PECOS RIVER, ITS CONDITION AND AVAILABILITY.

7

there is in the San Marcial Valley and from there up, I can not say. I should think a million acres a very low estimate.

The CHAIRMAN. Are you familiar with the topography of the country at the source of the Rio Grande?

Mr. BRONSON. To some extent. I have been in that country. It rises in the high mountain ranges of southern central Colorado, and flows thence through the San Luis Valley, and then through the cañons of northern New Mexico, coming out on the valley and plains below. The CHAIRMAN. What other irrigating enterprises have been inaugurated or contemplated in New Mexico besides those waters directly from the Rio Grande?

Mr. BRONSON. Only two on anything like a large scale. One concerns the development of the Maxwell grant, in northern Mexico, of which you doubtless know a great deal. The streams are small, and they are confined to a system of small canals which they are proceeding to take out. They have availed themselves of the entire water supply, and that land is put upon the market at from $10 to $15 an acre. The CHAIRMAN. Have they made an effort at the storage of water? Mr. BRONSON. To no considerable degree. They have some smali dams. The other enterprise which has been attempted is that of the Pecos Valley Irrigation and Investment Company.

The CHAIRMAN. You are interested in that?

Mr. BRONSON. Yes, personally.

The CHAIRMAN. Will you describe that?

Mr. BRONSON. The conditions are these: The Pecos River, like the Rio Grande, rises in Colorado. It flows to a point about Fort Sumner, where it sinks every year a distance of 80 miles. Then there comes in from the mountains on the west, striking out from the margins of the river, a series of springs, which create the Lower Pecos. There a ditch is taken out 37 miles long and 35 feet on the bottom. It is taken to a point 35 miles from there, where a series of new springs break out from the mountains affording another supply to the river, from which there is another canal 58 miles long and 45 feet on the bottom. The two canals will irrigate about 300,000 acres of land as now planned. It is then the contemplation of the company later to take those ditches along the line into Texas, and it is the expectation of the company that the amount of land will not be doubled, but very near it.

The CHAIRMAN. Do you contemplate storage reservoirs to save the storm waters!

Mr. BRONSON. There is no necessity for that under our present plans. That will become a practical question when the water supply of the river is run short. But we have an abundant supply for at least half a million acres. That is a definite calculation by one of your own engineers, Mr. Nettleton, of Colorado-that is to say, he is one of Di. rector Powell's engineers.

The CHAIRMAN. By storage and the saving of water to its utmost extent you might increase the number of acres.

Mr. BRONSON. It may be indefinitely increased, because there are points where you could conserve the water through the winter. But there are no uses for it; it would simply run to waste.

The CHAIRMAN. Then your additional land will be in Texas? Mr. BRONSON. The additional land will be in the State of Texas. The CHAIRMAN. Making a rough estimate, about how much land in Texas could be reclaimed should you exhaust that water supply?

Mr. BRONSON. I believe over a million and a half in Texas; because the lower you go to the point where we take out these canals it is very

narrow, but passing the Texas line the canal widens, and it could be carried out at least 30 miles from the river to a point down about Live Oak Springs, below Fort Stockton, a great broad valley being on the west.

The CHAIRMAN. What is the character of the land?

Mr. BRONSON. It is a loose red, sandy loam, and very deep soil underlaid with limestone. With the storage of water the possibilities of that enterprise are so large it is very difficult to state them accurately.

The CHAIRMAN. How much of a river is the Pecos in flood-time? Mr. BRONSON. It is a river probably 150 to 175 feet wide, and from 20 to 25 feet deep. It is a very peculiar stream. It is narrow and deep. I have never seen anything like it in the West.

The CHAIRMAN. Has it a rapid current?

Mr. BRONSON. Very rapid current-a sharp fall all the way. That is an important feature in the quantity of the supply of the water. It is a very rapid stream. The extent of the water that could be stored in the four months of idle season, in winter, is almost indefinite.

The CHAIRMAN. Have any streams been taken out?

Mr. BRONSON. Small streams have been taken out at Pecos City, on the Pecos River, about 50 miles below Mexico.

The CHAIRMAN. How far is it from where you start, following down the river to the Texas Pacific Railroad?

Mr. BRONSON. From the head of the northern canal it is 185 miles. The CHAIRMAN. And you occupy with your canal what portion of that district?

Mr. BRONSON. When the canals shall have been completed we will occupy the country to a point within 50 miles of the railway. We will occupy 130 miles of the Pecos. There is a break between of undesirable country that need not be covered. It is indefinite, but the canal system could be carried down farther south 100 miles at least if there were water sufficient.

The CHAIRMAN. What products do you raise there?

Mr. BRONSON. Everything that is raised in this section of the country-all varieties of fruits. The country produces two good crops a year. The small grain crop-barley and wheat and all that sort of thing is harvested in spring, and corn can be put on the same ground and harvested in the autumn, but that is not deemed the most desirable crop. Then we are nearer the markets than California.

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The CHAIRMAN. What kind of fruits can you raise?

Mr. BRONSON. We raise everything except the purely tropical fruits. The orange, olive, and such things have been tried in the Pecos, and they are doing very well. The grape, apricots, figs, and all kinds of apples can be raised.

The CHAIRMAN. Are there any other opportunities for irrigating in Texas further east except on the Pecos ?

Mr. BRONSON. Yes, on the Nueces.

The CHAIRMAN. Where does that river rise?

Mr. BRONSON. That rises in the Blue Range, north of San Antonio, and flows generally south through southern Texas into the Gulf. The CHAIRMAN. How much of a river is that?

Mr. BRONSON. It is a dry stream below, after coming out of the mountains. But coming down it is a stream that will run 100 feet wide at the cañons, and be 78 feet deep. It is a large stream. There is a project to take the water from the cañon of the Nueces and carry it east out of the valley. A charter is granted for that purpose, and the com pany has been organized.

NECESSITY FOR THE EL PASO INTERNATIONAL DAM. 9

The CHAIRMAN. What crops can be raised on the plains of western Texas without irrigation?

Mr. BRONSON. Nothing. In seasons of heavy rains occasionally a light crop of corn is made. But it is so entirely untrustworthy that it is not mentioned.

The CHAIRMAN. You have been over the Nueces and understand the topography of the country at its source. State whether there are any

opportunities there for storage reservoirs.

Mr. BRONSON. The opportunities are excellent, because the character of the country is especially adapted to that purpose. The streams lie deep, and they are crossed at different points by dikes of rocks, at which points storage reservoirs or dams could be made without great expense. When you get down to that lower country, as a rule the streams are broad, and they flow great bodies of water. At those points cheap dams could be put in that would accumulate the water and make possible the tillage of a great deal of land.

The CHAIRMAN. Is there any person you know who is familiar with that region of country and who can give us a report on it?

Mr. BRONSON. I do not know of any one here at the present time. The CHAIRMAN. How can we get that information without traveling over the country? In the absence of railroads it would be difficult for us to travel over these sections.

Mr. BRONSON. You mean southwestern Texas?

The CHAIRMAN. Yes; and in northern Texas where irrigation is required.

Mr. BRONSON. I should think that Mr. Streeruwitz, the State geologist, could give yon that information.

The CHAIRMAN. Are there any other facts in regard to Texas and Mexico that you would like to state?

Mr. BRONSON. I would like to state what are the local conditions here at El Paso: We have a proposition here, the suggestion originally of Major Mills, for the building by the Government at this point of a great international dam. He has studied the matter, and has brought it down to a pretty definite set of figures, which he will present to you. But in that connection I would like to say that we beg of you that you give that question very careful consideration, because it affects not only the question of irrigation of arid lands, but also the settlement and regulation of certain international difficulties that we have here-difficulties that must exist until this question shall have been settled. And the question involves the channel of the river. It is ehanging, and difficult and noisy litigation under international law comes up over these changes of the river channel. Now, there has been at this point, perhaps from the beginning of the settlement, a dam maintained exclusively at the cost of the people of Mexico on the other side, and without any contributions on our part, though it is being used by us with equal benefits. But they are now, in common with us, deprived of the water by the drain upon it in the ditches of the Colorado; and it seems to us a moral responsibility, if not a legal one, rests upon us to have the waters of the Colorado by some means stored. One way is to choke off these fellows in Colorado and New Mexico who have taken out the water in the face of an undeniable right. There should be a storage system here, by which the waters of the river could be retained in such quantity as to enable the people to cultivate their land under their orig. inal rights. We want you to study that question, as it is one of vital importance to the people of this section.

The CHAIRMAN. The scope of our power does not include a recom

mendation for Government work. The Government has commenced engineers' surveys, and will designate reservoir sites, lines of ditches, etc., and will make estimates of the cost of construction, for the purpose of informing the people where they can make homes. The Government will reserve all the sites that may hereafter be designated as suitable for reservoirs, with the land that may be irrigated thereby. But the law making these reservations also provide that the President, by proclamation, may open these lands to homestead settlers. Now, we want to ascertain if any further legislation will be necessary in that direction, and if so, what? It is our duty to ascertain, first, whether the subject is of sufficient importance to justify the expenditure of so large an amount of money as will be necessary for this engineering work.

Mr. BRONSON. There is one other feature that I wish to suggest in this connection, and that is as to the desirability on the part of the Government of going into expenditures in the West to develop the arid land. Millions are appropriated yearly for the improvement of the rivers and harbors, the promotion of local commerce. We have no harbors to improve, no channels to deepen; but the commerce of this country can be fostered and promoted, developed and enlarged, by storage reservoirs comprehended in your present study.

Senator REAGAN. You were asked the question about what streams there were from which water might be applied to land, and you mentioned the Nueces. How is it with regard to the San Antonio?

Mr. BRONSON. I mentioned one way in which the project was planned; but it is possible also on the San Antonio, the Guadalupe, the San Cruces, the Marquis, and even going farther east, on the Colorado. There is some farming land west of Colorado in that section.

STATEMENT OF W. H. STEERUWITZ, STATE GEOLOGIST OF TEXAS.

The CHAIRMAN. What is your occupation?

Mr. STREERUWITZ. I am a civil and mining engineer, and Stategeologist for western Texas.

The CHAIRMAN. Are you familiar with the topography of western Texas?

Mr. STREERUWITZ. I am as familiar with it as I could make myself within the last ten months and by short trips in former times. I am as familiar with it as any one here.

The CHAIRMAN. Have you during your investigations had your attention called to the possibilities of that country with regard to irrigation?

Mr. STREERUWITZ. Yes; I have for a number of years proposed the building of reservoirs in the mountains, because it struck me that it would be a very easy matter to do it, and probably it would be a great deal cheaper than experimenting with artesian wells. The mountains in some places come together very closely, and, so far as I could ascertain, the bed-rock being very close to the surface, it would form a number of reservoirs to cover say from 10 to 50 square miles.

The CHAIRMAN. What is the rain-fall in that region? Is it sufficient to fill a reservoir in the storm season?

Mr. STREERUWITZ. There are very few rains here; but when they come they come with a will.

Senator REAGAN. Of what portion of Texas are you now speaking? Mr. STREERUWITZ. Western Texas; west of the Pecos River. So

STREAMS AND OTHER WATERS OF WESTERN TEXAS. 11

far as I could ascertain in ten years, the annual rain-fall within a circuit of 100 miles around Fort Davis has averaged 19.9 inches in Feb. ruary. Farther east, where I have my tent at the present time, I have had within the last three months 34 inches of rain-fall. That is the result, so far as I could make my observations by crude means.

The CHAIRMAN. Are you acquainted with Texas farther east? Mr. STREERUWITZ. I know Texas very well. I am a citizen of Texas, and have been for twelve years, traveling around every year. The CHAIRMAN. What are the particular streams that would furnish water for irrigation if the waters were stored in the mountains above? Mr. STREERUWITZ. The Colorado River of Texas might; the Llano River partly; the San Saba River; part of the Brazos River; the Pecos River; the Nueces River; the San Antonio River; in fact, you might say any of the rivers of Texas-the larger ones that deserve the name of river. In eastern Texas it is not necessary, because we have more rain there than we need. Of course in western Texas the Rio Grande and Pecos Rivers are of great importance. But between those two rivers we would have to rely on the rain-fall.

The CHAIRMAN. There are no ravines between?

Mr. STREERUWITZ. Yes; but they are in the valleys, and they would not do for reservoirs. We have here between the mountains old lakebeds running down in sand and gravel many hundred feet in some places, so that the reservoirs, according to my idea, would have to be put back in the small valleys between the mountains themselves. There the mountains are close together, and the bed-rock is not more than 10 or 15 feet from the surface. If that were not so it would be expensive, and it would not pay to build them.

The CHAIRMAN. Has the subject of irrigation been discussed in Texas?

Mr. STREERUWITZ. It has been discussed here and on the Pecos more than anywhere else. So far as I know, and from what I see in the newspapers, it is becoming a vital question. There is no doubt that it is one of the live issues for the Rio Grande Valley.

The CHAIRMAN. There is a large amount of land that could be brought under cultivation from the various streams of which you have spoken and the reservoirs that might be built?

Mr. STREERUWITZ. There is a large valley extending, we may say, from Sierra Blanca down to Fort Davis, 10 miles wide, that is nearly as flat at this table, and of good soil. From about a half mile from the mountains it is excellent soil. I made an analysis of about twenty dif ferent soils along this valley.

The CHAIRMAN. Then there is a large amount of land containing good soil in western Texas?

Mr. STREERUWITZ. Excellent soil. All it needs is water. It is very good agricultural soil.

Senator REAGAN. Have you examined the country up in the Pan Handle?

Mr.STREERUWITZ. I was up in the Pan Handle, but I made no particular examinations?

Senator REAGAN. Have you made an examination to ascertain whether there are any streams in that section with which you could irrigate? Mr. STREERUWITZ. The Upper Brazos. Its largest forks, the Salt Fork and the Double Mountain Fork, are hardly fit to irrigate with. One is charged with brine and the other one is too strongly alkali. Then there is Clear Water Fork; but the valleys there are not to be