USA > California > Tulare County > History of Tulare County, California with biographical sketches > Part 22
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course land is softened for the moment by watering, though in drying it becomes harder than before.
It is customary in the Mussel Slough country, when water can be got to irrigate the ground after taking off a summer crop, in order both to soften it for plowing for autumn sowing, and to hasten the sprouting of the winter grain sown upon it.
In localities where the soil is a light, sandy loam, and irriga- tion is accomplished entirely by seepage or percolation, the orig- inal characteristics and fertility of the soil seem, as far as the experience in this section goes, to remain in a great degree un- changed.
There are tracts of land, however, the subsoil of which is so thoroughly impregnated with alkali as to render the surface hopelessly barren.
In some sections, where the surface soil is practically free from alkali, but with the subsoil strongly alkaline, and where it has been under cultivation and irrigated by seepage for sev- eral years, it has become so highly charged with alkali as to be unfit for profitable cultivation by irrigation.
The alkali land is usually covered with a dense growth of alkali weeds and salt grass, which are unfit for any use to either the stock-raiser or farmer.
All south of Tulare Lake, and a large portion north of the lake on the west side of the great basin, may be classified as non-irrigable land, not only on account of the absence of a sufficient water supply, but by reason of the general unfitness of the soil for cultivation by irrigation. In this section are perhaps 300,000 acres.
CLAIMS AND CANALS.
Of the eighty-three filings of claims to water in King's River only forty-two are expressed so as to admit of interpretation into definite sums, even approximately. The remaining forty-one are so indefinite that their equivalent amounts cannot be esti- mated. Several of them set up a claim to all of the water in the river. There are claims filed in Tulare and Fresno Coun- ties also, but these duplicate filings cannot always be recog- nized.
Of the sixty filings on record in Fresno County, and the twenty-three in Tulare County, there are twenty-eight in the former and fourteen in the latter in which the amount of water claimed is clearly stated in the language of the law relating to the appropriation and use of water.
There are aniong the filings in Fresno and Tulare Counties, which claim the water from King's River, several which do not state the amount of their claims, and others in which the data, referring to the quantity of water claimed, is not suffi- ciently complete to estimate or even approximate the quantity called for.
Several of the filings in Fresno County call for, in each case, all the water that King's River can supply.
There are at present about fourteen canals and ditches act-
110
DESCRIPTION OF THE IRRIGATING CANALS.
ually constructed and in use, which divert their water supply from the river, through separate head-gates at various points along its channels, from the foot-hills to Tulare Lake.
IRRIGATION FROM TULE RIVER.
The water supply from Tule River, sinall in quantity and uncertain as to time of presentation each season, is in a great measure lost in the deep sands of its bed and the surrounding country, soon after entering upon the plains, and, indeed, to some extent before it has left the foot-hill region.
The neighborhood of Porterville presents the principal region of irrigation. The soil is generally fertile, particularly well adapted to wet farming, and produces abundantly with very little water, if it can be had regularly at the proper times. Small grain is cultivated by irrigation to a greater extent in proportion to the total area watered than in inost irrigation regions in the State.
So far as known, there are twelve canals or ditches which con- duct water for irrigation from Tule River. They are all small, some of them capable of carrying only eight or ten cubit feet of water per second, and their aggregate capacity is about 350 cubit feet per second. The largest area of land irrigated in any one year was 4,000 to 4,500 acres; and, during the season of 1879, probably not over 2,000 acres were fully watered.
There exists a great necessity for a better class of works in this region. A consolidation of interests to take water out from the stream in about two or three good canals, at higher points than where most of the ditches get their supply now, would result in a great saving of the precious element, which, as said before, is lost in the sandy beds of the natural channels.
TULE RIVER.
Tule River goes dry in May or June. While it yet has water, and before it is dry, the ground is flooded, and further use of water is unnecessary. There is quite a difference be- tween the irrigated crops and those which have had no water. The wheat grown on dry land is shrunken, and the yield is not as good, except in cases where the land has been summer- fallowed, when the crop is excellent. The whole country is well provided with ditches, and is so level that there is no dif- ficulty in bringing water to any locality. Especially in fruit and grapes is the excellence of the soil attested. Fruit is of the finest quality. Grapes are large and sweet. It has been only some six or seven years since there were any incomers in that section to cultivate the land.
IRRIGATION FROM KAWEAH RIVER.
Irrigation commenced in the neighborhood of Visalia and Farmington at an early day in the settlement of the country; a number of small farm ditches were in use in the period be- tween 1857 and 1860, and possibly some had been built several years before the earliest date mentioned. The principal irriga-
tion from this source is now in the same neighborhood, though a part of the Kaweah water is conducted southerly, toward the town of Tulare; and the northern branch of the stream, known as Cross Creek, delivers another portion to two ditches which lead their supply to the Mussel Slough irrigation region. Corn, field vegetables, alfalfa, and orchard produce are the principal crops cultivated, though small grain is occasionally raised by irrigation.
From the fact that there are natural swamps, it may well be understood that some lands are moist without irrigation; and such is the fact; but these dry out rapidly when cleared, and irrigation then becomes a necessity. The soil in this dis- trict is very variable in quality, the modern wash from the mountains brought down by the river being unevenly distrib- uted over a plain of a different composition, the soil of which has evidently been deposited at an earlier geological period.
There are in all sixteen canal claimants to water from the Kaweah. Fourteen of these canals and ditches, located in the neighborhood of Visalia, have an aggregate capacity of 850 cubit feet per second. The largest area of land brought under cultivation by these works was 8,000 to 10,000 acres.
THE "76 CANAL."
The " 76 Canal" is under the superintendence of Mr. P. Y. Baker, of Visalia. Under his management the work is rapidly approaching completion. The utmost economy and dispatch is observable in all his movements. Everything is so systema- tized that no time is lost nor mistakes made. The work is of the most permanent character, and it is of such a character that it will be a monument to the energy and enterprise of its pro- jectors for centuries to come. J. S. Urton was the very compe- tent engineer of this work, and great credit is due for his skill in planning this work.
The 76 Canal is taken out of King's River in Fresno County, some distance above Campbell Mountain. It has been com- pleted a distance of six miles through the most difficult part of its line. It is 100 feet wide on the bottom and will carry a depth of four feet. . It is kept on high ground. It will strike the Tulare County line near Smith's Mountain. The lands it is designed to irrigate are among the richest in the State. Large districts that have afforded nothing more than sheep ranges will be converted into gardens, vineyards, orchards, and alfalfa pastures that will rival the sections already brought under the influence of water. This enterprise will be a vast extension of the material resources of both Fresno and Tulare Counties. At the present rate its completion is assured at an early date.
There are employed in its construction 170 men and 300 horses. There are 70 scrapers employed. Besides the general interests it conserves, this enterprise is giving employment to a large number of persons that would otherwise be out of work on account of the continued drought.
111
ARTESIAN WELLS OF TULARE COUNTY.
The Artesian Belt.
"THE boundaries of the belt are," says the Tulare Register, "as yet, very uncertainly defined. From the attempts which have already been made to locate them it is quite evident that the belt has nearly the same general direction as the valley and the mountain ranges, i. e. from the northwest to the southeast, though it swerves to the westward somewhat faster than do the latter.
" The line of the Southern Pacific Railroad has been thought to mark the eastern limit of the belt with tolerable accuracy though a few very small wells have been obtained a short dis- tance east of the track in the vicinity of Tule River. At Tulare City, and even two miles east of this point, wells have been bored which undoubtedly tapped the same stratum of water that supplies the flowing wells farther west, but the water only rises in them to within three or four feet of the surface and will not flow. There is a small flowing well two miles west of Tulare City, but it is very doubtful if one could be obtained much nearer.
"Of the western boundary of this belt nothing is known except that it certainly extends to the lake, and perhaps far beyond; and its northern and southern limits are alike unascer- tained.
FINE BODY OF LAND.
"This much, however, has been proven beyond question: There does exist a tract of as fine land as can be found in the entire State of California, or anywhere else, not less than twenty-five miles in length and from twelve to fifteen in breadth, upon which no one has failed to get artesian water who has made the trial for it, and it is extremely likely that as additional wells are bored in other localities, the limits of this tract will be still further extended. Indeed it is the general opinion that good flowing wells may be had almost anywhere in this vicinity by boring to a sufficient depth, but as no wells have yet been sunk much deeper than 800 feet, this is simply a matter of conjecture, supported by inferences based upon the configuration and character of the country.
" We believe we are perfectly safe in saying that within the limits of this belt can be found good land for 4,000 forty-acre farms, which, if we allow five persons to each family, will sup- port a population of 20,000 people without crowding any one."
FIRST ARTESIAN WELL.
Some six years ago the railroad company bored for artesian water, two miles south of Tipton and within a few rods of the track. They obtained about a four-inch flow of water at a depth of 310 feet from the surface. The well is still doing nicely, and they have a large grove of trees among which are several thousand blue gums and locusts, besides fruit trees.
The surplus water flowing from the well is run into a minia- ture lake, in which is quite a family of carp. The banks are coverel with a rich green grass and shaded by the tall trees which encircle the water, making a very beautiful spot in the midst of a desert, where the weary traveler is welcome to come and enjoy the refreshing shade and listen to the songs of tlie many birds that inhabit the grove. A convenient little boat has also been provided for the enjoyment of those who are fond of such sport.
This "Tree Ranch," as it is called, is where nearly all the trees that are transplanted along the road on this division are taken from. The well upon this place is the weakest, with only one or two exceptions, that there is in this vicinity. The land here is mostly as level as a house floor, but there is an occasional piece of hog-wallow, but the wallows are very small and easily leveled. A good artesian well, such as most of them in this vicinity are, will irrigate 160 acres of land very easily, and the land after being once wet is very produc -. tive.
When it came to be known that with even so small a well the company had got forty acres of trees to growing finely, people began to perceive that even small wells were better than none.
THE ARTESIAN BOOM STARTED.
In the year 1881 a subscription was taken up among citi- zens, and a well bored on Paige & Morton's place three miles west of Tulare City. At a depth of 330 feet a flow of three and one-half inches was struck, and the boom in the artesian belt was started. Paige & Morton own in this tract some 3,500 acres. The first part of the ranch is reached about one mile from Tulare City. The well is seven inches in diameter and 330 feet deep. The water flows with a strong, clear stream. It is moderately warm, and flat and insipid, tasting somewhat like boiled water.
The soil around the well is a black sand loam and absorbs the water very fast, so that the quantity thrown out cannot be properly estimated by the casual observer. It is estimated that 800,000 gallons are thrown out every twenty-four hours. The machinery used for the boring is that used in boring ordi- nary wells. The men were engaged twenty-seven days in boring the shaft. The first 300 feet was through soil and sand of the usual kind encountered in boring wells in the valley. The last thirty was through blue, tough, smooth clay with the exception of a short distance in granite rock. When the auger went through, it fell two feet; afterward a sand pump was used, but encountered nothing but sand for some »five feet. Evidently they have tapped one of the numerous subterranean rivers that underlie the valley. A quarter or half dollar thrown into the water is immediately rejected by the force of the water. We were even told that one more bold than his fellows risked a twenty-dollar gold piece in the crys-
112
ARTESIAN WELLS OF TULARE COUNTY.
tal tide. It went down a short distance, and, when they thought it was gone, the water brought it up and threw it out.
IMPORTANT WELL.
This well was considered so important as to be visited by the Board of Supervisors, prominent citizens of the town, together with the representative of the press. The cost of the well has been about $700 dollars.
A vain attempt was made to cap the well with common pump pipe, the bottom of a Douglass' pump that was screwed on to the pipe forming the cap. The united strength of all that could get at it was not sufficient to hold it down. The water spouted out at the sides, and, in one ease, rose almost in a perpendicular stream by the side of the pipe, higher than the man's head.
A. P. Cromley, the water-witch, or water "Professor" was about as happy a man as there was on the ground. He had found the spot, and foretold the number of feet very nearly, and that was no small honor for one man.
CHRISTENING THE WELL.
A. B. Du Brutz mounted the platform beside the well, and, after a neat, short speech, poured some of the contents of a bottle he held in his hand into the well, and christened it the Enterprise Well, discovered by A. P. Cromley.
The men drank the whisky, but every drop that was thrown on the surface of those elear waters was indignantly thrown out in the trough, and the well remains a temperance well to-day notwithstanding they tried to make it drink.
The throng came together again at the Pacific Hotel, where, under the management of Mr. Madden, proprietor of the house, a fine dinner was set, free for all. After the viands were duly diseussed, speeches were made by Messrs. S. Sweet, Tipton Lindsey, E. Jacob, J. F. Uhlhorn, Judge Cross, A. J. Atwell, A. P. Cromley, and W. G. Spenee. Mr. Cromley did not pretend to explain the mystery of the switch, but the power was there. Mr. Spence gave a short history of the well from the first call made upon him by Mr. Morton until its final consumnation.
DUTY OF AN ARTESIAN WELL.
By this we mean the amount of land that a well will irri- gate during the season. In attempting to give the reader a elear idea of what may reasonably be expected of a well, we are met by an unsurmountable difficulty to start with. There are so many contingencies to be met with that no rule of general application is possible. Some kinds of soil require four times as much water as others, and it is difficult to find one hundred acres of land anywhere that hasn't two or three different kinds of soil upon it. The soil may all be equally good, but it requires different treatment at the hands of the farmer, and different quantities of water. Then again much depends upon
the condition in which the land is in. If it is eut up into small eheeks, with ridges thrown up around each one, and they are properly leveled so that the water ean be let into one eheck at a time, and flooded completely over it, without having to put on twice as much as is needed in order to have the high spots wet up, perhaps the same amount of water ean be made to do double the duty it otherwise would do.
NO DEFINITE RULE FOR IRRIGATION.
.After the first year nearly all land requires less irrigation than during the first season. Thorough cultivation and pul- . verization of the soil also makes a great difference in the amount of water required. Another difficulty in the way of giving a definite rule is found in the fact that our farmers are mostly new to the business, this being the first season that they have had their wells.
Notwithstanding all of these contingeneies, if the ground be well prepared, the water well husbanded, and the crops diversi- fied so that all the land will not require water at the same time, a well with a three and one-half inch flow will furnish all the water needed for 160 aeres of land after it has all been well irrigated one season.
On some ranches where the soil is not too sandy, and is underlaid with hardpan at a depth of three or four feet, the same amount of water may do double that duty, while on other farms having a light, sandy soil, with "no bottom," it might find half that duty sufficient to keep it busy. But it seems to be the almost universal opinion among our irrigators that, take it one year with another on old ground, one well to each 160 aeres will be amply sufficient.
MATTER TAKEN FROM AN ARTESIAN WELL.
Pieces of ehareoal, nut shells, and wood were taken from an artesian well being bored near Tulare, at a depth of 320 feet. The wood had the appearance of redwood. The nut shells looked like hiekory or hazel-nuts. The charcoal was from some kind of light wood.
DIAGRAM OF AN ARTESIAN WELL .*
DEPTH. 297 feet.
CHARACTER OF VARIOUS STRATA.
2 feet.
Surface soil and sandy loam.
98 feet.
This space passed through was composed of fine sand streaked with thin layers of clay soil. The sand was similar to the sand of the plains.
1 foot.
A layer of solid "hard-pan."
95 feet.
In going through this strata it was found to be composed of various kinds and qualities of sand from "quicksand " to coarse gravel.
101 feet.
This layer was a compact mass of hard blue clay, such as is formed from the decomposition of granite and other rocks. After passing through this a flowing well was obtained.
* The cost of boring this well was $457.
ELLIOTT LITH. 4 21 MONT. ST.
ALEXES GODEY'S RESIDENCE, 19 TH. ST. BET. BAKERSFIELD & SUMNER, KERN CO. CAL.
RESIDENCE & HOME OF GEO. O. KINNE, IG MILES WEST OF BAKERSFIELD, KERN CO. CAL. ELLIOTT LITH.421MONT.ST.
113
THE ADVANTAGES OF ARTESIAN WELLS.
TULARE COUNTY ARTESIAN WELLS.
During the two years following, artesian well boring was inaugurated and wonderful results have been obtained and a great impetus given to artesian irrigation in the vicinity of Visalia and Tulare City. For the information of those inter- ested we give below, taken from the Delta, a list of some of those owning artesian wells in this county, with the depth, size of pipe and flow.
DEPTH IN FEET.
SIZE
FLOW
T. Bacigalupi.
340
5
Jeff. Jaynes.
382
8
3
Wm. Blankenship
385
777 7
4
389
7 33
Sol. Ephriam
324
7
4
John Creighton.
366
7 33
"
326
7
33
C. Knupp
372
7 21
B. F. Smith
340
7 3
Castle .
418
7
43
422
7
43
Jas. Mitchell
386
7
4}
=
355
7
6
E. M. Dewey
308
7
4
Geo. Mead.
344
7
3
D. O. Harolson
390
7
4
M. M. Burnett
336
7
1
Dudley Evans
370
7
33
I. Burnett.
355
7
11
R. T. Priest.
398
7
1
Lemuel Pierce
300
7
24
Paige & Morton.
330
7
33
332
13
Woods Bros.
472
7
31
John Allen.
352
7
4
Lee Weaver.
340
7
2
A. P. Cromley
320
7
31
Michael Premo
460
7
13
Geo. Bertch .
480
7
21
Since then there have been between seventy and eighty good flowing wells obtained in this belt, and not less than ten or twelve boring outfits are now at work constantly sinking new ones.
ADVANTAGES OF ARTESIAN WELLS.
"It is claimed by men who profess to know," says the Delta, " that artesian wells possess many advantages over canals for watering stock and for irrigating small farms or plots of land. For watering stock they can be located in the most convenient place, whereas if a ditch is run expressly for stock purposes it is often inconvenient to run it in the most desirable locality. For irrigation they claim that it is cheap, economical and never failing. The above list does not include all the wells that are bored.
"Among the advantages of an artesian well are the following: When once it is bored, the value of the land it is on is en- hanced more than the value of its (the well's) cost; it is one's own, and the water can be used whenever and wherever de- sired; no neighbor, ditch superintendent or any other person can have aught to say in the matter; there are no assessments to pay; there is no worrying about the failure of crops; and as far as known yet, the owner of a good well is independent of the dry seasons.
"W. G. Spence, of Oakland, and B. F. Mull, of Tulare, have sunk all the wells in this district. The wells will irrigate from twenty to one hundred acres, owing to the nature of the soil and flow of water. The average cost of the above list of wells is $525. It will be noticed that the depth at which water was struck is very uniform, indicating a wide artesian belt in this county.
" Whenever water has been found in sufficient quantity the result has been eminently satisfactory. The cost of boring wells has been low, and the flow of water inexhaustible. Par- ticularly has this been the case in Tulare County. Nowhere in California is the geological formation so favorable to artesian well boring. Water is found at a remarkably slight depth, and in every instance has been satisfactory in the matter of flow and permanency."
ARTESIAN WELL DESCRIBED.
The following well-written discription of the artesian wells is taken from the Tulare Register :-
An artesian well consists of a small hole sunk into the earth, through which water rises from subterranean sources nearly to or above the surface of the earth. Those which rise above the surface are called "flowing wells." Artesian wells are not a "recent invention." They were known ages ago to those sedate old fogies whom we call the ancients, and even the heathen Chinee used them in the "Flowery Kingdom " before America was discovered by Columbus at any rate, if not be- fore it was discovered by the mound builders. Countries dif- fer from each other in the nature of their artesian wells, and the manner of procuring them, as widely as they do in politics and religion; but it is only with the wells in Tulare County that we now have to deal.
MANNER OF BORING.
In this portion of the State no stone is encountered in bor- ing wells. There is nothing that offers more resistance than a stiff clay, and for this reason no such tools are required as are found necessary in other localities. The sets of tools most frequently met with are hand tools. They consist of a half round auger, fastened to the end of a twenty-foot pole or piece of gas pipe, and worked by two men by means of a cross handle that can be slipped up on the pole as fast as the auger goes down. As the well deepens, and other poles are
*" A half-inch flow," means a depth of half inch of water as it flows over the five-inch pipe in all directions.
OF PIPE.
IN INCHES. 1*
Uhlhorn & Maples
448
114
AMOUNT OF WATER AVAILABLE.
needed, they are coupled together in the same manner as gas pipe. When the auger has been filled, it is hoisted with a wire cable and a horse power. When working in sand and water an instrument called a sand pump is used. This consists of a tube eight or ten feet long, in the bottom of which is a large valve. By churning this sand pump up and down it soon tills and is hoisted to the top. This is rather a slow process, and other means have been resorted to to enable parties to bore with greater facility. There are now three hydraulic ma- chines in the neighborhood, which it is hoped will be an im- provement on the hand tools. These machines use boring rods made entirely of gas pipe, but they only use the auger to stir up the sand and water into a thin mud. By forcing a stream of water down through the gas pipe, they force the mind and sand up outside, between the gas pipe and sheet iron well cas- ing, and the casing is shoved down as fast as the auger de- scends by a couple of hydraulic jacks. The hand outfits shove their casings down with long levers.
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