Par EiVilen
Eat Qryoniart Rourvd-Up Souvenir Edition
Fmd'f ton, Oregon, Thursday, September 21, 1916
Twenty-Four Pare
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IRRIGATION PROJECTS IN UMATILLA COUNTY
A. Kcuhhwu. It iilonuutcr
0 5
Now that the circuit court diT(v in the m.it'.er of the adjudica
tion of the relative right .f the various claimant to the waters of the
Cmatilla river and it tributaries has been signed hy Judge Phelps a
word should be said in regard to this important piece of work. The
settlement of the water ntrhls on this river sste.m constitutes probably
th largest ple-e of work of this kind ever attempted In the state of Ore
iron, and the results are noteworthy as it represents a forward step both
In the determination of water rights as well as in the distribution work
resulting therefrom
A maximum amount of water per acre is fixed for the four classes of
land defined In the decree and upon the watermaster devolves the task
of determining the water duty or need under the maximum. He also
must determine under which classification each piece of land comes.
Thu It is seen that It has not been attempted to make an iron-clad rule
In the. amount of water alloted to the land but one that chances to meet
conditions.
Its flexibility is its outstanding feiture. rt definitely fixes the. present
Tested water rights and as conditions chance in the future it automati
cally changes these rights to meet n?w conditions, and at the same
time takes care of future development. It is an inducement to the
rancher to improve his irrigation system and yet gives him sufficient
time in which to make such improvements so as not to work a hard
ship upon him. It provides a maximum water delivery which is used
during the development pertod and automatically reduces the water
allotment as the land improves under cultivation and as systrms of
Irrigation Improve.
"I
;
!
Success is often attained through a
aeries of failures, or to put It another
way; If a man profits by hi mistakes
he will eventually master them and
become successful. This might weli
be applied to the development of the
Irrigation project in this county, to
the government's Hermiston project,
the Furnish project and the Western
Ind and Irrigation Company' pro
ject, for they certainly have been
objected to all the experiments and
mitaJtea that could be experienced in
project development In this locality.
The fact that they now begin to show
unmistakable signs of success only
emphasize the enormity of the mis
takes) made and the lack of knowledge
of condition for these projects are
entirely feasable, and practical when
the land is bandied properly.
Let as contemplate a few of the
Project troubles and the remedies ap
plied. Now, there is the old question
of land values. When water was
made available for the sage brush
land of the projects most of the land
was held In private hands and the
owners seeing; vision of suddenly ac
quired wealth, became the wildest of
be bought for 125 to $75 per acre.
ThU does not include water rights
which cost around 170 Der acre on!
long-time payments and either at a
low rate of Interest on the two Carey
Act projects or no Interest charges as
with the government project.
Linked with high land prices as the
two worst evils of project development
was the lack of knowledge of develop
ment procedure. They would mob a
man down there now for some of the
experiments or mistakes made In the
past. For Instance, a man with 40
acres to reclaim could proceed to clear
off the bnsh and pile It and burn it.
Then he would plow op his cleaned
off land real nicely. To the unltl
ated let me whisper that this Is one
awful crime, for soon a wind storm
would hit that particular territory
and the top six or seven inches of soil,
the most valuable, would be wafted
to the leeward ranches and cover up
some hard working rancher's young
alfalfa stand or strawberry patch, or
make large glistening dunes of sand
In a young apple orchard. That used
to be a regular occurence and then
the owner of said cleared forty would
5. Then sred to rye and alfalfa.
S. Then note that a wind storm is
threatening, (Snd storms are apt
to occur here any day in the year.)
7. Then begin to wonder w here ne
cessary flood boxes, ditches, etc., are
to be placed to irrigate the land.
S. Then watch the wind begin to
whip away top soli, seed and all.
S. Then frantically slap in a num
ber of poorly constructed irrigation
ditches, without drops or other ne
cessary accessories, in your haste to
check damage from the winds.
10. Then begin to irrigate it after
a fashion, wildly endeavoring to wet
the knolls and hummocks while the
depressions are being erodded with
gullies. (Strange but until now you
had thought this job of irrigation
comparatively easly and worthy of
only minor consideration.) The land
had not been properly shaped to get
the water to every part of It in a rea
sonable length of time. Besides the
ditches are too .''mall and inadequate
and fill rapidly with blowing sand.
11. By this time you note that your
top soil and seed have blown away or
if perchance any plants have appeared
their roots are waving gayly In the
breeze.
IS. The season is near Its close.
Vou have spent valuable time, labor
and money and have nothing to show
for it. Your misdirected enthusiasm
disappears.
13. In disgust you leave the country
and ever after curse it.
Close adherence to the following
rules bring quick returns
1. First, study the land and decide
where ditches, flumes and accessories
are to be placed to get water to every
part of the tract. The location of
these should be staked or marked out
by the aid of proper surveys.
2. Then construct the main supply
ditch or flume from the measuring
wler to the smoothest land where op
erations are to be begun first, pro
tecting the banks from wind action
with brush or straw covering after
seeding same to rye. Contour or head
ditches may be extended from time to
time as clearing and grading pro
gresses. 3. Then make up a number of flood
boxes for the gentle slopes and lath
boxes for the steepest slopes.
4. Then select an acre strip at the
southwest side of your smoothest
H I 27 G TO M
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This soap of Umatilla county shows its diverse resources, including its irrigation districts.
diately after an irrigation.
10. Tend the young alfalfa plants
carefully, never allowing them to suf
fer for luck of moisture.
By observing these simple rules al
falfa may be seeded any time from
March 15 to September 15 and good
results will follow.
This Mr. Jones, by the way, Is do
ing mighty satisfactory work down
that way. His services are free to the
farmers on the project for the asking
and he line out their ditches for
them, shows how to construct water
boxes, gives levels for grading up their
land and also much good helpful ad
vice. Although his work is confined
to the government project the affects
are felt on both the others and fail
ures in land reclamation are becom
ing scarce.
Just consider the use of water for a
minute. The idea a year or two ago
used to be to get all the water possible
and pour it over the land, more with
the idea of getting a larger amount
than the other fellow than of the ben
eficial results to be obtained. Now,
they are beginning to realize that what
helps the other fellow also helps them
and conservation of water through Im
proved methods of use and delivery
are being talked and put in practice.
The case of the Furnish project is
Illuminating. A year ago the crudest
method of water delivery w-as prac
ticed. A ditch walker regulated the
amount of water received by each
rancher and he seemingly used his
own Judgment as to how much to raise
the gates, for there were no measur
ing devices Installed nor were there
systems of rotation. A man received
water in a steady flow as long as the
water lasted. Tou can imagine that
much discontent was manifested am
ongst the water-users and a large part
of the water supplied was wasted. This
season systems of rotation In the use
of water were worked out amongst
the older ranchers and crude meth
ods of water measurement were used.
For the most part the ranchers were
privileged to arrange the schedules
amongst themselves. There were
some reluctant to make the change
but all were more ttian satisfied af
ter giving it a trial and the company
is planning on enlarging this rotation
scheme before another year and to in
stall good measuring devices through
out their entire distribution system.
You have no conception of the bene
fit this one change is and will be to
his project. In the first place It
gives the rancher time to do some
thing besides irrigate; it tends to in
creased production of crops by a more
even distribution of water over the
ranch: it minimizes the danger of
over irrigation and lastly It saves wa
ter. This means not only a saving of
water for somebody else but for all
concerned as the summer supply for
this project comes from stored water
and so if all help save in the use
enthusiasts for rapid development by
somebody else and peddled their
land at prices ranging from $100 up
to $200 or more, and numbers of In
nocent easterners bit. Of course, this;
was an exhorbitant price for such
land and buyers of such could nor can
hardly expect to get the money spent
on their holdings back again. .Home
of these purchasers deserve compas
sion for their gullabllity but the ma
jority of thee early buyers were sim
ply small Investors taking a chance
at making a few dollars by rises In
land values, for they had no Inten
tion of ever making a home for them-
Ives on the projects and even though
some of them did develop their land
they were, working for the unearned .
Increment, which In this case failed I
to show up. I
And this Is where the original land
cwners fell down In their get-rlch-j
quick plans. They should not have
angled for this rlasM of Investors be-1
cause ultimately msny had to return1
the land or If In too deep they hung
on and howled. A dissatisfied pur
chaser makes a poor business adver
tisement and soon the projects had
the worst kind of a black eye. so black
It had a faint odor to It. When a
man's pocket book Is hit he begins to
do some quick thinking but when It
Is a case of figuring out how much he
will make with certain given condi
tions his think tank machinery gets
gummed up with the oil of well liv
ing Instead of being lubricated with
the sweat of honest toil and It takes
htm longer to figure out "vas iss lo "
flenr 1t ha staken several years for
those with land to dispose of on the
projects to determine that land val
nes were too high and must come
down a peg. Hut down It has come
at last: Inflated value are a thing of
the past, and now first class land can
cuss the country for his own lack of
sense, but he would not be the only
cusser m that Immediate vicinity. He
should have been mobed.
Many farmers survived this stage of
development and Proceeded with ir
rigation matters with both hands, you
might say. They would smooth off
five or ten acres, seed it, and then
from the highest corner of the land
would turn loose a good large head
of water. What happened? Why,
they'd cut channels four feet deep
over night through their land or at
least wash away all their seed. That
Is called the "wild flood" method of
irrigation and It Is well named, but
row all that is changed. They check
their land off into long narrow
checks, perfectly level across, and
send a stream over It that Just wets
it thoroughly and quickly and then
the water off, or else they make rows
of small furrows a foot or two apart
and run tiny streams down each. This
latter method Is best for steeper
slope.
Oh. they have learned considerable
down on the Jrojects. The following
"Instructions to New Settlers" by
I'aul 8. Jones, Irrigation expert on the
Hermiston project, gives some idea of
the modern method of development,
and It works fine.
Instruction to Xew Seniors, Tmatll
la Protect.
in the reclamation of new land on
this project for the growing of alfal
fa do notake the following course:
1. Tackle the job like a big ranch
er Inl putting In a 100-acre tract of
wheat In a humid region.
2. Hear the brush off the entire
area and burn it.
3. Then plow up or disk the entire
area.
4. Then make a rough attempt at
leveling the surface.
land. Clear off the brush from this
but do not burn it. Hake it aside into
Piles temporarily.
5. On the gentle slopes (a) grade
j between contour or head ditches into
I strips 30 to 50 ft. wide, level trans
versely but with the natural slope of
I the land lengthwise. Ijw perma
nent levees between the strips over
I which a mower may easily pass, are
made quickly by means of a rldger.
lb) then irrigate the strips by flood
ing from suitable flood boxes pjaced
in the banks of the head ditch, (c)
Then seed immediately to rye (30 to
40 lb, per acre) over levees and all.
(d) Then cover litch banks and le
vees with brush temporarily.
6. On only the very steepest slopes
'a) Grade by use of fresno and le
veler to produce a uniformly smooth
surface, (b) Parallel the head ditch
with a smaller sub ditch to which
water Is supplied through suitable
turnouts. In the lower bank of the
sub ditch place lath boxes, one for
each corrugation or furrow, (c) Beed
to rye (30 to 40 lbs. per acre, (d)
Then corrugate with furrows 1.5 to 2
ft. apart, a lath box being placed at
the upper end of each furrow, (e)
Then Irrigate immediately.
7. Then having cleared, graded,
seeded and Irrigated one small piece In
this way, repeat the process with an
other acre strip, then another and an
other as rapidly a possible until th
whole tract Is thus prepared, in the
meantime, however observing care to
keep the surface soil sufficiently moist
by frequent Irrlgntlon to prevent blow
ing until the rye plants form a pro
tective covering.
I. Then remove the brush previous
ly piled upon the ditch bank and le
vee and burn.
t. As rapidly as the rye attains a
height of 4 Inches disk drill In the al
falfa (t to 12 lb, per acre) imme-
(Continued on Page 19.)
t
"I'm-lo Dick"
Warinner.
THE BUCKAROO
Reprinted from Pacific Ijiundryman.
By Richard Garter Warinner
Tighten the cinch and take off the blind
I-et 'er buck In front, let 'er buck behind.
We'll both go up and come down together.
Hut I hope to die If I'll "pull leather."
Oh, I live the life of a buckaroo.
And I love the scream of the wild curlew,
And the coyote's howl la music to me.
As I gaze on the stars in the milky way.
Awaiting the dawn of another day,
As I lie alone, alone, did I say?
No! my brocho's with me, my cayuse pet,
And he's tethered to me with a lariat.
Our Teddy was once a buckaroo,
And he could handle a lasso, too;
He loved the scent of the wild sage-brush;
He loved the silence he loved the hush.
Of the boundless range, where the cattle roam.
His pony his pal, his saddle his home,
He gathered an Inspiration there.
Which led to the presidential chair.
I never enpect such great renown,
Hut I may be marshal of some cow tow n,
Or sheriff, or Judge, or something like that.
And choke some guy with my lariat.
My chaps are worn, and my hair is long,
And I'm humming all day some dear old song.
Some dear old song which my mother sang.
Before I learned all this cow-boy slang.
Hefore I knew of the wild, wild west,
And I'm thinking of her whom I loved best
And I'm wondering should I go home again
If she'd welcome a cow-boy of the plain?
Put I must tighten my latlgo
For I'm off with the morning's first faint glow,
Over the sage-brush plains I ride.
Like a buccaneer on a rising tide.
With new sombrero and silver spurs
I'll search the heard for stray "Blick-ears."
For I'm off to the Round-l'p, sure, this Fall
My broncho and I. Say. I've got the gall.
To ride with any old buckaroo,
And to show 'em a trick with a lasso, too,
I'm not much good at that "bulldog's" stunt.
But I'll show 'em a pace at a maverick hunt
'Mongst them beautiful Eastern Oregon girls;
I'll show 'em a trick! how my lasso twirls
Straight out from the heart of a cow-boy true,
They'll go some, if the beat this buckaroo.
Then tighten the cinch, take off the blind,
Lt 'er buck In front, let 'er buck behind.
For neither of us 'II show the "white feather,"
Hut I hope to die If I pull leather.
Dedicated to John F. Kobinson, president of the Pen
dleton Commercial Club.
We reprint this poem in response to a general demand
ur i-viies ui ii among ine inenas oi me autnor ana
man to whom It was dedicated.
" vV. ;
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Jack ItoUnsoa
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1 1 yg o Are You Going to m I
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