216 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES. 



numerous tributaries was gathered into canals and equally distributed 

 over the broad plains of this part of the Territory, who will dare say that 

 four thousand square miles, yea almost twice four thousand, might not 

 be irrigated"? Then the simple point to be determined is, can this he 

 done ? I believe it can, and that when the demand for land in this dis- 

 trict requires it, it will be done ; the great obstacle here, as elsewhere 

 in these Territories, being to bring together that amount of capital 

 or force sufficient to construct these canals at a reasonable cost per acre. 



The principal tributaries of the Arkansas that flow in from the south, 

 east of the mountains, are Hardscrabble and Greenhorn Creeks, (the St. 

 Charles is a branch of the latter,) Huerfano Eiver, which has a large 

 tributary named Cuchara; Apishpa Eiver, Timpas Creek, and Purgatory 

 Eiver. On the north side, Fountain Qui Bouille Eiver and Squirrel Creek 

 are the principal streams affording water. 



Hardscrabble is a small stream running through a broken seetior, and 

 is skirted by narrow bottoms from a half to two miles in width, which 

 are low, easily irrigated, and quite fertile. The St. Charles is a larger 

 stream, which traverses some arable lands, but is. occasionally hemmed 

 in by bluffs. As I crossed it only at a deep, narrow cut, I am unable to 

 speak positively in regard to the extent of its valley, but I understand 

 considerable bodies of irrigable land are to be found along its course, 

 and that near its source is a valley of moderate size called Wet Moun- 

 tain Valley, which affords some good farming land. The Greenhorn 

 Valley also furnishes level land and irrigating facilities sufficient for 

 considerable agricultural settlements. The length of this valley is prob- 

 ably thirty miles, but what its average width is I do not know. Along 

 the Huerfano and its chief tributary are some of the best farming lands 

 in the district. Huerfano Park, or, as it is sometimes called, the Upper 

 Huerfano Valley, which lies west of or behind the Wet Mountains, is 

 about fifteen miles long and from three to^five miles wide, and is already 

 tolerably well settled. The valleys of these two streams are of moderate 

 width, but are occasionally interrupted for some distance by the upper 

 level, which presses close upon the streams, leaving only deep cuts or 

 canons. But as the fall is rapid, the water could, without much diffi- 

 culty, be brought upon the upper surface, thus largely increasing the 

 amount of tillable lands. Where we crossed the Cuchara, the bottom 

 was about one mile wide, but the second level, which is extensive, was 

 not more than fifty feet above the stream, and, as I learn, is generally 

 less than this height. 



In regard to the valley of the Purgatory I know but little, as I did 

 not have an opportunity of visiting it. Its upper portion, I believe, is 

 narrow, and occasionally the bluffs close in upon the stream for several 

 miles 5 but the lower moiety is broader, affording room for extensive 

 settlements. There is, I believe, as a general thing, an ample supply 

 of water for irrigating purposes, but during the latter part of the season 

 the flow becomes somewhat scanty. 



Monument Creek, from its source to where it enters the Fountaine 

 Qui Bouille, is about twenty-four miles long, and affords water sufficient 

 to irrigate an average of only half a mile on each side. For a part of its 

 course it runs through forests of pine, where the growth is tall and fine 

 and well suited for lumbering purposes. The Fountain Qui Bouille, which 

 rises in the mountains northwest of Colorado City, has a run of about 

 •fifty miles, the immediate valley averaging about two miles. The plains 

 which flank it are generally of but moderate height and slope down 

 gently, and can be irrigated, with but little difficulty, to the full extent 

 of the water in the stream. 



