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Show OOMlf188IONER OX INDIAN AFFAIRS. 15 October 10, 1902, Inspector Code reported that in his opinion there were only two methods of supplying the Indians of the Gila River Reservation with water: First, by means of storage resemoirs; sec- . ond, by the installation of a series of pumping plants throughout the rasemation. He did not advise the purchase of the Florence or Casa Grande Canal system, neither did he deem it advisable to begin the building of canals and distributing works on the reservation probably several years in advance of reservoir construction, since a great por- ' ' tion of the work would have to be done over. He stated, however, . that a practically inexhaustible supply of water existed beneath the lands of the Salt River Valley, and believed that the conditions were even more favorable in the Gila Valley. Therefore a possible but very expensiveway of irrigating these Indian lands would be by the installation of ten pumping stations, each furnishing sufficient water for the irrigation of about 1,000 acres of land. The first cost of these plants with a central power station he estimated at about$160,000, and the annual cost of operation at $45,000. While he expressed the belief that this was the only practicable method of obtaining sufficient water for so large an area of Indian lands, aside from reservoir construction, he did not advocate such-an outlay for pumping machinery at that time; hut he recommended the sinking of four or five bored wells on the Sacaton school farm, and the installation of a first-class pumping plant at the agency, sufficiently large to take care of 600 acres. November 24,1902, the Office recommended that the Pima school superintendent be authorized to contract for thc construction of the . . wells and to purchase the machinery, as recommended by Inspector Code, the total cost not to exceed $15,000, and under Department authority of December 1, 1902, a contract for the constrnction of five wells for $5,000 was concluded March 1, which was approved by the Department March 23, 1903. April 24, 1903, the Acting Attorney-General transmitted to the Department a copyof a letter from the United States attorney at Tuc-son, Ariz., stating that from general information he was inclined to believe that he should he directed to institute proceedings to secure to the Pima Indians their prior righb, the direction being to institute a snit against all of the water users under the Gila River and its tribu-taries who divert the water above the point of diversion of the Indians. May 9, 1903, the Office recommended that the Deprtment of Justice be advised that any course of procedure determined upon by the dis-trict attorney would meet the approval of this Office, and that it would recommend the payment of any expenses connected therewith approved by him and the superintendent in charge of the Pima Agency. October 21,1903, the Office, at the request of the Department, made a full report upon the condition of the Indians of the Gila Resewation, the extent to which special assistance in money bad been afforded to |
