WATER FOR STOCK. 35 



especially true of the hio-her mesas remote from Ixith mountain ransfes 

 and river valleys ,vliere neither short streams nor small sprinj^s of the 

 mountain valleys nor the undero-round water supply arc availal)le. 



Central Pima County, embracinj^ Avra. Altar, Santa Rosa, aijd 

 Babucpiivari valleys, is especiallv noted for its deep wells furnished 

 with steam pumps. The ranches in this region are vei'v sparse, and 

 consequent!}^ these alwa3's furnish water for the pasturinj^ of ver}' 

 large areas. Some of these wells are upward of 800 feet in depth. 

 The fuel used for pumpino" is almost entirely mes(juito from th(^ imme- 

 diate vicinity. The supply of water at these depths appears to bo 

 inexhaustible. 



The ranches situated higher in the foothills and mountains depend 

 upon springs and shallow wells operated l)y windmills. The sui)ply 

 of water from these shallow wells, however, often varies greatl}' from 

 season to season, the difference sometimes being as high as 30 feet 

 between the level of the water in moist and dry seasons. Upon the 

 river bottoms the natural flow of the rivers is supplemented b\' wells 

 during the dry season. These are operated by steam, horse, or wind 

 power. On account of the absence of streams and the great difliculty 

 of obtaining well water, a large part of the northern portion of the 

 Territory is obliged to resort to surface tanks ])uilt of earth as the only 

 availa])le means of supplying water to stock. Upon the higher areas 

 in the San Francisco and contiguous mountain ranges water is abundant 

 enough in the average season for all purposes, but upon the lower 

 plateaus the case is very different. Here the prospective rancher is 

 often deterred from entering the stock ])usiness on account of the great 

 expense involved in securing water. Under a system of more stable 

 tenure the expense might not be prohibitive, for it is estimated that 

 tanks which hold water for one year can l)e built for about $500. The 

 cla}' soils so conunon here are admirably adapted to the construction 

 of tanks of this kind, for they hold water almost perfectly when once 

 thoroughly tramped and compacted. In some places natural tanks are 

 found which need only to be filled by having water conducted into 

 them b}' ditches or embankments. 



Another consideration which renders water relatively expeni^ive is 

 the low carrying capacity of the land, which decreases the number of 

 stock which can he profital)Iy watered in one place, making the returns 

 for outla3^s much smaller than the}" would be under more productive 

 conditions of soil and rainfall. P^very rancher who develops water 

 here in any form of course owns the land upon which the water is 

 situated, l)ut even this ownership counts for but little under the pres- 

 ent uncertain tenure of the surrounding areas. In short, water devel- 

 opment being expensive and the carrying capacity of the land low at 

 best, a large acreage is necessary to furnish a livelihood. 



So far as cattle especially are concerned, Arizona is essentially a 



