to a limited extent by the Antelope Valley Canal Co. This diversion is elsewhere referred to under head of present canals.

In the Maricopa County group three canals, the Enterprise, the Arlington, and the Buckeye, are at present in operation. These abandoned irrigation projects were constructed with little regard to the water supply, and that consequently, after brief attempts at cultivation, they were gradually abandoned. A few have from time to time been put in shape and used, only to be soon again abandoned. Others, like the Mohawk or the Palomas, have had comparatively longer periods of usefulness or prosperity. The Mohawk and Palomas districts, situated on opposite sides of the river, enjoyed for a period of four or five years prior to 1890 a rapid agricultural development, and reports give from one to three thousand acres as having been under cultivation.

2

According to the State governor's report of 1900, the shortage of water, with the usual accompanying litigation, caused many to abandon their homes.

Intermittent irrigation continued, however, until the disastrous flood of 1905, when the canal headings were so badly washed out that these old districts were completely abandoned. In 1914 a little overflow irrigation was going on in the Palomas Valley, while in the Mohawk Valley some 500 acres were being partially or rather unsuccessfully irrigated by means of pumps. The canals below the Palomas and the Mohawk Canals, such as the Redondo, the Araby, etc., evidently went out of commission some time prior to the flood of 1905; that is, before the canals higher up on the Gila or in the Mohawk Valley went out of service. At Sentinel, above the Antelope Valley, are the diversion site and headworks of the South Gila (Sentinel) Canal, now owned by the Southwestern Fruit & Irrigation Co. This canal was constructed in the late eighties and is 22 miles long.

Several unsuccessful attempts have been made to construct a permanent diversion dam at the canal heading, but without success. No land was ever cultivated under this project, and it was only during times of flood that water flowed in the canal. Within the past two years construction work has been carried on to provide the canal with suitable headworks, and it is claimed by the

No reliable information concerning the exact amount of cultivation at any one time was readily available. The writer during a hurried trip through this section was advised by some of the old-timers that about 3,000 acres had been under cultivation in this section. As nearly as could be observed during this trip through the Palomas Valley, at least 1,000 acres had been under cultivation at one time or another. Mr. A. P. Davis, in Water Supply Paper No. 2, p. 94 (U. S. G. S.) estimates from the best data then available that in 1897, 1,000 acres were under cultivation along the Gila in Yuma County, which would include both the Mohawk and the Antelope districts. (C. H. S.) 2 The largest canal taking water from the Gila is the Mohawk which heads above the town of that name. It is 23 miles in length; cost probably $50,000 and covers between 25,000 and 30,000 acres of land. For several years prior to 1899, the canal was out of use and many of the farmers left the valley. In that year it was again put into condition and the water supply having been plentiful, a small acreage was brought under cultivation. (Governor's Report, 1901.)

There are large tracts of good land along the banks of the Gila River, aggregating 30,000 acres or more lying in the Mohawk Valley, but the water supply can not be depended upon and the rainfall is slight. The history of irrigation in the Gila Valley is full of expensive litigation due to the continued contests in the courts over prior water rights. A number of canals on the Gila near the headwaters are being enlarged and new ones taken out from time to time. As a consequence, the periods of scarcity or of no water in the canals below are more and more prolonged each year. (Governor's Report, 1901.)

The proposed dam and a brief description of this project is given in Water Supply Paper No. 2, p. 76.

company that they intend to construct a high dam at this point for storage purposes.

Above the Sentinel or South Gila project and about 20 miles northwest of Gila Bend is the old Dendora Canal project. The canal was excavated in 1882 for a distance of about 7 miles, and a 4-foot rock-fill dam was constructed across the Gila. During the first flood after its construction the dam went out and no land was ever put under cultivation. It was proposed to irrigate about 5,000 acres in the Oatman Flat district by this project. The construction of a storage dam also was contemplated. Efforts to rehabilitate this canal have been made, but without success.

In the vicinity of Gila Bend and in the territory just above are to be found several large abandoned canals and irrigation projects. The Citrus Canal, which has its heading within the Gila River Reservation, was built in the early eighties. Like many others, it had but a short life. In a report of ex-Superintendent of Irrigation J. W. Martin, of this service, dated August 4, 1909, the following reference is made to this canal: "It has been out of use for some years and the headgates are filled with mud."

The next large abandoned canal above the Citrus is the lower Gila Bend. According to the governor's report this canal was constructed in 1885 and in 1900 had been out of use for several years.

Subsequent to the latter date a new heading was constructed and the canal was successfully operated until 1908, when its heading was again destroyed by flood. Since 1908 this canal has been continuously out of service.

The largest of these ill-advised and now abandoned projects is variously known as the East Riverside, Gila Bend, or Peoria Canal. The main canal for this project had its heading at what is known as Woolseys Butte, the present site of the Enterprise Canal heading. This project was started in 1891, and it is reported that $1,000,000 was spent in its construction. A brief description of this project may be found in Water Supply Paper No. 2, page 47. After a large portion of the dam was washed out for a second time in 1895 and still further in 1905, no water is known to have flowed through this canal except in times of extremely high flow and no successful irrigation had been carried on under this canal since the flood of 1905.

During the few years that this ditch was in commission it is reported that about 1,000 acres were put under cultivation. On a large portion of this land but one crop (grain) was ever grown, while other smaller patches of land were cultivated for several years. Most of the land formerly irrigated under this ditch has since been washed away.

This company, as well as several others having projects below the Gila River Reservation, have made filings and have expressed their intentions to construct large dams and store the waters of the Gila. Nothing, however, has been done toward the fulfillment of these proposals.

Other canals of lesser proportions than those discussed above have. been constructed on the Lower Gila, but all of these ditches, like the larger canals, have been out of commission for at least 10 years.

RÉSUMÉ OF PREVIOUS CULTIVATION AND ABANDONED PROJECTS WEST or GILA RIVER RESERVATION.

The detailed or complete history of these abandoned canals is not readily available, and, as already pointed out, they were not considered to have sufficient bearing upon this investigation to warrant the expense that would be necessary to obtain this information. Not much has been written regarding these old ditches, and information in their locality is very meager. However, it is generally known that they were for the most part ill-advised and that they were never put to beneficial use. Certain work, such as the occasional cleaning out of a portion of the canal or headworks, has been done on a few of these canals, but this work has been carried on in a desultory manner which has been productive of no beneficial results. Owing to the very limited supply of water available during the dry season, which is discussed elsewhere in this report under the head of "Water supply," it is quite obvious that irrigation in this section, using river flood water alone, is hardly feasible. The shortage of water supply undoubtedly accounts for these many abandonments and the present general disuse of these numerous and expensive canals.

PRESENT IRRIGATION WEST OF THE GILA RIVER RESERVATION.

Buckeye Canal.-At the west line of the Gila River Reservation the Gila is joined by its principal tributary, the Salt. About 3 miles farther west, down the river, the Gila receives the discharge of a smaller tributary, the Agua Fria. The latter stream, especially near its mouth, is dry the greater part of the year. Just below the mouth of the Agua Fria is the rock and brush diversion dam of the Buckeye Canal. This diversion is made from the north bank of the Gila in sec. 34, T. 1 N., R. 1 W., G. and S. R. B. and M.

This canal is 24 miles long, and is intended to irrigate about 20,000 acres of land, all lying on the north side of the river. The appropriation of water for this ditch is based on a filing made in 1885. Construction started during the same year. The first irrigation took place about 1888. Each year thereafter the amount of land irrigated was increased, and at the time of this survey 14,540 acres were under cultivation. In 19032 between 10,000 and 12,000 acres were under cultivation. This canal is owned by a mutual company composed of the farmers under the canal. Not all of the water users, however, are stockholders, as some of these farmers buy outright the water needed for their lands. During May, 1914, the stockholders of this canal company authorized a bond issue of $30,000 to be used for the draining, washing, and reclaiming of alkali lands to the extent of 3,500 acres. No reclamation has yet (1914) been undertaken under this bond issue.

Of the total land area under cultivation, about 90 per cent is in alfalfa, the remaining 10 per cent being in grain, sorghum, and pasture. Cattle grazing and feeding is also an important industry in this section. At a point one-half mile below its heading, there is

1 On the Lower Gila, there was, and to a certain extent there still exists a custom or practice among the owners of or interested parties in a canal to do a certain amount of assessment work on their canal each year, and thus hold their "franchise."

2 Report of the Governor of Arizona to the Secretary of the Interior, 1903, p. 81.

a bridge across the Buckeye Canal. The canal at this point is 15 feet wide on the bottom, 25 feet wide on top, and has a water depth of 3 feet. On May 29, 1914, this canal was flowing, by actual measurement, 109 second-feet. This measurement was taken during the low-water season and represents, at least during that year, the minimum flow. The maximum capacity of the canal is 200 secondfeet.

Arlington Canal.-The next canal diversion down the river from the Buckeye is the Arlington. This canal lies on the north side of the Gila River; that is, on the same side as the Buckeye, but about 13 miles farther down. The Buckeye and the Arlington districts are situated in the same general valley, which is practically a westward extension of the larger Salt River Valley. The Hassayampa River, which joins the Gila about 7 miles below the Arlington diversion, is generally considered to be the dividing line between these two districts, although the Buckeye is siphoned across the Hassayampa River, and irrigates a small acreage on its western bank.

The Arlington Canal is owned by the Arlington Canal Co., a cooperative organization composed of farmers who own the land under the canal. This canal was built in 1889-90, the notice of water appropriation having been filed in July, 1907. This canal, at the time of the survey, was irrigating about 4,800 acres, and is intended to irrigate several hundred acres more lying under the canal. A permanent low-water concrete diversion dam was constructed in 1913-14, and considerable work was done on this project. The irrigated land is practically all planted to alfalfa, and cattle feeding is an important industry.

The main canal is about 15 miles long, and at a point above the uppermost of its laterals had, at the time of this survey, a bottom width of 10 feet, top width 17 feet, and water depth 3 feet. By actual meter measurement, made on June 1, 1914, a flow of 53 secondfeet was recorded. This quantity, according to several farmers in the district, represented practically the minimum flow during the year. The canal when full would have a maximum capacity of about 75 second-feet. The siphon built to carry this canal under the Hassayampa River is 300 feet long, having a rectangular section of 4 by 6 inches in the clear.

Joshlin ditch.-This ditch is on the opposite or south side of the river from the Buckeye district and has its heading at a distance of one-half mile below the point of diversion of the Arlington Canal. The ditch is owned by Mr. Joshlin and was constructed in 1911. At the time of this survey the land cultivated under this ditch approximated 225 acres. This ditch is of small section; bottom width 2 or 3 feet, top width 5 feet, water depth 1 foot. By actual meter measurement made on June 1, 1914, a flow of only 1.4 secondfeet was recorded. Owing to the nearness of this diversion to the intake of the Arlington Canal, very little water is available during

About 3 miles below the Buckeye Canal, but above the Arlington, is found a small pumping plant known as the Corbett. This plant pumps directly from the river, and at the time of this survey was irrigating about 120 acres, the water being conducted through a small ditch. The plant consists of a gas engine and a 14-inch centrifugal pump, which has been in operation for about five years.

the dry season. It appears that no efforts will be made to further ir.crease the area of cultivation under this ditch.

James Bent Canal.-The water from the James Bent Canal is diverted from the east bank of the Gila River at a point 13 miles below the Arlington heading. It serves to irrigate about 300 acres near Gila Bend, the first appropriation having been made in 1910. At the time of the survey this ditch was found in a bad state of repair, while the land covered by it appeared to be reverting rapidly to a state of disuse or abandonment.

The cross section of the ditch in its present condition has a bottom width of 4 feet, top width of 6 feet, and a possible water depth of 2 feet. On June 1, 1914, the canal was flowing 4 second-feet, according to actual meter measurements. Originally, the capacity of the ditch was probably 10 or perhaps 15 second-feet, although its grade and the consequent velocity are very small. The water supply for this canal appears to be inadequate, particularly since the proprietors of the Enterprise Canal, who divert water 2 miles below, claim prior right. Friction has already developed and legal procedure has been threatened.

Enterprise Canal.-A low mountain ridge entering the valley on the north side of the river terminates the Arlington and Buckeye region. This ridge ends abruptly, terminating at the river's edge in a steep bluff which has been called Woolseys Butte. The close proximity of the Estrella Mountains on the south side of the river to Woolseys Butte, forms a relatively narrow chanel through which flows the river. This short narrow canyon makes a very favorable diversion site, and at present is used for that purpose by the Enterprise Canal Co. Formerly it was used as the dam site for the Upper Gila Bend project elsewhere referred to under the head of "Previous irrigation." The diversion for the Enterprise Canal is located in section 28, T. 2 S., R. 5 W., G. and S. R., B. and M. The greater portion of this canal was constructed during the year 1885, the original heading having been 13 miles below the present site. The present diversion works were constructed in 1901-2.

The Enterprise Canal is owned by a corporation known as the Enterprise Canal Co. The stockholders are the owners of the land irrigated, and for the most part are engaged in cattle-raising. At the time of this survey about 700 acres were being irrigated by this canal, while 2,000 acres in addition are susceptible of irrigation. During the years of heavy flow in the river, new land other than the above is cultivated. Nearly all of the land is planted to alfalfa, but some sorghum and grain are also grown.

To the favorable location of the dam apparently is due the excellent supply of return water which is provided. Meter measurement of the flow in this canal, made on May 30, 1914, showed that a diversion of 25 second-feet was taking place. This quantity was somewhat in excess of the minimum flow, according to Mr. Montgomery, president of the Enterprise Canal Co., who stated that during the dry season probably not more than 15 second-feet could be depended upon. This canal has a bottom width of 4 feet, top width of 10 feet and a water depth of 2.5 feet.

Papago (Farmers' Ditch or Anderson Canal).-Below the Enterprise diversion, no canals are at present taking water from the Gila