USA > Washington > Benton County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. I > Part 45
USA > Washington > Kittitas County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. I > Part 45
USA > Washington > Yakima County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. I > Part 45
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The essential data of the Kachess unit are these: Drainage area, 63 square miles; water area, 4,800 acres; capacity, 210,000 acre feet; capacity of the spillway, 7,200 second feet, and capacity of the outiet, 1,000 second feet.
LAKE KEECHELUS RESERVOIR.
Pioneer work on this site also had been done by both the Northern Pacific, Yakima, and Kittitas Company and the Cascade Canal Company. A dam was completed by the latter company on April 19, 1907, at a cost of about $29,000, by which the water level was raised ten feet and about 15,000 acre feet of storage obtained.
Important statistical information of the Keechelus dam is derived from the Government report as follows: Drainage area, 56 square miles ; lake area, 2,550 acres, capacity 174,000 acre feet. The spillway has a capacity of 10,000 second feet and the outlet has a capacity of 1,000 second feet.
Work on this dam was begun in the Summer of 1912 under the super- vision of C. E. Crownover, project engineer. It was completed in November, 1918.
LAKE CLE ELUM RESERVOIR.
On this lake also, the largest in the Yakima Basin, the same pioneers as on the other lakes inaugurated work looking to an impounding system. The Northern Pacific, Yakima, and Kittitas Company made surveys and gave notices of filing appropriations. They did not, however, do any actual con- struction. The Washington Irrigation Company succeeded to their rights and endeavored to maintain a hold upon the lakes.
In 1904 Messrs. Lombard and Horsley of North Yakima organized the Union Gap Irrigation Company and in March, 1905, began the construction of a low crib dam, 223 feet long and two feet high at Lake Cle Elum. They filed on 400 second feet of water, posting a notice on the dam. The dam was
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HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY
built of timber which had been got out by the Washington Company. Two employes of the latter company adopted a strenuous and summary method of getting rid of a rival, and on August 16 blew up that dam with dynamite. Relations between the two companies were naturally somewhat strained and litigation ensued. But in the meantime the Reclamation service was entering the field and the private companies retired.
The Union Gap Company ceded their land and water rights to the Gov- ernment and received in recompense a right to 28 second feet of water from April to August inclusive. A crib dam was constructed by the Reclamation service for temporary use during 1906-07, at a cost of $47,000. Severe loss was suffered on account of the great floods of November, 1906, and Novem- ber, 1909.
That crib dam was succeeded by permanent improvements begun in 1912. The essential statistics of the Lake Cle Elum project when it shall be completed are as follows: Drainage area, 205 square miles; lake area, 4,680 acres; capacity, 490,000 second feet. The capacity of the spillway is to be 18,000 second feet. At present date the Cle Elum work consists simply of a crib dam impounding 25,000 acre feet.
As can be seen the Cle Elum reservoir is larger than all the others com- bined. As indicating the nature of these dams it may be said that the Cle Elum dam will have a maximum height above the stream bed of 125 feet and a volume of 617,000 cubic yards. Its crest length is to be 1,150 feet and its top width 20 feet.
ACREAGE, PRESENT AND PROSPECTIVE, UNDER THE GOVERNMENT PROJECT.
The existing acreage supplied with water under the different government projects are, at this date (1918), as follows :
Kittitas unit, not developed.
Tieton unit, 32,000.
Wapato unit, 70,000.
Sunnyside unit, 100,000.
Benton unit and High Line, not developed.
Total, 202,000.
The amount in prospect, with the completed storage resources of the river, is as follows :
Kittitas unit.
70,000
Tieton unit. 32,000
Wapato unit.
120,000
Sunnyside unit.
110,000
Benton unit and High Line
200,000
Future total 532,000
The expense of these various units has varied greatly. The cost of the Tieton unit was about $93 per acre, and that amount, as we have seen, has been charged the purchasers. Some of the lands on the Indian reservation
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HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY
have been reclaimed at so surprisingly low a cost as $8.50 per acre. The great Wapato Canal taken out of the Yakima just below Union Gap, the largest in the Valley, having a flow of 1,500 second feet, has so favorable gradients that its cost is far less than that of the other canals. It supplies 70,000 acres of land, and when the distribution system is complete will irrigate 120,000 acres. The estimated average cost of this reservation system, not taking into account the pro rata cost of the reservoir system, is about $32 per acre.
SOME OF THE POETRY OF IRRIGATION.
We spoke at the outset of this chapter of the element of poetry existing in farming, in an irrigated country. We asserted that Yakima would some time be a land of poetry and art. In concluding the chapter we will prove our assertion by two examples of the local expression of appreciation of the beauty of the region and its agencies of husbandry. A song adapted to the music of "Maryland, My Maryland," was composed by Mr. Harry S. Sharpe, a musician of Yakima. We insert it here.
(From The Northwestern Magazine.) YAKIMA, MY YAKIMA. (Tune, Maryland, My Maryland.) Words by Harry S. Sharpe. Vale of the West, I sing of thee, Yakima, my Yakima ; Thy fruitful lands I love to see, Yakima, my Yakima ; From Selah heights for many a mile, Thy bounteous crops make nature smile, And bids mankind his care beguile, Yakima, my Yakima,
Our peaches, pears and apples red, Yakima, my Yakima ; O'er all the world our fame has spread, Yakima, my Yakima, Wheat, hay and oats grow side by side, Alfalfa fields spread far and wide, Grim want with us shall ne'er abide, Yakima, my Yakima.
The Lord from whom all blessings flow, Yakima, my Yakima; Hath surely blest us here below, Yakima, my Yakima ; For we, his favored people, blest, Own fairest spot in mighty West, Come, tarry here and be our guest, Yakima, my Yakima.
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HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY
A special demonstration of the place of appreciation held by Irrigation in the minds of the people of Yakima, who owe everything to that instrumentality, is found in a unique and attractive production given as a pageant in Yakima in 1917. The pageant was entitled "Visions Fulfilled." The words were the joint composition of two well known ladies of Yakima, Mrs. Sue Lombard Horsley and Miss Alice M. Tenneson. By their kind permission we have the privilege of presenting here this beautiful tribute to "Irrigation."
VISIONS FULFILLED.
A SYMBOLICAL PAGEANT OF THE VALLEYS OF THE YAKIMA. BY ALICE M. TENNESON AND SUE M. LOMBARD.
CAST.
Seeress
Miss Emily Reed
Chief of Indians Dr. C. E. Keeler
Irrigation Miss Helen Lee
Reclamation Miss Isabelle Hoffman
Pioneer
A. E. Larson
Famine_ Mrs. Dora S. Dawson
Water Wheel Man C. E. Sanderson
INDIAN ERA.
Indian Era-
The air is filled with fiendish mockery, The noisy demons of the dust dance past In dizzy revel in the whirling blast, A very pandemonium of glee, Among the rocks their only enemy, Irrigation, struggles, pinioned fast.
The superstitious Redman stands aghast Before the storm; the cry for liberty He does not hear, nor, when the wind has ceased The promise that if she shall be released Rich goods she'll give in such a bounteous store That to his home, dread Famine nevermore May stalk, but through the sagebrush gray Like cowardly coyote slink away.
Irrigation- I am Irrigation, Long ago my hands and feet were tied- When the ice receded And the valleys thus scooped out had dried, Nature's forces bound me -- Placed a dauntless enemy on guard, But they made a challenge- Promised to my rescuer reward.
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HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY
Invisible they made me, Save to him whose eyes are trained to see.
For the valley's treasure Is too great to give unworthily.
Yet I lie here pinioned Altho many ages have passed by.
Redman, Redman, listen, Will ye never hear me as I cry?
Song of Dust Demons- Sing the revel Sing in fiendish revel of the dust, Tra la, la, la. Where the wind blows down the hillsides steep, Laughing through the valley do we sweep, Shrieking thro the sagebrush do we leap Forever in bonds, Irrigation we'll keep. Up and down, on the blast Round and round, whirling fast, Back and forth, demons chasing O'er the rocks and boulders racing Jeering, mocking at our foe, Cactus prickles do we throw. Struggling there, but tightly pinioned Ever shall she lie.
Whene'er the wind comes howling loud, We answer him and like a cloud, Hills and mountains do we hide And darken all the sky. Green things die, they perish 'neath our stride, Whirling and twirling, speeding through the air Swifter and swifter, racing everywhere Faster and faster, none is our master. Ah, no power can our might deny -- All the world we defy.
Famine- I am the Goddess of hunger, Famine, the cruel and gaunt, Hated of beings am I, insatiate Goddess of want. Make me a sacrifice ; maidens and men I demand that you give. Give me your sturdiest infants or none of your number shall live. Place on my altar your loveliest women and strongest of braves. Then I shall laugh, when my wrath is appeased, I shall dance on their graves.
Irrigation-
Rescue me, oh Redman, and no more shall children of the brave Fear when Famine threatens, from her deadly menace I will save.
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HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY
Loose my chains, oh Redman, and whate'er you wish for shall be true. Food shall be in plenty, rich shall be the goods I give to you.
COWBOY ERA.
From out the great Northwest does progress cal! For hardy men and strong. Across the plains. In saddle or in prairie schooner trains, Through breaches in the Rocky mountain wall They come, and down rough paths that would appall Less sturdy folk. To such, whose line contains None faint of heart, cries she who lies in chains, But on deaf ears do her entreaties fall And they pass on, save cowboys with their herds, Who heed her not. At last some hear her words And try to break her bonds with some success. But even thus, does she their efforts bless With such reward it frights her ancient foe- For they foresee the time when they must go.
Irrigation-
Comes a host of people- Skill and wisdom are their heritage. Surely from their number One shall loose me from the dust storm's rage. List, I beg for freedom, Promise ransom rich I will bestow. Oh, they do not heed me, On to other greener fields they go. But this band of cowboys, Maybe they will hear me as I call. They are also heedless. On deaf ears do my entreaties fall.
Chorus of the Cowboys- He loves his life of danger, To fear he is a stranger, The cowboy with his spurs. The snake with angry rattle Or wild stampeding cattle He greets whate'er occurs. With "chaps" and wide sombrero He rides where paths are narrow Or where the valley's wide ; For man or beast who'd trifle He bears a loaded rifle- His sure aim is his pride.
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HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY
Irrigation-
The cowboys did not hear me. Maybe these blue-coated soldiers will, As before the blockhouse On the sand and 'mid the dust they drill. Vain is my entreaty. I shall have to wait for other aid, So there's none to hear me? One who of the dust is not afraid?
Pioneer-
Methought I heard one calling ; Demons, stand ye back; our way we force Through your sneering numbers. We have heard a cry and we would know its source. Ah, it is a lovely maiden, We would strive to succor your distress.
Tell us how to free you, That our effort shall receive success.
Irrigation-
All you do that injures Or impedes the power of my foe Serves to loose my fetters. Chain the river's waters. There shall grow Everywhere you pour them Fairest flowers and what men may need Of old earth's best products. This small valley many lands may feed.
Chorus of Grains and Grasses-
Oft in the springtime we greeted the sky But when the sun of summertime came Died with the violets growing nearby, Every year the same. Now at the bidding of her who lies bound Life giving streams from the rivers they bring. Gladly again do we spring from the ground, Joyfully do we sing. Green are the fields where the grasses are growing Golden the grain in the autumn winds blowing, Ah, let us dance in the riotous breeze. The dust storm may rage as its future it sees. She shall be free and our sisters shall play- All the broad valley burst into song- Irrigation's chains at her feet shall they lay She shall be free ere long.
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HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY
Song of the Demons-
Our hold upon our ancient realm shall vanish Unless we fight ; These impudent invaders we must banish Or lose our might We'll laugh and jeer at all their skilled endeavor To till the soil. We'll rage and rave until success can never Reward their toil. (Refrain.) Listen, listen, we shall never go Ha ha, ha ha, oh, laugh ha ha We shall louder blow Ha ha, ha ha, oh laugh, ha ha
COMING OF THE RAILROAD.
Again the angry demons are afraid And try their hated captive to conceal, For such a wonder working path of steel Along the riverside is being laid That men by hundreds rapidly invade The cowboy's own domain. At her appeal Dig ditches from the streams and make a wheel To pour the water on the earth. Such aid Has freed her arms, her body moves with grace, And, tho her feet are fettered still, the place Has been transformed from desert waste of sand By irrigation to a "Promised Land." In all the fields the grains and grasses play And merrily dance orchard blossoms gay.
Irrigation-
When the pioneers came They never hoped to see their homes again. Letters came but seldom, Only by a long hard journey then, But these newer settlers Are near neighbors to their distant friends, They have brought the railway, And their very thoughts the wire sends. Listen to me, oh ye people, As your homes and villages you build, All these noisy demons With their clamor shall be stilled If you will but heed me.
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HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY
Full the river is with water pure,
Build a wheel to pour it
On the soil, the harvest shall be sure.
Or from out the sources
Of the stream let flumes and trenches lead, And your fields shall furnish
Wealth for you and all the valley feed.
Where one blade of grass grows
Many shall spring up and ears of wheat
Yield a rich abundance ; Orchard trees lay treasure at your feet.
Song of the Waterwheel-
Oh, waterwheel, why do you laugh as you sing? Because to the dry thirsty soil do I bring A drink for the grasses and gold fields of grain. I laugh at the cloudland withholding the rain. The wild wind may bluster, the dust storm may blow, But spite of the ravings the green things shall grow- The sun in the heavens may angrily burn But orchards shall flourish while laughing I turn. The Yakima flowing away to the sea Gives gladly its waters, rejoice now with me. Oh bright little blossoms, the Valley is gay, Oh dance, little grasses, and sing all the day.
Song of Grains and Grasses-
Where there was one blade of corn there are two, Many green blades where one grew before Thousands of blossoms where once there were few And there shall still be more. Cottages stand where the Sagebrush was gray, Gay in the gardens and midst the bright flowers Sweet is the sound of the children at play Laughing through happy hours. Fragrant and dainty the blossoms are swaying Joyous the call to the dance they're obeying, Up from his nesting the meadow lark soars And blissfully sings from the Heaven's blue doors, To all the joy of the earth giving voice. Grasses and children, blossoming trees, Carol with him and as gayly rejoice While the dread dust storm flees.
RECLAMATION ERA.
Now, Uncle Sam has heard the final plea For help to drive the foe from where it fights To hold its last retreat upon the heights.
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HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY
He sends his daughter, Reclamation. She Does bring a retinue from which must flee All powers of the drought; the source it smites Of all the strength which hindered those delights Of Irrigation, who at last is free. Again the blossoms 'dance, the grasses play, The green of growing corn replaces gray Of sagebrush, brown of barren soil; the trees Invite the joyous birds, new industries Call busy men from all the earth to live, Where of the highest service they may give.
Irrigation- Fair has grown the Valley But upon the heights in strong retreat, My old foe still mocks me For my freedom is not quite complete. Aid once more I summon Beg for liberty so long deferred Far my cry has carried For in Washington have I been heard. Uncle Sam is sending Me his daughter, Reclamation fair. Engineers, her vanguard Come, the way before her to prepare.
Song of the Engineers- At the ends of the earth, Where brooks have their birth, Or where rivers roll into the sea, Where the mountains are high Or the dark chasms lie, Where nature, unconquered, is free, A challenge is made, He replies unafraid And bridges the canyon's wide deep. He chains the stream's source Or alters its course And tunnels the precipice steep.
Chorus-
The civil engineer, who brings the distance near, Sure paths he makes, the strength he breaks Of Nature's evil powers. He digs through rocks and sands that oceans may join hands ; The forest he clears, the swamp disappears And the desert blooms with flowers.
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HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY
Irrigation, you grieve But we shall achieve
What vainly the others would do,
Your call has been heard And she has been stirred
Reclamation has sent us to you.
And every spot
Where gardens are not,
Into wonderful verdure shall burst,
For the snows we will take
And form you a lake Whose waters shall quench the soil's thirst.
Irrigation-
See the foe is vanishing I am free and they have met defeat For my liberator Comes, and Reclamation's self we greet.
Great the debt we owe you,
Reclamation, and the clear-eyed seers
Tell us that still greater
Obligation comes with future years. Friends, behold the vision; See you not the stately cities rise? Beautiful their buildings Broad their streets where busy traffic plies. And the teeming thousands Satisfy their needs and have to spare Where amid the cactus Scattered Indians found but scanty fare.
All Sing-
Hail Reclamation, all honor to thee. Thankfully Irrigation bows low, Thou hast delivered her and she is free, Vanquished her ancient foe. All the sad days of her bondage are o'er, Graceful, before thee, she dances her joy. Cactus and reveling demons no more Terrify or annoy. When the hot sun of summer is burning And the steep hillsides to red brown are turning Though all the windows of heaven may close, And sluggishly slow the low river flows, People shall still reap reward for their toil, Riches unmeasured spring from our soil,
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HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY
Never the source of the waters shall fail, Hail, Reclamation, hail.
EPILOGUE.
Gracious Uncle Sam, thou didst bestow A gift by which our agriculture crude A science has become. True gratitude Is shown by deeds-and thus the debt we owe We would fulfill. For though the world may know
Our fame, unless our spirits be imbued With loftier aim, we rank with savage rude Who measures life by goods that he can show. No, rather be this land of ours made known
By those who through unselfishness have shown The truest use of wealth-which is to share With others. Here let no oppression bear Upon the weak-and let us not, engrossed In Things, forget to value Life the most. NOTE: This pageant has been copyrighted. -W. D. L.
While these pages were in preparation, certain public announcements of great interest in regard to irrigation have appeared in the press of the state. These are worthy of preservation here and are accordingly incorporated as a final glance at this vital phase of the history of the Yakima Valley and the state.
"Kennewick Courier-Reporter," November 7, 1918:
The best piece of news that has come Kennewick's way for many a day is the announcement that Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, has recommended an appropriation of $250,000 for the Kennewick extension of the Sunnyside Canal.
While this amount is less than one-third of the sum required to complete the extension it means that the work is to be started and that other appropria- tions will be made to keep it under way. If there is no delay in getting the appropriation bill through Congress it is thought work can be started this winter and by year after next water for the irrigation of the Highlands will be avail- able.
The extension is to be made from a point in the Sunnyside Canal opposite Chandler a few miles above Kiona where a siphon is to be constructed across the Yakima River. The extension will bring under irrigation about 40,000 acres of choice lands, including the lands at present under cultivation on the Highlands and all lands of a similar elevation down the valley as far as Hover.
In speaking of the proposed extension R. K. Tiffany, manager of the Yakima project, says:
(25)
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HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY
"An appropriation of $250,000 at this time would enable the Reclamation service to construct the main canal for a distance of twenty miles. This work could be done in a year and would allow sufficient time for conditions to read- just themselves and to release steel for the construction of the siphon across the Yakima River, which will take fully one year to construct. This siphon alone will cost about as much as the proposed appropriation, but by the time we would have the main line canal built, we probably would have another ap- propriation. It will take at least $666,437 to construct the entire extension, which includes some concrete structures and ten miles of laterals. In sub- mitting our budget for proposed work for 1918-20 we asked that amount for this extension alone. We could employ 300 men and 150 teams for the first six months of the main canal construction and then proceed with a crew of about 100 men and half that many teams.
"This extension means a great deal to the Kennewick section and to the city of Kennewick itself. It will put it on the map as one of the greatest pro- ducers in the Northwest. The season is longer in this district than elsewhere in the valley. It will make a wonderful alfalfa producer with an output capac- ity of four to five crops per season."
Another announcement of great interest follows :
"Walla Walla Bulletin," December 2, 1918:
Property owners in the western part of Walla Walla County and progres- sive community development enthusiasts all over eastern Washington are much interested in the reconstruction plan of Governor Ernest Lister, which would place nearly 3,000,000 acres of land under irrigation with water from the Pend Oreille River. All eastern Washington is aroused over the possibilities of this gigantic project which would mean much to this section of the state. He figures the cost at about $250,000,000 and says the project would furnish work for many of the returned soldiers and sailors as well as make homes for 50,000 families.
WOULD ELIMINATE PROFITEERING
The governor's proposition includes the purchase of the lands by the state at prices ranging from $1 to $10 an acre, so that the entire project will be under state supervision and profiteering entirely eliminated. He then favors having the Federal Government take charge of the irrigation portion of the work and continue the supervision of that part of the development project.
This proposed irrigation plan covers large arid sections of Lincoln, Adams, Grant, a portion of Douglas, all of Franklin, and a section of Walla Walla and Whitman counties, and touches the southwestern portion of Spokane? County.
CANAL FROM PEND OREILLE RIVER
It is a part of the mammoth scheme to start an irrigation canal at Albany Falls, Idaho, on the Pend Oreille River; have this pass through Newport and follow the Little Spokane River a short distance, pass near Deer Park, and follow the course of the Spokane River to a point northwest of Davenport in Lincoln County. A tunnel of eighteen miles would be one of the undertakings.
The canal would be at an elevation of 2,040 feet above sea level and the use
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HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY
of the water would first start at an elevation of 1,800 feet, at a point southwest of Davenport. It is also considered that other sections of the country along the canal, northeast of Davenport, would be able to use water, thus increasing the productivity of these lands, as well as enriching the bigger section to the west.
GOVERNOR SEES GREAT POSSIBILITIES
"The land would produce everything now raised in the Yakima Valley," said Governor Lister at the Davenport Hotel yesterday. "It seems to me, how- ever," he continued, "that its development ought to cover especially the pro- duction of alfalfa and live stock, including fat beef stock, sheep and hogs. Dairying has not come to the front on the east side of the mountains to the degree it should and this development would accommodate a large increase in the dairy line.
"I know of nothing that can be produced in a temperate climate that can not be grown here if the land is under irrigation, for the soil is unsurpassed.
WOULD DEVELOP SUGAR BEET INDUSTRY
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