Show ARID REGIONS paper road before tho the scientific ro search society by miss dewey farns worth continued 0 from last boek wo k chisare Th this isare area a roughly trian triangular gillar in in sli shape apo wi with jh the apex to tile tho south was once supposed to present an inseparable barrier to western storn development and a protection from invasion from that direction this great basin embraces the clio whole of nevada about halt half of utah n strip along the eastern border of with a large area in tile the southern portion or ol that state detato tho the part of oregon with portions of idaho and wyoming its extreme length is about miles and its extreme width in the latitude of salt lake laho city is about miles its total area is ib about square miles where tile tho basin is i broadest tho the general elevation is about feet a central olov atod region divides tho the desert into two areas of relative de depression dipressi on the salt lake region on tho cast and tho carson sink region on west southward there hwan arregu lar descent f to 40 and even below sea level that was once known na as the salton sea and now known as tho the imperial valley tho only rivers rivera in this region of anterio in torio terio draining either dither how flow into lakes inkes that have no outlets or loose themselves in sands io fo that tile tho kalts balls and alkali sot birto by tho decomposition of the soils cannot here bo be washed down and lost in tit sea but are deposited in lakes and sinks binks whence they can bo be recovered since the settlement and Hb of tho the eastern martof part of the cicat basin by tho the cormons mormons Mor mons about acres in tho the western or cars parson n basin havo have been cultivated through private enterprise what has been done on a small scale is only tho the index to what hat can bo be done one on oil a linger scale and pilly a broad knowledge of arid and regions and its future ityl ties can warrant tho the apparent partial which alio east feels has bits been shown to the west this inland empire while rich liali in the precious metals ij ia deficient in mineral which above all othera renders reni jora a country proe porous water I 1 it is a truism to hay that water is tho basis of life animal and vegetable but this thia truism is never appreciated until a man hns bas actually endured the pangs of thirst or has bas won seen his animals suffer or his flocks die for tho the lack of n i little of tile the precious fluid in tile tho humid regions where water is in so plentiful and in fact so often in ili excess of the need for it ita importance import anco is not appreciated throughout tit the groat we wet wept t the alio daily hopland liopo and prayer of every man mail and the lato wish visit danl and is ia for water tice alie ax aror 6 or r traveled trav elef luarca his hia plans day by day with defor defoi enco to getting water tile sto arranges liis his pa pastures and directs tha movements of his herds to assure alburo their getting a drink once loncoa a diy daiy or oneo once every second day lay tho file farm arm or village is ia located with reference not so imi i to accessibility or soil as securing an adequate supply of water walor tile alio practicability of handling oro ore and of extracting precious metals do ponda upon obtaining a amount of watce for tho the work in fact overa thing in tho the arid regions about hlll this contral central point tire tho man inan who controls a spring ng although ho be may own only an nero of ground may 0 bo o tho the lord of tons of thousands of acres acrea of valuably ablo public land the gold mine in in tho the desort de sort lures tho venturous to a lingering death and tho the millions million of acres oi of fortino soil with scanty rain full aro are a continual conti nuil snare bot for tile tho unwary eriv a to enter ariso has haa already done what hat it can in in tile tho way of furnishing water to tho dry lands 1 adt but with ith nearly tin ten million acres converted into fruitful linns it apparently exhausted its field in ili this thib direction the pioneers pion cora settling along tile small or r streams luno havo dug dit cries and liy by joining ining in their efforts have enlarged ja is to size elzo they linao been prosperous ahmo hmo biado dhonies and havo added grea greatly to tile of tho rin nation tion their example others their success has furnished an 0 at attractive argument in favor of tho the promotion pramot ion of irrigation projects on a larger cale have hao co operated and raised millions million of dollars by selling fa irrigation eption stocks ant and bondi bond in the east and in III europa find this thia money they linao invested in largo large projects for irrigation in almost every arid and state in ili tho the vi wust est but tho 4 t attending ali flost every cc association lias has failed to rc reward tho ahn co operation instead or of rat fat dividend 4 i and hu hugo c i bankruptcy with tile tho losy 1034 of every dolar do lar invested has b been en tile result of speculation in n securities ties tio have shao grown up under terse arid have prospered hilt but tho iho capitalist who constructed reaped no profit from his hirt investment these records of on oil ona liand and ra falaro lure on tho the other promoted gradually a sent in favor of national irrigation un until tit congress became A ly y interested it realized that the 0 government 0 v is in tire preat great land is ia the proprietor ot of the greater part of tit fujio at id region to permit this vast otila to remain in its ita desert duBert state is practically to wall off one portion of tho the country from another it itis ia to condemn to ehtor wiy 11 d a see sect adli coassin hii e dudl bib and tin t 1 ulimano and a soil of unequaled fertility ia capable when furnished furnis furni hid shod witia with water of suppo supporting itin in ili comfort coin fot tile densest population of our country Congi ew in in approving the Nat national lonal reclamation act Ac trefle reflected teethe alio opinion of the nation that tile tho people ns as it whole could nut flat ifford afford to lot public lamb i lio lie undeveloped or see POO tile great resources thoro there squandered or diffused without contributing to ti the building up of tho tha nation in tile tho east wo we have already acon n con jestion I 1 of population in tho the great citie citow 1 Ef in tho the west are the limitless arcaba of good land ca palIo tit of ting thousands of industrious farmers fari norn it has haa boon well said that in tile the east im I 1 M tho the landless man and in tho the west tile tho nian luan loss less land the reclamation act wits was signed by president roosevelt on juno 17 1902 find and no wiser or moro practical business tean can bo be found in in tile the revised statutes for these lands us as bayard taylor tailor said long years ago about australia if tick I 1 lod IH I 1 with a straw would laugh if liar har vest tile following is a section from life reclamation act that tile the national government shall bull build tile tho irrigation ini gation 1 works necessary to bring water within reach of settlers on tho the lands the ho cost cast of such work to bo be repaid to tile tho govern mont ment by tuch such settlers settlors sett lors in annual payments without interest for ton years and that tile construction of tho the irrigation works necessary for tile tho utilization or of tho the waters of such large rivers aitho as the Columb inthe sacramento tho the colorado the rio and tho the missouri and its tributaries tributa ries shall proceed as rapidly ili as tile land reclaimed shall bo be utilized in small farms by actual settlor sand and homo home who wll tile government tile tho cost or of construction of the ir gaton gacon w i biks F fur or many years before the passage of this artilho government had been carrying on surveys and examinations ed cd tinn mainly by mayor john AT powell po well the pioneer in ili many lines of investigation lie he understood tile on ron r of tile arid lands for ho be tin had examined them and mi measured alured their streams hii also had rat a corps of young men practical engineers and assistants trained so no that when tho the act was aed they were ready immediately for action actual construction wits was first bogun agun in ili tho the territory of ar alwita aona unit ami in nevada tho the citizens 1 of tho the janake river valley in in arizona Arizon if had find been the lost ont husi antic ot irrin arri aaion tion a ad raised raided fund fusili i niao ars I 1 V 8 f for 0 r pio 1110 0 burvon R had ballok plad V laltoo rt ft tit mhd dip di p alti 0 of f t gil survey irvey and alion the th act was pa lioy wro firke in coati position onto tc its in nonan also tharp hiitt boen great lie activity 0 vit v j largely I 1 arg cly through till ough the efforts of f lion J V F New newlands lando from that tato state who lind at liis his own expense constructed surveys rind and sec secured tired the control of several voir voi sites which w lie he mado to the federal government consequently it wati wan po to bogin begin the construction of 0 works for tile of a I 1 vast extent of null arid land neinda Nevitt lit is iri the driest of tho arid states stales is tile most thinly state in tho Union 04 0 1 l per square mile ilal lins has tho the largene percentage of unoccupied h land 1 nd yot et I 1 in s no reason why tho the depression of alio great hasin basin should not bonia productive products ive ns its intensely eul fully lyas aa densely rop jop ula tedas A 40 casborn or salt lako do de I 1 M ont ion 11 iho he Tru cicco carson project in nevada which chic I 1 I 1 is now flow completed will ro 10 juve inato carson ank valley find and mark an epoch on nevada thi s valloy valley oco ultes tit ld hed afan of ancient dwolf ili dively racen fc icid i extended over a vast area in 1817 tile old overland trail crossed Croy sol it and tile path of tho gid is marked nit irked by many bleaching skeletons oWns of horses and furnish somber ortho of tho elial sand and lations of tho advento aers in ili in miles of old have tho bones of thoo who iltz d or of twist it is I 1 M a sad acad thought that their suffering and untimely end wort unnecessary ary for wo we know now that eliat only it few feet beneath these buening sands water puro pure tind sweet is in fo found uri d all ait over tho the valley at depths of from eight to twenty feet in ili several places the 1 grave dig gora gets were actually within rt a fow net fret of sin an inexhaustible s supply of tile tho precious flu auld 1 id for want af which they were por per haps can but this thia is one of tho the tragedies of the desert deserf a tragedy bo however wever which will nover bo be enacted in that valloy agnan agnin th present for tho arri g ution of approximately lucies cien of it land 71 per cant of which belongs ta to tho the government the alio principal city or of this alu ri valley had a i on of sixteen people three tiree years ago it lias has ono one thousand thit thi t rapid growth is ia title duo 1 to the govern mant and tile truckee carson system ip fig only a part art of the great scheme fus for tb the of nf ne vada in its ita ghego vast plans mcilvo tho the expenditure of goo 90 1 aih and alio cultivation a of ne nearly fil acres of land want aiji t tin truo of 0 national I 1 irrigation aedita and ts in nevada is id acab 1 true oi of tile botdorf 1 ng states in the salt S ailt divor bior project in n arl arii zona in ili tile warm anil and sunny valley ot of the poo the 6 aik works of V lia tro daan d am chii this will bo be surpassed hi in height by ono hilior in tho corid it ditl wll balce a reservoir which will A ill dmn a balco 25 miles lomp this antor will bo be divided by lao mans ansof of canals to the irrig arri anllo ablo lands hinds tile uri coin pah agro valley project in colorado tho the klamath in ilio shoshano Sho project in wyoming also thu the lower SIim Sho hono ilione project in tho the sim 0 o plate in which tho the higher ai alain id ri tile tho corid world hai beon been constructed feet high arid and tho ilie snake kiver project in L laho idaho are arci almost completed these arn oro only A i fow of the great schemes under tit kon by tho government but thoy they serve to to give gigous us an idea ol of thelast the vast extent of country benefit fod and the rood being accomplished hundreds of 0 inilla bf railroad havo have boon been built and 0 eipl py mont lucent for thou thousands sanda of workmen has boon been furnished in net fact the west hasi haa boop boon stirred d to activities which will all in tile tho wry very near future result in good mm for 0 I 1 hill sob adf 1 n eventually boa unbounded wealth to th tho nation in turn for what tile the nation has bas done dorotha west ecat A few words worda must lif in regards to dry land vor a eo coro 0 of f years after tile of the west W es t jn in firm farms necessity compelled the pioneers to invent moans means by which thoy might lauko inako a living without do de bending upon streams str earns with which to irrigate finally after years of df expert ain nt ani and faili failures fres it wab was at last found that by tile process of working the soil it would hold bold it ft considerable amount of moisture which I 1 in ll 11 turn would favor tho growth of plant lifo life so successful havo i 0 tho experiments been in thomast the ladt ten yearn that stations have been establish ed in in different parts of utah Pali california fornia arid and oregon and havo have proven tho the process of ill dry land licud farming to bo be a success i in a cheko regions regins regi ns if 0 i f scanty canty precipitation pr C ahk achievement iti is another factor which tili lill prove prove a d drawing 0 S ard to tho the wt west I 1 amany of iho fast easl havo have heard tho the call of tho the wild and many more shall continuo continue to hear it ton for generations to colip tho the endless trail across the wilderness which was a terror to travel eis is no more prosperous surrounded by acres of fruitful farms stretch all ali along the hinr drawing tile tho eist east and tho debt closer together and indeed making the deceit bloom as a rose i |