THE REVOLUTION ON THE PLAINS 



In the absence of any regulation of interstate streams 

 by national authority, the Colorado irrigators claimed 

 the right to take the last drop of water for their own 

 canals. This they proceeded to do during the growing 

 season, leaving the canals of western Kansas as dry as 

 its prairies. The investment of an English company in 

 extensive works costing more than a million dollars was 

 practically destroyed by this turn of affairs. There were 

 many similar losses of less magnitude. It was at this 

 stage that the lamented humorist "Bill Nye" remarked 

 of some of the western rivers that "they are a mile wide 

 and an inch thick they have a large circulation, but 

 very little influence." 



When the Kansas irrigators found themselves deprived 

 of their surface supplies they sought the underflow, and 

 in the process of finding and utilizing it developed an 

 entirely unique and very promising mode of irrigation. 



The new experiment was first made at Garden City, 

 within sight of the historic mill-race. It was found that 

 in the Arkansas Valley water could be obtained by shal- 

 low wells ranging in depth from eight to twenty feet. 

 This is raised by hundreds of wind-mills into hundreds 

 of small reservoirs constructed at the highest point of 

 each farm. The uniform eastward slope of the plains is 

 seven feet to the mile. The indefatigable Kansas wind 

 keeps the mills in active operation, and the reservoirs 

 are always full of water, which is drawn off as it is re- 

 quired for purposes of irrigation. These small indi- 

 vidual pumping-plants have certain advantages over the 

 canal systems which prevail elsewhere. The irrigator 

 has no entangling alliances with companies or co-oper- 

 ative associations, and is able to manage the water supply 



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