.358 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



dencei of a struggle, between a party of emigrants and a 

 band of Indians, that ended disastrously for the whites. 



The early settlers on Pass creek, a small stream which 

 comes out of the Medicine Bow range and flows westward, 

 between Elk Mountain and the "Kid," tell gruesome stories 

 of this same fight, and of the wagon irons and pieces of 

 harness still to be found on the ground where the little band 

 of emigrants fought their last battle. But one grave was to 

 be found there, that apparently of a chief, as the occupant 

 was buried in a sitting position, with all his arms and adorn- 

 ments on him. One of these adornments was a belt made of 

 silver dollars hammered flat and riveted together. 



In later years, an old Indian squaw, who was present 

 at the massacre, told of the tragedy. She said the band of 

 emigrants undertook to find a short cut through between the 

 mountains, instead of following the old emigrant trail, and 

 were driven into the canon and hemmed in against a solid 

 wall, where every member of the band was killed. The 

 wagons were burned, the harness cut to pieces and the men, 

 women and children burned at the stake. Only one Indian, 

 a chief, was slain. 



THE MINERS' INCH. 



A letter has been received from the Button Land Com- 

 pany, which is shown below, asking us to explain what is 

 meant by the phrase "the miners' inch." As shown in our 

 reply, with illustrations, this matter was covered pretty thor- 

 oughly. We are always glad to answer inquiries of this kind 

 which may be sent in to us. 



THE INQUIRY. 



Lincoln, Neb., Sept. 22, 1910. 

 Irrigation Age, 



Chicago, III. 

 Gentlemen : 



Kindly advise us, by retu'rn mail, how much land you con- 

 sider one miners' inch of water will successfully irrigate, and 

 explain what is meant by this phrase? 



Thanking you in advance, we remain, 

 Yours truly, 



BUTTON LAND COMPANY. 



By A. L. Button, Pres. 

 OUR REPLY. 

 Button Land Company, 



Lincoln, Neb. 

 Gentlemen: 



Your letter of September 22 reached this office shortly after 

 I had started on a trip to the coast, and it did not reach my 

 hands until my return a few days ago. The fact that all in- 

 quiries of this character are answered by me will explain the 

 unusual delay. I regret that it did nnt reach me before I left, 

 when an immediate reply would have been for.warded. 



It is my intention to publish your inquiry and the enclosed 

 reply in our November number, and with that in view I have 

 prepared rough pen drawings from which cuts will be made to 

 accompany same hence the reference to Figure 1, 2 etc. 



The term "miners' inch" does not mean the same thing 

 everywhere as the quantity of water passing through the aper- 

 ture is dependent on the head, which is subject to considerable 

 variation, fluctuating from 5 to 7 inches the most common head 

 being 6 inches above the center line of a 2-inch discharge 

 opening; thu's in Fig. 1, which is a section through a measuring 

 box, let AB be the height of the slit, which we will assume to 

 be 2 inches; the distance AC should be made not less than 2 

 inches to obtain full contraction. In Fig. 2 is shown the front 



J. F. Crawford, Editor Saratoga (Wyo.) Sun, in His Office. 



The tale of this squaw is the only word that ever reached 

 the civilized world from that fated band of white people. 

 But the early settlers used to go there for wagon irons, 

 which proved very useful during the early days of frontier 

 life. 



Elk Mountain was, in early days, a resort for tram 

 robbers and horse thieves, for which purpose it was admirably 

 adapted by the numerous small streams, the dense growth of 

 limber covering its slopes and the fact that there were no 

 nearby settlers to spy out and report the doings that took 

 place there. 



Many tragedies, between officers of the law and men 

 who sought shelter in its fastness, have taken place in the 

 mountain defiles. But it is now surrounded by ranchmen 

 and seitlers and has become peaceful and quiet these later 

 days. 



While the game abounds in its forests, and while it re- 

 mains the same mysterious sentinel of the ages, it has been 

 invaded by the prospector and the miner, and the sound of 

 steam whistle calls men to labor in the copper mines, that 

 are being sunk in its rugged sides. 



Fig. I. 



Fig. II. 



elevation of the box and D E F G indicates the opening which 

 is shown in this case to be 2"x4", making 8 square inches, and 

 the volume of water flowing through would represent 8 miners' 

 inches. The original standard quantity of a miners' inch is the 



SHOW PUBLIC SPIRIT. 



The Hearst trophy won by Otero County, Colo., at 

 the Irrigation congress exposition has been formally 

 turned over to the county commissioners. The space al- 

 lotted the Arkansas Valley in the Chicago land show is 

 about the best that the whole auditorium in Chicago pre- 

 jents. It is one of the largest individual exhibits of the big 

 show. Colorado people are showing great public spirit 

 in the matter. 



Send $2.50 for The Irrigation Age, one year, and the 

 Primer of Irrigation, a 260-page finely illustrated, cloth- 

 bound work for new beginners in irrigation. 



Diagram Showing Discharge Per Square Inch of Opening from 2"x 



4" to 2"xlOO" Under a Six Inch Head. The Vertical Divisions 



Are Cubic Feet Per Minute, Ranging from 1.473 to 



1.494 as the Width of Slit Increases from 



4" to 100". 



flow through an opening 1 inch square under a (t'/ 3 inch head, 

 shown in Fie. 2, under which condition the discharge is equal 

 to 11.625 gallons of water per minute; hence, 8 miners' inches 

 should represent 8 X 11.625=93 gallons per minute. As a 

 matter of fact the 2"x4" opening discharges considerable more 

 than 8 times the amount of water of the l"xl" opening, for the 

 reason that the hydraulic radius of the larger hole is greater 



