1 This ditch leased by Indians, capable of irrigation by Blackwater United States "B" line 2 Area under Cayau included in North Blackwater, by Hoskmson.

3 Old.

4 Agency farm west to Santan Road included.

5 Irrigated first by Morego Ditch.

Since 1880 irrigated by Cottonwood and Agency project.

7 Cultivated and previously cultivated.

8 Changed heading to present Stotonic.

9700 acres lost by floods under Bapchil.

10 Approximately 100 acres estimated lost by flood.

11 Present irrigation under Bridlestood trom Snaketown Canal.

12 Approximately 300 acres estimated loss by floods under Ancient Maricopa.

13 100 acres estimated lost by floods under Santa Cruz.

14 Padilla, Old Woman's Mouth.

15 Santan (Indian).

16 Old Santan.

17 Stotonic, Bapchil, Sranka.

181,271 acres irrigated by Salt River not included.

Areas irrigated in five-year periods as estimated from all available information.

IRRIGATION WEST OF GILA RIVER RESERVATION.

That portion of the Gila basin beginning at the west line of the Gila River reservation and extending to Yuma, a distance of 170 miles, commonly is called the Lower Gila Valley.

From the Gila bend, 50 miles below the reservation, and extending throughout the remaining portion of the Gila's course, the Southern Pacific Railroad is located at a distance of 2 or 3 miles south of the river.

The altitude of this portion of the Gila basin is extremely low; the elevation at the west reservation line, which has been previously given, is 950 feet, while the river at Yuma is approximately 100 feet above sea level.

On account of these low elevations the temperatures are very high. The extreme summer heat, however, is somewhat modified by the accompanying low humidity.

The crops grown along this portion of the Gila are similar to those grown in the Florence Valley. Where sufficient water is to be had, as in the Buckeye Valley, alfalfa is the principal crop and oats, wheat, barley, sorghum, and corn are also grown. Cattle grazing and feeding is also an important industry in this section.

Further down the river, where water is scarce, the crops are largely confined to the grains. In this climate all warm, temperate, and many tropical fruits could be grown. Not much attention has been paid to fruit growing in this section, however, due undoubtedly to the occasional frosts in the upper districts and to the scarcity of water in districts lower down.

The irrigation systems on the Gila below the Gila River Reservation, taken in the order of their location down the river are: On the north side, the Buckeye, the Arlington, and the Enterprise; on the south side, the Joslin, the James Bent, the Papago, and the Antelope Valley. Of the above systems all but the latter, the Antelope, are above Gila Bend.

In the past irrigation systems have been constructed in the vicinity of Gila Bend; and below Gila Bend in the Dendora, the Palomis, the Antelope, the Mohawk, and the Redondo Valleys, these systems are no longer in use.

No towns of importance are supported by agricultural or other industries along this portion of the Gila. The town of Buckeye, situated in the district of that name, with a population of less than 500, is the only town worthy of the designation.

In the territory along the river, between the west boundary line of the Gila River Indian Reservation and the confluence of the Gila with the Colorado at Yuma, irrigation has been practiced more or less for a number of years.

The first irrigation in this district was coincident with the establishment and maintenance of the early overland stage stations. These stage stations were established as early as 1857, but the irrigation in connection with them was never extensive and was confined to the lower portion of the Gila Valley.

With the coming of the immigrant trains in the early seventies, this portion of the country received its share of settlers, and a

gradual development took place until about 1885. At that time a veritable agricultural boom developed in this section, many wildcat or ill-advised ventures were launched, several large canals were dug, and thousands of dollars were spent without satisfactory results. In a pamphlet published in 1892, from data collected in 1889 and prepared by the citizens' executive committee of Yuma County, the claim is made that in Yuma County along the Gila there were then existing or were in course of construction 10 canals, having an aggregate length of 120 miles and capable of irrigating more than 81,000 acres.

A similar summary was made of the canals further up the Gila, in Maricopa County. The report of the officials of Maricopa County showed seven canals to be diverting water from the Gila below the Gila River Reservation.

Of the canals mentioned in the Numa County group only one is at present in use, and this one has been rehabilitated only recently. In the Maricopa County group three canals are still in operation.

The history of these canals shows that most of them were constructed with little regard to the water available, and that consequently, after brief attempts at cultivation, they gradually fell into a state of disuse.

Between the west line of the Gila River Reservation and Gila Bend, a distance of about 50 miles, there are at the present time seven ditches taking water from the Gila River. Between Gila Bend and the Gila confluence with the Colorado only one ditch, the Antelope, is at present diverting water from the Gila. This later ditch has been referred to above as a rehabilitated older ditch, in Yuma County.

The several irrigated areas served by these canals are located in the Buckeye, the Enterprise, the Gila Bend, and the Antelope districts, and the combined areas in these districts amounts to 24,045 acres. Of this area all but 1,100 acres are within the Gila Bend, the Enterprise and the Buckeye districts. Practically all of the cultivated land in these districts has been reclaimed within comparatively recent years, or since 1880, and the success of this irrigation has been due to utilization of the return of seepage flow. This return flow is used almost entirely for irrigation under the most successful canals, flood waters being used only for fertilizing purposes. Since the Roosevelt project has been in operation, or in the past five years, an increased return flow has been available for irrigation immediately west of the Gila River Reservation, and this increased flow has resulted in increased agricultural activities.

The older or first irrigated districts have been vacated owing, apparently, to failure of the water supply. Past experience in the older districts prove that irrigation projects in this portion of the Gila Basin depending upon the normal flow or flood waters are at best very uncertain ventures; and it may be safely said that further flood or surface-water diversions will not be attempted.

While it is true, if continuous in flow, the annual run-off of the Gila at Yuma would be sufficient to irrigate a large acreage of land, yet nearly all of this water comes down the river during floods, and ordinarily the water supply is so meager during the dry months as to preclude the possibility of success of irrigation which is dependent upon flood water alone.

It was learned during the progress of the investigation that the regulation and control of the Gila by a reservoir such as that proposed at San Carlos would meet with the approval of the majority of the present water users west of the Gila River Reservation. These owners advised that the flood waters of the Gila usually did more damage than good, and that, while their lands required some flood waters for fertilizing purposes they considered that in the event of the construction of a reservoir project on the Gila above them they would still receive sufficient flood waters to supply their needs from the various tributaries, such as the San Pedro, the Santa Cruz, the Verde, and from the several other lesser ones.

These landowners were also aware of the fact that increased irrigation on the Gila Reservation or at Florence would increase the return flow for irrigation west of the reservation, and they accordingly would be benefited thereby.

In view of the large amount of capital required for construction, and in view of the very questionable water supply legally available, it is reasonably certain that no storage project involving a high dam and providing water for irrigation of the lands west of the Gila River Reservation will be constructed by private or corporate interests.

Below the confluence of the Gila and the Salt, the waters of the Salt River hold the same relation to the total available water supply for irrigation west of the reservation as do the waters of the upper Gila itself.

In the suit which adjudicated the water rights on the Salt River and resulted in the well-known Kent decree, the users of water below the confluence were not parties and their rights of course were not affected. In the adjudication suit known as the Nels Benson v. John Allison et al., which is still pending and which has for its object the adjudication of the relative rights of the Buckeye Canal, none of the parties diverting water from the Gila River on or above the Gila River Reservation were made parties to the action.

In views of the facts set forth above, the conclusion has been drawn that the present irrigation west of the Gila River Reservation on the Gila would not suffer in the event of the construction of a reservoir project such as the San Carlos project; and it is also considered that the present or possible future uses of Gila River water west of the reservation need not be taken into consideration in the determination of the amount of water legally available for the San Carlos project.

A more detailed description of irrigation on the Gila west of the Gila River Reservation is published in Appendix A.