18 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



"Now whar are we? Whar are the homes we are 

 advised to git so strenuously? Kin we go an' take 

 them by the hand an' say : 'Welcome, home, let me 

 drive my stakes down into your sile an' call you my 

 own without let or hindrance?' Does any home now 

 offered us with so much flourishin' uv trumpet, an' so 

 much sheddin' uv printer's ink, take us by the hand 

 an' say: 'Welcome, brother, come in an' help your- 

 self ?' Nary. The bars are on hand an' the Injuns sur- 

 vive, but we don't do any more skinnin', on the con- 

 trary, we are the skun. It are the Injuns ez are a 

 bamboozlin' us, an' they are a-doin' it with so remark- 

 able a cheapness to themselves an' with so much costli- 

 ness to us thet by the time we git a home we are obleeged 

 to move out uv it and hunt fur another somewhere 

 else under the same onerous conditions. In my humble 

 opinion, founded on fac's the genuine home seeker hez 

 gone entirely out uv business. 



"Look the indublicatable fac's in the face, feller 

 citizens" says I, waxin' warm with the subjec', the 

 thorts rushin' through my brain in riotous profusion 

 ez I proceeded. "What's the fust thing thet hez to be 

 did to git a home? A contribution. Fur why should 

 I pay you a. contribution ?" I asked Ozone George, when 

 he intermated ' thet thar wuz one a-comin' to him. 



"Why, fur perfection," says he. 



"Perfection against what?" says I. 



"Perfection against the fellers ez are a-stealin' 

 all the land, so's when you git a home they won't steal 

 it out from under ye." 



"Good and great idee," says I, "but unfortnitly, 

 I hain't got any home roamin' around waitin' to git 

 stole." 



"Mebbe you hain't now," says he, "but thar are 

 others ez hev homes; they want to keep from the 

 clutches uv the villains, an' it is your duty ez an 

 honest man an' a patriotic American citizen to help 

 your fellow men." 



"Thet's the real missionary spirit," says I. "It's 

 like takin' up a collection fur the far away heathen. 

 Will you kindly remove your hat, George?" 



"What fur?" says he. 



"Why," says I, "whenever anybody wants me to 

 contribute for the relief uv the heathen, or to help 

 the poor an' sufferin' of the kentry, I allus like to 

 be sure thet his halo is on straight." 



But George turned away without sayin' a word, 

 an' without removin' his hat, so I am obleeged to yield 

 to my suspicions thet all .is not ez it should be, an' 

 thet the homes George is offerin' to the unborn mil- 

 lions are tied to a rubber string which jumps the home 

 back out uv reach when you make a grab fur it. 



At this pint in the perceedin's, Lawyer Goodwin 

 came in an' wanted to know what subjec' we hed been 

 discussin'. After readin' the minutes uv the meetin' 

 ez fur as we hed got, he run his fingers through his 

 shaggy mane, an' says: 



"Silas, you are wrong, an' you are a-misleadin' 

 these innocent an' confidin' folks." 



"Ez to how ?" I demanded, bridlin' up, fur I won't 

 bear contradictin' when I know I'm right an' every- 

 body else wrong. 



"Why, don't you see," says Lawyer Goodwin, 

 "thar's seventy-four million acres uv rich sile in the 

 western half uv the United States capable uv supportin' 

 fifty millions uv people, but thet land needs water 

 wuss'n a duck durin' a prolonged drought. It is not in 



harmony with the spirit uv the age to keep this vast 

 desert a-goin' on any longer without bein' reclaimed. 



"I tell you, feller citizens," an' the lawyer squared 

 himself off ez he does when addressin' a jury, "land 

 without population is a wilderness, an' population with- 

 out land is a mob. In view uv the enormous number 

 uv implements an' vehicles thet would be required to 

 supply this vast this vast this vast " here the law- 

 yer began fumblin' in his pocket for papers or suthin' 

 else to refresh his memory, which appeared to hev sud- 

 denly deserted him. He didn't find what he wuz seekin', 

 so I took up his line uv argument: 



"This vast section uv kentry, when put under 

 cultivation by a proper system uv irrigation, built an' 

 controlled by the general government, the influence 

 an'" 



"Look here, Silas, thet's my letter you're a-readin' 

 from," an' the lawyer made a grab fur it. but didn't 

 git it. 



"Tain't yours, neither," says I. "It's one I got 

 from Ozone George regularly through the rural deliv- 

 ery, laid down at my very door, postage paid." 



"Silas," says he, drawing me to one side, "are 

 you onto this game?" 



"'Uv course," says I, "ain't you?" 



The lawyer winked suggestively which cast a flood 

 uv light into my intellect, but I couldn't git him to 

 tell me the size- uv his retainer. 



"It's gittin' so these days, Silas," explained Law- 

 yer Goodwin, "thet it is extremely difficult to tell 

 which side a man's on in any subject. In view uv 

 the enormity uv the things thet hev been suggested by 

 Ozone George in this reclamation campaign, it is jest 

 ez well fur a man to be on all sides uv it, fur thar is 

 allus some fat pickin's to be hed. Thar's the implement 

 men an' the growin' fund, an' thar's them ez want to- 

 git some uv of thet fund. Then again, thar's the bloom- 

 in' homeseekers, homesickers, they should be called, an' 

 it may be thet sometime they will git on top. Ef we 

 can't straddle the blind, Silas, why shouldn't we skin 

 the pot?" 



"Thet puts a diff'rent complexion on the whole 

 matter," says I, "ef thar's any wav fur me you know 

 jest give me a pinter when the time comes." 



"I onderstand, Silas, a hint is ez good ez a kick to 

 a blind hoss. I will see Ozone and tell him you have 

 experienced a change uv heart." 



"It's got to be did quick, lawyer," says I, "thar's 

 thet gosh blamed note you hold." 



"I'll turn thet in on account, Silas." 



I went home happier thet night than I hed been 

 fur six months, fur I felt thar wuz suthin' a-doin'. 

 My opinion is that reclamation is a good thing fur the 

 kentry. 



COLONIZATION GROWING. 



The following facts indicate the growth of colonization 

 in two localities by the subdivision of large tracts of irri- 

 gated land : 



On the Laguna de Tache grant previous to July, 1902, 

 there were only two Dunker families; up to August 1st, 

 1903, there have moved in 55 families, consisting of 129 people, 

 with 11 carloads of household goods. They bought 690 

 acres. During the same period 251 prospective settlers ap- 

 peared to make arrangements for homes. 



In the South Platte valley in Colorado, 17 families bought 

 3 160 acres in 1902. In 1903 39 families, consisting of 91 

 people, bought 9,275 acres, and brought in 20 carloads of 

 household goods. Twenty-nine prospective settlers also made 

 their appearance. 



