Capital journal., May 14, 1957, Page 14, Image 14

, Page 4, Sec.
4, Capital Journal, Mon.. Mav .13.. 1957
I
TOd HrDg) if,ygh)j'
,' I
"..friz . '
yv '.mI -1 s!f9'Waj St? - GRASSLAND INTO DESERT.
W'V i' l ' 'lXy rhJ J iym' hL. ' "3 Five years ago this spot, neaf i !
UyML?AfJ$$ Stf X 'Klt Car8on. Colo., was a wheat . f
Then winds began J
4'f ) 'X Vl dumplnf s d and silt upon J
. Jlt "IIMmV 1 'Vl T5 h It from blowing fields. The soil yj
. ..'OTiSsN. now is complelelv covered- M
l'P
Western farmers and stoclunen are praying for rain . . . Streams were
dry. Reservoirs no longer held any water. Grasses withered. A
powdery gray dust, whipped up by a wind, settled everywhere.
A prolonged drought had created this grim picture in large areas all
along the western side of America's great plains, from New Mexico In the
aouth to Montana in the north. In Colorado, the drought was the worst in
20 years. Four million or more acres In the state were endangered.
The drought has sent cities, like Denver, hunting new water supplies
far across the Continental Divide. At little Dove Creek, Colo., near the
Utah ' border, the water system dried up. To the south, in Colorado's potato-growing
San Luis Valley, children had to be marched to the. Saguache
court house for drinks when the school's water gave out. The Arkansas,
aoutheast Colorado's major river, could be jumped on foot. The b6ttom of
the giant reser oir behind John Martin dam was caked and cracked. Crops
for livestock feed were only a half or third of normal, foreshadowing trou
ble this winter. '
' Despite the difficult days, most residents in the drought-stricken land
have remained optomistic. "Give us some good snow' and spring rains and
the country will come back," the sun-bronzed men insisted.
Pictured here are some of the scenes in eastern Colorado, where drought
wrought disaster on a large scale.
Farmer breaks topsoll, then digs down to find
first trace of dampness in his field, half-way
between Cheyenne Wells and Burlington, Colo.
V I If II it ft. J- 5 Water hole Is ir , . , . , . M
. I II ll f if M y ' i most valuable :. . . .. . s
- I II III " 1 IW. '; ! asset of a ranch- , "' ' '"I
rrL- -T-; i .. t?7 stricken eastern --JL
Jj'lA ''' " ;' s iittaHiCSSSt one is on the Don ' ' . . ' . " I W
'Bmit 4ldi.r - "21kA" C Collins ranch - - : If
f&Pz' :g$ nearK.tCa.son. . (t ' If
MmL' A natural adobe " . J f s
SJ-. r -PLJi bottom helps re- IISOTOTr ;
tfgrP .a l-i&l3 25jPt H' m JWfcrXJr JSS
This house, abandoned and Tailing to pieces, stands on the eastern Col- t , i ,' r 1 ' '.T 44 lwlf
' orado plains subject to the ravages of sun and wind, drought and dust. )ffm'nr ' M .r.irff ' C'lsffM
: .. ; . v . ... . .. :gt,..A " w : r " jr Jy;?
U-iiiw' m 4 Lrv J "r'.r1 ? 1 o! j
I . ::zri fe&!;
Mr.rff r.rrta
Once this soapweed grew at ground level. Then winds whipped away the sandy soil leaving only a
mound held by the roots. Ground level has been reduced by two feet. Scene is near Kit Carson. Colo.
I'MDTV Tnlin Uflin slim Am T n A.: - . 1 .
........ iic-i .iiniiida, luiu., was ouiu 10 impound waters of the Ar
kansas River, southeast Colorado's principal stream. Its reservoir is now completely dry
This Week's PICTURE SHOW by AP Slatt rhotpEraplicr E O r,.nk,.j
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