valley, 82 Clear Lake, 290, 291, 295, 297 Dam, 298 reservoir, 298 Clinton District, Utah, 321, 325 Cold Springs Dam, plan and con- struction, 277 Canyon, 275 Cole, D. W., 360 Colona, Colo., 128 Colorado River, annual deposit of silt, 91 characteristics of, 86-88 valley, fertility of, 92 Columbia River, 326 Valley, 283 Colville Indian Reservation, 326 ConconuUy, Wash., 328 Dam, design and construction, 329 Reservoir Co., 327 Concrete, effects of alkali on, 46, 47 Cone, William S., manager Salt River Project, 85 Congress, discusses and passes Reclamation Act, 15-18 Connor, R. M., manager Fort Peck Prospect, 386 Conquistadores, the Spanish, 250 Consolidated Canal, Arizona, 67 Construction of Roosevelt Dam, 73-76 Contractors' errors and difficul- ties, 42 INDEX 401 Corbett Dam, 360 Diversion Dam, design and construction, 359 Tunnel, 359 Cost of land at Huntley Project, 164 Klamath Project, 304 Minidoka Project, 150 Milk Eiver Project, 187 North Platte Project, 216 Okanogan Project, 333 Salt River Project, 83 Umatilla Project, 281 Yakima Project, 349 Yuma Valley, 101 Costa, early errors in estimat- ing, 38-41 of irrigation at Belle Fourche Project, 318 Carlsbad Project, 240 Lower Yellowstone Pro- ject, 199 North Platte Project, 209 Okanogan Project, 333 Salt River Project, 83 Shoshone Project, 364 Uncompahgre Project, 135 Williston Project, 270 Yakima Project, 349 Yuma Project, 102 of Salt River Project, 84 total of Reclamation Service,388 Cotton growing in Salt River Valley, 81 Cowiche Creek, Wash., 347 Crater Lake, 291 Crops at Blackfeet Indian Proj- ect, 373 Carlsbad Project, 240 Flathead Indian Project, 383 Huntley Project, 173 Klamath Project, 301-304 Milk River Project, 186 North Platte Project, 211, 212 Okanogan Prospect, 332 Rio Grande Project, 260 Shoshone Project, 362, 363 Truckee-Carson Project, 230, 231 Umatilla Project, 285-287 Yakima Project, 343-349 the Yuma Valley, 94-96 under irrigation in Salt River Valley, 81, 82 CroBB-Cut Canal, Ariz., 67 Crow Creek, Mont., 375 S. D., 309 Indian Reservation, 165 Crowe, F. T., manager Flathead Indian Project, 384 Crown Butte Ditch Company, en- gineering problems of, 47, 48 Culverts, total built, 388 Cunha, Joseph, 288 Cushing, Lieut. Frank H., 65 Cut Bank Creek, Mont., 368 Dam, Arrowrock, 142 Avalon, 236, 237 Belle Fourche, 309 Belle Fourche Diversion, 308 Big Stony Creek, 110 Boise River, 139 Carson River DiverBion, 226 Clear Lake, 298 Cold Springs, 277 Conconully, 328 Corbett, 360 Corbett Diversion, 359 Dodson Diversion, 181 East Park, 109 Elephant Butte, 255 El Paso, 259 Glendive Diversion, 195 Grand Valley, 123 Granite Reef, 78 Gunnison Diversion, 131 Hondo Diversion, 247 Laguna, 90 Lahontan, 222 Lake Alice, 207 Las Cruces, 258 Leasburg, 257 Lost River, 298 Lost River Diversion, 299 Medicine Bluflf Creek, 273 Minidoka, 152 Minitare, 207 Pathfinder, 204-206 Pecos River, 240 Roosevelt, 73-76 Sherburne Lakes, 184, 185 Shoshone, 356 Sun River Diversion, 190 Three-Mile Falls Diversion, 283 Truckee Diversion, 224 402 INDEX Dam, contimued Umatilla DiTersion, 276 Vandalia Diversion, 183, 184 Wilson's Bridge, 299 Dark Canyon, N. M., 238 Davis, Arthur P., 68, 89, 248, 275 Deadwood, S. D., 317 Deep Creek, Mont., 189, 190 Deer Flat Reservoir, 138, 139, 141 Dellenbaugh, F. S., 86 Delta, Colo., 128 Demonstration Farms provided for, 54 Derry, N. M., 262 Desert area in United States, 390 391 Diamond Fork District, Utah, 321, 325 Dibble, Barry, manager Mini- doka Project, 157 Distribution system of the Salt River Project, 78 District (irrigation), defined, 321 Dixon, Mont., 384 Dodson, Mont., 181 Diversion Dam, site and plan, 181 North Canal, 183 South Canal, 182 Dona Ana Community Ditch, Tex., 258 Dotma Ana., N. M., 262 Drainage problems overcome, 44 Dry Creek, S. D., 307 East Park Dam, location and construction, 109 reservoir, 108 Echo, Ore., 276 Egypt, irrigation in, 390 Electric power-system in Salt River Project, 84 Electrical plants at Minidoka Project, 154 Electricity, development of upon the projects, 59 use of in construction of Roosevelt Dam, 74 Elephant Butte, N. M., 262 Dam, design and construc- tion, 255, 256 Elephant Butte, continued Water Users' Association, 262 Ellensburg, Wash., 345 El Paso, Tex., 262 Dam, 259 Valley, Tex., 256 Valley Water Users' Associa- tion, 262 Engineering problems at Bt. Mary's River, 43 initial difficulties, 6-10 Engineers' difficulties in prede- termining costs, 39-41 Errors and difficulties in early days of the Reclamation Service, 35-52 Excavation, total yards, 388 Fallon, Calif., 226, 232 Farm imits, 31 Boise Project, 145 Huntley Project, 167, 174 Lower Yellowstone Project, 199 Minidoka Project, 157 North Platte Project, 216 Sun River Project, 194 Truckee-Carson Project, 230 Umatilla Project, 288 Uncompahgre Project, 136 Yuma Project, 100 Farmers' Institutes, 55 instructed and advised, 54—56 Fence and bridge building by the Service, 48, 49 Fernley, Calif., 224, 232 Fertility of arid countries, con- flicting theories, 26, 27 Fifield, R. H., manager Huntley Project, 175 Finley Creek, Mont., 375 Flathead Indian Project, area and physical features, 373-375 irrigation plan, 380 Jocko Unit, 381 soil and crops, 383 Lake, 374, 380 River, 374 Flumes, total built, 388 Fort Belknap Indian Reserva- tion, 182 Laramie Canal, 206, 215 INDEX 403 Fort Peck Indian Reservation, 384 Project, irrigation plan, 385 land costs, 386 Little Porcupine Unit, 385 Shaw, Mont., 194 Canal, 190 cemetery reservation, 49 Military Reservation, 189 Sill Indian School, 274 Military Reservation, 273 Stanton, N. M., 244 Foster, L. E., manager Carlsbad Project, 241 Fowler, B. A., 69 Franlilin Canal, 259 Frannie Canal, Wyo., 360 Frazer, Mont., 385 Fremont, John C, 201-203 Fruit culture in California, 103- 105 Fruitdale, S. D., 314 Gadsen, Ariz., 97 Gagnon, E. H., 172 Galpin Bottom, Mont., 385 Garfield, N. M., 202 Garnet Mesa Siphon, 131 Gering, Neb., 215 Gila River, 367 valley, prehistoric canals in, 66 Gilbert, Ariz., 82 Glendale, Ariz., 82 Glendive, Mont., 195 Diversion Cam, design and construction, 195-198 Gore Canyon, Colo., 116 Goshen Valley, Utah, 321 Grand Canal, Ariz., 67 River, Colo., 116 Valley Canal, 118 Dam, design and construc- tion, 123 Project, area and physical features, 124 delays and failure of co- operative plans, 120-122 early co-operative plans, 119-121 location of, 116 Association, 120, 121, 122 Grandview, Wash., 349 Granger, Wash., 349 Granite Reef, 73 Dam, 78 Great Falls, Mont., 189, 193 Greenleaf, Idaho, 144 Griffith Canal, 298 Guernsey, Wyo., 214 Gunnison Diversion Dam, 131 River, 131, 132 Tunnel, construction of, 131 opening of, 133 Hagerman, J. J., 245 Haig, Neb., 215 Hall, B. M., 89 Hambright Creek, Calif., 110 Hansbrough, Senator, introduces Reclamation Act, 16 Harper, 8. O., manager Grand Valley Project, 124 Hatch, N. M., 262 Hayden, B. E., manager Belle Fourche Project, 318 Hazen, Calif., 226 Helena, Mont., 194 Henry, Neb., 214 Hermiston, Ore., 277, 288 Heybum, Idaho, 147, 155, 157 Highline Canal, Ariz., 67 Wyo., 360 Division, .Shoshone Project, 360 Unit, Utah, 321, 324 Hilgard, Prof. E. W„ 25 Hill, Louis C, 75, 256 Hobble Creek, Utah, 324 Homestead laws, abuse of, 22, 23 Hondo Project, construction and abandonment, 43, 243- 248 River Dam, 247 Horse Fly Lake, 290 reservoir, 291 Hot Springs, N. M., 262 Hubbart Lake, 380 Humphreys, T. H., 108 Huntley, Mont., 162, 172, 175 Project, authorization of, 165 crop and stock values, 173 cost of land, 164 development of, 170-172 farm units of, 167, 174 irrigation plan of, 168 opening of, 169-170 physical features, 163 404 INDEX Huntley Project, continued public land at, 174 reclamation costs, 165 site and area, 162 Huston, Idaho, 144 Idaho-Iowa Lateral and Reser- voir Co., 140 Impatience of early settlers on Reclamation Projects, 36, 37 India, irrigation in, 390 Indian Creek, S. D., 312 Utah, 319 Pima, 367 Intake, Mont., 200 Interstate Canal, 206 Irrigable area of Yuma Project, 99 Irrigated lands, early aaf^uard- ing of, 23 Irrigation canals, prehistoric, of Arizona, 66 costs at Belle Fourche Project, 318 KJamuth Project, 305 Okanogan Project, 333 Shoshone Project, 364 Yakima Project, 349 district, defined, 321 in Salt River Valley, results of, 81-85 unit, defined, 321 Irrigon, Ore., 282 Jackson Lake, Idaho, 151 Project, 158-160 Reservoir, history of, 159 Jocko Lake, 375 River, 375 Unit of the Flathead Indian Project, 381 Kennewick, Wash., 350 Keno Canal, 297 Power Canal, 298, 300 Kirk, Ore., 301 Kittitas Basin, Wash., 344 Klamath Basin, 290-294 riparian rights existing, 293 Canal Co., 297 Falls, Ore., 298 Irrigating Co., 296 Klamath, continued Main Canal, 298, 299 Project, area and physical features, 294, 295, 296 climate, 292 crops and markets, 302-305 development of, 295-300 land costs at, 304 River, 290, 295 Kopa, Ariz., 97 Kuna, Idaho, 144 Kuhn Irrigation and Canal Co., 159 La Mesa, K. M., 262 la, Union, N. M., 262 Lagima Sam, design and con- struction, 90-99 Lahontan Dam, design and 'con- struction, 222, 223 power plant, 225 reservoir, 222 Lake Alice, Wyo., 207 Alice Dam, 207 Avalon, 236 Lahontan, 218 Lawtonka, 271 McMillan, 236, 239 Minitare, Wyo., 207 Shore Canal, 323 Shore Company, 323 Shore Unit, Utah, 321, 323 Tahoe, 217, 220 Walcott, Idaho, 148, 151 Land cost at Fort Peck Project, 386 Huntley Project, 164 Klamuth Project, 304 Lower Yellowstone Project, 199 Minidoka Project, 150 Milk River Project, 187 Okanogan Project, 333 Orland Project, 112, 115 Umatilla Project, 281 Yakima Project, 349 Yuma Valley, 101 System, outlined by Major Powell, 2-5 Landlordism discouraged by Rec- lamation Act, 30, 31 Las Cruces, N. M., 262 Las Cruces Dam, 258 INDEX 405 Las Cruces Community Ditch, Tex.. 258 Las Falomas, N. M., 262 Lauzon, L. C., 131 LawBon, Ii. M., manager Rio Grande Project, 2G2 Lawton, Okla., 274 Project, area and climate, 271, 272 Lead, S. D., 317 Leasburg, N. M., 262 Canal, 257, 258 Dam, design and construction, 257 Lemon Home Water, Power and Light Co., 106 Leon, Mont., 384 Lingle, Wyo., 214 Link River, 291, 290; 297 Iiippencott, J. B., 89 Little Bitter Root River, 375 Medicine Bluff Creek, Okla., 271 Muddy River, 264 Porcupine Creek, Mont., 385 Unit of Fort Peck Project, 38S Littlepage, Mrs. Louella, 56 Lost River, Ore., 290, 295, 296 Dam, 298 Diversion Dam, 299 Works, 298 Lovelocks, CaJif., 226 Lower Klamath Lake, 292, 296, 301 Yellowstone Project, 198-200 agricultural features, 200 Lytel, J. L., manager Strawberry Valley Project, 325 McDonald Lake, 380 McGrew, Neb., 215 Mabton, Wash., 349 Main Canal, Carlsbad Project, 238 Malta, Mont., 183, 187 Mapleton Unit, Utah, 321, 324 Maricopa Canal, 67 Markets for Boise Project, 145 Grand Valley Project, 124 Huntley Project, 174 Lower Yellowstone Project, 199 Markets, continued Milk River Project, 166 Minidoka Project, 157 North Platte Project, 213 Or land Project, 114 Rio Grande Project, 262 Salt River Project, 82 Sun River Project, 193 Truckee-Carson Project, 232 Umatilla Project, 288 Uncompahgre Project, 135 Williston Project, 269, 274 Yakima Project, 345-349 Yuma Project, 96 Maxwell, George H., 13, 14, 69 Land and Irrigation Co., 280, 281 Medicine Bluff Creek, Okla., 271 Dam, 273 Melba, Idaho, 144 M^beta, Neb., 215 Meridian, Idaho, 144 MerrUl, Ore., 297 Mesa, Ariz., 82 Ariz., bond issue for Salt River Project, 72 Canal, Ariz., 67 Mesilla, N. M., 262 Community Ditch, Tex., 258 Mesilla Valley, Tex., 256 Mesquite, N. M., 259, 262 Milk River, 176-177 Project, crops and stock, 186 engineering and interna- tional problems, 177- 180 land cost at, 187 climatic and agricultural features, 186 geological formation, 177, 178 Miller Creek, 291 Minidoka Dam, design and con- struction of, 152 Project, agricultural features, 156 area and physical features, 148-150 cost of land, 150 early history of, 146-148 electrical development at, 164 farm units of, 157 406 INDEX Minitare, Neb., 214 Dam, 207 Mission Creek, Mont., 375 Missouri River, floating pumping barges, 267 Valley, 265-266 Mitchell, Neb., 214 L. H., manager Lower Yellow- stone Project, 200 Montrose, Colo., 127, 128 Moran, Wyoming, 159, 160 Morrill, Neb., 214 Moxee Valley, Wash., 346 Mud Creek, Mont., 375 Nampa, Idaho, 144 National Irrigation Congress, ninth annual session, l4 Natural springs, disposal of, 45 Nelson Reservoir, 182, 183 New Mexico Reservoir and Irri- gation Co., 245 New York Canal Co., 140, 143 Newell, F. H., first Chief Engi- neer of the Reclamation Service, 14-18, 32 Herbert D., manager Umatilla Project, 288 S. D., 314 Newlands, Francis G., activities in behalf of the Recla- mation Act in 56th and 57th Congresses, 15-18 Newton, Mont., 172 Nisland, S. D., 314 North Platte Project, climate, area and soil, 208-211 cost of irrigation, 209 cost of land, 216 farm units, 216 location, 204 River, 201 run-off, 204 Valley, romance of, 201 Yakima, Wash., 345 Okanogan Project, area and products, 331-333 climate and soil, 332, 333 costs of land, 333 irrigation cost, 333 irrigation system, 329-331 pumping plants, 330 River, 326 Okanogan, continued Wash., 332 Oklahoma City, Okla., 274 Olathe, Colo., 128 Old Mesilla, N. M., 262 Omak, Wash., 332 Orange industry of California, 104 Orland, Calif., 115 Project, area of, 113 cost of land in, 112, 115 dairying and orange indus- try, 114 location of, 105, 106 opening of, 113, 115 Unit Water tTsers' Association, 107, 108 Osbom, Mont., 172 Ouray, Colo., 127 Outlook, Wash., 349 Owl Creek, S. D., 307, 312 Pablo Lake, 380 Palisade, Colo., 116 Falomas Valley, Texas, 256 Parker, Arizona, 89 Pasco, Wash., 350 Pathfinder Dam, design and con- struction, 204-206 reservoir, 205 Payette Valley, 137 Payson, Utah, 321 Pecos Forest Reserve, 235 Irrigation and Improvement Co., 245 Co., 235, 236 wrecked by engineering difficulties, 43 River, 234, 235 Dam, 240 Penasco Rock, Tex., 257 Peoria, Ariz., 82 Pettigrew, Senator, 16 Phoenix, Ariz., attractions of, 82 bond issue for Salt River project, 72 origin of name, 66 Water Users' Association, 69 Ficacho Canal, 258 Pima Indian Project, 367 Pipe lines, total miles, 388 Fishkun Canal and Reservoir, 190 Pocatello, Idaho, 1S7 INDEX 407 Poison, Mont., 383, 384 Pompey'B Pillar, Mont., 161, 172 Poplar Eiver, Mont., 385 Post Creek, Mont., 375 Potholes, Calif., 97 Powell, Wyo., 359, 364 Major John Wesley, report on "Lands of the Arid Be- gion" in 1878, 2 first outlines a "Land Sys- tem," 3-5 early opposition to his rec- lamation plans, 5, 6 Power plant at Boise Eiver Cajn, 140 Lahontan, 225 Power-plants in SaltiBiver Proj- ect, 79 Minidolca Project, 154, 155 system in the Salt Kiver Proj- ect, 84 Prehistoric irrigation canals of Arizona, 66 Project Managers, 85, 102, 115, 124, 136, 145, 157, 175, 187, 194, 200, 216, 233, 241, 262, 270, 274, 288, 305, 318, 325, 333, 350, 365, 373, 384, 386 ProBser, Wash., 349 Provo, Utah, 325 Public lands at Huntley Project, 174 Sun Eiver Project, 194 Pueblo Indians, New Mexico, 234 Pumping barges, floating, 267 plants at Okanogan, 330 Pyle, Fred D., manager Un- compahgre Project, 136 Pyramid Lake, 218 Quinton, J. H., 89 Eailroads, total miles built, 388 Ralston, Wyo., 359 Ravilli, Mont., 384 Beclamation achievements, 387- 389 Act, becomes a law in 1902, 18-20 discourages landlordism and speculation, 30, 31, 61 Dr. Newell's account of its origin and passage, 14- 18 Eeclamation Act, continued individual work leading to its passage, 2-12 Projects, farm units upon, 31 Service, early errors and diffi- culties, 35-48 early opposition to, 6-10 disposal of natural springs, 45, 46 first takes charge of Salt River irrigation, 69, 70 method of preventing waste of water, 44, 45 modern interpretation of "riparian rights," 28, 29 necessarily a governmental ftmction, 24 organization of, 32 plans of Major Powell, 4-6 provides for instruction and advice to farmers, 54-56 road and bridge building, 48, 49, 388 Settlement Service of, 50, 61 total reservoir capacity, 387 Redwater River, 307 Repudiation of Reclamation costs, 41 Reservoir capacity, total, 387 Reservation, Fort Shaw Mili- tary, 189 Fort Sill Military, 273 Indian, Blackfeet, 367 Colville, 326 Crow, 165 Flathead, 378 Fort Belknap, 182 Fort Peck, 384 Uintah, 118 Ute, 118 Yakima, 350 Yuma, 100 Richland, Wash., 350 Rights of way obtained by the Service, 48 Rincon, N. M'., 262 Valley, Tex., 256 Rio Bonito River, 243 Hondo River, 243 Grande Project, area and cli- mate, 261 crops and markets, 261, 262 plan and area, 253-255 408 INDEX Bio Grande Kiver, 252-254 Buidoso Biver, 243 Biparian rights, modern concep- tion of, 28, 29 Biverside, Wash., 332 Washington navel-orange in- dustry, 104 Boad and bridge building by the Service, 48, 49, 388 Bochester, Calif., 226 Bonan, Mont., 383, 384 Boosevelt Dam, cement mill at, 73 construction of, 73-76 cost of cement used, 73 first stone laid, 80 location and surroundings, 71 reservoir statistics, 77 scenic attractions near, 77, 78 Theodore, 12 calls attention to irrigation project in his first mes- sage, 17, 19 dedicates Boosevelt Dam, 80 Boswell, N. M., 244 Bound Butte, Mont., 384 Bupert, Idaho, 147, 155, 157 Sacramento Valley Development Association, 107 St. Ignatius Mission, 376, 377 St. Mary Biver, 178 Canal, engineering problems, 43 Lake, Mont., 184, 380 Salem, N. M., 262 Salmon Creek, Wash., 326, 327 Lake, 327, 328 Beservoir, 328 Salt Biver, annual run-off, 71 Canyon, 65 Project, complete system of, 84 cost of, 84 cost of land in, 83 distribution system of, 78 facts concerning, 70 first planned, 70 location of, 70 opening of, 83 pumping stations, 78 Valley Canal, 67 Salt Biver, continued cities and towns of, 82 early irrigation canal sys- tems, 66, 67 failures of first irrigation projects, 67, 68 power plants, 79 prehistoric canals in, 66 results of irrigation, 81- 85 Water Users' Associaticu organized, 70 contracts to build power plants, 79 Water Users' Association, to take over Salt Biver Project, 83 San Fran isco Canal, Arizona, 67 San Marcos Hotel, Chandler, Ariz 82 San Miguel, N. M., 262 Sander, W. H., 89 Sanford, Geo. O., manager Sho- shone Project, 365 Santa Teresa, N. M., 262 Santo Tomas grant, Tex., 259 Savage, Mont., 200 H. N., 89, 360 Schilling, H. M., manager Willis- ton Project, 274 Schlecht, W. W., manager Yuma project, 102 Scott's Bluff, Neb., 214 Scottsdale, Ariz., 82 Selah Valley, Wash., 346 Selden, N. M., 262 Sellew, Francis L., 99 Settlement Service of the Becla- mation Service, 60, 61 Sherburne Lake Dam, 184, 185 Shoshone Dam, design and con- struction, 356-359 Indians, 351 Project area and physical fea- tures, 352-353 climate and soil, 353, 354 crops and markets, 362-364 Eighline Division, 360 irrigation costs, 364 irrigation system, 354, 355 Willwood Division, 360 Biver, 352, 353 Skillman, F. L., 172 INDEX 409 Smith, John Y. T., 66 Smoke Creek, Mont., 385 Smythe, William E., 13, 20 Snake River Valley, 137 Snell, R. M., manager Blackfeet Indian Project, 373 manager St. Mary's Storage Unit, 187 Soldier Fork District, Utah, 321, 325 Somerset, Colo., 97, 127 South Branch Canal, Klamath, 299 Main Canal, Orland project, 110, 111 Platte Valley, 203 Spanish Fork East Branch Irri- gation 4 Mfg. Co., 322 River, 319 South Field Irrigation Co., 323 Southeast Irrigation Co., 323 Unit, Utah, 321, 322 West Field Irrigation Co., 323 Speculators and politicians fought against, 61 Sprague River, 291 State speculation in irrigated lands checked, 30, 31 Statistics of Reclamation Serv- ice, 387-389 Stinking River, 352 ■Stony Creek Irrigation Com- pany, 106 survey, 107 Stratton, Geo. E., manager Milk River Project, 187 Strawberry River, Utah, 319 Valley Project, area and units, 320, 321 climate and soil, 319 irrigation plan, 319-320 Sturgis, S. D., 318 Summit Lake Irrigation Co., 297 Sun River Diversion Dam, 190 Project area and physical features, 189 cemetery reservation, 49 climatic and agricultural features, 191-193 farm units at, 194 location, 188 Sim River Project, continued plan of canal system, 189, 190 public land at, 194 railroad facilities, 191 results of alkali action on, 46 Slope Canal, 190 Sunnyside Unit of Yakima Proj- ect, 348 Wash., 349 Superintendents of Farming pro- vided, 55 Swan River, Mont., 374 Swilling Ditch, in the Salt River Valley, 66 Telephone lines, total miles built, 388 system of Boise Project, 143 Tempe, Ariz., 82 Xempe Canal, Ariz., 67 Teton River, 188, 189 Thistle Creek, Utah, 325 Three-Mile Falls Diversion Dam, design and construction, 283 Tieton River, Wash., 347 Unit of Yakima Project, 346 Tiffany, R. K., manager Yakima Project, 350 Tonto Apaches, as workmen, 75, 76 Creek, 71 Torrington, Wyo., 214 Trail Hollow Creek, Utah, 319 Trenton, N. D., 269 Truckee-Carson Project, area and physical features, 227, 228 crops and markets, 230, 231 example of increased costs, 41 farm units, 230 location and area, 221, 222 soil and climate, 229 Truckee Diversion Dam, design and construction, - 224, 225 River, 217 Tule Lake, 290, 292, 296, 298 marshes, 289 410 INDEX Twin Falls Canal Co., 159 Idaho, 153 Two Medicine Kiver. 368 Uintah Indian Reservation, 118 Umatilla Diyersion Dam, plan and construction, 276 Experiment Station, 287 Project, climate and soil, 285 cost of land at, 281 crops and markets, 285-288 farm units, 288 farming conditions, 286-288 opening of, 280 water distribution system, 278-280 west extension, 282 Eiver, 275 Uncompahgre Project, area and physical features, 126 cost of water in, 135 farm units, 136 South Canal, 133 Valley, old private canal sys- tems, 130, 131 climatic and agricultural features, 129 Unit, definition, 321 Upper Klamath Lake, 295, 296, 298 Eiver, 290, 296 Utah Canal, Ariz., 67 Lake, 320 Ute Indian Eeeervation, 118 Vado, Tex., 259 Yandalia Diversion Dam, site and plan, 183, 184 Mont., 181 Verde River, annual run-off, 71 Wadsworth, Calif., 224 Walcott, Charles D., first Di- rector of the Eeclama- tion Service, 32, 148 Walters, T. P., 172 Warren, Senator Francis E., 17 Wastage of water, 44 Water cost at Lower Yellow- stone Project, 199 Salt Eiver Project, 83 Users' Associations, fimctions of, 56-58 Weather Bureau aids the Serv- ice, 60 Weed, Calif., 301 Weiss, Andrew, manager Korth Platte Project, 216 Wenatchee, Wash., 331 Wendendale, Ariz., 97 Whalen, Wyo., 206 Whistler, John T., manager Truckee-Carson Project, 233 Whitewood, S. D., 318 Creek, S. D., 313 Wiekenburg, Ariz., 66 Wide Hollow, Wash., 346 Wilder, Idaho, 144 Williams, Chas. P., manager Sun River Project, 194 Williamson Eiver, 291 Williston, N. D., 269 Project, crops and markets, 268, 269, 274 irrigation coats, 270 location and physical fea- tures, 263-266 plan of, 268 Willow Creek, 190, 291, 295, 296, 307 Willwood Canal, Wyo , 360 Division, Shoshone Project, SCO Wilson's Bridge Dam, 299 Wingfield, George, 231 Wiota Station, Mont., 385 Wisner, G. Y., 89 Wolf Creek, Mont., 385 Wood River, 291 Worden, Mont., 172 Wormser Canal, Arizona, 67 Yakima Basin, history and phys- ical features, 335-337 private irrigation systems, 339, 340 Indian Reservation, 350 Project, climate and soil, 335- 338 crops and markets, 343-349 irrigation costs, 349 irrigation plan, 337 land costs, 349 location, 334, 335 railroads of, 338 Sunnyside imit, 348 INDEX 411 Yakima Project, continued Tieton unit, 346-348 Eiver, 335 Yellowstone Eiver, 161, 195-198 drainage area, 164 run-off of, 166 Valley, climate and agricul- tural features, 164 Yuma, Ariz., geographical and industrial facts, 97 settlement of, 91 Indian Heservation, 100 Mesa, 100 Yuma Mesa, 100 Project, engineering board, 89 farm units of, 100 irrigable area, location of, and preliminary work, 88-90 railroads built, 99 Valley, climatic and agricul- tural features, 93-06 cost of land in, 101 Zillah, Wash., 349