THE IRRIGATION AGE. 63 



the waters of that stream, but also the water from all the cauals lying 

 north and east of it as well. Portions of the canal have been reclained s 

 but those parts which the hand of modern civilization has not touched 

 are still so distinct that their remains may be traced without difficulty 

 for fifty miles; while between it and the Gila River, in the lauds which 

 were formerly irrigated from it, can be found the relics'of ancient civ- 

 ilization in profusion. These are not only in the shape of ruined build- 

 ings, but also of pottery, stone implements, weapons and ornaments. 

 But another curious feature of this canal, and the strongest evidence 

 of the great period of time which has elapsed since that system of ir- 

 rigation was maintained, is that a few miles below the point where it 

 crosses the Hassayamba creek, it traverses a mesa or bench for sever- 

 al miles, from which it falls abruptly into a valley some forty or fifty 

 feet below. Where this fall takes place the waters of the canal have 

 cut away for several feet the walls of the mesa, which are of the hard- 

 est volcanic character. Now, then, as every evidence indicates that 

 the wearing away of the rock at this place has been accomplished by 

 the action of water, centuries must have been required for the work. 

 Upon the face of the rock thus cut away are to be found hieroglyph, 

 ics of every description, and of the meaning of which the present abo- 

 rigines know nothing. On account of these the white man has given 

 them the name of "Painted Rocks." 



The instances here cited of the use of natural streams and lakes 

 for the purpose of irrigation by the ancients are but a few of the most 

 prominent of those of the old and new worlds. Many of these ancient 

 canals have been utilized for modern husbandry. But the very con- 

 venience by which they have been utilized has been the means of ob- 

 literating the opportunities of tracing back their history and that of 

 the people vvho constructed them. Once an old ditch is repaired or 

 restored it ceases, from an antiquarian standpoint, to be of interest, 

 and soon its prehistoric origin is forgotten. The question often arises, 

 how great was the skill and ingenuity that these prehistoric nations 

 possessed in their day? The answer is, That never has the skill of the 

 best modern engineer been able to improve on the lines of the ruined 

 canals which were left behind them, while in the selection of locations 

 at which to take the water from the rivers, the prehistoric races have 

 always exhibited the greatest skill and intelligence. It was these ru- 

 ins left in Arizona i hat, early in the seventies, first gave the settlers 

 of the territory the idea of reclaiming the valleys where now are 

 towns and cities surrounded by a large population of agriculturists. 

 The first canal simply followed the line of the prehistoric one. How 

 extensive the system of irrigation in the Salt River was may be in- 

 ferred from the fact that the amount of land practically covered by 

 the canals was over a quarter of a million of acres. The population 



