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Show . COMMl'YSIONER Off INDIAN AFFAIRS. 45 an engineering structure may have been slightly higher by employing Indians to such a large extent, the Indians benefited not only by having the morfey paid them for labor hut in the knowledge they acquired of the various trade8 so that the ultimate benefit to them was much greater than any difference in cost. This industrial idea as the great means of advancing the Indians & being emphasized wherever possible, hut in no other activity of the Indian Bureau are actual beneficial results obtained to a greater extent than on irrigation work. UTILIZATION OF WATER. The object of irrigation oonstructioi is to arrange for a water supply to produce crops, but this obviow purpose seems to have been neglected in the past as compared to the interest taken in the engi-neering investigations and construction relating to irrigation works. However, continued emphasis is now being placed. on the necessity. of encouraging and urging the Indians to make use of the agricul- 'tural facilities provided 'for them. Those employees especially con-cerned with industrial development' are' taking hold of this problem . where the engineers' functions cease, and a closer cooperation between the two has resulted in commendable progress by the Indians in irrigation farming. Asa means of teaching habits of industry and civilization, irriga- , tion is of'notable value as it requires continued and faithful appli-cation to work by the Indians, but also the returns may be safely counted upon as seldom do discouraging crop failures result from these efforts and nearly always remuneration is in direct proportion to the amount of energy exhibited. In emphasizing industrial train-ing, irrigation farming is, of course, included, and I am glad to he . able to report a continued progress in the extension of the area actually being farmed by the Indians on nearly every reservation. Notable increases were made upon the Crow, Fort Hall, Wind River, 'Colorado Rivmr, Yuma, Pima, Klamath, Uiutah, Fort Belknap, San- Xavier, and several other reservations. The crops produced by irrigation on the Yakima Reservation during 1916 were of an esti-mated value of $2,000,000. On the Crow Reservation 23,846 acrea were being irrigated. On the Fort Hall Qeservation the area was 18,542 acres; on Gila River.l8,850 acres; and on Uintah the area in irrigated crops was 25,062. WATEEFX(tHT8 PROTECTION. The right to the use of water for irrigation is one of the most in-tangihle and complicated property rights with which we have to deal, and to secuTe permanently for the Indians a sufficient supply this fact must be kept in mind at all times. 6 6 3 3 % 1 M . |