74 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



gun on the Rio Grande canal the same year and a little 

 later the Monte Vista canal was started. The com- 

 pany organized by Mr. Henry was also the owner of 

 the Empire canal, now the property of another corpora- 

 tion, watering land to the south of the Rio Grande river. 

 Considerable land was also taken up and by 1884 the 

 work had so far progressed on the Rio Grande canal 

 that a crop was planted on what is now the North Farm, 

 about four and a half miles northeast of where the 

 town of Monte Vista is located. In the fall of 1885 

 the Travellers' Insurance Company took over the rights 

 and property of Mr. Henry's company and since that 



where it einpties into the stream about a mile south- 

 east of the town of Saguache. There are eighteen main 

 laterals leaving the main canal, all flowing east. Alto-' 

 gether there are over five hundred miles of laterals, 

 carrying water sufficient to irrigate 125,000 acres. 

 There are at the present time between 60,000 and 75,000 

 acres being supplied. The water appropriations, with 

 dates, numbers and amounts of the Rio Grande canal 

 are given below : 

 176 Aug. 31, 1879 (Hermanthal) .8 



178 Nov. 30, 1879 (Scotch) 11.2 



179 Dec. 30, 1879 (Schuch & Schmidt) ... 2. 



Diverting Dam, Rio Grande Canal, Colorado. 



time has been in active ownership. The organization 197 



of the Rio Grande Land & Canal Company, the Monte 198 



Vista Canal Company, and the Colorado Valley Land 220 



Company was shortly after affected and it is through 235 



these three organizations that the active management of 216A 



the business is conducted. Judge P. C. Goudy of 276A 



Denver is manager and Mr. John MacArthur has charge 288A 



of the local office at Monte Vista as superintendent. 312A 



The company maintains the Meadow Ranch of 16,000 317 



acres some twenty-five miles northeast of Monte Vista, 338% 



where about 1,400 cattle are annually raised, and the 344 



North Farm, which contains about 2,000 acres. Both 358A 



Dec 31, '1880 (Biedel) 20. 



Jan 1, 1881 (Enterprise) 13.4 



April 15, 1882 (Schuch & Schmidt) . . 1.6 



July 1, 1882 (Dunning Mill) 6. 



Sept. 2, 1881 318.4 



June 10, 1885 22.8 



June 10, 1886 22.7 



June 10, 1887 26. 



March 1, 1888 (Schuch & Schmidt) 



.8 



June 10, 1888 : 33.6 



March 30, 1889 24.4 



June 10, 1889. 



16.6 



The Monte Vista Canal, San Luis Valley, Colorado. 



these ranches are under the Rio Grande canal. The 

 South Farm of 1,000 acres, under the Monte Vista 

 canal, was a few years ago sold to the Getts brothers, 

 who are operating it at the present time. Mr. W. W. 

 Reilly is the engineer for both canals and it has been 

 under his direction that much of the construction work 

 has been done. 



The Rio Grande canal has its rise on the north 

 side of the river about one mile above the village of 

 Del Norte. The headgate was constructed in 1901, and 

 consists of twelve four-foot openings and was built to 

 replace the old structure. The course of the canal is 

 northeasterly for thirty-eight miles to Saguache creek, 



363A June 10, 1890 43. 



363B July 24, 1890 52. 



365 Nov. 17, 1891 293.7 



Additional since 1900, about 60. 



The Rio Grande canal is locally known as the 

 Travellers' ditch. Water rights in both the Rio Grande 

 and Monte Vista canals cost the farmers seven and a 

 half dollars for twenty-five inches ; nine dollars for fifty 

 inches; eleven and a* half dollars for seventy-five inches, 

 and thirteen and a half dollars for a hundred inches 

 a season. 



The Monte Vista canal was formerly known as the 

 Citizens' ditch. It takes water from the Rio Grande 



