Imperial Valley press and the Imperial press., August 11, 1906, Image 1

About Imperial Valley press and the Imperial press. (El Centro, Calif.) 1906-1907

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
Imperial Valley Press.
VOL. VI
CUTTING BACK IN MEXICO
| Investigating Party Finds Flood Waters Cut-
I ting Channels from New River to Alamo
Careful Examination Disposes of Fear that Valley's Water Supply
Will be Interfered With. Only Cutting Back 300 Feet
Per Day and Can Be Stopped
Thursday morning of last week Mes
srs. Ed. Forrester. W. A. VanHorn
and Ira Aten left for a trip of Inspec
tion to the country along the Alamo
channel In Mexico and to. Investigate
the water cour e that flows from the
Alamo to New river. They took the
same route followed by the party
which examined the same territory
two or three weeks ago, going up over
the mesa and following the north bank
1 of the "Alamo to a point beyond Bel
tran slough. From there they came
down the river In a boat, examining
the outlet at Beltran slough and noting
conditions along the stream as they de
scended. Arriving at the place where
the water divides and part of it goes to
Sharp's heading and part goes to New
river they stopped and made soundings
of the two streams. These soundings
were made with a pole 1 7 feet long.
They found the stream flowing to
Sharp's heading to be nine feet deep
and about one hundred feet wide. The
stream leading away to New river is
about four hundred feet wide and was
too deep for them to reach bottom
with their seventeen foot pole. These
figures show a rather bad state of af
fairs and one requiring attention very
soon. It means simply that the stream
carrying the water to waste is four
times as wide and at least twice as
deep as the stream bringing the water
to Sharp's heading, where it can be
turned into our canals and delivered to
the farmers in the Valley.
This would indicate that when the
water falls sufficiently It will all be car
ried by the channel going to New river
and none would reach 'Sharp's heading
ifor delivery to the farmers. This, of
course, provided work be not done
meantime to control the flow and keep
up the water level so as to compel it to
run In Alamo channel to Sharp's head-
Ing. After looking into conditions
here as long as they deemed necessary
the party left, going down the main
channel across toward New river. As
they went along they used the pole to
measure the depth of the water.. They
found it. to be seventeen feet and more
for nearly a mile, when the channel
widened very rapidly and the depth
rapidly lessened to about nine or ten
feet with the channel a quarter of a
mile In width. At this point the chan
nel appears to pass beyond a large red
clay hill and spread out all over the
country. Apparently it divided into
three principal currents, one flowing off
to the south and following close along
the foot of the clay hill, another flow
ing rather northwesterly, v/hlle a third
went almost due west. So they took
I the middle one thinking perhaps It was
the main one and followed down it, tak
ing measurements of the water at fre
quent Intervals. When about five or
six miles down they came to where the
current got very much swifter and could
hear a loud roaring. This they soon
found was a great overpour, the entire
volume of the water gathering Into one
place and cutting out a channel 300 to
400 feet wide.
EL CENTRO. CALIFORNIA. SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 1906
Finding themselves caught In the rap-
Ids leading to this overpour they had
the hardest kind of work to get out of
them and keep from being swept over
the falls. After an hour or more of
the danger they reached slack water
and safety. They were' still a long
ways from being out of there, however,
and how to get home was the next
question. It Is impossible to row a
boat upstream to the outlet from the
Alamo and escape by that means . was
not to be thought of. It was equally
impossible to go over the falls and con
tinue the journey down the newly erod
ed channel, for no boat could live a
moment In its seething torrent. Their
only escape therefore" lay in abandon
ing their boat and wading out through
the soft slush of the newly drained area
to dry land. This they did, after first
dragging their boat out to a point where
it is in no danger of being flor.ted away.
They found it was more than a mile
that they had to wade through the mud
and the mud was very nearly waist
deep. They started on this trip at
just 12 o'clock noon and arrived at dry
land at two o'clock. They then had
to walk about twelve miles to get to
Packard where they could get a team
to bring them ho^me. It was eight
o'clock Friday evening before they ar
rived at Packard and after midnight
when they reached VanHorn's home.
Saturday they reported their experi
ence and observations and on Saturday
afternoon the president of Water Co.
No. 1 took the train for Yuma to re
port the situation to Mr. Corey, of the
California Development company.
On Monday last Mr. VanHorn, Mr.
S. J. Ulrey and S. D. Yokem went up
to make another Investigation and to
determine how fast the overpour Is cut
ting back and what work to do In sav
ing the water supply. It is realized
that if this overpour should work back
to the Alamo channel tne entire water
supply of the Valley would be carried
away by It and none of the water com
panies receive any water. It is be
lieved that the California Development
company Is having the situation looked
into also and the suggestion is made of
building a dam across the outlet at the
clay hill In such a way as to turn the
water all off to the south. However,
until a careful examination of the en
tire situation Is made it is not possible
to formulrte any plans. The latest re
ports from the Colorado river are that
the railroad is completed and the pile
drivers are at work on the trestle across
the intake. Also that large forces of
teams are at w-ofk digging the canal
from the river into Hanlon's heading
and from the heading down to the old
canal. There Is another large force of
teams ready to begin the work of op
ening up the channel down the old riv
er bed. This has got filled with silt
and sand for a mile or two down from
the Intake and the opening of a passage
through this filled In space will greatly
help In turning the river and may be of
great benefit should a sudden rise come
In the river.
AND THE IMPERIAL PRESS
When Mr. Corey was Informed of
the conditions found by Messrs Van
Horn, Aten and Forrester he at once
dispatched Mr. E. H. Galnes down the
river In a boat to make an investiga
tion. Mr. Galnes arrived In Calexico
Monday night, having come down the
main channel to Beltran slough, where
he left It and followed the slough
This brought him around the point
where the overpour Is located and he
reports having found no serious condi
tions. However, as soon as he found
that he had missed the real point of
interest he and Mobley Meadows went
back to make a thorough investigation
of the entire overflowed terrltoiy.
Meadows had accompanied the par
ty, consisting of Ulrey, VanHorn and
Yokem which went up to the overpour
Monday and had just returned to Ca
lexico on Tuesday evening. His re
port Is that the party above named had
Investigated the sltnatlon at the over
pour and that all agreed that It would
take two months for It to cut back to
the Alamo channel and interfere with
our water supply. This party took in
struments with them and will run lev-
els and see what Is necessary to be
done in order to protect the Alamo
channel from being cut Into by this ov
erppur. The fact that this cut has at
least five miles yet to go before it will
Interfere with our water supply and the
further fact that only a part of the wat
er Is reaching it while a much larger
volume is going around by Beltran and
Garza slough is very reassuring. It
shows that this overpour cannot cut
back very fast and also leads to the be
lief that much of this water can be
turned away from it and that its cut
ting back can be controlled. It is be
lieved that if it can be kept from reach
ing the Alamo channel for 60 days all
will be safe, for the reports indicate
that the work at the intake will be so
far progressed that the water can be
turned down the old channel by that
time. The gage readings at Yuma
stand at about 20 feet, which is very
close to 25,000 cubic feet par second.
Of course this is quite a river and as
none of it is leaving the channel either
down the old river bed or at Quail riv
er cut off it is praqtically all being
poured across the country from Alamo
to New river. The course of affairs
In that locality will be watched with
Interest and also it will no doubt re
ceive much closer attention than it has
heretofore. The water in Salton Sea
continues to rise but more slowly, the
water level not having gained much
more than one foot during the past
week. It Is crowding the right of way,
however, and acts as a perpetual re
minder to the Southern Pacific that
the water must be shut off just as soon
as possible and that sixty days Is the
limit. With a sixty day limit on keep-
Ing the main line above water and a
sixty day limit on the channel cutting
back to the Alamo and interfering with
our water supply, It Is quite evident
that a supreme effort will be made to
put the Colorado river under control
within that time. With the prepara
tions already made and the facilities at
hand we feel sure It will be done. The
situation between Alamo and New
river will be watched and the Valley's
water supply protected. A little well
directed work will make everything
safe beyond the time when the Colora
do river will be dammed off and the
amount of water coming to our Valley
under control. It is quite fortunate
that Messrs. Aten, VanHorn and For
tester made their trip of Investigation.
The source of possible danger they dis
covered can be controlled plenty long^
enough for the work at the Colorado*
river to cure the whole trouble.
That Sale Rumor
The rumor that a syndicate of Los
Angeles capitalists had bought out the
holdings of the Holton Power company
and the property of the Imperial Land
company In this Valley was industri
ously circulated in the Valley last week
and later was sent to the Los Angeles
and San Diego papers. This report
has been denied by Mr. Holt, who
states, however, that such a deal was
proposed several months ago and the
price for his property agreed upon, but
that no deal has been closed and no
money had been paid. Most of these
rumors have emanated from Imperial
Land company sources and It is easy
to see why. They are anxious for the
deal to go through, as they are keen to
sell. With the Holton Power com
pany however, the case is different.
Mr. Holt and his associates have the
most valuable property in the Valley
and its best franchises. They are
abundantly able to develop them and
perfect the enterprises: they have be
gun. They therefore are not anxious
to sell. The following from the Los
Angeles Times of August Bth fairly
states the situation:
It is not true that W. F. Holt or the
Imperial Land company or any other
person or cdtnpany, has sold to a syn
dicate represented by G. A. Parkyns
or any other syndicate represented by
any other person, all their holdings in
the townsltes of Heber, Calexico, Im
perial, Brawley, etc., or any part of
their holdings in these townsltes or any
other, townsites, with or without elec
tric power plant, at Holtvllle or else
where, or the ice plant at El Centro,
or any other ice plant at any other
place, or any kind of plant there or
elsewhere, for a sum representing $1,
000,000, or any other sum represent
ing any other figures.
For some time G. A. Parkyns of
the Merchants' Trust Company, on
Broadway, has been carrying on nego
tiations with the Imperial Land com
pany and others holding about 7000
f IIMKSUI. \
y .-,',; \ i:wcff (
\ ctmKO
r '"'~~ M£X *" ' ' V JIl. ;
. t
Buy One of These
5 or 6 Acre Tracts
of
Deeded Land
Adjoining El Centro
$100 per acre and upwards.
Easy terms.
D. H, CHAPLIN.
El Centro, California
acres of land, all under United States
patent, and therefore with perfect title.
In the Imperial country, looking toward
the purchase of their holdings, togeth
er with all the appurtenances. The
sum of money talked between the par
ties to this deal Is $ 1 ,000,000, but the
whole proposition is still In embryo.
There has been no definite conclusion
reached about It In any way, shape or
manner. The deal may go through —
probably will— but It Is possible that it,
may fall to go through at all.
In conversation with parties who
have spent some time at the Imperial
heading we learned something of the
excellent plans on which the work is
proceeding and especially of the splen
did manner In which Mr. Cory has his
forces organized. He has the camp
laid out In military order and policed
thoroughly. Everyone Is provided
with quite comfortable quarters and
are required to keep them clean. The
cook house is their especial pride, no
food being served unless it is properly
cooked, nor cooked unless it is In first
class condition. No disorder Is per
mitted anywhere and every man Is
made to feel an interest In the work
by the interest taken in him by his
employers. The men are responding
splendidly to this kind of treatment and
despite the hot weather are turning off
an immense amount of work. With
such treatment for his employees Mr.
Cory will have no trouble in getting all
the help he needs and thus supplied
will be able to cope with the Colorado
river in the very shortest time possible.
Sixty days should see everything safe.
If you don't find what you want
advertised in the paper Bert R.
Chaplin can dig it up for you.
120 acres of the finest land in the
Mesquite lake country. Tho land in
this region is undoubtedly the best that
can be found. Easily put in crop, good
drainage, price right. Bert R. Chaplin,
NO. 18